Today as I write this blog, I am dog-sitting for my granddaughter Shevawn’s’ new puppy. As you can see Rusty’s a little ball of fur–and sharp baby teeth. He’s already bitten a hole in my favorite yoga pants while trying to get my attention.

But he’s so cute and playful and eager to connect, how can I be mad at him? He just wants to romp and play and lick my face.

I’m reminded of the dog I had as a child. Her name was Topsy and she was black and white and had the prettiest eyes. But Mom could only handle so much–with three children and her dad living with us in a two-bedroom house. One day I came home from school to find that Topsy had been given to a family on a farm where there would be plenty of room for the dog to run and play.

I bawled my eyes out, jealous of the kids who would now call her their dog–or did Mom simply make up this story so I would accept that at least Topsy would be with good people? To this day I have no idea what the truth is. But I still think of her often and wish we could have stayed together.

When my kids were little I was determined they would have a dog. So we got a Boxer–much too rowdy and big for our small house and young children so we couldn’t keep him. I had to let him go just as Mom had to let Topsy go. Later we bought a small, manageable black and white Boston Terrier and she became a true member of our family.

Puppies, like babies, take a lot of care and time and tending to but I now know that these early seasons of life will pass and things will settle down and the joy of sharing love with one of God’s sweetest creatures is a real privilege. They give so much in return for even the smallest gestures.

So here I am again, including a dog in my life, even though he’s not mine alone–and appreciating the compassion that stirs in my heart when I enjoy God’s gift of a dog.

How about you? Is or was there a special pet in your life?

“…who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?” Job 35:11