Its a long one but you know...it beats GD:P and I will have pics
12 years ago my husband and I met - at the time he had a 2 yrold collie mix named Ed (its a she - but that's a different story). He rescued her when he was in college - the whole litter had been taken away from their owners because they were beaten and starved. The pound was going to put the whole litter down, and my hubby had to save one - so he said the first one to come to him he would take home. She had rickets, mange, was malnourished and very scared but he nursed her back to health (at a time when most college guys were partying) and when I met him she was a beautiful, loving, friendly and sweet dog
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Hubby and I moved in together about 6 months after we met (mainly because I was done with law school and had to move out of student housing and it was move in or for me to move back home), and like any young couple we decided to have a "baby": a lab mix puppy named Lienie. Ed took to him ok - she was very patient with him - he would "stalk" her, then pounce on her head - she would act surprised before tossing him off, and they were very close:
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After about 6 months, hubby and I "broke up" - lol... for all of a minute - he moved back with his parents, and I moved into a swinging bachelorette pad (we moved in together too soon yet we still cared deeply for each other). He would bring Ed over visits for me and Lienie...soon he was staying longer - you get the idea. Anyway, Ed had always been a very mild-mannered dog, still would have anxiety attacks, and just so sweet. One day while playing in the courtyard of the apt complex, Lienie (he was still under a year old) was playing catch and he was sooo focused on the tennis ball he was oblivious to all else (like most labs). Ed was on the other side of the courtyard sniffing and sunning herself. Well the ball went towards 2 white foo-foo ankle biters who had been barking at him the whole time... he didn't care he just barged towards them for the ball - well the 2 little dogs started to attack him. Suddenly, there was a brown blur, and Ed had raced across the yard, placed herself between the dogs and Lienie, barked once and they backed off.
We were stunned - we had no idea she could move so fast, that she was that assertive, and that she was that protective (because she loved to pick on Lienie). So for the last 12 years, Ed has always been protective of Lienie and from that day she has been the alpha dog in our pack (which now includes a cat and another lab mix). She isn't as protective of our lab mix Jasmine - she has been training her to be the next alpha. If you ever read or study wolf pack behavior its fascinating, and its true the female alpha will groom her sister or daughter to take her place.
Well now Ed is nearly 14, and has some hearing loss, and a compressed disc in her spine that she is receiving steriod treatments for pain, and is at the end of her wonderful life. Lienie is almost 12 and has bad knees from years of tennis ball catching, and is feeling the years.
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Ok so all that back story to lead up to this
Yesterday, I was taking the Lienie and Ed outside, Lienie was on a tie out (because he still thinks he can chase stuff and bad knees or not, I still can't keep up with him) - Ed was wandering off leash (because she has a hard time going to the bathroom, she likes to be off by herself). Suddenly a neighbor's white foo-foo ankle biter (I think its a Westie) came into a neighboring yard and starting towards our yard. Ed is usually very friendly towards other dogs - barks once, wags her tail and is very sweet. Well she looked at that ankle bite, slowly walked towards it (stalking) and the Westie kept approaching. Suddenly my old girl hopped/waddled (hard to describe because she is old and it wasn't a run) towards the dog and it ran off. Ed came towards me, (standing out there like a doofus calling to her) with a look in her eye of pride, her head held high, and swaggered. Lienie, as always was clueless to the impending foo-foo danger, she ushered him in the house and then promptly took a nap.
It brought tears my eyes that after all these years, after all they have been through (fights, cuddles, new pack members, illness, surgeries and moves) she is still so damn protective of my baby.
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