Witnessing the death of a pet is truly horrible. When I was a baby we got a Doberman puppy named Gretchen. We grew up together and I was her mistress. Doberman's are one person dogs for the most part and as much as my dad tried to be her master he could not. Gretchen protected me from everything whether it be neighborhood bullies to a beating from my parents. You could not touch me in her presence and she let you know that!
When I was around 5 years old, I was playing ball outside and the ball went into the driveway of our complex. I went to retrieve it. A car came along that was driving too fast for being in a driveway and almost ran me over. The reason it didn't run me over is because Gretchen saw it, ran to me and pushed me out of the way. She got hit and died in my arms, with me crying and screaming, moments later. I can still see it all these 40 or so years late in my minds eye. It is something I am not likely to forget. To this day I have a special place in my heart for Dobermans.
