Copyright 1999 -- Robert Baer Jr. 

The Renegade Files - "It's The Little Things That Count"


PROLOGUE
>
>
>This is the story of a superhero, The Computer Renegade, as told through
>the eyes of his faithful bionic German Shepard Otto.  Disguised as
>Accountant Nathan Lovejoy, the Renegade and his friends fight a never
>ending battle against crime, injustice and danger.   This is yet another
>entry from Otto's 'personal' log.
>
The Renegade Files - "It's The Little Things That Count"

It was high noon at my master's home and I was all alone in the house.  
My lovely collie wife had a full day of classes at college, my master and
his wife were both at work.  It was my turn to do the household chores, so
I was busy loading the dishwasher and doing the laundry.  I thought it was
just going to be another boring day, little did I know what was about to
transpire in a parking lot minutes later.

It was at this time that Uncle Buford (the man who rebuilt me) had just
finished his grocery shopping.   Wheeling his shopping cart out into the
parking lot, he was talking to himself as he approached his car.

"Let me see..."  he said to himself,"wonder if I forgot anything.  
Hmmmmmmm.  I got bacon, hamburger, eggs, and .....  Oh yeah!  I forgot the
hot dogs!   Gotta have hot dogs for the cookout this weekend, even my
canine friends love to eat them!   Better have plenty of iced tea on hand,
it's going to be another hot day"

It was then that Uncle Buford noticed a small crowd gathered around a blue
stationwagon.   Some in the crowd sounded distressed, so he walked over to
see what was happening.   There was a full grown Irish Setter trapped in
the car, and all the windows were rolled up!  All of the car's doors were
locked, and he could see that the poor dog had passed out!   The crowd who
was gathered around wanted to help, but knew there was nothing they could
do.  Someone did run into the grocery store to try to find the dog's
owner.   Uncle Buford quietly turned on his cane radio and contacted me.  
I arrived on the scene with a loud BOOM!!!    The noise startled the crowd
as they turned in my direction.   Someone in the crowd shouted,"HEY,
WHERE'D THE GERMAN SHEPARD COME FROM?"  Many of those folks were really
suprised when I began to speak.

"What seems to be the problem here?"  I calmly asked, pretending not to
know who Uncle Buford was.

"Hey, you're Otto, the Computer Renegade's dog!" Uncle Buford said with a
smile,"please help that poor Irish Setter locked in that stationwagon over
there.  The extreme heat has caused it to pass out!"

"I've got to act fast!" I said excitedly as I activated my black box
circuitry and 'zapped'  the Irish Setter out of the car and unto a flat
sheet of cardboard laying out on the parking lot.   

"Is anyone here a veternarian?" I asked the crowd, Uncle Buford raised his
hand and answered,"I am, Otto, I'll see what I can do for this poor
animal."

While Uncle Buford tended to the dog, the owner of the stationwagon came
running out of the store and towards us.

"What's going on here!"  the lady screamed in rage,"and what have you done
to my dog, old man!"

"This old man is trying to save your dog's life!" Uncle Buford shouted
back.

"Get your hands off of my dog!" the enraged lady shouted,"you must've
broken into my car to get him!"

"Will you kindly allow us to explain, Miss Deborose?" I asked.   This
caused the lady to stare at me in amazement.

"How can you talk and how did you know my name?" Miss Deborose questioned.

"My name is Otto, ma'am," I politely explained,"and I teleported this
suffering animal out of your car because he had passed out and was dying
in there.   As for me knowing your name, I simply ran your license plate
through my internal computer link to find your name."

"Otto," Uncle Buford said,"this poor dog is suffering from severe heat
exhaustion, he urgently needs medical attention!"

"But I only stepped into the store for a minute!" Miss Deborose
shouted,"and I always leave the windows open for him!"

"You didn't this time, ma'am" I said,"look, see for yourself!"   Miss
Deborose looked closely at her stationwagon and gasped.

"Oh my!" she shouted,"you're right, Otto!   I did leave the windows up!"

"There's no time for explanations!" I interrupted,"I'm ready to teleport
this Irish Setter to the Pet Hospital, are you coming with us or will you
be driving there?"

"WAIT, I'M COMING WITH YOU!" Miss Deborose shouted.

"You had better come with me also, sir!" I said to Uncle Buford,"the
veternarian on duty may need to ask you some questions."

"Alright, Otto!" Uncle Buford said,"I'll gladly do anything to help!"

With a loud BOOM!!!   Miss Deborose, Uncle Buford and I were in the
waiting room of the Pet Hospital with the Irish Setter.   The veternarian
on duty took him immediately to one of the treatment rooms while the rest
of us waited in the waiting room.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Miss Beborose said sadly,"I love my
dog Bingo!  I've had him since he was a puppy!"

"Then why did you leave him in your car like that?"  I asked,"didn't you
realize how hot it gets in a parked car sitting in the blazing sun like
that?"

"But I only went inside the store for a minute....."

"Sometimes, a minute turns into MANY minutes, doesn't it?   Look, ma'am,
not all pets have teleporting capabilities like I do, they depend on their
kind owners to take care of them.   Did you know that dogs have no sweat
glands?  That's why we have to pant heavily when we get overheated!  
Bingo was passed out when I resuced him, we can only hope and pray that
the staff here can revive him!"

Nearly an hour passed before the veternarian came into the waiting room to
talk to Miss Deborose.   

"Miss Deborose, your dog was very dehydrated, but he'll be alright!" the
veternaria said,"Bingo will have to stay here a few days, but I'm
confident he'll make a full recovery!"

"Thank you, doctor!" Miss Deborose said with a sigh of relief.

"It's a good thing your friends here got Bingo to us so quickly," the
veternarian added,"otherwise he wouldn't have made it."

As the doctor walked away, Miss Deborose looked at me and Buford.

"I can't begin to thank you enough!" Miss Deborose cried,"you both saved
Bingo's life!"

"You're welcome, ma'am!" Uncle Buford said with a kind smile,"but it was
Otto who got us all here in time, he deserves all the credit."

Miss Deborose fell to one knee and spoke while she hugged me,"how can I
ever repay your kindness!"

"You can thank me by never neglecting your pets again," I said
calmly,"Bingo depends on you to look out for him, always remember that,
OK?"

"I will, Otto!   I will," she sobbed as she hugged me even tighter.

Three days later, Bingo was released from the pet hospital in fine health!
  I certainly hope Miss Deborose has learned her lesson, when it comes to
caring for pets, it's the little things that count!

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