“I thought it would be so easy to find the car and help the police”…….BSC Mystery # 7 : Dawn and the Disappearing Dogs

Memory Reaction

I picked this book out of the library because I think it is the first one where the girls meet that lame cop who they become friends with. The one who actually takes their advice all the time in later books. I don’t have any idea what they do to gain his respect in it though.

Revisited Reaction

Dawn starts this one off by telling us how she doesn’t like animals and doesn’t get why Mary Anne and Kristy spend so much time with their pets. Then she gets a job pet-sitting for the Mancusi’s – these freaks who have no kids, but about twenty different animals – while they are out of town. One of their dogs, Cheryl, disappears while she is tied up outside. At first, everyone kind of assumes that she just got loose, but then the BSC reads that there are a lot of missing dogs in town and think there is a dog-knapper. A few days later Shannon (Kristy’s dog, not the person) disappears as well.

Dawn remembers that she saw a green car driving slowly near the Mancusi’s house, so the BSC rides around on their bikes until they see the car. Then they go to the police station with the license plate number and the cops laugh at them. It is great; they totally make fun of them. But one cop does take the plate number and says he’ll run the plate. When Dawn goes back a few days later, he laughs at her again, and tells her it belongs to some rich guy in town. The BSC still think he is involved though, because Mary Anne has seen the guy at some new pet store that she and Dawn think is “weird.”

Meanwhile, Kristy and Bart are putting together some all-star “Krashers” team to play a softball team a few towns over. Of course, the whole BSC goes. While there, Dawn just happens to see Cheryl with some woman, so she calls the cops. They show up, the woman with Cheryl says she just bought her at the new pet store. So, the cops go to the store and figure out that the pet store is stealing dogs to sell to customers. The rich guy is involved because he is losing money in the real estate market, and stealing dogs is the best way to make up for that. Somehow, Dawn gets all the credit, even though she just got lucky and happened to spot the dog. But everyone gets their dogs back and the BSC starts earning their “street cred” with the Stoneybrook PD.”

High/Lowlights

• Who did the Bashers play before Kristy started her team? We only ever hear about them playing each other. When they play this new team Bart finds, they make it an all-star combined team (hence, the “Krashers” name).

• No offense to anyone with a lot of pets, but anyone who owns over say, twenty animals is just ridiculous. Three dogs, five cats, a room full of bird cages, a snake, an iguana, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, and tropical fish? All in one house? I wonder what they are compensating for?

• How are Claud’s school clothes any different than her regular ones? “A blue minidress with white polka dots, white leggings, and earrings that looked like white polka dots.”

• I think tofu cury sounds pretty good….Mary Anne thinks it smells like the garbage disposal backed up.

• I seriously love the scene when Dawn tries to give her info to the cops. She made the BSC write “reports” of when they were looking for the green car. So when the cops laugh her off she gets all upset, and tells them she has been working hard trying to give them clues and tries to hand them the reports. The cops are just like, “yeah, we don’t need more paperwork.”

• The cop only agrees to take the plate number from Dawn to get her to shut up. Then Dawn believes him when he says he’ll let her know what he finds out.

• David Michael is upset about Shannon, so he holds Kristy’s hand, “like a much younger kid.” How much younger than seven can you get?

• Oh, this is awesome. David Michael is worried that they put their phone number wrong on the “Shannon is missing” flier, and that whoever finds her won’t be able to call. Kristy tells him that they were very careful, but David Michael picks up a flier and points out all Claud’s spelling mistakes. Ha!

• Kristy is late for a meeting because Shannon disappears, and Dawn keeps thinking about how she has to step up and start the meeting because it is her job to take over as alternate officer. But shouldn’t Claud at least get to take over for Kristy? Isn’t that what a Vice President does?

• Mary Anne goes on for over a page about how weird it is for a pet store to be closed on a Saturday, so you know it is going to be an important clue.

• Dawn freaks out because her mom went out on a Saturday….when she just knew the cops were trying to call her and tell her she had solved the case. I am sure the cops are going to be calling teenagers. Besides, wouldn’t they have answering machines?

• Yes, Kristy. As long as you are in pairs, you will absolutely be safe solving a mystery. Nothing bad could ever happen as long as you have another 13-year-old girl around to protect you.

• When they go to the softball game in the other town, there are hot dog vendors, pretzel vendors, etc. Isn’t this supposed to be on the level of a Krusher/Basher game? Where are they getting the money? All the Krusher/Bashers ever have is bake sale type stuff.

• The “Krashers” won the game. I am shocked.

• The dog theft thing is a really lame crime ring. They have a pet store as a front. Someone comes in and asks for say…a great dane and they go out and steal a great dane, then sell it for a couple hundred dollars. Using the car of the richest guy in town, no less. Then apparently that makes them so much money they can make back money for this rich guy AND keep up a shell of a store without even have to keep their store open on weekends (which you would think sends up major red flags with regular employees and customers).

• So, Dawn is more of an animal lover at the end. Lame.