Curs, Curmudgeons, and Cops Confront Crime in Croissant ... It's the dog days of summer, and Sheriff Garrett should be able to leave the hit and run behind him. He has no hard evidence that the truck seen by the Black Widders swerved intentionally to hit the animal, or attempted to hit the woman. The injured sheepdog has been successfully treated by the new vet. In fact, he has deposited the new vet and her precocious little daughter at the Peaseford Veterinary Clinic with old Doc Clary. Sure, Doc has that notoriously cold and unfriendly wife, Annabelle, who, it is rumored, hates dogs, but that's just gossip. She has never been known to hurt anything. All is well, isn't it? No, it isn't. Garrett tells Deputy McCracken that he is hounded by doubt. He fears that the hit and run is a harbinger of more trouble to come. This year Croissant is the site of a hostile political campaign. He worries. Strange things happen in Croissant. After all, this is the town where the cow dog lives, the one who climbs trees.