Great Dog Stories (7 page)

At last, the two men broke into huge smiles. Then they started howling with laughter, and Raul joined in. They shook Ryan’s hand and Raul revealed that his sister hadn’t told any of them about her date. She had gone next door to borrow a cup of sugar for her mom and would return shortly.

Once everyone had settled down, Ryan asked about the huge pit bull who had growled at him. He explained that the dog was the reason for his rapid, unexpected entrance into their home. Was the dog rabid or just a crazy wild animal?

After Raul translated this, all three of them guffawed again—even more loudly than before. Raul explained that the dog, Diablo, was their pet. He was really a very sweet dog, but he was protective of his family. They had rescued him from the desert when he was just a puppy. He’d been left there to fend for himself. Passersby had thrown things at him. He’d probably had to fight for food and become aggressive as a way of survival. When Bella’s family found him he was hungry and tired and had a cut on his forehead.

They had caught the needy stray and brought him to their home. They’d taken care of him, fed him well, and loved him. At first he’d had a hard time responding positively. His nasty growl made them think of Satan, so they named him Diablo. They refused to give up on their devil dog. After a few weeks, he seemed to realize that love was better than hate. He accepted his new family and neighborhood. Since he was a devil no longer they considered changing his name, but he already knew it, so they left it.

Ryan feared Diablo’s name still fit him rather well. When Bella’s family let him in, Ryan stood frozen as Diablo slowly circled. Then Ryan warily stuck out his hand. To his great relief, Diablo licked it, and everyone laughed once more. Bella returned and apologized for not being there when Ryan arrived. The two went off for a wonderful evening—Ryan armed with a brand new story to tell her over dinner.

Human love healed Diablo’s past hurts so he was a devil dog no longer. How much more can God’s love heal and free us! Jesus’s life and ministry are powerful proof of this. In some cases, He cast out literal demons, as with the Gerasene man who had multiple evil spirits (Mark 5:1-13). In other cases, His love healed and freed people from the “devils” of sin, guilt, shame, rejection, and hurt.

Diablo didn’t stop being a devil dog the moment he was loved and cared for. It took time. But Bella’s family stuck with him, and in the end, love conquered. Are there Diablos in your life who God is calling you to stick with and love until their devils are conquered too?

Conscience whispers, but interest screams aloud.

J
EAN
A
NTOINE
P
ETIT
-S
ENN

D
aisy had been praying for a dog—not just any dog, but a dog God had picked out for her. So when a friend called to say her son had rescued an abused stray from a tough inner-city neighborhood, Daisy was intrigued. Then she saw the dog. She was greasy, flea-infested, covered with sores, had a cut nose, and her hair was falling out. A bath and a prayer later, Daisy decided to keep this scrappy street survivor—and named her Harriet.

Daisy soon took Harriet to meet her friend’s dogs. On more than one occasion, Harriet muscled in and scavenged any food left in her host dogs’ bowls. When the other dogs rightfully tried to reclaim their food, Harriet turned “wolf” and backed them off with snarls and bared fangs. Daisy commanded Harriet to stop, but Harriet couldn’t restrain herself. She continued to gulp down the food, like she did on the streets, all the while keeping an aggressive eye on her more mannered peers. Daisy began to keep Harriet tightly leashed in the presence of other dogs. Harriet was off the street, but the street was still in Harriet.

Within the month, Harriet gave Daisy another surprise. This dog was pregnant, and in due time gave birth to a litter of five. Daisy was amazed to see this street dog with attitude suddenly turn mother, patiently allowing her hungry pups to suckle to their hearts’ delight. When the little ones were old enough to be weaned off milk, Daisy spread out five bowls filled with puppy chow. She made sure each pup had its own spot, then proudly watched as they ate their first solid meal. But what caught Daisy’s attention was Harriet’s unusual behavior. She was sitting calmly to the side, watching her puppies gobble down their food. Normally, the sight of another dog dining would transform Harriet into a food-stealing bully. But Harriet restrained herself,
leashed
herself, and waited until her puppies finished their meal. Then and only then did she get up to eat from her own bowl. Daisy was impressed. Because of the special bond between mother and child, Harriet was able to restrain her selfish nature and put the needs and welfare of her pups ahead of her own. Daisy wound up keeping one of the puppies, a female named Cinco. To this day, Harriet restrains her old nature and allows her daughter Cinco to eat in peace.

Human parents are also called upon to exercise self-control. When it comes to playing games or sports with a young child, any mom or dad will tell you it often becomes an exercise in restraint.

When our son Skye was five, we put up a mini-basketball backboard in the house. It was mounted on the door, about six feet off the floor. This was almost double Skye’s height and it was very challenging for him to make a basket—especially when he was playing against me. I could slam dunk at will and block any shot he could throw up. If I’d gone all out against my young son, I could easily have demolished him—and his spirit—scoring thousands to his zero. But because he was my son, because of our father-son bond, I restrained myself—something I would not have done if playing against someone my own size. With Skye, I missed shots. I slipped and fell so he could run circles around me. I pretended to block. I allowed him to double-dribble, to foul me, even tackle me and pull me down, all without penalty. Because I loved this little guy, I voluntarily leashed my powers and my competitive nature so he could have fun, enjoy the game, and feel good about winning.

A mother dog restrains her desire to eat first in deference to her pups. A human father restrains his superior athletic powers when playing basketball against his five-year-old son. If natural love has the power to inspire such restraint, what restraint might supernatural love inspire?

The Bible tells us. In the most amazing act of restraint in the history of the universe, the Son of God restrained His awesome divine power and went to the cross in obedience to His Father’s will. He told His tormenters in Matthew 26:53, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, who showed the ultimate restraint—so we could have the ultimate gift of eternal life.

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret;
it is only with the heart that one can see rightly,
what is essential is invisible to the eye.

A
NTOINE DE
S
AINT
-E
XUPÉRY

I
think I should hire Stuart to help me choose my friends. He seems to have a special instinct about people. It’s as if he’s got heart vision goggles that help him look past their outer appearance to their true inner selves.

Stuart is great at telling us which folks he does or doesn’t like. If he’s uncomfortable with whoever is coming into our home, he makes a big deal of barking and acting uneasy. If we allow them in anyway, he will keep barking at them or stick close to us and go into protective mode.

One time a salesman came to my door and wanted to sell me a cleaning product I had never heard of before. He showed me what it could do by using it to clean my front porch table. I was curious to find out more and he seemed safe enough, so I let him in. Stuart was very unhappy about this. He would not settle down. I tried to make him go outdoors, but he would have none of it. He stayed right by my side the whole time the salesman was there. Every time the man would get close to me in the course of showing his wares, Stuart would growl at him. The man seemed harmless to me, but later on in the day I noticed that the little calculator I had left on the porch table was gone. Maybe Stuart knew more than I did.

Stuart is also quick to let us know when he likes someone. He welcomes the visitor with bright eyes and happy woofs. This is what he did the first time our daughter Christy brought a very special young man named Steven home to meet us—a young man who would become her husband.

Naturally, Steven was somewhat nervous to meet Christy’s parents. Little did he know that he would first be vetted by our dog. Stuart greeted Christy and then checked out her beau. Stuart’s calm, sweet spirit seemed to shout, “This guy can stay!” As Steven walked through the entry into our living room, Stuart barked happily, inviting his new friend—well, actually
begging
him!—to go outside and play ball. We all headed into the backyard and the bonding began. Stuart stuck close to Steven for the rest of the evening, sitting beside him, smiling his goofy corgi smile.

To the world, Steven is a wonderful young man with a heart of gold. Still, he’s not royalty or a rock star. Steven has celebrity status in Stuart’s eyes, however. These days, Steven can’t come into our home without going straight to the backyard to join Stuart in a game of ball. When they come back in, Stuart sits right beside him. I’ve never seen him take to anyone as fast as he did Steven. I’m sure he also may have sensed that Christy loved him, and that helped his decision. But even so, his unconditional love surprised us because it was so fast and easy. Our son, John, told Steven he had never seen Stuart act like that. Even John himself had not gotten Stuart’s doggie stamp of approval as quickly as Steven did.

Stuart’s sense of people is helpful, but he’s still just a dog. God can help us infinitely more. Our all-knowing Lord sees exactly what’s in people’s hearts. Jesus demonstrated this during His earthly ministry. There were religious leaders in His day who looked fabulous on the outside, but Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs.” He wasn’t fooled by their outward charade of righteousness. He knew their hearts weren’t right and they needed to confess their sin and come to Him for forgiveness. There were also people who, like Steven, were either quite normal-looking on the outside or looked downright “yucky” to the religious mucky-mucks. But Jesus knew their hearts were hungry for Him. He welcomed those folks, like Stuart welcomed Steven, and they became devoted followers of His. Some even made the “who’s who” of famous biblical figures.

I prayed for Christy’s husband all her life. When she brought Steven home, I felt confident that God had brought them together. Stuart didn’t know this, but it was fun to get his confirmation. God is eager to give wisdom and discernment to all His children, if we will just ask. Will you let Him put His heart vision goggles on you?