If you were working in the kitchen, you knew where Xena would be: on the big corner step where she could keep watch over her people in the kitchen and over the world outside to ensure no intruder went unbarked at.
We adopted Xena in Texas when she was 9 months old. She was a mixture of blue heeler (ACD) and, allegedly, black lab. We think there must have been some sort of scent hound in there--she ran with her nose to the ground unless she was fetching a tennis ball. She nurtured Shiner and made sure he knew how to catch a ball and play bitey face and catch-me-catch-you.
We lost our Xena Warrior Princess to cancer that was too advanced to stop. We will miss her forever.