CREDIT IS DUE

The St. Bernard dogs are renown for rescuing stranded and lost snow travelers. German Shepherds  show their courage in war zones and as police dogs.  The gentle Golden Retrievers and Yellow Labs spend their days in service to the handicapped. Herding breeds earn their keep as tireless stock dogs.  

Terriers pretty much are typecast as high energy dogs, loaded with attitude  but are adorable trouble makers that occasionally will dispatch small rodents given the chance. Most often however, they are just hyper, furry often comical companions rather than dogs with an actual job.  

Well, my little Mighty Dog, who carries the DNA of a variety of terrier breeds, has joined the ranks of those special dogs who serve their masters well beyond  amusement and affection.   

Here he comes to save the day----Mighty Dog

A few days ago, the little guy lived up to his flamboyant and  misleading name  to save the day. I want to make sure he gets due credit by telling his tale. 
  
We had just had a couple days of heavy rain, wind and unseasonably warm weather.  My wrap around porch floor stayed soaked.  Quite suddenly the temps dropped dramatically and we went from high 60's to a frigid 21 over night. We certainly can't call this winter boring or predictable.

Mighty has an elderly bladder with limited capacity so around 4 AM we go out for his morning toilet. Now I usually stick to the porch and focus a flashlight on Mighty as he tours the yard looking  for that perfect spot. I watch him just in case he gets into trouble with a trespasser as as happened here. 

This morning however, oddly he  stayed on the porch and ran ahead of me as we circled the house. He was jogging around the corner of the porch on the north side of the house when his rear end suddenly slid out from under him and he skid across the porch with his feet in the air. 

I was laughing at him trying to get up like a new born colt on the slick surface when it dawned on me. Criminy, the little beggar just saved me from a nasty spill.  

As I gingerly approached the corner, I found that section of the  porch was slicker than goose poop with a layer of black ice.  Had the little guy not gone first and sacrificed his dignity, I would have carelessly taken  that corner and  it would have been impossible not to have had a pretty bad spill.  At my age, I don't bounce all that well so he really saved me a painful fall. 

Today, he is no longer just a pretty (well cute to me) face. He is my current hero.  For a reason only he knows, he stepped out of his normal rut. He chose the porch over the yard, allowed himself to look ridiculous  and saved my behind from a honkin' bruise at best. What a dog!!

I expect this glow of admiration for the Mighty one will easily carry him past those times he  gets in my face and blasts me with his buffalo breath. His breath is so bad that he could make a seasoned CSI's stomach roll.  He even has my veterinarian stumped.  I am one of those few people who welcomes sinus congestion.  

Luckily for my fetid breathed pooch, love over looks a lot and his heroics only reinforce that love.  I continue to focus on his good traits and gloss over the unpleasant.   This latest event will keep him in good stead with lots of gloss for a very long time. 
   
Thanks little  guy. You love me warts and all, love you back the same way.