He decided to get her a Pomeranian puppy but tragically the dog died within days of the young couple welcoming him into their home, with Molly- Mae tearfully revealing that the dog, who they called Mr Chai - passed away due to his skull not being fully developed. I think that’s because Molly was such a huge part of our family and our dogs are a real part of our family life,” explained Ciara. Cats who get outside are horrible to try to find, especially if they are in a environment that they aren't familiar with. They don't generally come to their humans even if they are close by. They try their best to stay hidden even when it isn't the best thing for them. To each their own, these are real people who have every right to happiness in their relationship, etc. but I don't want to read about this particular relationship dynamic, especially when it involves someone being a jerk to a precious dog. Doubly so, this annoys me when excuse after excuse is made and praise heaped upon Sarah for ultimately accepting Molly. Wow, congrats, she reached the baseline of not being mean to an innocent dog anymore. Someone give her a cookie! 🙄 Every mention of Sarah just dragged the book down for me, perhaps because she made such a sour first impression that I just couldn't care less about the 'progress' she made. Nor could I understand why Butcher would put up with her nonsense when they were clearly very differently aligned on the dog lover vs. dog hater spectrum.

Colin was in the active in Royal Navy, then became a police detective, and then, with the love of animals, created a UK Pet Detective Agency. This book details how Colin and Molly came to be, the training they endured together, and all of the lives they touched. Together, they help find lost cats by scent and return them to their grateful owners. I can only imagine how impactful Colin and Molly truly were to all of the people they helped. The fact that Molly was a rescue dog who turned out to become a successful Pet Detective makes this book even sweeter than it already is. Rescuing dogs is so important for our lives and the pets! After years in England’s Royal Navy and then the Surrey Police, Colin Butcher found himself working for himself as a private detective and finally able to try out an idea he had a long time ago—to set up a detective agency for lost and stolen pets. And after a great deal of time and research, the UKPD was born. Molly had been with us for just a few weeks and had finally started to find her confidence. She got very close to my mum Barbara who is a major dog lover, and at 90, knows all there is to know about nurturing little souls like Molly, who had started to take food treats from Mum's hand. At one point, Butcher describes a time when Molly was injured by wildlife while searching the woods per a client's request. The client merely asked and he agreed even though he knew Molly was overworked at the time. Later, he recalls the situation with wording which implies the client did something wrong by making a request which Colin had every chance to refuse yet chose to accept. He refers to the lesson he learned from this as one to "not cave to clients' demands" as if she'd been demanding. I can't help but cringe a bit on the inside reading such a thing, hoping that this client never reads the book and sees the indirect blame placed on her for a terrible situation where Molly was harmed. It also felt a bit like a cop-out, since the 'lesson' worded in such a way follows a lengthy and harrowing expanse about how he felt guilty and blamed himself for not taking better care of Molly. Which one is it? Did he learn from his guilt to watch out for Molly no matter what, or did he offset that guilt onto the client who, not being a trained dog handler, had no means of knowing Molly's limits or the amount of danger she could be in when requesting the search? The leadup would suggest the former, but the verbiage would suggest the latter. I also couldn't stand Sarah, Colin's girlfriend. She is described as basically loathing Molly even before the poor dog's brought into the home. She's standoffish, jealous, and at times mean to Molly. It's bad enough that Colin takes time to praise the moment when Sarah starts referring to Molly by name instead of "it." (Yeah, seriously, that's a thing. An extremely mentally exhausting thing.) Then there's the time she grumbles in annoyance about Colin being a grown man who cares about missing cats... Frankly, the relationship - based on bits and pieces shown in the book - seems toxic, and is not the kind of thing I want to read about in a feel-good story about a doggo detective.

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This is so much more than an adorable novel, it's about Molly's importance in the author's life and the bond each pet and owner share. If you have a pet of your own or just love animals, this book will warm your heart!

Molly the Bichon Frise was rescued by Cavaliers in Needs in August this year and was fostered by Emma Nelson and her mum Barbara from Co Antrim. With dog thefts, Ciara said “it’s unfortunate that many people just don't learn about what's going on until they become a victim of it”. Because this is a true story, not every case has a “happily ever after” resolution but as of this printing, 74 missing cats, 6 dogs, and one Hermann’s Tortoise have been located...and Molly and Colin are still on the prowl...The book describes many happy recoveries of missing pets and also the heartbreaking disappointments.it is clear that Colin shows a great deal of empathy for the distraught owners and their missing pets. The book is well-written and engaging. He describes some of their cases, the people they encounter, and the English countryside. By mid-December 2018, Colin and Molly had recovered 74 missing cats, 6 dogs and a tortoise. He intends to write further books about his adventures with Molly. I found myself feeling sympathetic for someone who hadn't even been harmed in the situation, rather than focusing my concern on Molly, in that moment. I'm not a fan of that! It’s likely that she ended up as another family’s pet, or even an older person or someone that doesn't have social media. Which is why the documentary is so vital to us.” In 2005, Colin formed the United Kingdom Pet Detective Agency (UKPD), and in 2016, Molly joined the team as his partner, and together they solve crimes. Yes, you read that correctly. I think that that's why people have become so attached. We’ve really given a piece of Molly's life to everyone through this.”

She should be 11 this year and spayed, so she's not really going to be sold for the purpose of breeding at this stage,” said Ciara. I am so excited to find another book worthy of going in my dogs-favorite-books shelf. This will be the sixty-first one I have added to that category out of the 493 dog books I have read so far. Molly is a great book whether you are a cat or a dog fan. Some books only have one big climax where the animal is reunited with its owners. Here there are multiple peaks to enjoy crossing over.She had just started to find her feet in our home, a loving, caring home where she was adored, where she had company and care, food and peace, where she could have had another 10 wonderful years of learning that life can be good and that not every human she comes across is a bad person.” In 2014 Colin wrote his first book ‘The Owner’s Handbook on Preventing Dog Theft’ and in 2016 his work was spotted by a commissioning editor working for Little Brown Books. Six months later extracts from Colin's second book MOLLY & ME took the London Book Fair by storm resulting in 13 publishing contracts with 11 translations. Thank you so much to Celadon Books and Colin Butcher for allowing me the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book. People don't really do their research if they're desperate for a dog, that's all that really matters to them - and it's just a haven for illegitimate breeding and sales.”

A cash reward is being offered to anyone who provides information on Molly’s whereabouts, or better yet, brings her home. He originated the idea of having a companion dog trained to trail lost cats by each cat's individual scent signature. In his search for a trainer, he received many refusals and ridicule. He was told the idea was an impossibility which would never work. He persisted in his goal until finally the centre for Medical Detection Dogs agreed to take on the training. Their usual work is to prepare dogs to detect changes in the health of people with medical conditions or to sniff out certain diseases. Molly was rescued from a puppy farm before finding a loving home - but now she is lost (Image: Emma Nelson) This book shows the process of training a dog to search for cats. She has to be energetic but not too scary. She has to find the cats but not spook them and make them run farther. It is a delicate balance.But the journey she had to travel to build trust and confidence was going to be a very long one and I decided that there was no way I was going to put her through another home after ours.