Gretchen- Worlds smartest dog by Mike

In the pets category, a word needs to be said about our dog Gretchen, bless her heart and spirit. She was, I think the smartest dog that I ever knew. We got her as a little puppy from a family that belonged to our church. She was the runt of the litter and not wanted by anyone, as she couldn't be sold. When she came to us she was about a foot long, and an active, playful, and affectionate little furry thing. She grew to be about 20 lbs, small for her mixed breed, but really adorable. She was our watchdog, the kids protector, and the stabilizing factor in our home. At the time we had a frightful monster living in our basement, warty, evil smelling with rotten teeth, ugly, quietly lurking and waiting for any child to venture forth into the catacombs that was the basement where the freezer with all the food is kept. One of the kids would be asked to go to the freezer to get a lb of hamburger. Reluctantly, they would comply, but sending their dog, the sacrificial lamb, Gretchen, to go first to face the ogre waiting at the bottom of the stairs for an innocent child to gobble up. Gretchen would, unwittingly go to the bottom of the stairs and protect the child from harm at the hands of the most ferocious of all beasts. When she appeared to be all right, and not consumed by said ogre, the child would go to the freezer to retrieve the requested meal for the evening. Thus it was said that our dog Gretchie was truly our savior on that scale.
Gretchen knew the sound footsteps made on our driveway and recognized each one as friend or foe. If a postman or meter reader would set foot on the stones the crunch would register with her and she would cause a stir that would wake the dead from a trance. If it was one of us, or friend Ron, a neighbor down the street, or someone who has been to the house and greeted her and given her a friendly back scratch or tummy rub, she knew the sound of the footsteps and would be at the door to greet them with a silently wagging tail. Let a repairman knock on the door, and they would be greeted with a snarling aggressive dog that looked and sounded as if she would tear them to shreds and spit out the pieces. That was our Gretchen. She would put the kids to bed and when they were asleep come down stairs to be with us. Then the next oldest would have to be taken to bed at the time, upstairs she went until that child was asleep. Her responsibilities fulfilled, it was bedtime for her. A great, good dog.