Cat Warren

Paperback Edition available Oct. 6, 2020!

In the young readers edition of the New York Times bestseller, Cat Warren and her canine companion, Solo, teach readers that the nose knows no bounds when it comes to working together, being persistent, and helping others.

“Fun and engaging.”
—School Library Connection

“A fast, fascinating read that captures the strong bond between dog and owner.”
—School Library Journal

What the Dog Knows offers a fascinating, fun glimpse into the world of dogs. If you’ve ever loved a dog, you will adore this book.”
—Robert Crais, NYT bestselling mystery author of Suspect and The Wanted

“I’d like to shake Solo’s paw for inspiring this super-interesting, fun book about how four-legged heroes work.”
—Maria Goodavage, NYT bestselling author of Doctor Dogs and Top Dog: The Story of Marine Hero Lucca 

CAT WARREN is a professor and former journalist with a somewhat unorthodox avocation: she works with cadaver dogs—dogs who search for missing and presumed-dead people. What started as a way to harness the energies of her unruly, smart, German shepherd puppy, Solo, soon became a passion for them both (though Solo thought it was simply a great game, with the reward of a toy at the end). They searched for the missing throughout North Carolina for eight years…

“What the Dog Knows is a fascinating, deeply reported journey into scent, death, forensics and the amazing things dogs can do with their noses: sniffing out graves, truffles, bedbugs, maybe even cancer. But it’s also a moving story of how one woman transformed her troubled dog into a loving companion and an asset to society, all while stumbling on the beauty of life in their searches for death.”  —REBECCA SKLOOT, The New York Times Book Review

“It you have ever loved a dog, you must read this book. I loved it!”  —ROBERT CRAIS, author of Suspect

“A personal, informed account of the myths and truths of working dogs.”  —LOS ANGELES TIMES

The list of smells working dogs are trained to detect lengthens daily: abalone and accelerants; termites, truffles, and TNT; crack cocaine and cancer; mildew and moths; spotted owls and spiny lobsters; peanuts in food and diabetes in blood; and much more.

A good cadaver dog can detect the seemingly undetectable: the faint scent of someone who has died a few hours before and laid only briefly on a carpet; dry bones that are thousands of years old;