Hey Mom, it’s Cash. Wild stuff in Spencerville – my squeaky dino has lost its squeak! Bella found it in ruins at Pup-Tastic Pizza. Who could’ve done such a thing? Finger is pointed at Sassy, or worse… the Green Bean Monster. Spencerville’s shrouded in mystery, and I’m bracing to solve it. Wish me luck, Cassius Cash.

There I sat. Beautiful Spencerville. A realm where chums like Bella, the bubbly beagle, and Sassy, the most devilishly deceitful Siamese you’d ever have the displeasure of encountering, reside. It’s a town of chow and comradery, a place of paw prints and pet shopping, it’s peaceful, it’s paradise – and yet, there was the eerie sensation crawling up my brindled back.

“Cassius!” That was me. Cassius Cash, charmer of Spencerville. My ears perked at my name. The sound was coming from Pup-Tastic Pizza. “There’s something you have to see!” It was Bella. Although I fancied myself a cool customer, I scurried off toward Bella.

As I darted through Fur Tacos, and dodged incoming traffic at The Howling Husky Hardware Store, it was the smells of BBQ chicken that almost had me distracted. Almost. Remembering the urgency in Bella’s voice, I continued to Pup-Tastic Pizza.

She herself looked like she’d seen a ghost, though the notion of ghost pets was pretty hard to transform into a bone-chilling horror story. My gaze followed hers to the bulletin board where a picture of my beloved Squeaky dinosaur hung. As paw-print pinhole holes fluttered in the wind, it was clear to even me, a dog, that this was a picture of my squeaky dinosaur. My dinosaur tossed into the dark abyss, snapped in two, its squeak lost forever.

The room froze. My doggie world imploded. How did my Squeaky dinosaur end up losing its squeak? No toy in Spencerville had ever lost its squeak – this was unheard of, unnerving, unbearable.

Enchanting good looks be damned, and feeling utterly alone, I wanted to run as fast as I could to Husky Hill…yet something in me said fight, Cassius, fight. This unnatural horror should be met with a brave Boxer spirit!

Was it Sassy? A prank pulled by one of my many friends? Or was it…the Green Bean Monster! The thoughts were outrageous, grotesque, and above all, terrifying. On whim or on purpose, the horror of Spencerville had begun and me? I was quite literally in the doghouse.

It was the feeling of disquiet, of being unable to trust, not even a squeaky dinosaur that was the real horror story. A tale of terror was unfolding, and whilst I knew we’d eventually get past this, for now, Spencerville bristled with an uncanny chill. And me, Cassius Cash, stood bracing the storm, ready to fight the unearthly terror that threatened to take the squeak out of our Spencerville.

The End.