“Howdy. My name’s Shep. That’s my mistress over there playing on the swing.
She loves me.
When I was a pup, she dressed me up like a doll and put ribbons in my hair. The cat wondered why I allowed her to degrade me so. I had three words for that fur ball.
She loves me.
She sneaks table scraps to me at supper time. And lets me sleep on her bed at night. Her mom always asks, Why? She just shrugs. But I know.
She loves me.
I vow to always watch over her. To be there waiting when she steps off the school bus. I’ll let her bury her head in my fur and cry when Tommy McGuire breaks her heart, to lick the tears from her face and wag my tail in understanding.
And, one day, I will die saving her.
Why?
Because she loved me."
