GUARD DOG

                    Though Gyp may seem the fearsome guardian
                    Of our household, give credit too to Tig
                    Who, though she isn’t measurably big,
                    Is one dauntless protector of our den.

                   Her penetrating yaps and gravelly growls
                   Would give any would-be intruder pause,
                   Thinking to save his ankles from her jaws
                   Or that the neighborhood would hear her howls.

                   “She’s only little on the outside,” I’ve
                   Said often when describing Tiggy to
                   Someone who, seeing her, cannot contrive
                   What her ferocious clamoring can do
                   To back presumed intruders to the wall—
                   All that from one who’s just ten inches tall.

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