A Good Samaritan Tale (or Tail)

We found this dog wandering our neighborhood last Sunday. I had seen him earlier in the week and realized he was either lost or abandoned. When we got home from church and he was heading out of our front yard, I called, "Here, boy!" and he came bounding toward me with his tail wagging.

He was quite thin, so we put him in the back yard and for a week we have been fattening him up. Every day he wrapped himself a little tighter around my heart strings. I tried desperately to find his home, but to no avail.

Yesterday, I was thinking about what name to give him. The temperature was supposed to drop to 30 degrees and I was going to bring him inside, give him a bath, and make him a part of our family of pets--a dog, a cat and a bird.

Little did I know that he had other ideas. When I arrived at home last night, he was gone. I will always wonder where he went, how he is, if he's warm and fed, and if he found his home.

It's a Good Samaritan tale of sorts. If I had left him running loose, was I doing my duty to protect God's creatures? I know the Good Samaritan story from the Bible, Luke 10:29-37 is about people, but for this one week, I think it was about this dog. I could have easily passed him by or called the Animal Shelter to pick him up (and I nearly did this, but my Grandson wouldn't hear of it!).

I learned that it's not always easy to do the right thing, but in the end it feels so good. I will miss this sweet black dog. I hope he found his way home.

Praying Girl

First Day of Spring

On the first day of Spring five years ago, my daughter and three-year old grandson accompanied me to the City of Tulsa Animal Shelter. I invited them along to help me select a dog to adopt. I wanted a dog who would not only be a companion for me, but would also be a playmate for my grandson.

We were shocked at how many dogs were at the shelter that Saturday. I wanted to take them all home. After a couple of rounds through the shelter, we started making lists of the dogs that were potential candidates. By about the tenth round, we had come back to the same cage several times. I said a prayer and chose the dog whose "rap sheet" said she was very sweet.

On our way home from the shelter, my daughter and I were trying to give our beautiful new dog an appropriate name. We discussed several flowery names, but nothing really fit. Almost at the same time, we both said, "Today's the first day of Spring." And Spring had her name. Like Spring showers bring flowers, our Spring showers us with love and affection.

She stole our hearts immediately and after only a week in our home, I was certain that God answered my prayer and helped me to choose the perfect dog for me. The First Day of Spring had definitely arrived on that day of March 20, 2004.