Earning His Keep

Oreo is fiercely protective of our girls.  He doesn't like anyone or anything near his girls.  He even barks when Mommy or Daddy hug the girls.  Some days this drives me crazy.  I don't need the extra noise as I'm hugging the girls before they go to bed or trying to quickly put on their gloves so we're not late for school.  Last week, I was completely grateful for his protectiveness.
We were walking after his dinner when a stray pit bull ran up to us.  Oreo positioned himself between that dog and the girls.  When the blond twin shifted closer to me, he moved his body to block her.  He growled a low, quiet growl which actually scared me.  I just kept trying to figure out what I was going to do if that dog decided to attack us.  Oreo is too strong for me to control him if he decides to fight. 
There I was with the girls shaking, the dog growling, and my arm hurting as I tried to keep Oreo from lunging.  He really wasn't going anywhere, though, unless one of the girls moved.
Luckily one of the neighbors saw what was happening and tried to grab the stray dog.  It had tags and a leash, so at least I knew it belonged to someone.  He distracted the dog so we could get away by going around the corner.  I kept saying "Thank you" as we walked away.  He just waived his hand as if to say "Get out of here." 
Oreo got a treat when he got home.  I always knew he'd protect the girls form strangers, but I never thought about protecting them from other dogs as part of his job until then.