* Lessons from a Mutt!

Sally

Recently I took on a rescue pup named Sally.

Sally is about 6 months old and might as well be a wild animal. She has no domestic skills whatsoever. Destined for the death chamber in a kill shelter she was rescued by the good people at Labs & Buds. Can't say enough about these people. If you’ve ever known someone involved in dog or animal rescue, there is a vitality about them that is infectious.

Sally has taught me many life lessons so far. I’d like to share a few.

* Respect Boundaries!
Sally withdraws any time my hand comes near her. She forces her face into the corner of her crate. At first this was okay, but after the first day I really wanted to get in and pet her. As I approached her crate and reached into the opening, she immediately fled to the back corner. All I could think of was, “Why does she reacts this way?”

The story cannot be good at all.

I decided that Sally is protecting herself for a good reason. To force myself upon her would be violating her space. No matter how much I wanted to help her, I needed to first respect her. And her body language was clear—STAY AWAY FROM ME!

It occurred to me that if I keep trying to pet her, it was more about ME then it was her. That is selfish.

Doing good still has its limits and
cannot violate the law of respect.

* Patience Produces Fruit
Sally requires a lot of patience. She would be considered “slow” in the educational system. Yet I know otherwise. Her life history clearly impacts her learning. If she is worried about being hit or harmed, then how can she feel secure to receive love? Every time I try to pet her, I get the idea that Sally is saying to me, “Don’t hurt me…and if you don’t hurt me this time, you will hurt me sooner or later.”

But if we hope for what we do not
yet have, we wait for it patiently

* There is a Community that Cares
Sally has no idea how many people love and care for her. She lives in the moment of whatever she feels. Before I picked up Sally from the vet, she was rescued from the kill shelter in Los Angeles, was operated on at a care clinic, and then transported to a vet in Reseda.

I had to make the necessary phone calls, pick up a large carrier, fill out paperwork at the vet, take her home, call the rescue group, and set up her new home. Since her arrival, there was a visit from one of the rescue workers and the following day from a trainer that was concerned about her reclusive behavior. There have been trips to the pet store for food, collars, and a leash..

All this for a dog!

Sally has a committed community that loves her. She will never realize all the people involved in her life, people that want to see her healthy and recovered from her troubled past. They want her to live life to the fullest!

If we are made in God’s image, and all these people spent this much time on a dog, doesn’t that reflect the tremendous love of God for us? Why would God create people with a desire to reach out, to support, to care, to love…and not do the same Himself?

A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Sally has made these verses come alive for me;

Psalm 91:14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

Matthew 25:35-36 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I guess life’s lessons can walk on four legs!

--Joe Ventura