I was never close to any dog or any other pet at all growing up, they scared me, looking at those sharp teeth and also fear from the superstitions and stories I heard as a child, one of which was if you get bitten by a dog, and its poisonous teeth transmits to your system, you could die barking, how true this is? I'm not sure, but it was really scary, especially hearing stories of how some children suffered this fate.

Notwithstanding, I admired them from afar, especially when they played and got comfy with their owners, my friend Joy even had a German Shepard pet dog, even though it was bigger than her then, she wasn't scared of it and would always give it instructions like sit, stop, or go when she wants to feed it, according to her, the dog was adopted before she was born and has been part of the family for so long, they literally grew up together which I admired so much, but that didn't stop me from staying far from it whenever I visited Joy, they would always have it caged so I could be at ease while we play or get our homework done.

It wasn't until almost a year ago that my dad got a dog as a pet for the first time, I remember asking him to adopt a puppy for us as a child so I could have the same relationship I admired about my friend and her dog, but he refused, with the excuse that he couldn't afford to feed an extra mouth, of course I didn't understand then and just thought he hated getting a dog, but now that me and my siblings are all grown and the house is empty, I guess he had no choice than to look for that extra mouth to feed and a companion apart from mum to keep him busy. I won't be writing about Major today, yeah, that's its name as I have already written so much and more about it in the past, allow me to introduce you to my newfound friend and companion, it's name is Bobby.

Bobby was adopted by my neighbor and has been with us for almost 5 months now, but anyone visiting us would always think I'm its owner because of how fond it is of me and my children when I saw it for the first time, I was worried because like I told you I haven't really gotten over my fear for dogs, and also knowing that my neighbor is hardly at home except on Sundays, then why did he get a dog to suffer is the question I can get over, and that was how my relationship with Bobby started, first noticing it was hungry after it has been left to starve, I saw it lying week at one corner of the compound, so I took it upon myself to feed it daily, and with time it grew more fond of me and my children because I would also give them the food to feed Bobby, especially its favorite smoked fish snacks. with my supervision, till I no longer needed to supervise them.

Bobby would always prefer to take a nap in front of my door than that of its owner, whenever its owner tries to touch it, it barks angrily, but always very playful with me and my girls, they initially had the same fright I had as a kid for dogs, but so far, they have also learn to overcome that fear and can't stay a day without playing with Bobby,

One day, as I was preparing dinner, I heard a commotion outside. My girls were screaming, and Bobby was barking aggressively. I rushed out to see what was happening and to my horror, a stranger was trying to force his way into our compound, our gate lock got bad a day ago and we were still looking for a welder to help us fix a new lock, it was just me and my girls at home, apparently they were playing with it when the stranger tried to get in, Bobby was standing between the intruder and my children, still barking to instill fear.

The man seemed to be under the influence of alcohol or drug, I'm not so sure, as that is the new trend among the youths in this area, he was acting confused, and kept mumbling incoherent words trying to push past Bobby also picking up sand to throw at it, but Bobby didn't back down, I was scared as I quickly told my daughters to go inside and raised an alarm with a shout for help, Bobby continued charging at the man, barking furiously.

The commotion attracted the attention of our neighbors, from the other buildings, and as soon as the man realized the gathering forming outside the compound, he tried to run away, but Bobby was relentless, as it chased after him, alongside some other youths, he was caught and handed to the local security.

As the adrenaline subsided, I realized how lucky we had been. If it weren't for Bobby's bravery and protective instincts, who knows what could have happened? From that day on, my fear of dogs disappeared completely and was replaced by a profound respect and gratitude. I realized that dogs are more than just pets, they are guardian, a protector, and also become a member of the family, they are not just animals with teeth and an intimidating bark, they are intelligent, loving creatures, if treated well, they form deep bonds with their human companions.

I made sure to shower Bobby with more love and affection. I still can't believe how quickly this once feared animal has now become an integral part of our lives. As for my neighbor, he was so impressed by Bobby's heroic actions that he decided to be more caring and pay attention to Bobby as well, he admitted that he had been neglectful due to his busy work schedule and told us to also consider ourselves as Bobby's owners.

Looking back, I realize how much I had been missing out on by allowing my childhood fears and fables I was told to dictate my perception of dogs. Bobby had taught me better with just 5 months of being part of us, I now consider it part of the family, no longer four of us, but 5.

This post is inspired by the May Inleo monthly topics, don't get stuck searching for topic ideas to write on daily, you can also hop on Mayinleo topics.

All images used are mine

Thank you for reading.❤❤