Bella barked furiously, as simultaneously, a knock rapped at the front door. I looked at my doorbell camera on my iPhone and saw that the guy from DoorDash had left a bag with my dinner right outside my front dog. As I played the 30 second recording, I saw that he had placed the bag outside the door and knocked once until he heard Bella’s barking. Then he turned around and ran back to his car about as fast as I’d ever seen any delivery person retreat to his or her vehicle.

Maybe it was the sign on the door that said “Beware of Dog.” Or maybe it was her loud, deep, menacing barking that anyone approaching the house heard. It was indeed a frighten bark.

What nobody knows is that Bella is a sweetheart. All she wants to do is jump up on visitors and lick them. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. On the other hand no one would know that to look at her. She is an American Staffordshire Terrier — a close relative of the American Pit Bull — and is 70 ponds of pure muscle.

And Bella is a great guard dog!

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Written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Story Starter Saturday Mix. The story starter this week is the opening sentence in red.