A New Fan

by Mary
(Gaspe coast, QC)

We live in the country. Life flows with the rhythm of the natural world around us. It's beautiful and quiet.
A new neighbour has moved in across the road. Country greeting protocol ensured her welcome, and she was also introduced to our 2 dogs. Of course, she was absolutely captivated by the 'big white dog' never having seen a Pyrenees before this...'he certainly has a way about him, doesn't he?' she said. (Yes, he does)
We felt we should explain that he barked a lot and why he did. She listened carefully as we spoke about his breed's history as a guardian and how he alerts us to every change in his environment. That he watches all the time and makes it his business to know who, what and where. And, that his bark alerts us AND the stranger that they are under surveillance. 'Oh!, she said 'that's WONDERFUL! I feel quite safe now knowing that.' : )
Some time has passed....it's now full summer. Lots of visitor traffic, people on bicycles, unknown dogs running about. It's noisy and busy. Our Pyr tends to become a bit overwhelmed with all this activity at times, so we have been keeping him indoors with us more, thinking that all that barking must be a bother to our new neighbour.
How wrong we were!...she called the other day wanting to know where the big white dog was....and concerned that he wasn't well, as she hadn't heard his voice much lately. She said she liked to know that he was being her guardian.
So, now we know. Gabriel has a new fan. : )