Personally, I don't know if animal cruelty would be a hard enough investigation on it's own. It WOULD be a perfect sidebar to a larger one, though. Another idea is to have the rodeo in town before Clark gets into the Daily Planet (and Lois is just starting out/is on Perry's doghouse) and get assigned to cover it. Clark's there as a rodeo clown (the JOB that is meant to make it safer for both buckaneer and bull) trying to uncover something.
CLARK: No. I'm just worried I'm a jinx.
JONATHAN: A jinx?
CLARK: Yeah. Let's face it, ever since she's known me, Lois's been kidnapped, frozen, pushed off buildings, almost stabbed, poisoned, buried alive and who knows what else, and it's all because of me.
-"Contact" (You're not her jinx, you're her blessing.)
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