Hi, Beano fans!

Gnasher here – well, it’s not Gnasher exactly – it’s actually Dennis doing all the hard work of the actual writing (and for the record, Dennises HATE hard work!). But Gnasher wanted me to tell you all about his best new pal, Millie the Jack Russell, and when Gnasher asks you to do something with his puppy dog eyes – it’s VERY hard to say no!

Anyway, if you’ve seen the news this week (and if you haven’t, I can’t blame you – the news is bor-ring with a capital BORING)… but if you DID see the news, you might have spotted Millie taking part in a daring rescue mission involving the coastguard, a very expensive drone, and, er… sausages tied to a string! (So now you know why Gnasher was so excited by this story – Ed.)

To recap, poor Millie got stranded in some pretty deep water after slipping her lead and was missing for a whole 4 days! (As Gnasher points out, dogs can actually have a LOT of very exciting adventures in 4 days, but at the same time Millie’s family were probably rather worried by all this, so it’s always good to tell your owner where you’re going).

Luckily, Millie was eventually spotted but… worryingly for her owners, she was found on dangerous mudflats – landscape where the wet, muddy ground can make a rescue attempt almost impossible. With the threat of a rising tide, the situation was starting to look rather unsettling for poor Millie!

But, as Gnasher always likes to say, where there’s a will, there’s a sausage – and in this case, it was certainly a sausage that saved the day!

While police, firefighters AND coastguards all scratched their heads struggling to find a way to move Millie to a safer spot, one clever rescuer had the bright idea of tying a sausage to a string and flying it – by drone! – over Millie to see if the sausagey smell would work its magic (it does with Gnasher – every time).

And luckily, it was the same with Millie! Like all sensible dogs, she followed the scent of the sausage until the drone pilot was able to lead her away from the mudflats back to safer, dryer ground and from there she was reunited with her family – who were unsurprisingly VERY pleased to see her!

Me and Gnasher think brave dogs like Millie should always be recognised for their acts of canine courage so we’ve not only awarded her a totally rare and utterly awesome golden Gnasher Badge, we’ve also asked Beano’s very own poet laureate – I.P. Daley – to write a special commemorative verse in honour of Millie, which you can see in our special Pooch Poem below.

And before I go, Gnasher wants me to remind you of an old Abyssinian Wire-Haired Tripe Hound sausage saying that has been passed down in his family, from one hound to another: “Wurst things happen at sea, but a sausage tastes much better on dry land – especially when it’s shared with a pal!”

Pooch Poetry – with I.P Daley

It’s not every day a sausage rescues a dog, so to commemorate this momentous occasion, we’ve asked our resident writer, I.P. Daley, to pen a few words.

I.P. (writer of the World’s First Boomic!) spent many years as a reporter for the Beanotown Gazette and is good friends with the Beano Editor so it’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about sausage-chomping dogs – and poetry!

And, without further ado, let us introduce to you I.P Daley’s homage to Millie and her magnificent rescue!

To a Sausage

Millie, we love you, we think that you’re great

Despite the scary four day wait!

The coppers, the coast guard and a brave canoe

Gave it their best to rescue you!

The water was rising,

The situation was frightful,

Until along buzzed a drone

Dangling something delightful

The trusty local butcher earned their wage

By tempting you to safety with a juicy sausage!

We’re glad you’re now safe and will live to be olden

To celebrate, here’s a special Gnasher badge that is golden!

Ssh! Secret Sausage Section!

Gnasher forgot to mention, but if you love sausagey stuff as much as he does, there’s loads of tasty treats to get your chops round on Beano.com! You could take Gnasher’s Sausage Quiz! or chuckle at 20 Sausage Jokes Which Are Absolute Bangers! We’ve even got quizzes about dogs who are sausages!