On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by， we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas at a local station， we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He not only raced to the car， he leaped onto the hood and put his nose on the wind-shield， looking directly into my eyes. No way was he going to be left behind. So into the station wagon he jumped and settled down in the back for the ride to the picnic. He stayed again Sunday.
Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back. As evening came and German didn’t appear， we were all disappointed. We were convinced that he had gone home or been found by his owner， and that we would never see him again. We were wrong. The next Friday evening， German was back on our doorstep. Again we took him in， and again he stayed until Monday morning， when our housekeeper arrived.
This pattern repeated itself every weekend for almost 10 months. We grew more and more fond of German and we looked forward to his coming. We stopped thinking about where he belonged－he belonged to us. We took comfort in his strong， warm presence， and we felt safe with him near us. When we saw German come to attention and perk up his ears， and heard that low growl begin deep in his throat， we knew we were protected.
As German became part of the family， he considered it his duty to check every bedroom to be sure each child was snug in bed. When he was satisfied that the last person was lucked in， he took upon his position by the front door and remained there until the morning.
Each week， between German’s visits， I grew a little stronger， a little braver and more able to cope； every weekend I enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back. We never saw or heard from German again.