Dedication To Megan and Jennifer of Peace for Pits Thanks for helping our boy find his way home to us
CHAPTER 1 I did a double-take A shaggy dog stared at me through the window I turned my snout to the left and then to the right The shaggy dog turned with me I woofed my smallest woof at the huge curly-headed dog The dog woofed back but I couldn’t hear it Behind me Mrs Tramill laughed Louis who do you think you are woofing at You’re too smart to fall for that Wait a minute Was that goofy-looking guy me I tilted my head The dog in the window followed 1
I shoved my tongue out The dog did the same That floofy-faced fellow was me Thank goodness I was standing on the grooming table at Mrs Tramill’s Poodle Grooming Salon Lisa had really let me go Sure Lisa had been really busy at work but this was ridiculous Good thing I looked adorable in my shaggy puppy cut But still This was silly I was a Helper Hound We had standards Well at least I did I was a standard poodle after all My friends Penny and Sparky King Tut and Spooky may not care much about their looks But let’s face it how they looked didn’t affect what they could do Our fancy haircuts help us standard poodles do our jobs Besides making me look handsome my smooth snout properly placed poofs and fluffy cuffs are there to keep me warm and help me float And you never know 2
when a Helper Hound is going to need to jump in some cold water Speaking of water Spritz Spritz Spritz Mrs Tramill sprayed my hair with her special poodle mix spray and combed through my fluff It has been far too long since I’ve seen you Louis she said You haven’t even heard the latest Mrs Tramill loved to talk while she trimmed my hair She’d catch me up on all the dog news She would tell me all about which dogs failed obedience classes which got a little too 3
