Cassie today - now 20 years old.
When does a pet become more than a lovable companion? Our beagle mix, Cassie, was involved in an incident which showed us how she went from just a family dog to a fierce protector. We should have known this from the day we adopted her.
One summer day 15 years earlier, we visited a rescue organization and were choosing among three dogs. While watching them play in the yard, my 3 year-old daughter fell and scraped her knee. Of the three dogs, only Cassie ran to my daughter and licked her wound. I said, "That's our dog!"
Years later, my now teenaged daughter was out late at night. I had gone to bed and was sleeping soundly when Cassie jumped on my bed, scratching at the sheets and my arm incessantly. Not willing to get up for yet another trip to let her outside, I rolled over and told her to go back to her dog bed. Cassie became very anxious and continued to scratch the sheets, willing me out of the bed. Very annoyed, I finally got out of bed and followed her lead down the stairs. Instead of heading for the usual back door, Cassie led me to the door to the garage. She stared at the door and would not move. Curious, I opened the door to the garage and found my daughter at the steering wheel of my car, engine running, with the garage door down. Panic took hold as I saw her texting on her smart phone, oblivious to the deadly exhaust filling the enclosed space.
Frantically, I pushed the button for the garage door to go up and screamed at my daughter to turn off the car. While completely engrossed in her phone, she was unaware of the dangerous situation she had created.
Cassie, our intuitive dog, probably saved our daughter's life that night. We'll never know how she knew her family member was in danger but we are continually thankful that she knew what she had to do.