The Grrr rescue attendant looked at Kay with compassion but high concern.

“She’s already been brought back here three times.”

“Okay,” Kay said as the little black bitch of a dog ran into her arms.

Kay understood. A fourth return and Calista would go for a deep sleep.

“She was found on the side of the road during COVID. She bites unexpectedly, has serious PTSD, and oh, she has an aversion to umbrellas and canes,” and with that summary, the paperwork was completed.

And with those heeds, warnings, and pronouncements, Calista, meaning ‘most beautiful’ in the Greek language, joined the Armstrong Clan.

In our first meeting, she rolled over to allow access to her stomach and proceeded to nail me—a strong nip. There is a scar.

Blood flowed, my temper rose, and still, she eyed me with her black, deep-set eyes as if to say, “Surprised you, didn’t I?”

Our military dog trainer and friend says his Dad called the terriers “thugs in clown suits.” I had just experienced the thug.

Later, as she did her zoomies, all clowns were envious.

Calista chooses her clan members carefully.

She immediately bonded with “Nana,” her surrogate grandmother, Miss Junie. The two can be inseparable. Uncle Matt is a favorite and can invoke the Zoomies. And there is her “Dad.”

Sitting in my chair at night, she will snuggle with us and allow us to love on her. And yet, when it comes time for a bath and grooming, she has to be sedated.

Still, we make no sudden moves. It’s been a while since she awakened from a bad dream, snapping and snarling. Now and then, she will groan a bit as she sleeps. Remembering the bad days.

Then again, no one should suddenly move around me, either. I understand and respect her needs.

She’s a protector. Her sharp bark ensues when someone enters the tribal area and again when she has not given her permission for them to leave.

She insists on following you to the bathroom and always sits facing the door to protect you from any advance.

As I write, she is as close to my chair as possible, having received her morning love and attention.

Shortly, we will love on one another again and figure out the rest of our day.

That’s what us thugs and clowns do on a spectacular and lovely autumn day.