“God couldn’t be physically with us so he gave us dogs… & notice Dog spelt backwards is God & they both show unconditional Love!”
One of my biggest beliefs is that God works in magical and mysterious ways as the author of our lives. Nine years ago God gave my family, my furry little brother, Percy. We weren’t looking for a dog nor were we ready to go through the puppy stage. It was around Thanksgiving time and my stepdad was going duck hunting. As he was backing the boat into the water, his headlights flashed into the woods and up popped a little head. That little head was a 6 week old, pit-bull puppy with a broken leg. He scooped him up and continued to go on his hunt, the puppy lying there bundled up next to him. When he was done hunting and returned to the truck, he sent my mom and I a picture. Our immediate response was, “that’s not a duck!” Within a few hours of him arriving at our home, he had a name, a bed, and was ours, and we didn’t even know it. To say he has been the best dog ever is an understatement! Today he went to Heaven, to be our doggie angel!
These are some of things he has taught me:
1) Unconditional Love: Percy loved with all that he had! Even when he got in trouble for eating the swing, he loved unconditionally. Even is we left him at home all day, he loved. His love is much like Gods… regardless of if we leave him at home for long periods of time… he loves us. Even when we do wrong and blame him…he loves us. Even when we choose others… he loves us. Everything He does is for us and to show us His love.
2) Sacrifice: Percy never barked, unless something was wrong. One day he began to bark on the back porch and we couldn’t figure out why. When my mom and I tried to go outside to see what was wrong he growled at us. He never did that before and we didn’t know what was happening. After several minutes we realized that there was a cottonmouth snake wrapped in his blanket, inches away from him. But he pressed himself firmly against the back door and would not let the snake get any closer to us. He kept himself in between the snake and us. He was willing to sacrifice himself to keep us safe. It wasn’t until we went around, through the gate, into the backyard, still putting himself in between us, that we were able to kill the snake. Like Percy, God sacrificed everything for us. He gave up his life, so that we could have an eternal one.
3) Joy: I have never in my life seen someone; dog or human, be more excited than Percy was every night before his walk. Percy exuded joy all the time… when he saw his dad, when he got bacon, and most importantly, in his death. Even until the end, he showed joy, because he knew he had given us so much and filled a place in our hearts we never knew was empty.
Dogs truly are a gift from God. I pray that my little furry brother and I meet again in Heaven one day! Or maybe like that movie, Percy will come back to life as a new dog and fulfill a new purpose in someone else’s life. Regardless, I am thankful for all that he taught me and all the snuggles he gave me!
