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BUS STOP — There seems to be no animal more specially designed to care for children than a golden retriever.
As a little girl, I was terrified of dogs. After a neighbor's golden retriever started following me home from the school bus every day, I ran as if my life depended on it.
But one day, after running into my house and slamming the door behind me, I happened to peak out the window and saw the dog still standing there outside the door, rather forlorn. So I opened the door and dared to pet him.
From that day forward, he escorted me home — and made me (mostly) overcome my fear of canines.
Escorting children to and from the school bus may be among a golden retriever's special talents, as this video shows.
A pup named Sam takes his human sister to the bus each day, and keeps a close eye as she gets on the bus in the rain, snow and sun. When the bus pulls away, Sam is free to run back to his house.
"When it became uncool for me and my husband to go to the bus, Sam kept going. And he kind of used this as his job. So he does his job very well, he does his job every day," Sam's owner says in the video shared by the Dodo.
But after taking her to the bus, the loyal dog knows his job isn't over.
"He knows exactly when she comes home at the end of the day, he will stand right in front of the door. ... He is a pure soul."
The video shows Sam running to his sister as soon as she gets off the bus, and bringing her home — a job well done.
