I Am Thankful For What My Dogs Have Taught Me

They tell me today is National Dog Appreciation Day! Well, I am thankful to my Lord Jesus Christ for my dogs he has put in my life. My first dog, Zip, was given to us kids back when I was in the 6th grade. I cannot find a picture of him. I know we have some, I have sister Deb looking! LOL! (Buffy is pictured at top, Brownie Below her) Brownie,  passed away going on 5 years ago at age 17, while I was on air at KKIM. She was beaten by her owner with a shovel, she never really recovered from that trauma as she did not like any men except me and son Lars. She was as loyal as they come! Many of you know that Buffy our oldest ministry dog at 16 passed away this past February. It is even hard for me to write about her, being gone. She was my constant companion for 15 years. She stuck with me through thick and thin. She loved on me and Sharon no matter what was going on. I learned from Buffy to love no matter what. She was shot 4 times with a BB gun, one very close to her heart. She was kicked out of the house when she gave birth to her babies. They called her a rescue dog, but no, she rescued us. Buffy then welcomed Reno into our home, we rescued him from a house that had 29 other Beagles in it. He was very, very sick. Sharon picked Reno out. Buffy did not bat an eye, she looked after him. When she was passing away Reno laid on her to show her how much he loved her. You can see the big heart Reno has just like Buffy! Buffy beat cancer 3 times, but then……Reno has beaten cancer twice. Now Reno has Miss Daisy in his life! Miss Daisy is also a rescue dog, having been beaten by her owner! We call Miss Daisy the Queen of the house like Buffy. Daisy is a 29 pound black and white Beagle. Reno takes a back seat to her so I can “drive Miss daisy” Daisy is just thankful to have a home, just like we all should be. Sharon also picked out Daisy. Gretchen and Lars picked out Brownie and Buffy.

I have learned to be a better person through Zip, Brownie, Buffy, Reno and Daisy, despite all of them being abandoned by their owners and beaten and in Buffy’s case shot! I am not sure if Zip or Reno where beaten, however. My dogs have taught me to love more, care more, understand more, forgive sooner and live in the moment, not taking tomorrow for granted. They all were what is called “rescue dogs” but they rescued me! I know I have been rescued by my Lord Jesus Christ! My dogs have rescued me plenty of times from sadness or negative thinking. I am convinced that dogs improve our mental and physical health! For me they have even helped me love our Lord more…for His creations.

Buffy served as a ministry dog, she ministered to young and old as does Reno. Miss Daisy now has joined our team for God!

Billy Graham wrote this about animals:

Yes, God made everything that lives on the earth — including the animals. In the beginning, the Bible says, “God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals….’ And it was so” (Genesis 1:24).

And yes, the Bible commands us to take care of the animals under our care. One of the signs of a righteous man, the Bible says, is that he takes care of his animals (see Proverbs 12:10). Even the animal of an enemy was to be treated kindly: “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him” (Exodus 23:4). One reason God commanded His people to rest one day out of seven was so their animals would be refreshed (see Exodus 23:12).

In fact, the Bible says we must never treat any part of God’s creation with contempt. When we do, we are indirectly treating our Creator with contempt. Instead, God calls us to be stewards or trustees of His creation, and the Bible reminds us that we are responsible to Him for the way we treat it. We’ve often forgotten this — but it’s still true, and when we ignore it we not only hurt God’s creation but we also hurt ourselves.