My first impression of Zoey was that I didn’t care much for her. I don’t know much about dogs, but I could tell that Zoey does not like strangers. She’s more of a guard dog than a house pet. Her bark is loud and alarming.

I know that Zoey is just an overactive dog. She stays in her pen for long hours at a time and her barking is just a way for her to release energy. It’s just that her bark is frightening to an unsuspecting non-dog owner like me.

Zoey belongs to my mom’s neighbor and Zoey’s pen is close to my mom’s yard. Whenever I’m helping mom in her yard or inspecting the condition of her roof on that side of her house, Zoey lets me know if I get too close.

One day while on top of my mom’s roof cleaning out her gutters, I was dreading having to go to the side near Zoey; her bark actually scares me. As I slowly walked across the top of the roof and down to Zoey’s side I realized that she wasn’t barking.

As I leaned over I could see mom whispering to Zoey and saw how calm that had made the usually anxious canine. I couldn’t hear what mom was saying, but Zoey was lying down and listening intently. Neither of them were paying much attention to the “stranger” on the roof.

It was rather sweet to see how that frightening bark could be silenced with soft whispering. Mom was showing concern, patience, and maybe just a little love for the neighbor’s normally loud dog.

A few weeks later, when mom was out of town visiting my aunt, I got a call from mom’s neighbor from across the street. He said that he had scared off prowlers from my mom’s yard the night before.

Apparently Zoey had alerted him to the presence of the prowlers with her loud barking in the middle of the night. He went outside to investigate and had interrupted two young people trying to break into my mom’s house on the side near Zoey’s pen.

Like I said, Zoey doesn’t like strangers much; she’s more of a guard dog than a house pet. But, thanks to Zoey and her loud barking, the prowlers’ break-in was foiled.

I have a new outlook on how I feel about Zoey. I’m more understanding and grateful that she doesn’t like strangers much, including me. She saved my mom from a frightening experience and gives mom reassurance that someone she cares for is constantly watching out for her. First impressions, even of dogs, are often misleading.

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