2,000 PAPERBACKS FOR SCHOOLS, SHELTERS & HOMESCHOOL GROUPS · NOMINATE ONE

The Dogs

These are all real dogs. Some kept their names, some got new ones. Here's the photograph next to what the illustrator did with it.

  • A small cream-colored shaggy dog resting her head on a teal upholstered chair, tongue just peeking out.Cartoon illustration of a small white dog wearing a jeweled tiara and a pink collar with a heart-shaped tag, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

    Phoebe

    Not part of the squad. She’s management.

    Cream and curly, born on Valentine’s Day 2012, the oldest of the four, and not impressed. Phoebe doesn’t solve cases. She runs the operation when she’s not sleeping. She observes from her preferred elevated position, says almost nothing, and delivers the occasional verdict. She has had ACL surgery on both back legs and still runs the show.

    Fun fact: Phoebe declined to provide a fun fact.

  • A white dog with tan ears sitting upright on a glass coffee table, wearing a collar with a blue bone tag, while a second dog lounges behind him.Cartoon illustration of a white-and-tan dog sitting with a bunch of white clovers in his mouth, wearing a green bone-shaped tag.

    Sully

    Always presents the evidence.

    Cream-colored, confident, and first to the scene. Sully gathers the clues, walks everyone through the case, and announces the answer with complete certainty. Even when he’s missed something. He loves long walks and hates being called Sullivan.

    Fun fact: Born July 27, 2018. Half-brother to Dash, same dad, five weeks apart.

  • A fluffy black dog with a white chest sitting on a cream blanket, licking his nose, wearing a red collar.Cartoon illustration of a black fluffy dog with a white chest, wearing a crumpled tinfoil hat and a red collar with a bone-shaped tag.

    Taz (Baz)

    First, with the wild guess.

    Black, fluffy, tongue perpetually out. Taz throws out every idea. Including the impossible ones. He’s wrong most of the time, except when he isn’t, and when he’s right, nobody can believe it. Full energy, full heart, zero filter.

    Fun fact: Born July 27, 2016. Shares a birthday with Sully, two years apart. Taz had it first.

  • A grey-and-white dog resting on a teal sofa between patterned cushions, wearing a blue collar with a bone-shaped tag.Cartoon illustration of a white dog with dark ears dressed as a detective — deerstalker hat, dark cape, and a magnifying glass.

    Dash

    Quietly puts it all together.

    Black and white, blue-collar, the calm one when the squad gets loud. Dash listens to every wild guess, sorts through the evidence, and finds the answer most days, though Sully usually announces it. Patient, observant.

    Fun fact: As small as he is, he is able to jump from the floor to the stool and then cruise the island.