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There had been a time when all the neighborhood dogs had started using cats’ litter boxes, but luckily that folly had been short-lived. Now they did their doo-doo on the sidewalk again, as before, with their humans picking up after them. It wasn’t ideal, but it was still preferable to having to share a litter box with every deserving canine.

“So let’s do this,” Rufus muttered, and began to sniff around to his heart’s content.

“I swear, if he so much as lifts his hind leg and pees…” Brutus said under his breath.

“Oh, don’t be such a grinch, Brutus,” said Harriet. “Rufus is helping us out, so you should be nice to him.”

“Grmbl,” was Brutus’s response.

“So weird,” said Rufus after having sniffed his way all around the backyard and returning to where Brutus and Harriet sat near the fence.

“What is?” she asked.

“Well, I’m picking up the same scent that I’ve been picking up in my own backyard the last couple of days. And I’ve been wondering where it comes from. I don’t recognize it as belonging to either Ted or Marcie or any of their friends. So it must be a stranger.”

“You mean someone’s been in your backyard, too?” asked Brutus, momentarily forgetting his antipathy at this startling revelation.

“Yeah, two distinct scents belonging to two distinct individuals. I picked them up for the first time about a week ago, and now again here.”

“These must be the thieves,” said Harriet slowly. “They must have passed through the Trappers’ backyard before jumping the fence and coming here to steal the gnomes.”

“But why?” asked Rufus. “They could easily have come in through the field.”

They all stared at the field in question, which was located behind both their backyards and Odelia’s, too. It was a piece of land covered in brambles and overgrown weeds and nettles, and provided the perfect access and egress into all of their backyards.

“Nothing was stolen from your place?” asked Brutus, taking the case in paw.

“Nothing as far as I know,” said Rufus.

“Weird,” said Harriet. “Very weird.”

“Say, listen,” said Brutus, clearing his throat. “Um… you’ve got a pretty solid sense of smell on you, right?”

“I can’t complain,” said Rufus with a smile.

“Well, um… well, see, the thing is, Gran and her friend are launching a neighborhood watch. And so I was wondering…” He coughed nervously. “See, the thing is… we could use someone like you on our team.”

Harriet smiled. It surprised her that her dog-hating mate would suddenly display such a change of heart, but it most definitely pleased her.“Great idea, snuggle bug,” she said. “Brutus is right, Rufus,” she added. “We could use a dog like you on our team.”

“Neighborhood watch, eh?” said Rufus, giving this some thought. “Well, why not,” he said finally. “I’ve always wanted to be a cop dog, and this is probably as close as I’ll get.”

Brutus grinned, and so did Harriet. This was great news. Cats and dogs, fighting crime together as a team. Which reminded her of another idea that had hit her shortly after Max and Dooley had set out for their morning stroll.

“Say, Rufus, there’s something else I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Shoot,” said the amiable dog.

“The thing is, you know that Odelia has mice, right?”

“Yeah, you guys told me about that.”

“Well, they’re making an awful mess of the house, and Odelia is fed up and frankly so are we. So I was wondering… Could you drop by one of these days and have a word with them? They don’t seem to respect cats, but maybe they do dogs. Especially as you’re so big and strong and all?”

Rufus grew a few inches as she spoke, and she could have sworn he was blushing.“No, of course,” he said. “If you think it’ll make a difference I’d be more than happy to help.”

“Great,” she said, well pleased. “That’s settled then.”

After Rufus had returned to his own backyard, Brutus turned to her and said, a slight hint of suspicion in his voice,“Why did you ask Rufus to take care of the mice? I thought Odelia had asked Max to deal with them?”

“It’s obvious Max can’t cope, wuggle bear,” she said. “And neither can Dooley. So I thought maybe we should lend them a helping paw. After all, that’s our house, too.”

Brutus didn’t seem to agree. “I still think asking a dog to do a cat’s job is simply wrong. Besides, we’re going to owe him big time. And I hate to be indebted to a dog.”

“Oh, don’t be such a prig, Brutus,” said Harriet. “Dogs are God’s creatures, too, you know. And Rufus is a nice dog, as dogs go.”

“He is nice,” Brutus agreed, then gave her a curious look. “Maybe a little too nice.”

She stared at her mate, then broke into an incredulous bark of laughter.“Brutus, you’re not jealous, are you?”

“Of course not,” he said gruffly, staring at the ground.

“You are! I don’t believe this. Jealous of a dog!”

Brutus shrugged.“So what if I’m jealous? Clearly that dog likes you.”