Zella

It's 7:45 in the morning and I don't have to be at orientation till 9:00, so I figured I'd share a pretty incredible story that just happened yesterday afternoon.

My wife sent me a text message in the morning that said Zella had a pretty bad cut on her rear right leg, and she thought there might be something in the back yard that cut her. So, I told her I would check it out when I got home. Then, I remembered that my brother-in-law's dog, Brutus, also cut his leg when he was over here last week. Which made me think something in the backyard needed some attention.

When I got home from work I looked at Zella's cut, and it seemed to be healing already, thanks to her licking it. I talked to her like I usually do asking "Are you alright?" and "What happened?". She sat there intently, with her tail waggin, forgetting that she had an injury.

Judging by the height of the wound, I figured a nail in the bottom half of the fence might have worked its way out and that's what casued the cut(s). I grabbed a hammer from the garage and started the search for the "backyard dog murderer".

I started by the gate, and carefully looked at every nail and staple that was on the bottom row. I worked my way up the South side of the fence, then I moved to the west side... and when I got about halfway down the westside of the fence, I noticed that Zella had run over to the North side of the fence, and was standing there frozen, paralell with the fence. I figured she was looking at some people that were walking down the sidewalk, and was ready to give them an all out barking assault, like she does to all strangers who walk by.

I finally worked my way over to where she was, and when I told her to move, she wouldn't. She stood there, frozen like a statue. She never disobeys a command from me, so I said it again "Zella, move". She remained. I physically had to push here away from fence with both of my arms, and when I did...... there it was.... the one nail on the entire 250 ft of fence that could have caused a cut. Sticking out like a knife.

Zella knew exactly where it was, and judging by her actions, I got the feeling that she was protecting me from it. She knew it caused her pain, and she didn't want that to happen to me. Here eyes focused intently from inches away, as I pryed the nail out of the fence, and then pounded it back in, out of harms way. Almost, like I was beating up a criminal. When I was done, she trotted off wagging her tail, like her good deed for the day was done.

I knew that dog was smart, but seeing her perform a feat like that solidifies the fact that she isn't your average K9. For a dog to have intuition like that is pretty incredible. I have always been in awe of her many talents, but after that I actually feel privileged to be her owner. Even right now, she lays by my feet, not knowing that what she did yesterday was phenomenal. To her, she was just doing her job.

If you're wondering what Rambo was doing when all of this was taking place. He was eating grass and licking his butt. 2 of his favorite pastimes.