Of Birds and Beagles — Leslie O'Kane

Dog therapist Allie Babcock is excited to give a presentation at the Pets! Pets! Pets! Expo in Denver. With the bring-your-own-pets policy of the expo, Allie's dog-phobic boyfriend is hyperventilating as soon as they enter the building. When he runs into his gorgeous-but-crazy ex-girlfriend and her parrot, Magoo, sparks are flying in all the wrong directions. Before Allie can take the stage, Magoo nips the ear of an adorable dog--Beagle Bailey--who belongs to Allie's friend Tracy, a local radio-talk-show celebrity. Havoc reigns, and Tracy drags the dog-friendly community of Boulder into the fray by broadcasting her version of the bird-versus-beagle altercation. One thing leads to another until Allie is enmeshed in two love triangles, as well as one hate triangle. With her own love life in dire straits, Allie takes solace in playing cupid for her mother and Frank, a charming neighborhood volunteer fix-it man. Little does she know that Frank's work repairing the wires in an elderly client's home that squirrels have gnawed through will lead Allie to find a dead body...and Frank to be named as a suspect. Full of humor and poignancy as well as dog-behavior tips, only one thing is certain: OF BIRDS AND BEAGLE is sure to delight its readers.