“Hey Mom! Crazy day – tennis balls and toys vanished, made me go all ‘Sherlock Bones’ in an improvised detective gear. Wandered all over town, got sidetracked by tomato pies at the Woofy bakery. The mystery? All toys were snagged for a tug-of-war game at the stadium. Ended day with a wide grin, joining the chaos. Moral: stick to bone burying, not detecting! Licks, Walter Matthau.”

Listen to the story here.

Let me tell you about a day that Walter, our resident ball-chasing, tomato-munching, citrus-phobic Beagle, will never forget. The day started as it normally does. Walter was in Lower Golden Gate Gardens. He woke up with a stretch and a yawn, his tail knocked a squirrel straight out of her morning reverie. Now, that’s what I call a wake-up call. Anyway, Walter’s morning quest was always the same – find a tennis ball to chase or a rope toy to gnaw. If none were on hand, he was known to dig into the nearby bushes to unearth some buried surprise.

However, this day was different – there were no tennis balls in sight, neither in the paws of a fellow canine, nor lodged between crevices of the mighty oak. No rope toys dangled from the tree branches, left hanging by mischievous pups. It was as if all his favorite toys had disappeared along with the sunlight beneath the eastern skyline, leaving a foreboding feeling in Walter’s bones.

Determined not to let this mystery dampen his spirits, Walter decided to hit Paws-A-Latte for a cup of hot steaming milk – yup, you heard correct. They serve milk to dogs. It’s a classy joint. On arrival, he was greeted by his pals, a bouncy labrador next door and a Chihuahua with a Napoleon complex. But something weighed heavily on his canine heart. He set his milk aside and announced, in that dialect only doggies understand, that he was going to be the Sherlock Bones to this mysterious case.

Our story turns comedic when Walter is seen donning a trenchcoat and a fedora, both borrowed from a Golden Retriever who thought he looked better naked. Armed with a toilet brush, his improvised detection tool, Walter began his investigation. From the vast stretches of Eastern White Westie Woods to the bustling Pup-Tastic Pizzeria, he combed through all locales, leaving no unturned stone or un-sniffed hydrant.

Along his quest, Walter managed to sneak into The Woofy Bakery, sniffing out a fresh batch of bone biscuits and tomato pies. The smell of ripe tomatoes sent his nostrils in overdrive, a momentary distraction to his noble quest. But before Walter could get kicked out or worse, end up paying for the lot, he glanced at the Pooch Playhouse across the street. The illumination dawned on him as his eyes gleamed in sudden revelation.

Turns out, the town pups were gearing up for a grand tug-of-war at the Shih Tzu Stadium, thus explaining the great toy scoop of the day. I swear, I’ve not seen that lopsided grin wider as Walter dashed to join in the fun, leaving unsolved mysteries and untouched tomato pies in my wake. The moral of our story? Stick to bone burying and ball chasing, Walter, detecting is not your strong suit. And one more thing, never get in between a Beagle and his tennis ball, it’s a sure-fire recipe for chaos.

The End.

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