Last Friday, a guy came to my front door and stood there for a few seconds before ringing the doorbell. I don’t know what he wanted; I never answer the door unless I’m expecting the visitor. I knew he was out there because I happened to see him on the front step. My house’s layout makes it easy to see comings and goings.
“Get off my lawn!”
Luna, brave watch pup that she is, had no idea he was there until he rang the bell. In a millisecond, though, she was awake, off the bed (yes, my bed) and in full ‘get off of my lawn’ mode. He didn’t stay long after being greeted by seventy pounds of snarling, barking aggression. Even through a secure pane of glass, it would scare the hell out of me, if I didn’t know what she is really like.
What she is really like is a silly marshmallow. Jumping up on people, just to give kisses. Tail waggling. Excited whimpering. She has given a few scares to people who startled her, but as she’s been getting out with me more and more, and introduced to all kinds of people in a variety of settings, she’s learned to accept surprises with more equanimity. Today she even met a new sales associate at It’s A Pet’s Life today with a happy playfulness that made me proud.
When we first started venturing out together, Luna was nervous once we got out of the car, and so was I. I hadn’t exactly had easy experiences taking my fearful German shepherd Daisy out and about. Even in the car, she felt she had to warn away walkers, runners, other dogs, bicycles, motorcycles, anything that moved. You should see the doors and upholstery in my poor Subaru Outback! Big nails dug into doors while dog rages doesn’t enhance the value of an automobile.
Luna, perfect princess that she is, has only barked a couple of times while we were driving. And, she actually stopped the noise when I calmly told her to be quiet. Nothing I did or said could shut Daisy up once she started. With Luna, when an old lady crossed the street in front of us with a Shih-Tzu on leash, silence. Those of you who have always had well-mannered dogs might not appreciate this, but to me it is close to a miracle. A miracle that left me wondering how to react, because it was such an unusual experience. There’s nothing to be done in the face of a miracle of this magnitude so I just drove on, telling Luna what a wonderful girl she is.
She nibbled daintily on a treat given her at the Caribou Coffee drive-through, and curled up for the rest of the ride.