The Day Marley Saved My Butt

Here's another Marley tale that some have already heard, but to those of you who haven't, it will give you goosebumps!

I think we had Marley about four months and he'd already grown from the mere 73 lbs. he weighed when we adopted him and a couple inches taller, too.  Marley and I were driving back home from Austin to Rockport and I have to say, Marley wasn't a very good traveler. Perhaps he was remembering an earlier time when he got lost from his previous owner, but who knows what happened to him before us!

He kept whining from the back seat and I kept telling him to settle down, please shut the hell up, and several other comments.  Finally, in Goliad or Gonzales, one of the G-towns I go through along Hwy. 183, I decided the dog MUST need to pee.  I pulled into a city park where there are baseball fields, bleachers, etc. and put Marley on his leash to take a little walk.  It was the middle of the day and there was no one around.  Very quickly Marley saw a white pickup truck coming our way, but it was 1/4 to 1/2 mile off.  Marley started barking at it so fiercely that I knew any chance of him relaxing enough to pee was gone.  I turned around and walked back to my truck with Marley looking back and growling at this oncoming vehicle.  I had the back door open and was urging Marley to get in when that truck pulled up right beside me blocking me completely from Hwy. 183 and only about 4 feet from my truck.  Marley nearly had a conniption fit!  He turned around and was barking like a rabid beast, every hair on his back was at attention, and spittle was flying from his mouth.  Cujo comes to mind.  Needless to say, he was very intimidating!

The truck had two men in it and the driver rolled down his window and said, "That dog's real protective of you, isn't he?"

I said, "Yes, he is.  I suggest you don't get out of your truck!"

Then he proceeded to ask me questions about the dog, Marley never let up on his leash, never stopped growling, never lowered a hair on his back the entire time. Finally, when he was getting nothing from me except, I have to go, please move on, and Marley never giving an inch, he slowly pulled away.  

The last thing he said before rolling up his window was, "You're lucky you have that dog."

Now, I could be wrong, but I have a feeling to this day that those two men had very different intentions for me.  My plan was that if the man even cracked his door I was going to let that ferocious beast loose and what was left of them when Marley got through was going to be shot with my pistol hidden in my front door panel.  Good plan, I think!

Of course, I wouldn't have even been in that situation if Marley wasn't with me because I would never stop at a vacant park if I were alone.  But nevertheless, it proves what a protective beast he is for his Momma and that's good to know!  I never feel any fear whatsoever when 97.6 lb. Marley is by my side and when Randy isn't home, he NEVER leaves my side!  He takes his job VERY seriously!

It's funny, when Randy gets home, Marley goes to his crate, curls up in a ball and sleeps for hours.  It's as if he's saying, "Good!  You're home! It's your turn to protect her now!"