The love of a dog

If, like me, you grew up with dogs, you understand the love and affection a four legged friend can give you. I remember my parents getting me a puppy as a very young child and, much to the dismay of my parents, he grew up to be quite large. His name was Chief and, as told to me by my parents, was half German shepherd and half Irish wolfhound. While he had the coloring of a German shepherd, he had the floppy ears of a basset hound, the nose of a bloodhound, the legs of a greyhound and a long tail. My dad used to take him out to the desert where rabbits lived and let ol Chief chase rabbits until he was tuckered out. Still don’t know if my dad meant thedog was tuckered or himself, but that acted like a gym to Arnold Schwartawhattsis. And of course he consisted of a dog kibble, dinner leftover and special treat diet. He would get his own ice cream when the family went out to Thifty or his own buger from McDonalds. And of course being a part of the family, he was protective of us and willing to fight to the death to protect any one of his pack.

Through the years, I have had dogs and cats as pets/companions, but none more loyal and loving as a dog.

After Chief, there was Dino von klien Shadow. A local breeder named Gunter, yes that was his real name, bred German Shepherds for show. Shadows father was named Dino and was an international champion and his mother was a national champion and Shadow….was scheduled to be put down due to hip displasia. After an empassioned plea to Gunter, who took pity on me, I was allowed to take Shadow home for the fee of $50. His pedigree was clearly stamped ‘pet quality only’ so as to guarantee my not breeding or showing him, but I was looking for a friend not a thing. Lots of excersize and a diet rich in dairy and protien, ice cream; cottage cheese; leftover steaks I got from the restaurant I worked at, he built up the muscles of his hip to overcome the birth defect and was a loyal and loving dog/pet/friend for nearly 18 years.

After starting a family of my own, my family has a black labridor named Hercules that really did not like the water. Then Otis, Shiloh and Mongo (long story how a female dog was named after a character in Blazzing Saddles). But all of them, gave unconditional love and would have fought to the death to protect their pack family.

Today, Otis passed away at nearly 16 years out living his mate Shiloh (13 years and died of cushings disease) and Mongo (also around 13 years and died of canine cancer). Otis must have died of old age and a broken heart in his sleep.

So I ponder just why God gave mankind such a loyal and loving companion. And it came to me…to prepare us for the unconditional love of God himself. How else will we understand, in some small part, his love for us? He gave us the dog. Spell dog backwards and you might understand that God himself blessed the dog to be a loving and loyal comanion. And, as you may have suffered the heart ache of loosing a loving companion, that is, in a small way, an example of Gods heartache when we reject Him.

Now, as I have said, I have had cats before and I don’t dislike them, but to understand the difference between a dog and a cat I must first ask:

What is the difference between a dog and a cat?

The dog looks at the owner and thinks ‘wow, this guy feeds me, gives me water, spends time with me and loves me. He must be a god”

The cat looks at the owner and thinks ‘wow, this guy feeds me, gives me water, spends time with me and loves me. I must be a god”

The dog, I believe, was sent by god to be an example and guardian. And some people don’t believe in angels, well, some don’t have wings but have fur instead.