Dog Gone

Dog Gone
Episode #	103
Air Date	Sep 29, 1977
Briefing	The motorcycle-riding thieves

Brief Plot

Jon's dog daze: A string of incidents complicates the officer's efforts to help a lost, injured pooch.

Plot

As the episode opens, Jon and Ponch attempt to catch a dog that was running in the middle of the freeway. It gets away and causes an accident on an overpass involving a dune buggy. Feeling sorry for the dog, Jon has Baricza bring it to headquarters.

When they get back to Central, Getraer is upset with Jon for having the dog brought back to headquarters. Jon explains that he wants to bring the dog to the vet down the street to get his paw healed.

Out on the highway, Ponch and Jon chase a guy on a motorcycle who has frozen up. They need to stop him before he gets to a traffic jam up ahead. After they stop him, he wanders off muttering how he never wants to ride it again.

At headquarters, Getraer tells Jon that the dog checked out okay with the vet and insists they take him. After leaving, Ponch and Jon split up. Jon goes home but is followed by the guys in a dune buggy because they think it's Ponch. While Jon attempts to hide Fido's presence in his apartment building, the guys from the dune buggy try to get revenge on the officer they think is Ponch by loosening one of the hubs on Jon's motor.

That night, Jon brings Fido over to Ponch's motor home. After eating one of Ponch's Ding Dongs, Fido warms up to Ponch a bit. Jon runs off quickly leaving the pair alone.

The next day, Jon discovers that Ponch brought Fido back to Central. When they spot Getraer, Ponch hides Fido in Baricza's cruiser just before he drives off.

Out on the streets, the dune buggy guys are caught following Ponch and Jon. They are warned to stop following them. After giving a ticket, Ponch and Jon chase down a speeding car with a heart attack victim. The driver refuses to stop. Ponch calls in for an ambulance on the San Diego Freeway. After getting the car to pull over, they help save him just before an ambulance arrives. The woman says she was trying to get her husband to Valley Presbyterian Hospital, but Jon tells her that the hospital is near Sherman Way and she took the wrong off ramp. As they're getting ready to leave, Baricza drives up with Fido.

At Central, Zero, one of the dune buggy guys, confesses what he and his friends Boots and Little John did to what they thought was Ponch's motorcycle. Meanwhile, Fritz calls in a request for assistance in chasing down some bank robbers. Jon and Ponch respond. When Getraer finds out what the dune buggy guys did, he warns Ponch. After Zero comments about being at an apartment, Getraer realizes that it's Jon's front hub that was loosened and sends Ponch after him. Jon manages to pull over but falls off the motorcycle as it comes to a stop. Luckily, he's not even bruised.

At Central, Getraer has Barkley take Zero down to get booked and then calls Baker and Poncherello into his office. The dog's owner and his son are there looking for the dog. Ponch gets him out of a truck and the dog proceeds to relieve itself on Sarge's motorcycle. Laughter follows as the credits roll.

Guest Stars

• Brodie Greer as Baricza
• Lew Saunders as Fritz
• Joanne Linville as Mrs. Hirsh
• Bill Adler as Boots
• Jeffry Druce as Zero
• Muffin as Fido
• Featuring:
• William Lanteau as Rogovin
• Ron Prince as Barnes
• James Crittenden as Little John

Crew

• Produced by: Rick Rosner
• Written by: Richard Mittleman
• Directed by: Michael Caffey
• Associate Producers: Ric Rondell / Phil Fehrle
• Production Consultant: Bob Hayden
• Unit Production Manager: Barry R. Stern
• Developed for television by: Paul Playdon
• Story Editors: Glen Olson & Rod Baker
• Music by: John Parker
• Music Supervisor: Harry V. Lojewski
• Director of Photography: Robert F. Sparks
• Art Director: Joseph M. Altadonna
• Assistant Director: Wm. L. Young
• Script Supervisor: Joyce Webb
• Production Assistance: Roni Rochin
• Set Decorator: W. Joseph Kroesser
• Technical Advisor: Mike Sylvia
• Editor: Richard A. Freeman
• Sound: Maury Harris, Hal Watkins, C.A.S.
• Stunt Co-ordinator: Paul Nuckles
• Men's Wardrobe: Richard E. LaMotte
• Makeup: John M. Norin
• Casting: Gary Shaffer
• Location by: Cinemobile Systems
• With Appreciation to: Glen B. Craig, Commissioner, California Highway Patrol
• Motorcycles Furnished by: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
• Automobiles furnished by: Ford Motor Company
• Filmed in METROCOLOR / Titles and Opticals MGM
• Rosner Television in association with MGM Television

Fun Facts

• In some scenes you can see an injury to Ponch's right forearm. This is a result of roadburn that Erik Estrada suffered a few days prior to shooting.

Mistakes

• When helping the motorcycle rider who has frozen up, the close-ups of Ponch and Jon have overpasses visible. The long shots clearly show that there are no overpasses on that section of freeway.
• Ponch's CPR is obviously fake as to not injure the chest of the actor playing the heart attack victim.
• Jon is correct. Valley Presbyterian Hospital is near the Sherman Way exit of the San Diego Freeway in Van Nuys. However, that area is very urban and quite different from the area seen in the show.

Buy this episode

• Dog Gone on DVD at Amazon.com
• Dog Gone from Amazon Prime Video