She arrived in a nicely wrapped cardboard box sitting on the passenger seat of my dad’s car. She had a red ribbon around her neck, a nice coat of ebony black fur, with blue green eyes that can give the most piercing stares or the gentlest glances. My birthday gift, a two months old black rottweiler puppy, Leila, has arrived.

     I loved Leila. I would spend hours everyday playing, training, annoying and getting annoyed by her. She would jump out of nowhere and pin me to the ground just to give me yet another sloppy lick on the cheeks or on the lips. She never grew tired of that. She would watch me play sipa and retrieve it for me, and I didn’t even teach her how to fetch for it! Either she was that smart that she observed that every time my sipa flew off I needed it back, or she just enjoyed playing fetch. On Sunday mornings I would go to the market and often she would follow me. Hard as I tried, I can’t make her go back home and just wait for my return. Later on, she learned to carry stuff and so I made her a custom basket. Her basket was made with a special wrap and cushioning on the handles to make it easy for her to grip with her mouth and carry. When Leila got older she easily carried 5 kilos of pork without breaking a sweat, and neither did she give in to the temptation of eating it. 

     Leila was also the most jealous and protective friend I have ever had. She would walk beside me at all times and would check out anyone who approached me. When I seemed to get lost in conversations with friends while she’s around she would gently bite at my hand and place it on her, a sign for me to give her a little attention and a good rub. If anyone approached me in a rather threatening manner she would quickly run up front and stand between me and the other person, her eyes seem to burn with fire and pierce the soul of the person in front of her. One wrong move and she’s sure to try to take a bite or chase the person until the person is too far away to cause me harm.