It was a day like any other when we first came across the horror: in the middle of the pavement, in front of our own home no less, a dog had done its business. Of course we could have shaken our heads and left it at that, but Harriet decided enough was enough and formed the first-ever Cat Committee for the Re-Education of Dogs or CCREC. We were going to make dogs use litter, like cats have done since the dawn of time (or since the litter box was invented).

Meanwhile, Odelia had her hands full with a missing persons case. The wife of Marge's ex-boyfriend had disappeared, and her daughter begged Odelia to find her. And then there were all those werewolf sightings. Suffice it to say Odelia had plenty of material for her articles. So you might be inclined to think things were looking good for the Poole family.

Unfortunately we threw a spanner in the works when we asked Grandma Muffin to become a CCREC'er. Don't look at me like that. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Gran really took the mission to heart, and things more or less went downhill from that point onward. Uncle Alec practically lost his job, the two ex-convicts Marge had taken under her wing clearly were up to no good, and a war between cats and dogs suddenly seemed like a very real prospect.

So was there a happy ending? Do turn the page and find out in Purrfectly Dogged, my latest tale about tails and trails.