Rhubarb loved everyone and every dog. Whenever someone came to the house, she was always happy. We had an older Samoyed named Willie, and it was important that Rhubarb got along well with him. She wanted to play, but was very respectful of Willie and left him alone when he was tired and needed to rest. Willie was not well and died about a year later, but I believe Rhubarb's interaction helped him keep going for longer than ifhe had been alone. But the interesting thing about Rhubarb was that she never barked. She would sometimes get excited when she saw a mouse and make a little crying sound. One hot night when she was about 4 years old, we went to bed with the windows open and the doors unlocked. At about 3 a.m., I woke up to the sound of Rhubarb barking and growling. I woke Donald and we got out of bed. Rhubarb was coming toward us with her hackles  up. We turned on the lights and noticed the door to the kitchen was open. Then we saw the door leading into the house from the garage was also open. We quickly locked all the doors, and we did not get any sleep that night. The next day I called the police to report a break-in. I told them nothing had been taken, but they sent a police officer over to talk with us anyway. While he was here, we found out several local homes had been burglarized over the weekend. Most people had their wallets and purses stolen. My purse was right next to the door, but Rhubarb had scared the robber away before he or she could steal it. When the police officer left, he said we should keep our doors locked and reward Rhubarb with a big steak dinner. Rhubarb lived to be almost 12, but that night was the only time she barked in her entire life. Fortunately, she never saw the need to warn us of any other danger. We loved her like a member of the family and still miss our sweet dog. What made the author feel fortunate?
Rhubarb scared the robber away. She had such a family member as Rhubarb. Rhubarb barked once in her entire life. There was no need for Rhubarb to bark.