Hey fam,

Just a quick tail-wag from Sampson here. Pawsburgh nightlife’s wilder than a cat-chase—ended up playing hero with Ollie and saved the day from a beefy eclair caper. Psst, don’t tell Daddy, but our midnight mischief might just put us on the Terrier Town Times front page. Keeping the streets safe, one meat pastry at a time. 😎🐾

Catch you at the next howl,

Sampson

It was one of those Pawsburgh nights, the skies as black as a cat’s conscience, hanging low over Terrier Town as I nosed my way down the cobbles. Daddy was out at a dinner, the scent of his aftershave lingering like a taunt. Well, who could blame me for seeking a with-friends-romp at the Emerald Eskimo Estuary?

“You’re a sly one, Sampson,” teased Ollie, sounding like tugboat smoke as we met at the corner of Pearl Papillon Promenade. He readjusted his stubby legs, all the while shaking his curly tail. If brains were dynamite, he wouldn’t have enough to blow his nose, but loyalty? He had in spades.

I’m not one to discuss my feelings, far from it, but this planned escapade felt different; it was as if the Terrier Town Times would headline with our faces by sunrise. “We’re not here for the usual shenanigans, are we?” I whispered.

“Sharp as a piccolo, Sammy,” Ollie grunted with a grin only a mother could forgive. “We’re gonna intercept a shipment at Paw-tisserie. Word on the street is that a new beef-flavored eclair is all the rage among Pawsburgh’s elite.”

I frowned at the thought of anything beefy entering my diet. “Ollie, you know I’m a discerning canine. I prefer my savory pizza crusts over meaty pastries.”

Ollie’s laughter scratched the night, “And yet, your heart races for adventure more than a scrumptious meal.”

Oh, he knew me alright. Together, we skittered through the shadows, the buzz of nefarious plans electrifying our fur. We reached Paw-tisserie, its windows foggy from the heat of ovens baking indulgences no dog could resist. We stationed ourselves by the alley, where the chefs tossed scraps for the less fortunate.

“Don’t let the cloak and dagger stuff go to your head, Sampson,” I reminded myself. ‘But do keep your eyes peeled for that shipment.’

We waited. The moon’s round face sneered down at us, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it, too, knew of the canine folly unfolding beneath. The clock tower chimed midnight, and there it was—the shipment, smuggled inside faux fire hydrants.

Right out of a black-and-white pictograph, two Chihuahuas in trench coats maneuvered the hydrants towards the Happy Hounds dog walkers’ next rendezvous. Ollie and I were on it quicker than a squirrel on espresso.

“Alright, you mongrels – freeze!” My bark was the law, although it sounded more like a plea to my sensitive ears. A growl escaped Ollie’s throat, an impressive sound for a dog his size.

The Chihuahuas, ears flat against their skulls, dropped the hydrants with a clatter and yipped their surrender. Clearly, these two hadn’t mastered the art of crime any better than I had mastered indifference to mischief.

Hoisting the hydrants onto my broad back, I looked down at Ollie with a smirk, “Guess it’s true what they say – the bigger they are, the harder they scheme.”

Ollie snorted with his usual tact. “Let’s get this meat-packed monstrosity to where it belongs – Paw-lickin’ Pancakes. The only establishment that knows how to handle a recipe gone rogue.”

So, we diverted the ill-gotten pastries to the one place where they would cause the least harm and perhaps add a savory note to the menu. My tail wagged despite my best efforts—crime fighting, albeit by accident, was hungry work.

I couldn’t help but wonder what Daddy would say if he knew of my little night excursion. Of course, I’d never tell. A dog’s got to have some secrets, after all.

As dawn cracked its whip over Pawsburgh, I caught Ollie’s conspiratorial glance. Brothers in crime, soon to be brothers for life. 2024 was shaping up to be a year of unity and, undoubtedly, delicious complications. Meanwhile, Pawsburgh slumbered, clueless of its four-legged vigilantes, Sampson and Ollie, shapers of the unseen canine cosmos.

The End.