Around 6:00 a.m. I headed outdoors to feed the horses and the dog. I was dumping Gretchen’s food into her bowl when she suddenly exploded next to me and raced down the lawn toward the back pasture.

Startled, I looked up in time to see a beautiful sight. A buck, a doe and a fawn had stopped by to graze the grasses and get a drink. Upset at the dog, the Doe took off first with her baby following and the Buck bringing up the rear. I yelled at the top of my voice ‘GRETCHEN NO!” and to my surprise and delight, Gretch skidded to a stop and whirled around to look at me. Her eyes said it all “Please Mom let me play with them.” I called her back to me and she came at my call. I put her into the kennel with her food and swung the door shut. I had a feeling once I vanished into the house, she would have given chase.

Thank God that even at 7 months old, Gretchen is smart enough to listen when she has to. That buck would have defended his family and he had at least 6 points of defense at his disposal.