Great Dog Stories (17 page)

Stuart

Three keys to more abundant living: caring about
others, daring for others, sharing with others.

W
ILLIAM
A
RTHUR
W
ARD

S
tuart is a kind, considerate Welsh corgi gentleman…er, gentledog. When he wants us to go out and play, he asks. He does this by standing in front of his desired human playmate. Okay, so sometimes he also barks very loudly and obnoxiously—which isn’t the best of manners—but at least he’s polite enough to state his request.

One of Stuart’s favorite outdoor pursuits is playing ball. When the ball is thrown across the backyard, both Stuart and Squitchey, our much smaller terrier mix, take off after it in a huge rush. If Stuart gets there first he’ll pick it up, but then allow Squitchey to take it from him and run it back to their human play partner. When they were younger, both dogs would have their mouths on the ball and run side by side. But now that Stuart is a little older and slower, he lets Squitchey do the legwork as he follows proudly behind her.

There is another way Stuart cares about and shares with Squitchey. When I put a dish on the floor for the dogs to lick, Stuart licks first as the alpha dog. But at times, he licks only one half of the plate. He leaves the other half untouched so Squitchey can have it. I have seen him do this repeatedly. Does Stuart know fractions? I don’t know how he figures it out, but I think it’s amazing! As a dog, does Stuart do this out of consideration, or is it just coincidence? Much as I’d like to think it’s on purpose, I suspect the real answer is that God allows it to teach me a lesson.

I like to share, but in this life it’s easy to get wrapped up in my own world and forget to care about others. My intentions are huge, but my actions are minute. For instance, when we moved into our new home five years ago, I had every intention of hosting a barbecue for our neighbors. When the neighbors on the north side of our house had a baby, I intended to give them a baby shower. We did visit both sets of neighbors and get to know them. But now they have both moved away and my good intentions never came to fruition. They got lost in the shuffle of time.

I’ve also wanted to share our apples. We have a beautiful apple tree in our backyard. These apples make wonderfully tart pies. They are a Fleishauer specialty. My intention is to make some of these apple pies for my new neighbors—or perhaps invite them over and enjoy the pies together. It will be a sacrificial gift that I will enjoy giving. When I bake the pies, I will thank God for the apples and think about how Stuart’s sharing sets an example.

I appreciate what God has shown me about sharing through Stuart, but He has an even better story in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings. The prophet Elijah had declared that Israel would suffer a drought because of their idolatry (1 Kings 17:1). God then ordered Elijah into hiding. First he went to a wilderness area and was fed by ravens. Then God sent Elijah to the home of a widow in the town of Zarephath of Sidon who He had commanded to feed the prophet.

This widow was extremely poor. When Elijah asked her for bread, she told him she had just a small amount of flour and oil. She said she was going to use them to make one last meal for her son and herself and then they would die. Elijah told her to do what she’d said, but first to make and bring him a small cake of bread. He promised if she did this, God would keep supplying her with oil and flour till the drought was over. She trusted God and obeyed Elijah. She shared her food, God kept His promise, and her flour jar and oil jug never ran out no matter how much she used.

Both Stuart and the widow were willing to care about others and not just themselves. That’s what I want to do also. Stuart shared his plate, the widow shared her food, and through their examples, I want to share my apples.

If you can’t pray a door open, don’t pry it open.

L
YELL
R
ADER

J
ody didn’t usually go for May–December romances but Snoop was the sweetest, most charming guy she’d ever met in her life. She was in her mid-twenties and he was only six weeks old when they were introduced. It was love at first sight. Jody couldn’t resist the charms of the boisterous and handsome golden retriever puppy and knew in her heart that he was the one. Snoop became her canine soul mate. She couldn’t have been more blessed.

It was a completely different story with males of the
human
species.

Jody had met enough Mr. Wrongs to fill a baseball stadium and had been through several failed relationships. Mr. Right was proving harder to find than an ultra-rare Honus Wagner baseball card. There are 57 known Honus Wagner cards in the world, but Jody’s universe seemed to have zero eligible men. By her account she’d gone on close to a million blind dates—or at least it felt that way to her.

When Number 999,999 opened the front gate to her walkway, Jody had a flicker of hope. He
looked
nice. But he’d have to pass the Snoop test. Any potential suitor had to realize it wasn’t only Jody he would be dating. It was a package deal: a girl and her dog. Jody let Snoop out and hung back on the porch to see what would happen. Snoop bounded down the steps, tail wagging, full of expectation…and the guy jumped back six feet before Snoop even had a chance to sniff him out. Jody shouted, “Oh, don’t worry, he won’t bite. The worst he’ll do is lick you to death.”

Number 999,999 recoiled as if she’d told him the dog had a combination of lice and leprosy.
Lick
? His tone of voice implied disgust to the nth degree.

Jody’s flicker of hope went out. Number 999,999 would be the last straw. She swore she was done with dating and decided Snoop was all the man she needed.

Of course, a few days later her roommate set her up at a restaurant with Blind Date Number 1,000,000. The date with Rick exceeded Jody’s expectations, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up. She cut right to the chase and invited him home to meet her dog. It didn’t matter if Rick was charming, handsome, and gainfully employed. If he and Snoop didn’t hit it off—it was
three strikes you’re out
!

Jody stood in the shadows of her elevated porch and watched as Rick’s car pulled up in front of her vintage Craftsman-style house. As he opened the front gate, Snoop rushed down the steps and galloped straight toward yet another gentleman caller.

Jody fought to keep that tiny ember of hope alive in her heart. She’d never had a double win situation before. She and Snoop both had to be crazy about a guy who was crazy about them. Even if everything was perfect between her and Rick, and even if Rick liked Snoop, if Snoop didn’t bond with Rick it was a deal-breaker.

Jody held her breath and prayed. Her romantic destiny was about to be decided by a dog.

Snoop came at Rick like a smiley-faced guided missile. Rick stood his ground and smiled back. Then, in a gesture that still warms the cockles of Jody’s heart, Rick dropped down on all fours and met Snoop with a big embrace. They bonded like long-lost twins and wrestled all over the grass. As Rick let Snoop lavish his face with “disgusting” licks and kisses, Jody knew Rick was the one-in-a-million. Before he even walked through her front door, she knew the three of them would be a family.

Time proved those matchmaking instincts were right.

Jody and Rick made sure they got married in a grassy outdoor setting so Snoop could attend. When Rick whistled, Snoop the ring bearer, wearing a collar of flowers, padded down the aisle with the bands. Of course, a honeymoon fit for three had to be arranged—a month-long tour of the national parks. And when Rick went back to work at his RV repair shop, Snoop rode with him and had his own place at the shop to hang out.

A long time ago, in a land far away, someone else was faced with the challenge of finding the right mate. Abraham wanted his son Isaac to marry a girl from their homeland, not one of the local Canaanite bachelorettes. So, Abraham loaded ten camels with expensive gifts and sent his servant packing. The servant wasn’t told who the special girl was, only that God would send an angel ahead to assist him. After a long journey, the servant brought his camels to the well just outside the town where Abraham’s relatives lived. Here’s his account of what happened next from Genesis 24:42-46 (
NLT
).

Ta da! Wedding bells for Rebekah and Isaac, just like for Jody and Rick all those centuries later.

With matrimony and other matters we consider important, God has a variety of ways to inform our decisions. His toolbox includes His Word, His Spirit, wise parents, friends, and counselors, and even plain old common sense. But for some jobs, God occasionally uses signs as well. He gave Gideon a fleece, three wise men a star, and Abraham’s servant a young woman’s offer to water camels. So, why not use the instant bonding of a canine soul mate and prospective hubby to help point Jody to the man of her dreams?

Yes, sometimes God even has a dog or two in that toolbox of His.