Brave dogs:

A couple in the South Eastern city left their home at dusk to run an errand in their neighborhood. Their 17 year old daughter fixed dinner while they were out, and the family sat down at the table shortly after the couple returned.

The young girl announced with some intensity in her tone "Daddy, we've just got to do something about our dogs (two Pineneedles Standard females), they are just awful acting. They chased off the repairman you told to come here and fix the heater. He came while you were gone. I've never seen them act like that, they were vicious and I could not even control them to lock them up so he could come into the house. He said he'd call back later for another appointment to fix the heater."

Her father looked at her and said, "I did not talk to a repairman, the heater was just put in a couple of months ago - its brand new." It was soon discovered that the telephone line had been cut, damaging some aspects of the household electronic security system. The "repairman" had obviously been a criminal who intentionally tried to enter the home knowing that a young girl was there alone. The pair of Pineneedles Standards had realized the presence of danger, and totally unaffected by the young lady's nativity in believing a criminal's lies, had defended her in spite of her own efforts to the contrary.

These two standard poodles had been well trained (not guard or k-9 type training) and are normally very obedient. Had they not followed their "canine intuition" the result could have been a robbery, possibly a rape, or even an abduction or murder. It is doubtful that the girl will ever make a mistake of this sort again, and very fortunate that she lives in a house with standard poodles.

The lawer's wife nudged him awake and whispered "There is someone in the house." It was the middle of the night, and the lawyer quickly retrieved a pistol and a flashlight from the night stand beside their bed and quietly headed out the door and down the hall to confront the intruder. His intention was to slip up on the burglar.

This couple had, at the time, a large male standard podle. They were in their fifties, empty nesters, and lived alone in the house with just their dog, which normally slept downstairs. As the homeowner reached the staircase, a series of loud growls erupted downstairs, followed by crashing sounds, screams, a string of obscenities, and then a loud crashing sound of shattering glass. Upon entering the kitchen, the attrney found his dog on in possession of the room. The burglar's entry had been achieved through a window apparently not hooked up to the security system - and the intruder had exited (obviously in a great hurry - possibly being bitten) by smashing out a large window
located in the kitchen's entry door and leaping through it.

This couple was extremely proud of ther dog, and after it passed away immediately undertook to replace him with standard male puppy born of a large sire and dam. That search led themto Pineneedles, which is how this story came to be here.

The woman was awakened by barking in her face. As she focused on her dog, a standard poodle just a few days shy of his first birthday, she realized there was smoke in the bedroom.

The house was a single story ranch. This lady and her husband were empty nesters, just the two of them and their standard poodle lived there. She woke her husband up. To avoid flame and smoke, the man guided his wife out a back door not normally used. Outside, they realized the young standard had run ahead of them as dogs love to do, toward the door normally used, rather than follow them out the back. The yearling pup was still inside the burning house. The man left his wife in the yard and went back inside to save their dog. He failed and the dog died. As a result of his actions that morning, this man spent twenty one days in the burn unit at Atlanta's Grady Hospital.

This couple possibly owe their lives to the warning provided by an alert standard poodle. That a grown man so loved a dog as to enter a burning building, at peril of losing his life, to save his dog is extremely unusual. It reflects on the ability of the breed to express love and devotion to their families and to the nature of the human heart in responding.

Funny dog:

A retired couple have a Pineneedles standard poodle. They live in an out lying area and every other night or so have whitetail deer visit the backyard of their home. They enjoy watching the deer through a pair of sliding glass doors opening onto a patio.

Their dog enjoyed watching the deer also, so much so that he would become excited and bark. The deer would flee when he barked. The gentleman discouraged the dog, making it clear he did not want the pet to bark. The next evening several whitetail doesreturned to the yard. The dog sat with his people watching the deer. He became excited, but did not bark. Soon his excitement level increased until he was pacing back and forth, shaking a bit with intensity, and obviously struggling not to bark.

Suddenly the dog turned and ran from the room, heading for a back bedroom located on the other side of the house. Upon reaching his destination, our cooperative canine let loose a series of loud, deep throated barks. Having thus expressed himself, he rushed back through the house and stood at the glass doors next to his surprised family and resumed watching the deer - silently. The muffled barking had not sent the deer running, as the same barking directly at the door would have.

The couple were so impressed by the learning/problem solving ability of the dog, and by his determination to obey their wishes, that they were kind enough to call up and share their story.