The Case of the Saddle-House Robbery is the 35th book in the Hank the Cowdog series.
Hank's day on the ranch starts early when an effort to rouse the lazy winter sun leads to a run-in with the coyote brothers, Rip and Snort. Even after escaping from the ferocious duo, Hank can't rest; Slim brings a strange, treasure-hunting bird dog named Jake onto the ranch, which is followed by news of a saddle thief in the area. Could Jake be the thief's partner? Can Hank figure out what's what and keep his ranch and its vital equipment safe?
The book features the numbers "The Coyote Howl-Up-the-Sun Song" and "I'm Trapped in Madagascar".
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Achilles' Heel: Defied. The saddle thief gives Hank a piece of candy to keep him quiet while he raids the shed, and when he needs to stop near Slim's for a bit, he tosses him another piece of candy. Hank is tempted by the scent, but the smirk on the thief's face as he anticipates Hank taking the bait leads him to reject it.
- Artistic License – Animal Care: The thief offers Hank a piece of chocolate-and-caramel candy while looting the saddle house. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs, but Hank doesn't get at all sick from it.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Hank and Drover aren't the smartest dogs in the world, but Jake, who doesn't even seem to be in touch with reality, leaves them both behind. He seriously seems to believe that exotic places like Madagascar can be found under sheds and that he's managed to get away with a load of treasure.
- Cock-a-Doodle Dawn: Hank knows that J.T. Cluck claims to be able to crow up the sun, but he dismisses it as falsehood...because he thinks a ranch dog's strong barking is needed to get the sun up rather than a chicken's squawking Rip and Snort, in turn, think they howl it up.
- Death Glare: Hank signals his recognition of the thief with a fierce glare.
- Give Me a Reason: After Hank takes down the thief, Slim tells the crook that he's making a citizen's arrest. If he puts up any fuss, Slim will take great pleasure in wrapping a fence post around his head.
- Hate at First Sight: Hank dislikes Jake at their first meeting. He's a bird dog, and Hank's quarrel with Plato over Beulah's affections has soured him on bird dogs.
- Heroic Dog: Hank falls for the saddle thief's story the first time, but upon recognizing the man as he tries to leave by way of Slim's shack, he growls to alert Slim. He even chases down and seizes the crook himself.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: After Hank knocks him down and Slim threatens him with a fence post, the saddle thief cries uncle. The police come and take him into custody without any further trouble.
- My Greatest Second Chance: The first time Hank sees the saddle thief, the man fools him with a story about being a humble repairman with a family to support and a small bit of candy. When Hank sees him again, he redeems himself by refusing to take the bait and capturing the crook.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When he gets gasoline on his hands while fueling for the umpteenth time, Slim compares his habit of messing up that way to Hank's inability to stop getting into trouble.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Hank normally isn't very threatening, even when the cowboys would prefer him to be. Therefore, when Hank begins glaring and behaving aggressive around a stranger, Slim realizes he might want to check out the man's pickup. Sure enough, the saddles are in the back.
- The Prankster: Slim scares Hank into darting under the pickup by growling and making threatening motions while wearing a gorilla mask. Hank irritably says that this kind of practical joke is all too common on the ranch.
- Red Herring: Jake arriving around the same time as the thief makes Hank think that the crook may have employed Jake as a partner who was supposed to distract him. When Hank interrogates Jake later, it turns out he really is just a loopy bird dog who belongs to someone else entirely.
- Sore Loser: Neither Hank nor the coyote brothers take it well when the sun comes up after J.T. Cluck crows, despite having refused the entire time they were barking and howling at it. Rip and Snort send Hank to teach him a lesson for humiliating them, which Hank happily does.
