CHAPTER ONE FURRY FRIENDS

    Do you have a pet at home? Maybe you have a cat, or two, or even three.

  Or maybe you have a more unusual pet. I’ve heard of people who own fuzzy spiders, scaley lizards, and squeaky mice. Not to mention snakes that are longer than your desk!

  Whoa!

  Me? I’ve never had a furry friend at home.

    Well, there is a ghost named Zax living in my house. But he’s more like a brother than a pet.

  If you ask me, living with a ghost in your house is pretty easy, especially compared to some pets you can have.

  Just imagine living with parrots that can talk. They might fly around and make a big mess in your house… then blame it all on you!

    And forget tortoises. They can live for, like, one hundred years. And you know what that means? They’ll never forget that one time you peed your pants in the living room.

  No, thank you!

    If I had a real pet, I would want a normal, boring pet. Like a cat or a goldfish. Or a dog!

  Well, most dogs.

    You see that group of animals racing down the sidewalk? They’re a pretty unusual group of animals, don’t you agree?

    Now, do you see the two kids who the animals are chasing after?

  The kid who looks like he’s going for a calm morning jog is my best friend, Desmond Cole.

  And the other one who looks less than thrilled to be there? Yeah, that’s me, Andres Miedoso.

  Now, let’s zoom out a little more. And then you’ll find out who started this madcap chase in the first place.

  It was all thanks to one, um, special dog named Bubbles.

    I know what you’re wondering. How could one dog cause all this mayhem?

  Well, in order to tell this creepy tail, I’d better go back and start at the very beginning.