The home of Dr. John Mattingly is burglarized, and the only witnesses are the family dog- Max and the cat- Penny. If the pets could only tell the authorities who broke in...The pets spend most of their day conversing to each other and mocking the strange behavior of humans. There is also an interesting subplot involving the burglar and a woman police detective. The story is set in Cincinnati and moves through Tennessee and the swamps of central Florida.
Excerpt
Chapter 1
THE AUTUMN LEAVES were gently falling in the Cincinnati suburb of Bridgetown, Ohio. As Max Mattingly paced through his house, he tried desperately to get his owners’ attention. He looked up at his master, who was doing the usual… reading that stupid newspaper!
I wish John would pay some attention to me, he thought.
A slightly overweight mutt, Max was quite the family pet. He resembled a Labrador retriever, had the long frame of a greyhound, had brown patchy spots like a cattle dog, and had a curly tail like a husky. A few generations back, Max may have inherited some Collie and Shepherd blood as well. In fact, you’d probably find a color glossy of ‘ol Max in Webster’s under the word “curbstone.”
All told, he was pretty happy with his life, but at times got very bored—especially when his owners left him.
“Max, do you have to go outside?” shouted the “old lady” in the kitchen. Actually, he didn’t mind the way she looked for a woman in her forties. Max tried not to stare at her when she bent over to pick up the newspaper.
Galloping down the hall and through the kitchen to the back door, Max had to pee like a racehorse.
It’s about time they decided to let me out, he thought.
As Max trotted by Madge, the screen door slipped from her grip and hit poor Max in the butt as he exited…Darn that hurt!
“Max, I’m so sorry,” Madge said softly. Yeah, yeah, Max was thinking, as he limped across the deck and down the stairs.
“Let’s see now… there was a bone out here somewhere…where did I bury that darn thing?” Max mumbled in dog English. Max reached the approximate spot and his retriever instincts took over – Max sniffed the ground twice and darn near choked on a blade of grass! He started coughing uncontrollably for about 30 seconds. Just as his vision began to clear, Max turned his head and couldn’t believe what he saw-- Fifi, the cute schnauzer that just moved into the neighborhood, was prancing down the sidewalk with her owner. It was their daily ritual.
Upon seeing Max, Fifi glanced over and winked at him.
Great, I’m barely over Heidi and Fifi prances by, the retriever thought. He disguised a few barks and then flirted back.
“Fifi, you’re lookin’ good today sweetie.”
She just ducked her head shyly and barked back quietly, “Thanks…have a nice day.”
Max smiled as he trotted proudly back to the deck. When they said their goodbyes, he shot through the pet entrance door to the house. He didn’t want to overdo it on his first meeting.
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