Baby Rex - Der kleine Kommissar (1997)

It is winter in the Austrian Alps, the leaves are falling from the trees, and many German Shepherd puppies have been born at a famous breeding kennel run by a landowner. One of the puppies proves to be cleverer than the others, so its owners decide not to sell him and name him “Rex.” The owner of a local quarry, whose business is a front for the illegal disposal of toxic waste, is also interested in Rex. When he discovers that the dog is not for sale, he has him kidnapped. Rex dislikes his new owner, who intends to turn him into a guard dog, and manages to escape. He makes his way to an unfamiliar house, where he stops for a drink. A boy named Benny lives there. Hearing Rex bark, Benny opens the door and takes him in. However, his grandfather recognizes the dog and contacts the owners so they can take him back to the kennel. Seeing how attached Benny is to Rex, the original owners decide to leave the dog with him, and Benny gains a great friend. A few months later, during a vacation Benny takes with his grandfather, there are several power outages because the stream’s water level is too low to turn the turbine. It soon becomes clear that someone is drawing water from the cave, and Benny decides to find out who is behind it all. The culprit turns out to be Rudolf Kainz, the quarry owner, who is pouring toxic chemicals into the river. Realizing he has been found out, Kainz tries to kill Benny and his grandfather by pushing a stack of logs onto them. The two are trapped beneath a pile of wood. Rex runs to the village to call for help. When they are found, Benny is taken to the hospital with a broken leg, while his grandfather has only a few minor injuries. Before he has fully recovered, Benny goes back to school and returns to Vienna. There, he spots one of Kainz’s men and follows him with Rex. Benny calls the police twice, but they think the boy is talking about a game, so Benny follows the man to Kainz’s house. He calls the police again from there. Kainz catches Benny and locks him in a refrigerator. Being clever, Rex manages to open it and let the boy out. Kainz finds him, but Rex leaps into action, jumps on him, and throws him into a swimming pool. The police will see that justice is done.