In the short span of a month, from chasing butterflies to chasing away burglars. (her opinion, not mine)

I watched in shear joy as my little girl Bessie got all excited a few weeks ago when she saw a leaf fall from the tree and she chased it across the lawn with her ears flapping in the air like little wings. Then she saw a little white butterfly and began to leap after it trying to catch it as it darted over her head. I said to myself the world must be an amazing place for a little puppy, it is so full of exciting and wonderful things. Now Fall is upon us and there are millions of leaves on the ground but my little 4-month old baby girl has already turned into a combat-ready marine with more important things on her mind. On a windy day when the leaves are blowing around Bessie still chases them but it is on the quiet days that I get a glimpse of what she may become when she grows up. 

I am not sure if I should still refer to her as "little" because I put Bessie on the scale tonight and she weighs 41.5 lbs. If she keeps up this rate of growth she will be over 90 lbs by her first birthday.

I have mentioned that soon after she discovered she had a voice, thanks to Ruffin's play-school, combat training sessions, her quiet wrestling sessions became very loud. Then she began to show some new-found courage when I had her outside. Anyone walking down the street would be challenged by her little bark given at the end of her taught leash as she would run out as close to the street as she could. She would stand with legs firmly spread looking like a miniature version of a grownup Rottweiler guard dog. Now the only difference is her bark is no longer little, she now has a serious voice. But there is more. We have a full pane glass storm door in front of our front door and when I go to take her out, as soon as I open the inside front door she begins to bark through the glass as if to let the world know she is about to come outside. We live on a quiet dead-end street and there is usually nothing or nobody out in the street but she barks anyway to give an advanced warning. The only thing I can think of is to compare her to the way a SWAT Team enters a building by first tossing a hand grenade through the door before going inside.

This is all a result of having a male Rottweiler raise her instead of a female. I suspect that single fathers who raise little girls turn them into tomboys who have as more fun playing with boys than with other girls. I may be wrong but I am seeing something different here. My first two Rottweiler girls adopted and raised our rescued Rotts, Mocha raised Sassy and she became the leader of the pack but still had a motherly nature. Then Sassy raised Ruffin and Ruffin became the biggest cream-puff who just loves to meet people. He makes friends with anyone who says hello to him. He is only protective in the sense that he has such an imposing presence that a bad person wouldn't go near him. The only time I saw a vicious looking snarl on his face was when he was playing with Bessie. But Ruffin seems to know what kind of upbringing Bessie required so in spite of his gentle good nature he has produced what I am having fun calling my Warrior Queen. I often wonder if I should have given her a more noble-sounding name. Bessie is a cute, girlish name that can be whispered softly in her ear when cuddling with her on the couch. Maybe something with a strong Germanic sound would fit her personality better. I know as I get older I will be well protected.

As they say on television, the adventure begins.