Gentle Doesn’t Mean Silent: A Big Dog Teaches a Boy Boundaries

my boy that gentleness means being a rug again—

I will stand.

I will be the wall.

And if I have to, I will show my teeth at the story that says protection is a sin.

Because true kindness isn’t silence.

It’s courage.

And courage, sometimes, sounds like a low growl that says:

No. Not here. Not him. Not anymore.

So I’ll ask you the question the neighborhood couldn’t continue reading …