Colin Butcher - Molly: The True Story of the Amazing Dog Who Rescues Cats

At 9 a.m. on Friday, 3 February 2017, just as my assistant, Sam, had settled at her desk, booted up her computer and taken her first sip of espresso, the telephone rang. I was outside on the Bramble Hill Farm driveway, preparing to exercise Molly in the early-morning sun. My cocker spaniel had woken up in a particularly frisky moodso much so that shed knocked over my girlfriend Sarahs favorite Lladr vase in the hallwayand she needed to run off some excess energy.

UK Pet Detectives, said Sam, picking up the phone. Can we help?

I really hope so, replied a glum male voice. Our cat, Rusty, has gone missing. Weve looked everywhere, but theres no sign of her. Weve hit a brick wall, really, so we thought wed give you guys a call.

Tim was a graphic designer who lived in the Hertfordshire city of St. Albans with his physiotherapist girlfriend, Jasmine. They were saving hard for a deposit for a two-bedroomed house, but in the meantime were renting a modest first-floor apartment in a quiet cul-de-sac. The couple shared a love of cats and had gladly welcomed little Rusty into their lives, a black, white and copper rescue moggy with almond-shaped eyes and a long, fluffy tail. Since the flat was pretty crampedmany of their personal belongings were still boxed upthey often let their cat outdoors; there, shed mooch around the crescent, lazing on driveways and sitting on doorsteps, neither straying too far nor staying out late.

The previous Friday, however, Rusty had failed to turn up for her weekly treat of steamed haddockshe adored her fresh fishand her owners were totally flummoxed.

Its just so out of character, Tim told Sam. Weve spent the whole weekend searching in streets and gardensweve even printed out leaflets and postersbut shes nowhere to be found. Were at a total loss.

Im so sorry to hear that, said Sam, whobeing a cat owner herselfgenuinely felt their pain. Leave it with me. Ill have a word with my boss and Ill get back to you.

She promptly bounded over to the large sash window and yanked it up.

COLIN! she yelled, causing Molly and me to stop dead in our tracks as we strode toward the meadow. Make sure you pop in after your training session. Think I might have found Mollys first proper job

Fast-forward half an hour and I was sitting in the office discussing Rustys disappearance with Sam while a bushwhacked Molly enjoyed a snooze. I felt my pulse quicken as my colleague reiterated her conversation with Tim and outlined the missing pets circumstances. If our inaugural cat-seeking assignment was to be a success, the search conditions had to be as favorable as possible and this seemed to tick all the boxes. Firstly, Rusty came from a single-cat household, thus enabling me to obtain a decent hair sample and giving Molly the best chance of isolating the scent and matching it to the lost cat. Secondly, the puss had been missing for less than a week, which increased the likelihood of finding it alive. Also working in our favor was the fact that the weather was calm and settled, unseasonably so, in fact, for early February. Any excessive winds or any form of precipitation (rain, snow or mist, for example) would dilute the cat scent and would interfere with my dogs ultra-sensitive nose.

Luckily, as a former serviceman, I was well versed in all things meteorological and geographical. Prior to my long career in the police force Id spent over a decade in the Royal Navy, which had prompted a serious interest in weather, climate and coastal navigation. I had studied all subjects voraciously in my cabin on HMS Illustrious, expanding my scientific knowledge of air masses, frontal systems and cartography, for instance, and had become something of an expert. Little did I know then how useful this knowledge would become in the world of pet detection.

In December 2016 Molly had completed an intensive period of scent-recognition training at a Milton Keynesbased charityMedical Detection Dogsand since then she and I had staged countless practice scenarios at my Bramble Hill Farm HQ, honing our skills in preparation for our first real-life search for a missing cat. I had been quietly confident that Molly and I had attained the required level of competence, but it was only when Id sent some video footage of our training to the experts at MDD that wed finally been given the green light.

From what weve seen, we think youre both ready for your first proper search, theyd said, causing a tingle to shoot up my spine. Your interaction and teamwork are excellent and, as far as were concerned, youre good to go.

Now, following Sams phone conversation, I finally faced the prospect of solving a live search with Molly by my side. I felt a mixture of exhilaration and trepidation. I had spent so much time and energy developing my innovative cat-detection-dog ideait had been five years in the makingand, having eventually found my perfect sidekick, I was desperate for that conclusive proof of concept to make all our hard work worthwhile.

This could be it, I said to Sam. This could be Mollys first test.

Oh my goodness, how exciting! grinned my colleague.

That evening I spent an hour or so on the phone to Tim, obtaining as much background information as possible. I asked him whether thered been any triggers that might have caused Rusty to flee (upheaval in the household, for example, or a marauding feline foe), but Tim was adamant that, as far as he was concerned, nothing had changed.

The elderly lady who lives in the opposite flat died last week, which was quite upsetting, he said, but other than that, things have been pretty humdrum around here.

As for sightings, theyd drawn a blank in their own neighborhood, but that morning had received calls from two separate witnesses in a village located a few miles away who claimed to have seen a cat answering Rustys description in their respective gardens.

I doubt its our cat, because shes never, ever roamed that far, admitted Tim, but wed still like you to investigate, if you dont mind.

Im more than happy to help, I replied, before casually mentioning that Id be accompanied by a canine colleague.

My cocker spaniel, Molly, will be coming, too, I said. Shes got a decent sense of smell and she doesnt yap at cats so she might be quite useful. Hope thats okay with you.

I was purposely downplaying things, so as not to heap any pressure upon Molly, or myself.

No problem, said Tim. Anything that might help us find Rusty is fine with me.

I burned the midnight oil that evening, poring over digital maps, plans and photos of the St. Albans area as Sarah slept beside me. It was important that I found out as much as possible about the area so as to give Molly and me the best chance of locating the missing cat. When I felt myself beginning to nod off, I shut down my laptop and went to check on Molly, as I did every night. She sensed me peering through the gap in the door, raised her head and drowsily opened one eye.