The Provost's Dog trilogy is a series of young adult fantasy novels by best-selling author Tamora Pierce. The series is a prequel to Pierce's first quartet, The Song of the Lioness, and is set in the fictional kingdom of Tortall two hundred years earlier. It details the adventures of Beka Cooper, a sixteen-year-old recruit of the Lord Provost, originally from a lower city family and now in service to the Provost's Guard. Series Terrier (October 2006) Bloodhound (April 2009) Mastiff, previous working title Elkhound (October 2011) Characters Major characters Rebekah "Beka" Cooper – A young, up-and-coming member of the Provost's Guard and protégée to the Lord Provost. Ancestor of George Cooper. Beka has magic that allows her to hear restless spirits on the backs of pigeons and dust spinners (beings of air that catch sounds and conversations on breezes). She is sometimes referred to as Fishpuppy, a reference to her first night as a "Puppy", when she was tripped while chasing a cutpurse and landed in a pile of fish guts. She is also sometimes referred to as "Terrier", because she "sticks her teeth in and never lets go", a reference to how she never stops until she has brought criminals to justice, shown by her tedious pursuit of a drunk mot through the entire length of the Lower City. Later she is also referred to as "Bloodhound", due to her searching out and bringing down Pearl Skinner, the Rogue of Port Caynn and counterfeiter. She is also the object of Rosto's flirtations; although she discourages him and for a brief period of time even has another lover, Dale Rowan. Pounce – A black cat with purple eyes, Beka's foundling pet, who can choose if humans or other creatures can hear him. Pounce is a constellation (called the Cat), companion to the Mother Goddess, that has come to live on Earth alongside the Goddess's favored. This is actually the same cat known as Faithful from the Song of the Lioness Quartet. Matthias (Mattes) Tunstall and Clara (Clary) Goodwin – Veteran guards assigned to train Beka during her puppy year or years. They eventually become her partners, and when Goodwin retires to become Sergeant, Tunstall continues to work with Beka, calling her the best new dog he's ever worked with. Rosto the Piper – Potential romantic interest to Beka and occasional comic relief, Rosto also moves the plot along first as