My parents used to have a Border Collie they named Molly. When this dog wasn’t tirelessly chasing the tennis ball we were throwing to her (that she would then throw back to us), she was attempting to herd up our only slightly amused horse that insisted (sometimes forcefully) it didn’t need herding. But regardless, Molly would sit out in the pen for hours, crouched and ready to spring into action if the horse made any kind of move.
In the same way, Molly would sit out in the front yard with my kids when they’d go outside to play. She’d wear a happy grin on her face, but this always-working dog was ready to spring into action whenever my son maneuvered his bike down the road. Nothing came between her and the kids – not human, car, or anything else that might threaten their well being. Molly made sure of that. The kids were her sheep, and she was ready to protect them if anything were to happen.
That’s why I’m not super surprised (though incredibly heartwarmed) at the news story of the 2 year old South Carolina boy who went missing, and was found the next day with his faithful dog by his side.
Jacklyn Jacobsen didn’t think anything of it when her son, Tyler, ambled into the kitchen Friday evening to get some juice. But it was when he didn’t come back that she realized something was wrong. She went in the kitchen to find that the door was open and her son was missing. This led to a 12 hour search for the toddler. The temperatures went down to 40F, and Tyler had only been wearing a diaper. The search was called off in the early hours of Saturday morning, but resumed later that day. He was eventually discovered that day, hanging out in a neighbor’s yard, the family’s Lab-Dalmatian mix, Skylar, by his side.
“Just thinking that a dog would watch a baby over the night, it’s kind of like a movie instead of real life,” neighbor Emily DuBose, told WIS TV.
Neighbors claimed they had heard a dog barking through the night. They had also heard the searchers, and they stayed indoors thinking that police were searching for burglars. One thing they didn’t hear, however, was a scared child crying thanks to a faithful dog that stayed by his side.
As for my parents’ dog, Molly, she sadly passed away a few years back. Buried with her is the tennis ball she loved so much. She leaves behind her sister in canine, Zoe. And my parents have since welcomed a new dog into their family, a Terrier mix fireball named Rosie who, at this point, is more intent on saving feet from their toes than saving lives. But perhaps one day she’ll also be a great protector of the family.
Do you think your dog would protect your family the way Skylar did for Tyler?
Wine Country Mom 
I think this story is amazing! For that dog to stick with the 2 year old over night, what a dog!
Here is a story about one of my loving dogs: I have a black lab mix named Maya, who is now 9 years old. When she was about 4 years old, she would go on daily walks with my then 80 year old grandfather, who is no longer with us. When he would take his walks, Maya would be constantly by his side as he strolled along with his walker. If he stopped, she stopped. One day while walking on the sidewalk with Maya, one of the wheels of his walker slipped off the curb and he fell into the street. People who saw him there tried to get to my grandfather to help him up but Maya circled him and would not let anyone near him. The only person she let get to my grandfather was our neighbor, who knew Maya and my grandfather. Now, I know people were trying to help him, but the fact that Maya was “protecting” my grandfather from unknown people made me so proud of my Maya dog.
Just goes to show, love your dogs and they will forever love you back…
That story just gave me chills! It’s amazing how protective dogs can be of their humans.
That’s dogs for you. I mean, they didn’t get the reputation for loyalty for nothing. This is very sweet.