Debbie My Protector

Debbie is really coming along very nicely and blossoming beautifully! She bounds up the hill in front of me when I take her outside to potty, leaping at me in excitement, happy that I've come home at the end of the day. She gets pretty high sometimes! Her muscles have strengthened wonderfully. When she first came home, she could not even jump up into the car by herself, her back legs were so weak. She was soon able to at least do that and get in the car, although she often didn't raise her back legs enough and bumped them on the door jam. Such is the result of living in a kennel most of your life and not getting much exercise. Sad. My bed is set fairly high as well. I have a small stool by the bed that had been for my dear old departed Charlotte, who in his old age needed a little boost to make it up to the bed. I had not had the heart to remove the stool since he passed. As it turns out Debbie has been in need of it too. At first she could not even jump up on the bed even with the added lift of the stool. She would stand on her hind legs, trying to pull herself up onto the bed with me. I would let her try for a few minutes, knowing that the struggle itself, though futile, would strengthen her muscles enough to be able to make the accomplishment eventually. Then I would reach down and pull her onto the bed with me. Soon she progressed enough to be able use the stool as a sort of spring board to give her a boost up to the bed. And then, the other day I saw her run into the room and jump straight from the floor to the bed. Oh celebration! She still uses the stool quite a bit, and I'm considering removing it to force her to use her muscles more to acquire the bed.

The other night Debbie did something very unexpected. I took her out to potty before going to sleep and I sat down in one of the chairs on my deck to wait for her. She soon came over and laid down next to my seat. All of a sudden I heard this low rumble and recognized it as growling. My first reaction was to look towards the fortunately locked gate to the front yard. I was afraid that the local free-running pit bull mix that had attacked Duncan and I was standing at the other side of the fence. But then I looked down and realized that it was my tiny Little Debbie that was doing the growling! She continued her low tone as I reached down to pat and comfort her, her gaze fixed to the side of the yard. I saw nothing there. I have no idea what she was growling at initially, and it was making me a little nervous. She new something that I didn't. But then my neighbor came to her back door and let her own dog out into their back yard. Debbie let out a low bark, something she has never done in my presence; she normally only barks a higher pitched bark when I arrive home until I open the front door. Then she began her growl anew. I patted her again, and we went inside. We sat on the bed together and as I stroked her little head I asked her, "Were you protecting Momma, Little Debbie?" She smiled and wagged her tail in response.