Who Am I?

Hello! My name is ...

Hmm, what is my name?

I always thought my name was King. That's what Kayla and her mom and dad call me. Kayla says I am the King of Crime-solving. I LOVE solving crimes. It's my favorite thing!

I haven't seen Kayla and her family for a long time. Kayla's mom is in a place called the National Guard. That means she's far away from home, but she's okay. I don't know where Kayla and Dad are. What happened to them is a mystery. A mystery I am still trying to solve.

Here is what I know about the Case of the Missing Family:

* Kayla and her dad went to Grandma's house in Springtown.

* They left me at Barker Bob's.

* They never came back.

* Our neighbor, Mr. Sanchez, picked me up from Barker Bob's.

* I stayed at Mr. Sanchez's for a while, then Uncle Marty came and took me to the P-O-U-N-D.

* My people would never let me go to the P-O-U-N-D.

* Something bad has happened to Kayla and Dad.

While I was at the P-O-U-N-D, I accidentally adopted some new people. Their names are Connor and Mom. They're new around here. They don't know Kayla and her mom and dad. And they don't know that Kayla, Mom, and Dad are my other people.

Here are some good things about going to live with Connor and his mom:

* They have good food and cool toys.

* They just put a doggy door in their house. Now I can go outside and come back in whenever I want to.

* When Connor's mom isn't looking, Connor lets me sleep in his bed.

* Connor and his mom live in the house behind Kayla's. That means I can keep a nose on the place. I will be the first to know if my people come back.

Here are some bad things about going to live with Connor and his mom:

* They are getting attached to me.

* I am getting attached to them.

* I don't know what will happen when Kayla and her dad come back.

Will I go back to Kayla's house or will I stay here with Connor and his mom?

While I am thinking about these things, the back door at my new house opens. Connor and Mom step outside, and Mom pats her legs. "Buddy, come!" she calls.

Buddy is the word that Connor and his mom call me. Buddy is another word for friend.

"It's time to go to obedience school," Mom says.

I LOVE obedience school. It's my favorite thing! I zoom across the yard, my tail spinning 'round and 'round behind me. Mom snaps a leash to my collar.

"Let's go to the car, Buddy," Connor says.

I LOVE riding in the car. It's my favorite thing!

No, wait. Obedience school is my favorite thing. If Mom and Connor pass obedience school, they will take me to a different kind of school. The kind Kayla went to. I wonder if it's even the exact same school that Kayla went to. If it is, maybe I'll see some of her friends there. Maybe they'll talk about what happened to her.

At the very least, I'll make new friends at that school. I LOVE new friends. They're my favorite thing!

But solving crimes is my favorite thing, too.

I'm so confused! No wonder I don't know my own name.

Here's a problem with humans: Sometimes it's hard to tell what they really want you to do. They may say "sit" with their mouths, but the rest of their bodies say "jump on me." Then they wonder why we jump on them.

I think this is why some humans go to obedience school. Obedience is a big word. It means humans learning to say what they mean.

Some humans are easier to train than others.

I don't mean to brag, but Connor and his mom are the best-trained humans in the class. When Mom says "sit," she says it with her mouth, her hands, and her whole entire body. When Connor says "down," he says it with his mouth, his hands, and his whole entire body.

I do whatever Connor and his mom tell me to do at obedience school. Then something strange happens: I get a liver treat. I don't know why I'm the one who gets the treat instead of Connor or Mom, but I'm not complaining. I LOVE liver treats. They're my favorite food!

I feel bad for the pug who stands beside me in the circle. I don't know the pug's name, but her human's name is Kathy. Kathy is not as smart as my humans are.

Kathy says, "Sit!" with her mouth, but the rest of her body says, "Go over there and say hello to that black Lab across the circle."

The pug doesn't know what to do. So she just stands there and looks at Kathy. She waits for Kathy to give her another signal.

"I said, sit!" Kathy says. Louder this time. But the rest of her body says, "Lie down."

The pug drops to her belly. I would do the same thing. What a human says with her body is usually more important than what she says with her mouth.

Kathy smells frustrated. But I bet the pug is even more frustrated than Kathy is.

I sniff. No, the pug isn't frustrated. She's just sad.

The alpha human at obedience school says to Kathy, "You need to make sure you have your dog's attention. Say your dog's name when you give a command."

"I can't," Kathy says with her hands on her hips. She turns away from her dog. "I don't know what this dog's real name is."

The other dogs and I shift around uncomfortably. How does a human forget her own dog's name?

I think the alpha human in this class is wondering the same thing. "What do you mean?" she asks.

Kathy looks down at the floor. "I don't expect you to believe me," she says softly. "The police didn't."

Police? "Why would your human call the police?" I ask the pug.

The pug sniffs the floor. She doesn't seem to want to talk about it.

"This isn't my dog," Kathy says. "She may look like Muffin from a distance, but she's not. My Muffin has a darker nose and a wider face. And she doesn't act anything like this dog." She makes it sound as if this dog is acting really bad.

Kathy goes on. "I think Muffin was switched with another dog."

"What?" Rosie, the Westie, sits up.

"I don't believe it." Shadow, the black Lab, shakes his head.

"Bad human," Ike, the boxer, says. "Why would she make up such a story?"

I sniff Kathy's feet. "I don't know," I tell the other dogs. "Sniff the human. She might be telling the truth." Most dogs can tell when humans are lying and when they're telling the truth.

The other dogs' noses twitch.

"I can't tell," says Rosie. "She could be telling the truth. She could also be lying."

The pug speaks up at last. "She's telling the truth. Her dog Muffin and I left the dog park with the wrong humans."

The Real Mystery

The pug's name is Jazzy.

"What happened, Jazzy?" Ike asks while the humans are busy cleaning up after class. "How did you and Muffin end up with the wrong humans?"

Jazzy sits beside us. "Owen — that's my human — saw Muffin doing a bunch of tricks at the dog park," she says with a sniff. "Muffin can roll over and dance on her hind legs; she can even play...