Pat,

Thank you so much for the perspective. AWESOME!

I too have myself a four-legged protector named Apollo. He's a 70lb Chow/Black Lab mix, with a heart of gold, but mischief on his mind.

I also have two cats, Shaienne and Chelsea, who have gotten used to "Big Brother" being around, much to their chagrin. Chelsea is my recluse, you only see her at dinnertime, or bedtime. Shaienne, she's everywhere. She plays like she doesn't like Apollo, but nobody's fooled.

One day this past winter, I was out shovelling Mother Nature's offering, and I heard a crash come from the house. I came inside to find Shaienne, sitting pretty as you please, next to the glass top of the coffee table, and Apollo is nowhere to be found.

A search of the house found him cowering in my bedroom, like a deer in the headlights. Further investigation revealed it was, in fact, my cat Shaienne that had upended the table by jumping too close to the edge. I put the table back in its place, and headed back out to clear my driveway.

No sooner do I pick up the shovel, and I hear all Hell breaking loose in the house. I come in to find Apollo had cornered Shaienne, and she wasn't happy, snarling and hissing her little black butt off, but Apollo wasn't letting her outta his sights.

Apollo wanted to prove to me that he didn't do anything wrong, it was Shaienne. He was tattling on her!

So, I too have learned that my 'protector' also does his best to cover his own butt, much like children do when they do something wrong.

Jenn