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Mystery Unit Assessment
In our mystery unit you read about characters who solve mysteries by paying careful attention to
details and by asking questions.
Now you will read a chapter from a book about a famous television dog who disappears while giving
paw-print autographs at a bookstore. You will also read about the real-life Dulux dog, who does television
commercials in Great Britain.
There are questions to answer before, during, and after your reading. You may go back to the
selections to help you answer the questions.
1. Predict/Infer
Look at the story title and read the introduction. Tell what you think will happen in this
story.
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from
Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Television Dog
by David A. Adler
INTRODUCTION: Cam Jansen is at Mr. Lee’s bookstore with her friend Eric and Eric’s twin sisters, Donna
and Diane. They are waiting in line to meet Poochie, a famous television dog, who is “autographing” copies of
The Poochie Story. Poochie’s trainer presses the dog’s paw onto and ink pad and onto the front page of the
book. Then, with the same paw, Poochie shakes hands with his fans. A man who has a dog that looks a lot like
Poochie is waiting in front of Cam and her friends. The dog’s name is Cloudy.
When the man’s turn comes, he drops a box of dog biscuits. Cloudy and Poochie scramble for the
biscuits. When order is restored, the man leaves with a dog. Diane and Cam then meet Poochie and shake his
paw. A short time later, the girls notice that their hands are clean and not ink-stained. The group returns to
the bookstore.
Donna ran into the bookstore. She pushed ahead of an old man waiting for Poochie to autograph his
book.
“That’s not Poochie! That’s not Poochie!” Donna yelled as she pointed to the dog on the table.
“Of course it is,” Mr. Lee said. “Now get in line like everyone else.”
Cam, Eric, and Diane came into the store. Donna pointed at Cam and said, “You can ask her.”
Mr. Lee turned to the dog’s trainer and said, “This is Poochie. Isn’t it?”
“Of course it is. Just watch.”
The trainer turned to the dog and said, “Poochie, raise your right paw.”
The dog just looked at the trainer.
“RAISE YOUR RIGHT PAW!”
The dog did nothing.
“All right, Poochie, don’t raise your right paw. Just show me what a sad dog looks like.”
The dog barked and wagged his tail.
“He’s not doing what you tell him to because he’s not Poochie,” Donna told the trainer.
Cam took one of the books from the table. She pointed to the photograph of Poochie on the cover and
said, “Look at this and look at the dog. You’ll see that they’re not the same.”
Mr. Lee took the book from Cam. He looked at the photograph and then at the dog.
“It’s the spots. Some of the spots are in different places,” Cam told him.
Mr. Lee looked at the photograph again and then at the dog.
“You’re right,” he said. “This is not Poochie.”
“The dog I brought here was Poochie. I’m sure of it,” the trainer said. “This is the only my first week
on the job, but I know they wouldn’t give me the wrong dog.”
2. Monitor
What clues do you have so far that might help solve the mystery?
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Continue to read--“It was that red-haired man with the dog biscuits,” Eric said. “He must have taken the wrong dog
home. This must be Cloudy.”
When the people waiting in line heard that they dog on the table wasn’t Poochie, they left the
bookstore.
“I took time off from work to meet Poochie,” one woman complained as she left.
“And I put on a suit and tie,” a boy said.
The trainer sat down. He looked up at the ceiling and said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”
“Well, I do,” said Mr. Lee. “I’m calling the police.”
As Mr. Lee walked toward the telephone, Cloudy jumped off the table and ran out of the bookstore.
“Get him!” Mr. Lee told Cam, Eric, and the twins.
“No, let him go. If he’s not Poochie, I don’t want him,” the trainer said.
Cam didn’t listen to the trainer. She ran out of the bookstore and followed Cloudy.
Eric and the twins ran after Cam. They caught up with her at the corner. She was waiting for the light
to change.
“Why are you following Cloudy?” Eric asked.
“They don’t want this dog,” Donna said. “They want Poochie.”
Just then the light changed. “Just come with me and keep your eyes on that dog,” Cam said as she
hurried ahead.
Cloud was almost at the next corner. Cam ran quickly down the block. The others followed her.
They followed Cloudy past a busy shopping mall and a block where some old houses were being torn
down. Then the dog walked through a hole in a fence. He walked through a backyard to a block lined with
small houses.
Cam, Eric, and the twins squeezed through the fence. Then they saw Cloudy run onto the front porch
of one of the houses.
“I was right. I knew he’d lead us somewhere,” Cam said. “Now we have to get Cloudy before he goes
inside.”
Now read about a real-life television dog.
He’s a Real Working Dog
The Old English sheepdog in the Dulux paint ads on British television is usually a look-alike that makes the
public appearances, while the Dulux dog himself works mainly in the TV studios.
In 1986 it was decided to teach the dog a new trick – and have him roll on his back in the commercial. Eight
sheepdogs were auditioned for the part – and the winner worked with a trainer eight hours a day for three
weeks until he perfected his roll. Philip Rowley, a Surrey dog breeder and the owner of Duke, the original
Dulux dog, put his success down to persistence and sweets. “Duke’ll do almost anything for a couple of Polo
mints,” he said.
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Comprehension Questions
3. List three clues that made Mr. Lee believe he didn’t have the real Poochie.
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4. Who does Eric think took the wrong dog? Why does he think so?
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5. Do you think the dogs were switched accidentally or on purpose? Give reasons for your answer.
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6. How should Cam go about finding Poochie? Give reasons for your answer.
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7. What are two differences between Poochie and Duke, the Dulux dog?
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Circle the best answer.
8. How do the people waiting in line feel when they learn that the dog is not Poochie?
a. They are excited to be in the middle of a mystery.
b. They are angry at Poochie’s trainer.
c. They are upset because they went to a lot of trouble to meet Poochie.
d. They are hopeful that the red-haired man will soon return with Poochie.
9. Why is Mr. Lee angry about losing Poochie?
a. He was sad that he lost his dog.
b. His customers were leaving his store.
c. He likes Cam
d. He calls the police.
10. What does Pooochie’s trainer do when Cloudy jumps off the table and runs out of the bookstore?
a. He tries to call the police.
b. He follows Cam out of the bookstore.
c. He sits down and wonders what to do.
d. He laughs and treats it as a joke.
11. Who is probably in the house that Cloudy runs to?
a. Mr. Lee
b. the customers from Mr. Lee’s store
c. Poochie’s trainer
d. the red-haired man
12. What is one way Duke’s trainer gets Duke to do tricks?
a. He gives Duke sweets.
b. He takes Duke to supermarkets.
c. Duke learns how to roll on his back.
d. He promises Duke a part in a television show.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*13. When the man’s turn comes, he drops a box of dog biscuits. Cloudy and Poochie scramble for the biscuits.
What are Cloudy and Poochie doing?
a. dancing so that the man will give them biscuits.
b. cooking eggs
c. trying to eat as many biscuits as they can
d. hiding the biscuits.
14. Donna rain into the bookstore. She pushed ahead of an old man waiting for Poochie to autograph his
book. What is the old man waiting for Poochie to do?
a. sit on his book
b. eat his book
c. lick his book
d. make a mark on his book
15. Mr. Lee took the book from Cam. He looked at the photograph and then at the dog. “It’s the spots. Some
of the spots are in different places,” Cam told him. What did Cam say were different?
a. the ways Poochie looks at people
b. the markings on Poochie’s fur
c. the stains on Poochie’s collar
d. the people standing in line
16. “I took time off from work to meet Poochie,” one woman complained as she left. How did the woman
sound as she left?
a. confused
b. complicated
c. unhappy
d. proud
17. Cloudy was almost at the next corner. Cam ran quickly down the block. The others followed her. What
did Cam do?
a. She chased her friends.
b. She led her friends.
c. She stayed behind her friends.
d. She walked next to her friends.
WRITING
Cam Jansen is a good detective. What do you think makes a good detective? Do you think you would be a
good detective? Tell why or why not with plenty of details.
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