Dog on It

The novel is narrated entirely by Chet, a dog who works alongside Bernie Little, a private investigator and founder of the Little Detective Agency in a sprawling desert Valley. Chet attended K-9 school but never graduated, which is how he ended up with Bernie. The agency struggles financially due to Bernie's divorce from Leda, with whom he shares a young son named Charlie, compounded by alimony, child support, and a failed business investment.

Late one night, Cynthia Chambliss arrives at their home on Mesquite Road seeking help. Her fifteen-year-old daughter, Madison, has not come home from school. Bernie is reluctant, noting that police will not open a missing-persons file for a full day, but Cynthia offers five hundred dollars and insists something is wrong. Bernie visits Madison's bedroom, where Chet discovers marijuana, and collects a pillowcase for scent identification. As they leave, Madison walks up and claims she went to see Dr. Zhivago at the North Canyon Mall. Bernie tests her story by mentioning a fabricated tennis-court scene; when Madison agrees it was "cool," he confirms she is lying.

The next morning, Suzie Sanchez, a reporter for the Valley Tribune, arrives to write a feature on Bernie. Soon after, Cynthia calls again: Madison has been missing for over a day. Bernie takes the case seriously and urges Cynthia to compile contact lists, including information about her ex-husband, Damon Keefer, Madison's father and a real estate developer. Bernie traces Madison's movements and learns she was in the mall ticket line but left with a young male. He tracks down Tim Fletcher, a senior at Madison's school, who admits Madison visited drug dealer Ruben Ramirez. Ruben made unwanted advances, so Madison left on foot and called Tim for a ride home.

Meanwhile, while Chet waits at the mall, a large blond man attacks him, slashing the Porsche's tires with a knife and striking Chet before fleeing. The knife falls through a storm grate. This attacker is later identified as Boris, one of Gulagov's henchmen. Bernie and Chet confront Ruben, who admits a blond man in a blue BMW tried to stop Madison outside his house, though she ran past. Ruben's alibi for Madison's actual disappearance checks out. Bernie theorizes someone attempted to snatch Madison twice, succeeding the second time.

During a backyard camping trip with Charlie, Chet hears a distant bark and leaps over the fence. He spots Boris in a parked car and attacks, but Harold, the driver, Tases him, and they throw him in the trunk. Chet detects Madison's scent, confirming she was transported in the same vehicle. He is taken to a remote desert ranch near an abandoned mine. Mr. Gulagov, a short, powerful Russian crime boss, renames Chet "Stalin" and tries to break his will with a choke chain and water deprivation, intending to use him as a fighting dog. Madison appears briefly in a barn window, guarded by a woman named Olga, and shouts at the men not to hurt Chet. The distraction allows Chet to bolt into the mine. He hides overnight, digs through the wall, survives a mountain lion attack, and crosses the desert. He stumbles into a biker campsite, and the bikers drop him at an animal shelter in Sierra Verde. When his three-day grace period expires, Chet is taken to the euthanasia room, but Suzie, researching a story on shelters, recognizes him and stops the procedure at the last moment.

Suzie drives Chet home to a joyful reunion with Bernie, who has posted reward signs. Chet barks and runs to the door, trying to communicate what he knows, but he cannot find a scent trail to the ranch. Bernie resumes investigating. He visits Keefer's development, Pinnacle Peak Homes at Puma Wells, where he meets Elena Larapova, a Russian VP of marketing. Bernie questions Keefer, who deflects by suggesting Cynthia's boyfriend, Simon Berg, may be inappropriate around Madison. Bernie visits Simon, who runs an organic dog treat company, and quickly clears him.

The knife from the storm grate is retrieved and identified by a weapons expert as Russian-made. When Bernie returns to Pinnacle Peak, Ms. Larapova has vanished. Chet picks up Mr. Gulagov's scent in the parking lot, connecting Gulagov to Keefer's business. Bernie and Suzie visit Keefer's irrigation supplier, who reveals Keefer has not paid his bills in weeks, contradicting Keefer's claims.

Madison is photographed outside the Golden Palm Movie Palace in North Las Vegas. Bernie interviews the projectionist, Anatoly Bulganin, a Russian-American who claims he snapped the photo by chance. Chet reacts to Anatoly's borscht because the beet smell reminds him of Mr. Gulagov, but Bernie does not understand the connection. Bernie suspects the sighting was staged. Cynthia and Keefer fire Bernie, calling Madison a runaway, but Bernie turns down a lucrative security job to stay on the case without pay.

Determined to retrace Chet's journey, Bernie and Chet return to Sierra Verde. After confronting bikers and conducting an all-night desert search, they fail to locate the ranch. At daybreak, Bernie spots Anatoly and gives chase up a mountain road. The Porsche's engine explodes and the car launches off a cliff. Bernie hangs from the edge by one hand until Chet, lying on his belly, catches Bernie's belt in his teeth and hauls him to safety. Before the crash, Bernie memorizes Anatoly's license plate.

Bernie pawns his grandfather's watch and discovers Keefer's development is buried under liens. He also learns that a house across the street from his own was rented by a blond man using a stolen identity, linking Russian operatives to the case. Cynthia plays a recorded call from Madison, who says she is fine and wants a dog with mismatched ears. Bernie realizes the reference to mismatched ears signals that Madison has seen Chet, confirming she is held where Chet was captive. He discovers the Golden Palm is owned by a Russian entity called the Rasputin Environmental Investments Group. Through underground contacts, he learns Gulagov is an illegal moneylender. He confronts Keefer, who admits only to receiving an anonymous call about Bernie's supposed death in the car crash, information only the kidnappers would possess.

While Chet is at the groomer, Gulagov's men abduct Bernie, stealing his whiteboard and computer components. Suzie arrives after hearing Chet barking on the phone and finds a broken whiteboard fragment bearing "Rasputin," "Ghost Mine," and "S.V." She deduces S.V. stands for Sierra Verde and drives through the night with Chet.

In Sierra Verde, Chet spots Boris driving a pickup, leaps undetected into the truck bed, and rides to the ranch. Inside the mine, he finds Bernie bound to a support beam and chained, bruised but alive. Chet gnaws through the ropes. When Harold and Olga arrive, a struggle breaks out, and Chet retrieves Harold's gun for Bernie. Harold confesses that Keefer owed Gulagov close to a million dollars and Madison was taken as a hostage to force repayment. Boris arrives and Bernie wounds him in a firefight. Mr. Gulagov emerges holding Madison at razorpoint. Bernie drops his weapons. On Bernie's whispered command, Chet leaps over Madison and tackles Gulagov, losing the tip of an ear to the razor. Bernie disarms Gulagov as police and Suzie arrive.

In the aftermath, Gulagov's gang is arrested and Keefer is charged with conspiracy. Simon Berg sends a generous check, allowing Bernie to buy a replacement Porsche and retrieve his grandfather's watch. Suzie begins spending regular time with Bernie and Chet. One night during a backyard camping trip with Charlie, Chet lies by the dying fire and hears the mysterious she-bark closer than ever. He leaps over the back fence and soars into the night.