A pet’s link with its human family is valuable. There’s little doubt that their dog was an important member of the family.

Dad was worried about his pit bull/retriever mix injuring their kid when she first arrived home. As a result, he informed his wife that if anything else than a kiss occurred, the dog would be ejected! But when the dog did something unexpected, the father realized what it meant to be a “man’s best friend.”

The tale below, given from the father’s point of view, demonstrates how commitment and love may emerge from unexpected sources.

His story:

“My wife and I had two dogs before we met and brought them into the marriage.” Her dog, Zack, was a pit bull/labrador hybrid who despised me. When our daughter was born, I told my wife, “If he even nips at the baby, he’s gone.”

When we returned home with our kid in a car seat, both dogs sniffed and kissed her, tails wagging. Zack wouldn’t stop licking her, so I had to take him away. Zack quickly became my daughter’s guardian, and when she was resting on the floor on a blanket, he had to have one foot on the blanket.

Zack adored my kid and, as she grew older, always escorted her to bed and then slept on the bed with her. He somehow knew when it was time to go upstairs, and he would wait for her at the bottom of the stairs, then follow her up to bed.

We endured one of the worst days of our life when Zack was poisoned by some scumbag neighborhood kids. My wife and I were both weeping as we watched my daughter say goodbye to him as he lay lifeless on the kitchen floor.

My kid climbed up the stairs to bed at 8:00 p.m. that night. We were all aware of what was about to happen at that point. She hadn’t had Zack follow her upstairs in 5 years. She gave her mother and me a terrified and panicked face.

My dog, who adored my daughter but was no match for Zack, rose up, moved up to her, and poked her with his head at that very time. He stepped onto the stairwell and gazed up at her. They moved up to the bed, my daughter clutching his neck hard.

Sam waited for her at the stairs every night for the following 6 years, until he died.”

What an awesome love and devotion tale!