King, He Earned His Name

We have always had dogs, ever since I was a child and then as soon as I moved out. We've had seven dogs so far. But, a few of them have stood out for something unusual and special. King was one of them.

I will never forget the first day I saw him. He was so sad. With a broken toe on his left front paw, he limped in and approached me. I was sitting on the floor and Chris brought him into my apartment.
He looked at me intensely, his eyes told a story. He had lost his beloved owner and been left outside for quite a while. I don't know what he ate or if he had water, but the first thing he wanted was love.
He laid his big head in my lap and my other female dog lay next to him. As if she understood.

I hugged him and gave him the attention he craved. He turned out to be one of the smartest, loving and most loyal dogs I have ever know. We took the dogs everywhere. Dustin and King were loved by everyone. They were so well trained they could walk down a major highway and stay at your side without a leash. King he was extra special. He could read people. He understood things a dog doesn't usually understand.

One day I had to take them both to the veterinarian for their yearly shots. As I pulled into the lot
I noticed only one other car there. A lady was exiting her car and had the back door open. When I let them out, King pulled out of my hand and ran over to the woman. I didn't expect it and was kinda shocked. He ran to the car, about fifteen or so feet from me. I noticed something on the ground as the woman grabbed her purse. All I could see was King grabbing onto what I realized was a toddler!
He had him by the rear end and it appeared he was dragging him.


I screamed his name and he ignored me. I screamed it louder and the woman yelled to leave him alone. So I thought King was actually hurting a child. I couldn't believe my eyes. I ran over and got to the other side of the car as King dropped his package. The woman ran and picked up her small child, she was crying and thanking me. Thanking me? She pointed to a ledge by the back of her car. There was a ten foot drop into a pool of water, and the fence around it was gone. Apparently, King had seen the child and ran over to pull him from the edge. His mother hadn't known the toddler climbed out.
She didn't now there was a drop off. All she knew was that my King, had saved her child. She offered to pay me, and then she wanted to buy him. I told her he was a family member and not ever for sale. She reported it to the local newspaper and they gave him an award.
Most valuable dog. Which I already knew he was.

That was how he was. He truly earned his name...