Awesome / Hank the Cowdog

• The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog:
  • Hank bluffs his way out of a one-sided Mexican Standoff by convincing the coyotes that no one could be so stupid as to march into their territory like he just (accidentally) did without some secret weapon that would let him dominate a fight. Even better, it isn't Rip and Snort who Hank uses this against; it's Scraunch.
  • Hank and Drover fight a pack of around a dozen coyotes in the climax (Hank partially to defend Drover when he's attacked first) fiercely enough for both dogs to require nursing afterward. This is very brave for both of them — Drover is a Lovable Coward in general, whereas Hank has been known to quake in terror around just two coyotes and has the option to stand back, do nothing, and be accepted into the coyote clan.
• In The Case of the Missing Cat, Hank sets up Pete to be killed by the coyotes, regrets it, and returns to save him, only to find Pete stalling the coyotes by "playing" invisible checkers with them...and winning every time.
• "When you wanna make a lasting impression on a bull, you don't bluff and you don't bark. You take a death grip on his nose and hang on!"
• At the climax of The Case Of The One Eyed Killer Stud Horse, Hank attacks the titular stallion to protect a couple of little girls. He'd made it pretty clear earlier that the horse scared him, but the instant that it went after the kids, he got dangerous. Sure, he got his leg broken, but that's still one of the bravest things Hank's ever done.
• Along the same lines, in Faded Love, Hank attacks a rattlesnake to keep it from biting Little Alfred. Hank is terrified of snakes. This occasion was one of the only times Sally May expressed any respect for him.
• Hank might hate cats, but he actually shows respect toward a mother cat once when she protects her kittens...and him...from a rampaging bull. In fact, when Pete the barn cat tries to force the mother cat to leave right away, Hank tells him she can stay as long as she likes and throws him into a puddle as retribution.
• After being fooled once by the villain of The Saddle House Robbery, Hank redeems himself the second time they meet. When the thief tries to bribe him with chocolate, Hank spits it out, growls to draw Slim's attention to the stolen saddles, then chases down the fleeing thief and bites him on the seat of his pants.
• The Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass pelicans in The Case of the Dinosaur Birds get some moments to shine with both their physical fighting skills and how they can dive bomb opponents by dropping fish on them (with Hank getting them to do this to Pete, leaving his nemesis confused and cowed).
• In The Case of the Wandering Goats, the eponymous goats send the coyotes slinking away with their tails between their legs following an appropriate show of force.
  Hank: Snort thinks you're just a bunch of sissy sheep.
  Auoda: That ees incorrect. Bad infor-mation.
  Hank: I agree, and that's why I tried to tell him, but coyotes think they can whip anything on four legs.
  Auoda: Not everything.
  He turned and walked a few steps away, toward a medium-sized hackberry tree. Five feet away from it, he stopped, lowered his head, and pawed up some dirt. In a split second, he rocked back on his hind legs, exploded out of his tracks, and rammed it. WHAM! The tree didn't break in half, but it shuddered and dropped a bunch of branches and leaves. Then he stood on his back legs and began slashing the bark off the trunk with his front hooves.
• Hank saves Little Alfred from drowning, in The Christmas Turkey Disaster.
• The Case Of The Prowling Bear:
  • Drover runs out in the middle of a snowstorm to protect Slim from the bear. Hank is flabbergasted, given Drover's status as a Lovable Coward, but the display causes him to follow Drover.
  • The two dogs protecting Slim from the bear. Drover just barks, but he does it despite his usual cowardice and while being scared to death the entire time. Hank actually bites the bear when it gets aggressive, even though it's strong enough that a backhand sends him flying.
• In The Case of the Red Rubber Ball, Hank fails to catch a wasp in his mouth and kill it without being stung, even after watching another dog show off his technique. Then Drover arrives. Not only does he do it, but also he talks about how easy it was.

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