Hi it’s Charlie writing to say pet detective school was great! And HermIone will write you all about it, but I got better news! Wait til you hear!! Member? last note I said we are workin morning noon and night to get in shape so we can find lost dogs. HOOORRAAAYY WE FOUND SOMeONE, and she was sooooo beeeuuuttiiiful. Casey,a hound!! AAArrrOOOOoooooo. I am so happy. Here is what happened, all the fax. I was on my couch, Saturday evening, thinking of songs, poems, dances to do, etcetera. As ususal. That’s when my Maeveen came bustin trough the Front door and said ChaRlie we goT a Case! I popped up. Where? Where? Soon enuf we were runnin down the street. We got to a house and it was perfect. The important evidence was gathered. Caseys dad said she ran away to protest her diet, and Caseys mom brought out her bed. AAArrrOOOOoooo. I got to smell a new bed and my Maeveen said FIND IT!, just like at home when we practice. But it wasn’t practice. I went lookin but then I got scared because I had to go in a wash. Like a wild jungle (see foto). We went slashing trough. “Habitat modification” my Maeveen said, every time she squashed on something or broke off a plant so I could go through. “But it can’t be helped.” She was talkin the whole time to encourage me and keep the snakes away! We walked and walked and walked, looking for Casey and I thought she sure would be skritched up and scratched up when we found her, all these tangles of plants. Then we come up on a street and my Maeveen said “where are we?”, kind of dazed. But my nose took us right from the wash and left onto street we never travled, and then we were runnin again, full steam. It was exciting. Maeveen asked a man did he see a beagle. “No.” He had not but I kept going and going, running and then we came upon a driveway I wanted to go up it but my Maeveen wasn’t sure so she asked some passing peoples, “did you see a beagle” and they said “YES,” up that driveway with the orange paperbox, so we ran up there. I took my Maeveen around the garage and up to front poarch and there she was, sooooo beeeuuuttiiiful, my Casey! She was hidin and scared, not making a peep. Maeveen said Casey?, held out a treat. Casey came a little bit to us and I could not help it, she was so beautiful, I ran up to her. That made everybody scramble around, but then Maeveen grabbed her, picked her right up, and said, Your ok, I gotcha. Then Casey felt better. She melted like a noodle in my Maeveens arms. We started out of there but soon enuf Maeveen got a new idea, not to carry Casey back but to let her share my leash, so she hooked it through Casey’s collar and we walked along looking like a stair step: Maeveen, next to me, next to Casey. I kissed Casey on top of her head the whole way. When we got on some nearby streets Casey strarted stepping faster and she seemed happier. And when we got on her street she stepped even faster. And when we got right near her house she was singing, singing or crying because she knew where she was. Lucky for us right in her driveway the garage door was opening and there was Caseys mom, looking surprised. She sayed: You found my dog, but Maeveen waved over to me, and then Caseys mom sayed it to me: you found my dog. And she pulled my ears. I was so happy. We were all saying thank you, thank you, and soon enuf, we went runnin off. Our first case. My Maeveen whistled and told me, that was cool Charlie. I feel proud to know you. I liked that. Then she told me that if I keep it up, people will wonder, when I drop off lost dogs and fly away, they’ll just wonder and say to one another – who was that floppy eared boy?? I felt so happy about the adventure that I ran home and told Hermione all about it. Since then I got to go back and meet Casey because her mom gave me a great reward, on top of my happy heart! So here are some fotos and I hope you like them: Casey doin the glad to be home dance, and me, checking out my reward. Oh, and I pasted in what Caseys mom said on her website, too (below). What do you think of that?? Love from Charlie I’ve loved living in Shadow Hills in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson from the day we moved in when some of our new neighbors came over to introduce themselves and brought us some home made chocolate chip cookies. In the 13 years we’ve lived here, I’ve come to know most of the people who live on our street and many others throughout the 500 home subdivision. The many people who walk, run and bike through the winding streets never fail to greet one another. The neighborhood is a pleasant mixture of families and retired folks. All of the homes look different from one another and are on approximately an acre of land which by deed restriction must maintain natural desert landscaping in all visible areas. On Saturday night I met a new neighbor to whom I will be eternally grateful. My husband and I had invited some friends for dinner. When they arrived, one of our two dogs, a Beagle, ran outside to greet them and then made a run for it into the desert. Before we knew it she was nowhere to be found. We searched for her by car and on foot asking everyone we saw along the way to keep an eye out for her. While driving around, one person we spoke with said she was about to take her dog out for a walk and would help look. I told her where we lived and a short while later she and her dog Charlie (a Bloodhound!) came to our home asking if we had something with our Beagle’s scent on it. I brought out the dog’s bed, Charlie took a whiff of it, and they were off. We gave up looking after about an hour because it was almost dark. I decided to print up flyers to put around the neighborhood with the hope that someone would find her. Although she had on a collar and was microchipped, she lost her tag recently and I had not yet replaced it so whoever found her wouldn’t know where she belonged. My husband also put up a notice on our neighborhood list serve. My biggest concern was how she would fare with the wildlife in the area. Several neighbors have had incidents in the last couple of months where their small dogs (one a Beagle) had been attacked by bob cats coming over their backyard walls. We also have frequent sightings of coyotes and javelinas (wild pigs) who have been known to attack domestic pets. Needless to say, I was very concerned for her safety. As I was getting into my car with the “Lost Dog” posters, I looked up and there was Charlie, and my new favorite neighbor, with our lost Beagle. They found her lying on someone’s porch, many streets away. The most amazing part of this great neighbor tale (tail?) is that Charlie’s handler was headed for Fresno the next day for a week-long class so that Charlie could be trained to be a pet finder! As I thanked them profusely, my wonderful neighbor kept thanking me for the opportunity to help. I know Charlie has a great future ahead of him. He’s obviously a natural. Thank you again dear Charlie and friend. You’re truly great neighbors!