Who Stole the Zmulobeast?

"Who Stole the Zmulobeast?" is a humorous science fiction/fantasy detective
story for middle school-aged children written by Keith A. Owens. The story
introduces the Pi in the Sky Squad, a crew of (mostly) kid detectives comprised of a talking
dog with a wise-cracking sense of humor, a hovering space alien from the
Planet Acabagua, a rambunctious collection of exceptionally curious
youngsters, and Chief, the poor adult tasked with supervising this bunch.
In this, their first adventure, the Pi Squad must find out who stole a
creature known as a Zmulobeast - just as soon as they can figure out what a
Zmulobeast is.