We may soon have surrendered our gold retriever, Beau. He would bark so endlessly at our new nanny, Claire, I just could not stand it. We believed he was simply jealous or simply unhappy adapting to the baby. However, all of that seemed to change after the night when I decided to review the security camera footage- after doing so I felt my blood turn cold.
We had too much joy in our lives when our daughter Zoey was born. My wife Rose and I had been trying several years to have a child. She was our miracle, Zoey, after so many visits to doctors, to be disappointed so many times. And, I was surprised I had taken fatherhood by the very fiber of my being. I got prepared to have restless nights and to change diapers. I went crammed to it.
Beau had been ever a gentle-goofy dog–the kind that makes puddles out of burglars and wiggles his tail at thunder rolls. He was a rescue, the first baby of ours before Zoey, and we loved him whole-heartedly. However, Beau started to behave differently when we brought Zoey home. He sprang to ultra-vigilance, following Rose everywhere about the house, and settling himself on the edge of the crib like a furry policeman. We felt it was sweet– possibly even instinctive, at first.
After that came Claire. She was a favorite pick, appeared to be friendly and was immediately welcoming to Zoey. Yet Beau saw more than we did. He growled ever since she came in the door. He blocked her access to the crib, growled when she reached out to Zoey and even once bared his teeth. It frightened us. We were afraid he would go mad and beat Claire, or worse still, beat our daughter. This started our conversation about the agonizing possibility of rehoming him.
Next was the time when Rose and I went out to dinner, desolate with need of relief. Claire remained with Zoey and Beau was fortified in the laundry as she wished. Just halfway through the meal, I received a frantic call by Claire claiming that Beau had made attempts to attack her after picking up Zoey. She was trembling. and behind I could hear Zoey crying.
When we rushed home, Claire was holding Zoey in an emotionless face. Beau was at the gate, dogged but not restless. Claire said that he had pounced at her. However, something did not sound right. Beau was the old fellow, I grant you, but aggressive? I was too well acquainted with him. I chose to review the video.
Everything was shown through the camera feed.
Claire went indoors and within seconds stuffed a gray backpack behind the couch. She took a tablet out of it and placed it on the coffee table and started livestreaming. The screen was filled with comments, hearts, and emojis as she was talking to the unseen audience. The stream by the title showed, Nanny Nights, Part 12. She explained the quality and patterns of Zoey sleeping as though it were a parenting blog. Our baby had turned into a private exhibition of strangers.
Gradually, as the stream proceeded, Zoey cough and wheezed in her crib. Claire was enthralled with her tablet and her AirPods on. This was when Beau arose. He kicked the crib, and barked like mad, and even went on the rug in his endeavour to attract her attention. At last he snapped his jaws in the air by her leg–not to bite, only to start her into action. It worked. Claire pulled out her earphones and picked up Zoey and consoled her. And then she somehow placed Beau in the nursery.
He was attempting to rescue our daughter. And we almost gave him away.
Claire came the following morning with that characteristic grin and her infamous gray backpack. Rose unlocked the door with a print screen of the video. One look was all Claire needed before she turned pale and walked off without a word.
We sent in a report, closed her stream and pressed charges against her agency. And regardless of whether there was some legal implication or not, we all knew that Beau was never the one to worry about. He was the savior.
We made him a silver tag with the words, Zoey Guardian. And he sleeps at night with her in her crib–not because he must, but because he desires to. He is in love with her. She is special to me since he saved her when we did not notice the danger.
The employment of Claire proved to be a wrong decision as it helped reveal the real position of Beau within our family. He is not a pet. He is her father, our security blanket and she is reminded that sometimes, the only person looking out you… wears four legs.
