Naomi's dog Diesel returns from the afterlife with one mission -- can he save her? It's Naomi's worst summer ever. Her dog, Diesel, died. Dad lost his job. Mom and Dad split up. The family is broke, and Naomi is stuck babysitting when she planned to take swimming lessons. Then Naomi's sometime-friend Morgan convinces her to jump off a dock. On July 1 at precisely 4:30, when Naomi drowns, destiny shifts. Naomi awakes a week earlier to Diesel talking to her. Through his canine counsel, he wants to show her how to fix things. "I can save you," he barks. But no matter how often Naomi resets her watch, the time and date keep flipping back to July 1 at 4:30, which makes her wonder: Is my time running out?

Noble Dog Walking takes care of pets, even if they slither. When a ball python they're looking after disappears, Stephen Noble and Renee Kobai join forces with their favourite clients, Jack Russell Ping and greyhound Pong, to find that snake. The local animal shelter proves no help at all. The only thing they care about is their annual cat sale. It's starting to look like the ball python may have been stolen, when Stephen and Renee get word that more homes have been broken into, all of them clients of Noble Dog Walking. The case turns desperate as one by one, their clients leave. After losing Ping and Pong as clients, too, Stephen and Renee pin their last hope on gathering all the suspects at the animal shelter, and a real Cat-astrophe ensues.

They say he’s been stealing art. But is Attila being framed? Outdoor art is disappearing all over the neighbourhood! From elaborate Halloween decorations to the Stream of Dreams fish display across the fence at Stephen and Renée’s school, it seems no art is safe. Renée’s brother, Attila, has been cursing those model fish since he first had to make them as part of his community service. So everyone thinks Attila is behind it when they disappear. But, grumpy teen though he is, Attila can do no wrong in Renée’s eyes, so she enlists Stephen’s help to catch the real criminal.

Some people count their blessings, but dogwalker Stephen Nobel counts mistakes. Dogwalker extraordinaire Stephen Nobel can get a little anxious, but his habit of counting the mistakes he and everyone else makes calms him. His need to analyze gets kicked into hyperdrive after two crazy events happen in one day at school: the bomb squad blows up a backpack and someone smashes a car into the building. To make things worse, that someone thinks Stephen can identify them. Stephen receives a threatening text. If he goes to the police, his favourite dogs, Ping and Pong, will get hurt. The pressure mounts when his new best friend, Renée, begs for Stephen’s help. Her brother has been charged with the crimes and she wants to clear his name. Is it a mistake to give in to dognappers? How can he possibly save everybody? To find out, Stephen will have to count on all of his new friends. CCBC’s Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2017) Selection