Well, Okay, she’s not a Rottweiler. She’s a Black-Tan Pomeranian that thinks she’s a Rottweiler.
I flew to North Carolina and met the breeder at Charlotte Airport. We had a six-hour layover, and then flew back to Orlando, Florida. She was confused. She didn’t know me, didn’t know what the sounds in the airport were, and didn’t understand why she had to stay in a carrier.
The only good part about the layover was that there was a Mary-Kaye convention, and every waiting makeup queen wanted to pet the puppy. Children also wanted to pet her, and that required a lot more supervision. At the end of the day, we shared a meal at Burger King, and suddenly, I was definitely her human.
Once we got airborne, she slept the rest of the flight on my lap, with occasional visits from the stews. Back in Orlando, I had no luggage, so we headed for the parking garage. She refused to sleep in the passenger seat, and insisted on sleeping on my lap as we rolled east on the Beachline.
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Those are the events that have influenced this puppy to be the most, one-person, dedicated dog I have ever had. Every dog has a few weird quirks, and Athena was no different. She’s on my heels all of the time, complains when I leave the house, and throws a festival when I return. At night, she wants off of the bed as soon as I get settled, and she sleeps under the bed, where she can see down the hallway. Every night about 2am, she wants up in the bed, and sleeps against my heart/chest. She sleeps solid, and I have to wake her up in the morning.
Only recently have I figured out that she’s protecting me. She lays under the bed until she can’t stay awake, and then it’s my shift. She won’t go out to pee at night unless I stand in the glass doors and tell her it’s safe. We do get big owls, racoons, and wild cats here. I have even trained her to look at the power lines for… Big Birds.
Lately I have been angry with her. Every time I get near the back door, she goes ballistic and starts barking, runs through the doggy door, and barks in all directions in the back yard, returning back to me. We had contractors redoing my neighbors pool screen, and that’s when this behavior started. Last night, I realized that she is protecting me from strangers that may be outside of the back door.
A little understanding has turned my anger toward my little six-pound guard dog into a deeper love and understanding. I may just buy her a spiked collar.
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D. B. Alexander 