Grampa aka Dr. Adam Bender owns and runs the Bed and Biscuit, an animal boarding house. Ernest his pig, Milly his cat and Gabby his mynah assist . . . well, Ernest assists by carrying heavy buckets at milking and feeding time. Gabby mostly causes problems imitating Grampa on the telephone. A fire at the neighbor’s house adds an orphaned Scottie puppy to the family. Milly, the former “baby,” doesn’t like being replaced. When she and the puppy’s blanket vanish, everyone jumps to the wrong conclusion. It’s up to Ernest to solve the mystery and bring Milly home. Jones’s watercolor-and-pencil illustrations bring the animals of Carris’s easy chapter book to life. This is worth a place in most collections, especially where Dick King-Smith’s works circulate well. A short afterword points out the realism in the animal characters. Kids will welcome sequels. (Fiction. 6-10)
