man's best friend

I am dogsitting for a friend this week and I think I have fallen in love. Perhaps a first for me when it comes to our canine friends. We always had a dog growing up and I do enjoy them. I love curling up with my parents dog on the floor or tossing a ball with him. I think they are cute and fun. But sometimes I just feel overwhelmed by their boundless energy, slobbery tongues, and that unshakable musty smell. I like my space and dogs are somewhat blind to that sort of thing. But I think my shell started to crack a few months ago when I read Marley and Me (at the recommendation of my brother and his fiance, avid dog-lovers). I laughed, I cried. I closed the book and thought I want a dog and did a double-take. But I am not a "dog-person" (whatever that means) Hmmm.... I better tuck away that desire before I do something rash.

Then in January, I visited classes at a grad school and heard a lecture on animals and theology. The professor talked about how much we humans have in common with animals. We tend to like to compare ourselves to God, but the Bible really shows more distinction between Creator and created than between human and animals. Yes, we are made in God’s image but apparently the word used to describe human life and animal life is the same. Anyway, I could write a whole blog post on that lecture but that’s another story. One of the biggest things I came away thinking about was how animals are victims of the fall. Don’t worry, I’m not off to sign up for the local PETA group. But seriously. We caused the fall. Sin is a human problem but the whole earth is profoundly affected. Animals suffer because of us.

I’ve said for awhile that I like people too much to be able to handle a dog. Dogs require so much, they are needy, I said (as if we people aren’t?). I’ve said that the communication barrier is frustrating and that dogs just don’t like me. Excuses, excuses. Really, it comes to this: loving anything is hard. Taking care of anything demands sacrifice. Well, I think this little dog I’m taking care of this week melted my heart of stone (for now, at least). His little nose peeks over the side of my bed when the alarm rings. He whimpered and wouldn’t leave my side as I cried my way through Wit (side note: great but heavy movie, starring Emma Thompson as a professor of John Donne’s poetry... she is diagnosed with stage five ovarian cancer and the movie follows her lonely and introspective journey through chemo). This little dog follows me everywhere not asking for anything, just because he enjoys my presence and wants to hang out. He loves so fearlessly and embraces little pleasures like a stray strand of yarn on the floor, rain hitting the window, or a squirrel perched on the porch railing. I have a lot to learn from dogs about faithfulness and taking risks and just living.