The next day, Pudding woke up fresh and ready to tackle the day with Otis. He put on his best scarf he saved from his first home in Boston. He was looking forward to seeing some of the sights of the local city and getting away from the hay. His allergies flared up most of the day. Bones was tired of hearing him sniffling during that night.
“Well, Pudding…I have a whole day planned for us and it includes scoping out a few places searching for a lost kitten, “Otis said, as she trotted along the path to the main road.
Pudding trailed behind her. She was faster than him but he was determined to see this through.
“A lost kitten?” Pudding asked. “How did that happen?”
Otis turned on to the street and a stream of cars and trucks flew past them. The wind the automobiles left in their wake was seriously messing up Pudding’s mane.
“Ahhhh choo,” Pudding sneezed.
“Salute,” Otis said. “It looks like you are allergic to more than just hay.”
“Yeah, I guess,” he said. He hadn’t left the barn since he was rescued at the pet hospital and taken to the compound of the Outclaws. “I don’t remember having this many problems in Rhode Island.”
Otis nodded as she started to pick up speed, “We need to make good time and find this kitten before I can show you my home. The kitten was lost when a bunch of the litter got out, the mom Chantel, hurriedly scooped up the others, but this one, little Bernard, got out.”
“Oh, well, if Little Bernard is too far, we may need to stop for lunch. I’m famished,” Pudding said, licking his paw.
“Keep walking, buddy. We just ate breakfast and I definitely want to be finished finding Bernard before we eat.”
About an hour later, Otis and Pudding were patrolling the search area near the mother cat’s hiding spot in a garden shed. She was wild and so were her cats. Two hours later and they had nothing.
Otis interviewed the mother one more time, “Are you sure Bernard hasn’t been seen by any other animals since last evening?”
The mom shook her head “I don’t think so, but I only know the local cats. I really don’t talk to the dogs.”
Otis said, “Is there a possibility Bernard would keep going further than your street?”
She looked worried and the mother confronted how much she didn’t actually know about Bernard’s whereabouts. The other kittens mewed behind her. Sad that she was sad and missing their brother.
Otis and Pudding started walking up the different streets surrounding the site of the missing kitten. It wasn’t that long ago that Winston, the neighborhood’s fixer and poodle had gone missing in a horrible dog knapping.
“I’m hungry! I can’t go even one more step without eating something,” Pudding said, stamping his paw done in protest.
“You need to shut it, Pudding!” Otis said. “This is serious. We’ll eat soon enough but Bernard is probably starving and scared out there on his own.”
Then Otis had an idea. The last time Winston was missing, Kenny and Larry, the canine detectives helped find him and brought him home. The noses of those two were something else.
“Listen Pudding, we’re going into the backyard of two dogs on Skylark Lane. These two buddies are the best there is…I don’t want to hear any of your complaints. You’ll eat faster once we find Bernard.”
Pudding was wide-eyed and looked at something in the distance. He wanted to tell Otis that he couldn’t possibly interact with a dog. And then he heard his stomach rumble, low and deep. This big baby had to eat.
“Sure, whatever it takes!” he said.
Otis had Pudding wait in the front yard while she snuck around the back fence. No use in starting a riot.
She approached the wire fence and observed the two dogs lounging in the morning sun.
“Hey, sleeping beauties! Is this a good time?” Otis asked.
Kenny looked up and smile. “Anything for an old friend!” He jumped up and ran right over to the fence, happy to see Otis.
Larry stayed laying down. He was feeling under-the-weather and wasn’t his usual rambunctious self.
“Hey Kenny! Tell Otis who we found yesterday!” he said, laying his head on the grass.
“Of course! Hey, Otis! We found a little baby cat named Bernie. We gave him some food and water and put him in the pool house at your house. He was scared and hungry. We figured you knew what to do with him. He really misses his mommy.”
Otis jumped into the yard. “Seriously! I could almost kiss you, Kenny,” she said, grinning from ear to ear. “I was just coming to ask you about the missing kitten.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Kenny said. “By the way, we gave Bernie an old blanket. He was whimpering the whole night. I kept telling him through the fence that he was ok and you would be by soon to help him.”
Otis jumped on to the fence that led into her own backyard. She pushed open the pool house door. And there was Bernie. Cute as a button.
The day was saved and Pudding made it just in time for lunch.
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