So Carmen's thread about Buffy started me remembering stories my mom told me about their GSD when she was growing up. I didn't want to hijack her thread, so here they are.
When she was growing up, they had a German Shepherd named Cubby. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard about Cubby, including once she was up at a friend's and they saw the train stop before the trestle. My grandparents house was right next to it, and often "hobos", as my mom called them, would seek out my grandparents and do odd jobs in exchange for a meal. My grandma fed many of them and washed their clothes even. This particular day, my mom and her friend watched a very scruffy looking man approach her house. My mom got scared and wanted to go home, but her friend's mom wouldn't let her. My mom said the woman told her "Your mom has Cubby there. That dog won't let anything happen to her".
Her other favorite story is when my grandfather started to get after her brother and grabbed him and started to spank him. Apparently Cubby leaped up and grabbed my grandfather's arm and left quite the bruises. (Her brother took this opportunity to run and hide). When he went in to look at his arm and my grandmother asked him what happened, he said "That D@mn dog bit me!" to which she replied, "That's what you get for trying to spank his boy".
My mom said it was the only time Cubby ever bit anyone and it was also the last time my Grandpa tried to spank my uncle.
Lastly, she tells about how when he got to the point where they knew they had to let him go. My Grandpa told the family he was taking Cubby to the vet the next day to put him to sleep. They cried and cried all night my mom said, and all day at school. As she was walking home, crying, there, to her surprise, was Cubby sitting on the front porch. The vet wasn't there that day!! So they had to go through the whole thing all over the next, but she said it actually was slightly easier because she'd practically cried herself out.
For myself, my neighbor's down the street had a GSD named Schatzy. She was an awesome dog and followed us everywhere. Once, our gang was riding bikes, minding our own business and we happened to be stopped in Schatzy's driveway. These "older" kids, about 12 or14, came by on THEIR bikes and started squirting us in the face with their squirt guns and laughing. I guess we must've started whining or crying because here comes Schatzy, hauling a$$ at that trot that means she's gonna take some names. Those two boys took one look at that GSD coming straight at them and us going "Get 'em, Schatzy!!" and they couldn't get their bikes moving fast enough. That's when I knew I would have a GSD someday.
What about you? What's your favorite feel-good story from the past?