Bev,

 

I wanted to tell you that Smoky and Riley are heroes. 

 

Late yesterday morning, I was at one end of the house, the dogs were at the other end and Steve was in the middle.  At my end of the house, a woman who had come into our back yard walked up to the sliding glass door in our family room, opened it, walked into the family room, and began yelling “I hate you,” among other threatening things that I don’t remember.  She had her fists out in front of her holding sticks that she appeared to intend to brandish as weapons.  Needless to say, I was quite scared. 

 

Before the woman could get more than one step into the family room, Smoky ran into the room with Riley at his heels (they beat Steve into the room even though they had farther to go).  With Riley right behind him, Smoky parked himself at the woman’s feet, between her and me.  He was obviously in attack mode, growling and snarling with his teeth bared and down on his haunches, ready to spring onto the woman.  In response, she quickly backed out of the family room and closed the sliding door to protect herself.  I quickly snapped the lock shut. 

 

By then, Steve was in the room and I left to call 911.  He told me the woman continued to act in a threatening manner and, when she couldn’t get back in the house, threw her sticks at the sliding glass door and left.  The police found her an hour or so later, a couple of streets away from ours.  In the meantime, she had broken into a car and gained access to the back yard of one of our neighbors.  When he challenged her, she spat on him.  I suspect she also encountered other neighbors or, at the very least, entered into the back yards, but, when the police reported back to us, they had not yet heard from anyone else.

 

When the policeman came to interview us, I was a little bit worried about how the dogs would react to his presence in the house (they’re always friendly when we have visitors, but I thought they might still be riled up from their encounter with the intruder).  Even though only a short time had passed since they had dealt with the intruder, they knew right away the policeman was a good guy and they were as friendly as ever with him.

 

In the past, when people have asked me whether Aussies are protective, I have told them I have always heard they are but had no personal experience to share.  Now, I know that, despite their inherently friendly nature, they are incredibly protective as well.

 

If you ever have any potential customers that inquire about the protective nature of an Aussie, particularly in light of their friendly nature, feel free to share this story.

 

Marlis McAllister