Bobby befriends a wild raccoon who ends up attacking Ladybird, leading to Hank wondering if he has to put her down due to fears of her having rabies.
Tropes:
- Afraid of Needles: Dale, when he thinks he might have rabies, is afraid to learn he has to get 7 shots. Hank and the guys restrain Dale and try to take him to the hospital, but then he runs away.
- Animal Lover: Bobby finds a raccoon digging around the trash for food, names it Bandit and starts feeding it.
- Ax-Crazy: Dale becomes this as he loses his mind even more, with the mushrooms he's been eating not helping. He even appears actually threatening, even appearing to come close to killing Hank when Ladybird comes to the rescue.
- Baldness Angst: Exploited by Hank in an attempt to get Dale to take his rabies shots when he takes his hat from him and holds it inside the closed glare guard as he's driving. But his plan doesn't work when Dale runs out of the truck and steals a crossing lady's hat before running off into the wilderness.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Dale in the third act. His paranoia about potentially having rabies from raccoon scratches coupled with all the hallucinations he's seeing from eating random mushrooms in the forest causes him knock out Hank and duct tape him and Bobby to a tree, after which he plans to replace his blood with Hank's in an attempt to cure himself of rabies.
- Big Damn Heroes: Ladybird acts as a Heroic Dog twice. First saving Hank from being attacked by Bandit after scratching up Dale and then when Dale gets ready to drain Hank's blood and chases him up the tree.
- Bittersweet Ending: Bobby ends up putting down Bandit himself when he sees it about to attack Hank. He loves the raccoon but in the end, he did it for his father. And then they learn Bandit wasn't rabid, meaning Ladybird and Dale don't have rabies.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Dale reveals his plan to drain Hank's blood and put it in his own body. Hank then says to give him his pocket knife and to turn away because Dale is squeamish over the sight of blood and Dale obliges. He manages to cut Bobby's tape. But then his own plan gets foiled when he flatly makes cries of pain, which tips Dale off because Hank never cried in pain in his life.
- Cacophony Cover Up: Hank does this when he goes into the garage and shuts the door and turns on his saw, covering up him crying over Ladybird and his fears of having to put her down.
- Cassette Craze: Parodied; While hiding in the wilderness, Dale has a tape recorder and talks about eating mushrooms and drinking dewdrops and talking about seeing all kinds of weird shapes and fearing he's going mad. And then going on saying he needs a hammer and nails after his shelter made from sticks falls apart. Then looking at the back of the recorder and finding it has no batteries, narrating that he needs batteries before throwing it away and talking into a pine cone saying he needs a new tape recorder.
- Continuity Nod:
- With Dale offering to search for Ladybird, he gives Hank his card, alluding to him being a Bounty Hunter.
- Bobby being the best shot in the family comes back into play during the climax where it initially looks like he tried to shoot Ladybird but missed, only for Hank to find out that he saw Bandit approaching as well and shot it instead.
- Dead Guy on Display: Dale has all kinds of bugs impaled on sticks, which Hank and Bobby walk into before he ties them up. Then gets Played for Laughs when Dale's paranoia thinks Hank is trying to kill him, with Dale revealing someone else tried to do so, then showing off an impaled frog.
- Exactly What I Aimed At: When Ladybird approaches Hank, he trusts her not to attack him, but Bobby feels uneasy about it, with Hank's protests not to shoot her and Dale urging Bobby to take the shot. He fires the rifle and with Ladybird licking Hank, he seems relieved Bobby missed. Only for Bobby to show he shot Bandit, thinking it was about to attack Hank.
- Fan Disservice: When Hank recovers and finds himself tied up, the first thing he sees is Dale's naked backside, washing his underwear in the river.
- Faux Horrific: Hank when he finds Bandit digging around his garage. And when he threatens to kill it with a screwdriver, it stands up and looks at him like it wants to be friends, which scares Hank into thinking it was about to attack him.
- Flare Gun: When out in the wilderness searching for Ladybird and Dale, Hank gives Bill one, only for him to discharge it almost immediately, with the flare going over Hank's shoulders.
- Giver of Lame Names: Subverted; Bobby comments on the black around his new raccoon friend's eyes, making him think of a mask. He at first decides to name it Masky, before settling on the better name Bandit.
- Hypochondria: Dale becomes convinced he has rabies after Nancy reads the symptoms off to him:Nancy: The earliest symptoms of clinical rabies in humans are chills.Dale: Brr, I'm cold, Nancy. So cold.Nancy: You're in your underwear, sug.Dale: Read on.Nancy: Some sufferers may have a sore throat.Dale: (chokes) My throat's on fire.Nancy: Diarrhea.Nancy: They may also feel anxious or fearful of things with no clear reason.
- Hypocritical Humor:
- Bobby wants to buy a toy Frisbee at a pet store for Bandit and ask Hank to buy it, but he tells him no, thinking Bobby just wants it as a toy and how much more it costs at a pet store. Then Hank grabs a mug and asks how much would it cost to have Ladybird's picture put on it.
- When Dale climbs under the house to get Bandit, he tells Hank to keep on the screen door so the raccoon doesn't risk running out, with him adding, no matter how much he begs or pleads, do not take off the screen door. Guess what happens? Hank takes off the screen door after Bandit tore up Dale with scratches and it does run off, with Dale not being happy about Hank taking off the screen door.
- Insane Troll Logic: Dale wants to drain Hank's blood from his body and put it inside his own body, thinking it will cure him and give him Hank's knowledge of propane and propane accessories.
- Granted that Dale was high on psychotropic mushrooms at the time, but this isn't too disimilar to an idea he'd come up with while sober.
- Jerkass Ball: Bobby is incredibly concerned about Bandit, but doesn't seem to worry much about Dale or Ladybird's well-being until towards the end. He even talks about his resentment he has towards Ladybird, which Hank would have none of it. And when Joseph said he's worried about his own dad, Bobby glares at him until he also says Bandit.
- Lock-and-Load Montage: Dale has one, where he grabs his gear, with knives, a taser and a cattle prod before going after Bandit.
- Lost Food Grievance: Downplayed as Bobby finds a mostly uneaten Hungry Man TV dinner in the trash that he laments Luanne wasting before feeding it to Bandit.
- MacGuffin: Bobby wants to find Bandit, as he sees it as a pet, but Hank wants to find it to see if it has rabies.
- Miles Gloriosus: Dale naturally.
- First when he goes underneath the house to go after Bandit, he freaks out and begs Hank to open up the screen door and let him out, right before he gets scratched up by it.
- And then when Dale has Hank and Bobby tied up, and just as he's about to drain the former's blood, Ladybird shows up. And he seems ready to fight, but she charges at him, chasing him up the tree.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain:
- While Bandit's an animal and therefore not incredibly villainous, we see how vicious it can be, by scratching up Dale when he's underneath the house with it and after Hank opens up the screen door to let them both out, Bandit looks like it's about to attack Hank when Ladybird comes to Hank's defense, getting herself hurt as she chases it away and runs off.
- Dale qualifies too. While his sanity has fallen further, especially due to eating mushrooms he found, he seems to come close to draining Hank's blood. He's only stopped when Ladybird comes to the rescue.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Bobby has that look on his face when Hank tells him they need to find Bandit to find out if he has rabies and says to do so, its head needs to come off.
- Hank when he talks to the animal shelter people when they find Ladybird and mention if she shows signs of being rabid, they'll have to put her down. He then rushes to the woods.
- Bobby after Dale, thinking he's rabid and high on mushrooms, knocks out Hank before tying them both up.
- Sanity Slippage: Thinking he has rabies, Dale pretty much goes mad, acting very animistic and predatory. Raiding his fridge for food and hissing at Nancy and John Redcorn when they see him before he runs away and acting like a savage, killing animals and nearly draining Hank's blood. And him eating mushrooms that make him high doesn't help him.
- Say My Name: When the animal shelter people call Hank to let him know they've seen Ladybird, Hank says to put emphasis on "Lady" in a sing-song way when they call for her. They let him know they might have to shoot her if she acts rabid.
- Serious Business: Hank is shown to not only love Ladybird, but he also dotes on her. He's concerned about her when she runs away and worries about not just her getting food but who will mix in an egg for her. And in the animal shelter, he gives them a picture of her to aid in the search and apologizes for not having a more recent photo, despite said photo being from last month.
- Shoot the Dog: Hank fears that he has to shoot Ladybird when out in the wild, due to her possibly having rabies. Ironically, in the end, it would be Bobby, who ends up shooting Bandit, when he fears it was about to attack Hank just as Ladybird lovingly embraces Hank.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Bobby is incredibly worried about Bandit's safety, way more so than Ladybird or Dale. He even gives Joseph a Death Glare when he mentions how he's worried about his dad, then adding "And Bandit". But at the end, Bobby is the one who ends up putting Bandit down after it looked like it was about to attack his father.
- Then with Hank and Bobby having to look for Dale and Ladybird, Bill and Boomhauer join them. But they prove to be unreliable when they go swimming at a lake.
- The Stinger: The last scene has Hank saying to Bobby he'll let him choose the next family pet when Ladybird dies. Hank rejects Bobby's ideas of getting a possum or ostrich before saying he meant another dog. And when Bobby asks to get a poodle, Hank flatly tells him no.
- Trail of Bread Crumbs: While out searching for Ladybird with Hank, Bobby leaves a trail of marshmallows in hopes to find Bandit.
- Underwear of Power: Quite literally, as when Dale becomes more dangerous, he strips down just to his underwear.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Bobby befriends the raccoon he calls Bandit and even feeds it trash. And later on, the raccoon lingers around and after it attacks Dale and tries to go after Hank, Ladybird comes to his defense and chases it away, leading to Ladybird being a runaway.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Parodied; after Ladybird is revealed to be OK, Dale is then seen on a tree trunk saying, "This. Isn't. Over" and then saying "So Long, Suckers!" before waving his arms like he's about to fly off before jumping and falling flat on his face. And while he's laying there on the ground, he still thinks he's flying, and even says to Hank that he can see his house from up here.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Hank lays into Bobby three times concerning Bandit.
- The first one after he learns Bobby was feeding Bandit:
Hank: (...) Bobby, you name a pet. You name a guitar. You do not name a filthy animal. And you do not feed it our garbage. No wonder it was rooting around the garage. It was looking for more of your handouts.Bobby: It's not a handout when you feed Ladybird, is it?Hank: Ladybird is a member of this family. You've seen our Christmas cards.Bobby: Yea, I've also seen her drink out of the toilet, wipe herself on the carpet, sniff another dog's-Hank: Enough! Bandit is a wild, disease-ridden animal that will bite your face. Now does that sound like something Ladybird would do?Bobby: Ladybird doesn't do anything anymore. She's too old.Hank: Bobby! Ladybird is in the room.- Bobby gets another one after Hank unsuccessfully searches for Ladybird, with Bobby claiming he couldn't find Bandit. Hank calls him out, saying if it weren't for Ladybird, the racoon would have attacked him.
- He also gives another one to Bobby after he included Bandit in the prayer before dinner, calling him out on how it's his fault that Ladybird is missing, due to Bobby feeding the raccoon.
