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The Great Dane was “owned” by a woman who’d accepted a date with an attractive, quiet man she’d just met in a bar. (Don’t judge harshly. It was the 1970’s and that’s what we did.) She gave him her address and they agreed he was to arrive at 8:00. Her place was a one-room beach house with sliding glass doors. While prepping for her date, she heard IT. Never before had she heard her sweet Dane growl like THAT. A slow, eery rumble electrifying the room. Immediately, she looked to where the Dane was staring. The glass doors. At first, nothing was there. Then she saw his outline come into sight - then the face of the handsome man who was going to buy her dinner. She punished her dog for growling. The dog never took her eyes off him, but because she’d been yelled at, she slowly backed away still with a low rumble in her throat. The ‘owner’ continued to yell and the dog lowered her head and her voice to the slightest audible vibration. Lest she scare off her date completely, the owner squeezed out the glass door, one knee, thigh, and hip at a time, while verbalizing: “Oh she’d never hurt you!” All the while wagging her finger at the Dane, admonishing: “Bad girl. Shame on you for growling.” At dinner, her date was so reserved and quiet, IT was all a bit creepy. The good night kiss was in the car, not at the Great Dane’s front door. The woman refused the offer of a second date. When she got in the house, her dog was happy to see her.. All was well and within an hour they both climbed onto the bed and fell asleep. The woman woke up to a sound she had heard only once before. The same hair-raising growl. She put her hand on the Dane and could feel the stiffness in her body, almost like the blood had quit flowing. The Dane’s attention was forward, hyper-focused on the front door. Nothing was there. Nothing. Black as pitch. The owner was ready to scold her Dog again when she saw the outline of the man's face just outside the front door. Then his eyes. Before the owner could think straight, the dog lunged at the door. His face disappeared. She never saw him again. She never heard that growl again. Kiss your dogs for me! Growls and all!
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