Part 1 out of 3, a story in which a dog with the intentions of keeping her family from all danger gets into quite a perilous situation herself.

My family is crazy. They just love to confuse me– so much so that it’s all I can do to keep them out of trouble! But there was one day when my old dog soul came quite close to losing them. It started as a normal Saturday morning, peaceful and quiet. I was catching a few extra z’s on the front porch, my personal guardian territory, when my family marched out, carrying bags and water bottles. It was unusual for them to get up this early on a weekend, but I didn’t take too much note of it, since they did tend to break their schedule now and again. I gave them my normal morning greeting, and before I knew it, they were all in the car, ready to leave somewhere! I was elated! I racked my brain to see if it were a holiday of some sort– because apparently, my family had just surprised me with a day off! In my excitement, I failed to notice one member of the family absent. Before I knew it, she had shot out the door, holding something in her hand. I stiffened. It was a leash. I know it’s my duty to make sure the others don’t run off somewhere as I wear it, but I have never liked it. The girl clipped it onto my collar, and despite my struggles, I was in the car too. 

That monster is the second-worst nightmare in an innocent dog’s world! The worst is the vet, which I have noticed always comes right after the car. You can imagine the terror I felt! I was shaking uncontrollably, even when the six-year-old boy put his arms around me, seeking comfort I should think. The poor thing is so young, I tried to stifle my fear to calm him, but I’m afraid I most likely failed. I was so miserable, I even puked a couple of times! I felt so embarrassed. I tried to get them to open the window and let me have some fresh air, but no matter how hard I tried, the message just didn’t get across. 

But finally, finally, the car stopped. We all got out, and thank goodness! There was firm earth underneath my feet again! I must admit, I did reel and totter a bit after being in that bouncy vehicle, but that didn’t stop me for long! I ran around as fast as my legs could take me! I think I went pretty fast for an old aging lady like me, anyhow. The girl started running around with me too, and for all I knew, she was just as excited to be out as I was! But then snap! On went the leash again. 

We were in some sort of forest place, with a large dirt road stretching in two directions. I logically assumed that we had come from one of the directions. Everyone else was unpacking, except for the boy, who was now the one holding on my leash. That made sense because he was the once most likely to get into trouble. I had to keep an eye on him. I began to explore a bit, trying to find if there were any imminent dangers about, and taking stock of my surroundings; all the while making sure the boy didn’t get into any sort of trouble. Pretty soon they were ready to hike. The mother had a big orange picnic basket, the dad had a backpack, the girl had a thick stick and a water bottle, as did the oldest boy of about 10. The younger boy was still holding onto my leash. Even though they were ready to start trekking, I sure wasn’t. The area still hadn’t been cleared of all dangerous objects, and I wasn’t about to let them start exploring without some assurance that they wouldn’t get killed. But as the oldest boy and girl pushed on ahead anyway, I leaped to my feet to go first. If anything tried to hurt them, then it would have to get by me first to do it!