The case of the cat with the missing ear - Scott Emerson

When Dr Edward R Smithfield - an ex-Army dog - comes to San Francisco for a quiet retirement, he doesn't bank on meeting the most astounding sleuth of the Victorian age Mr Samuel Blackthorne!
Soon the two are firm friends, and called upon to investigate the disappearance of an apparently ordinary accountant - in suspicious circumstances. Has the missing mutt made canine enemies in high places? Did he know too much about an arch-villain's sinister scheme? Who is the cruel cat assassin with only one ear really working for?
Blackthorne uncovers corruption that taints the highest-ranking dogs in the city but can he expose their crimes before time runs out for him and his friends? Cats may have nine lives, but dogs have just the one