“Guess what? I know it stinks that we must move to your grandfather’s house because our property owner sold our house, but there is a good side. We get to keep Abby!” 

I was excited about this. Not about moving, remodeling a house, or having to go to school online during Covid, but about inheriting my grandfather’s dog. She was a Rottweiler and was all black with brown paws and two dots above her eyebrows. She drooled a lot and was always excited when my siblings and I got home from school. She would sit on my sister’s bed to watch for the bus and then run downstairs and greet us at the door, jumping and happy to see us. 

Abby was very protective of us kids. She always had to be in the backyard with us because she would not let anything happen to us. If we were in the back, then she was always with us. If there was a stranger walking by and they were walking up to the fence, she would jump the fence and eat them! She would not let anyone in the backyard or in the house. One week later, there was a knock on the door, and I did not know who it was. And my parents were not home at that time, so I opened the door. The guy was about my dad’s age. When I opened the door, he said hello and smiled at me. He asked me if my dad was home. After he told me his name, I knew who he was, it turned out to be my dad’s friend. Abby snuck out the door on me and I had to chase her up the road because of my dad’s friend. She was just trying to show him that you do not come near the kids.

Abby would not let anything happen to us. She was even protective over my parents. She would not let anything happen to them either. She was protective over the whole house. Abby’s personality was outgoing and always excited to see us when we got home from school because she was home all day by herself because we were at school all day and my parents were working all day.

She was the best dog we ever had because she listened to us. The other dogs that we had never listened to any of us. Abby was the best to train like to heel on a walk so she was not pulling us all over the sidewalk. It took us two days to train her. But we always had to keep her on a leash because we live in town.

Abby always found a way to get out of the fences though. Even if a wild animal came in the back yard, she would chase it and kill it. She jumped the fence down back because there was a groundhog in the tree. So, I ran up to the house and told my dad. He told my sister Kaylee to run down though the cemetery to the opening to get Abby. Finally, she killed the ground hog like she wanted because it came in the back yard. She killed a raccoon around ten times. If stray cats came in the back yard, she killed them too. If she saw a cat on the other side of the fence, she would jump the fence and kill the cat or cats. Abby did not like cats or any wild animals.

Abby was my dad’s dog, but she also loved us kids. Before Abby got sick, we got a French Bulldog named Annie. Abby let Annie rule the house once she got sick because she was having a tough time getting up and moving around. Abby was always with us no matter where we were. Abby did know when we were about to leave the house because she would always try and get out the front door.

I will remember Abby because she was always with us and very protective.