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Essa came into my life in a very turbulent and sorrowful year, a year marked with both human and household passings.  Even as a small puppy, Essa grew quickly to adopt a very intuitive role towards her 'family', showing empathy, sensitivity and compassion--comforting each of us when we were sad or anxious--understanding, without being told, how to respond best to our moods and our spirits.  She has retained her huge, faithful heart to this day, having weathered, along with me, the loss of a parent, my very first Bergamasco E-girl, Ellie, my 13-year-old Belgian Sheepdog, Lex, and Louise the kitty, all in her first year of life with me.   In stark contrast to Essa's empathic gifts, however, were the other realities of life with Essa:  she was far and away the most trying and difficult of young pups, testing me at every turn, and challenging me to understand all her many unique behaviors.  It was Essa who irrigated the old couch and bed, Essa who left many 'presents' for me on the rug, Essa who chewed the baseboards in the kitchen and customized my car, Essa who asserted her independent nature in these ways, and Essa who displayed such amazing (and daunting) 'animal' and herding instincts.  With much positive coaxing, she grew to love and bask in the attentions of children, after first deciding they were utterly terrifying creatures.  Her innate intelligence and strong and robust personality at first took me by surprise, when trying to grapple with her 'bad girl' image in my mind.  Yet, in her persistence of being true to her own nature, I soon grew to realize that all of her best and most loveable qualities were emerging from behind the veil of her troubled puppyhood;  her zest for life, the ways in which she throws herself wholeheartedly into any task at hand, how ALIVE she truly is--Essa lives each and every moment to its fullest!  Essa stands guard over the portable TV antenna, and upon the "Bite the Fly" command, she attacks this fierce adversary and threat to general household security--she is the queen of 'antenna defenders'!  Essa loves to stir everyone into action, and when playing, she will shake her flocks of hair to stand out all over herself, truly like a lioness with a mane!  She is beautiful, she is vibrant, she is faithful, she is awesome, she is all I could ever dream of in a companion!

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