Buck
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog
By Nancy Gail Collins

Because I feel that, in the Heavens above, the angels, whispering to one another, can find, among their burning terms of love, none so devotional as that of "Mother."
~Edgar Allen Poe

Had I dreamt that noise? At 1:15 a.m., I couldn't be sure what I'd heard. I nuzzled my snoring five-year-old's ear and placed my feet on cold linoleum. There it was again, and this time there was no mistake. Someone was trying to break in through my back door!

I parted the blinds but saw nothing. Closing the bedroom door, I crept down the hallway. Approaching the kitchen, I heard a pounding noise. The sound was distinct now... clanking metal. I looked out the backdoor window and choked down my scream. It was my new neighbor's son, nineteen and a drug user. He was backlit by my security light, and I saw him wielding a crowbar with fury on his face. (Keep reading)