Great Dog Stories

by M. R. Wells

  Consider This:

  Do you have or know a child who has a strong passion for something? Has that passion been quenched or encouraged? How might you support its safe and wholesome expression? Did you yourself have an early passion? Was it supported? In what way is it still part of your life now?

  Why Wally Bloomed

  Talent Needs Nurture

  There are two lasting bequests we can give our

  children: One is roots, the other is wings.

  HODDING CARTER

  In Lili’s family, dogs and kids went together like salt and pepper. They were always spicing up each other’s lives. But time was passing, and one by one Lili’s children were heading off to college. Only her youngest was left at home when their latest canine, an adorable but feisty border collie named Lizzie, ran out to the street and was hit by a car.

  Lili and her husband were devastated. All their children were urging them to get another pooch, but Lili dragged her heels, not quite sure God was leading this way. Finally she learned there were puppies for sale at the end of her street. She decided to take a look. There was just one left, a boy. Without giving it much thought, she took the plunge. She named her new dog Wally.

  Lili’s little bundle of puppy love turned out to be spring-loaded for bear. He was an Australian shepherd, a breed that ranks number eight in dominance on a scale of one to ten. These dogs are herders. They crave activity. What Lili and her husband had was a Lizzie personality in a male puppy’s body. What they didn’t have was three active sons at home to run Wally’s energy out of him. They had one active daughter—but she would soon be following her brothers off to school.

  Conscientious parents that they are, Lili and her hubby tried to do their best by Wally. They took him to puppy classes. When that wasn’t enough, they got him private training. They invested more in Wally than they had in all their other dogs put together. And things still weren’t quite working.

  Christmas was coming. Right afterward, the family was flying to Australia for their eldest son’s wedding. Lili worried about who could keep the puppy in their absence. She also realized that in just a few months, their daughter would graduate from high school and fly the coop. Their nest would be empty except for one less-than-controllable dog. Lili began to think about finding a different home for Wally. She chatted with a woman from a pet store. Next thing she knew, Wally popped up on a site for rescue dogs. They started getting calls about him from strangers. Finally, Lili told a family of four from San Diego that they could come and meet him.

  The family drove for several hours to reach Lili’s home. There were two children, a girl and a boy. The first thing Wally did was to knock the little girl over. He didn’t mean any harm—it was just his rambunctious way. The ten-year-old wasn’t hurt, but she started crying. Lili thought, “That’s it! No way will they take this dog!”

  They took him.

  Wally drove off to his new life, which included a fenced yard and new doggie pals. One month later, his new family emailed Lili. They loved Wally! He was great! A few more weeks passed and the family touched base again. They said Wally was winning agility competitions. Next thing Lili knew, Wally was a champion. He even had his own website!

  At this point, Lili’s husband only half-jokingly barked, “You gave away a champion?” To which Lili woofed, “He would never have become a champion in this house!”

  Years later, Lili explained to me that Wally taught her a vital lesson—one she’ll never forget. Talent needs the right soil in which to bloom. It’s crucial for the parents of dogs and children to provide that soil. Once Wally got the fertilizer he needed, he blossomed into a winner!

  My friend Sheilah saw that same principle play out in her grandson’s life. Raymond had real musical talent, but it hadn’t been developed. The family didn’t have the means to nurture Raymond’s innate abilities.

  In Los Angeles where they live, special magnet high schools are geared to specific areas of interest. When Raymond was completing eighth grade, Sheilah longed for him to get into a particular high school that focused on music education. But the time to apply had passed. Besides, the competition was stiff, and Raymond had no formal training. He couldn’t even read music. He just had one small drum that he played on his own.

  Sheilah loves Jesus. She knows He can do miracles if He chooses. She is also part of the leadership of my Bible study class. She shared her burden and we began to pray for a miracle for Raymond. Lo and behold, Raymond’s dad decided to take off work one day and bring his son to the music magnet, even though the new school year was about to start.

  Getting in at such a late date seemed impossible. But Raymond and his dad started talking to the school personnel. They were told to return the next day so Raymond could audition. Despite the lateness of the hour and Raymond’s lack of formal training, he was accepted.

  In this new, fertile musical soil, Raymond’s talent exploded into bloom, just like Wally’s had. Now he reads music. He plays in bands both in and out of school. For his last birthday he wanted a cymbal for his drum set, so Sheilah took her grandson to the music store. She found herself facing no less than a whole wall of cymbals. She never dreamed there were so many different kinds. Raymond spent an hour testing them one at a time, then finally chose a cymbal he thought might give him just the sound he wanted. He took it home, tried it out, and pronounced it perfect.

  The right nurture made all the difference to Wally’s agility and Raymond’s music. It’s also crucial to help us bloom spiritually. Our perfect Heavenly Parent understands this and gave specific instructions to the Israelites about how to plant successive generations in this rich spiritual soil. In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 Moses says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” God also gave the Israelites festivals to keep and pass on to their children to remind them of what He had done for them, and thereby grow their faith.

  Dogs and children are a gift from God. When they blossom and grow, He is pleased. If you are a parent of either, in what soil will you plant the lives entrusted to you?

  Do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

  Consider This:

  Have you ever nurtured a pet’s or child’s talent? How did it help them blossom? What blessings did this bring? Who in your life might God be calling you to nurture spiritually?

  Chasing Buggies

  What Do You Pursue?

  Most people never run far enough on their

  first wind to find out they’ve got a second.

  WILLIAM JAMES

  There were certain things that riled up my dog Gracie. Things that either tempted her or bugged her so much that she’d jump up from whatever she was doing (usually napping) and bark her head off and give chase. Deer and UPS trucks topped her list. Every dog has its own particular triggers that set off such reactions.

  With Pepper the Beagle from Pennsylvania it was…Amish buggies.

  Alex and his dog Pepper grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which has one of the largest concentrations of Amish in America. The farmhouse Alex lived in was like an island in an ocean of cornfields. The two-lane asphalt highway in front of the house was as neatly combed down the middle as if Moses had raised his staff and parted the corn himself.

  Compared to LA freeways, this was a road much, much less traveled. On a good day nine or ten Amish buggies would pass by, and it seemed this is what Pepper lived for. The Beagle would go nuts, barking, chasing, and nipping after the horse-drawn vehicles.

  Alex told me Pepper didn’t bark at other cars or trucks. The Beagle wasn’t particularly interested in horses or other farm animals. No, Pepper had a thing for Amish buggies. Whether they bugged her or turned her on, these buggies were Pepper’s passion; perhaps stirred up by a repressed Beagle memory of a time when packs of prehistoric Be
agles hunted down large, black, slow-moving dinosaurs. (Just a theory.)

  To prevent Pepper from dragging home an Amish buggy and burying it on their property, Alex’s parents began to tie up Pepper in the backyard whenever a buggy approached. Pepper could still see out onto the road and whenever the buggies passed by, she would bark her brains out—with the plastic leash in between her teeth. The more she barked, the more her sharp teeth would cut against the leash. This is proof that dogs know how to multitask. After a season of chewing and barking she’d break through the leash and take off after the buggy. Alex reported that Pepper probably went through one leash for each of her 14 years with their family. As to why they didn’t buy a steel-chain leash, Alex shrugged, “The plastic ones were so much cheaper.”

  No doubt, Pepper had a lifelong obsession with Amish buggies. They riled her up from puppyhood through canine AARP. She always barked at them. Always chased them with all her heart. She patiently chewed, year after year, through leash after leash, to pursue her passion.

  That’s single-minded perseverance.

  What are we willing to spend our whole life pursuing? And what goal ignites our passions such that we’re willing to chew through countless entanglements of an insanely busy life to reach them?

  I’ve spent a lot of my adult life writing screenplays that don’t sell. I have chewed through years of disappointment and frustration in pursuit of my dream of having a major feature film produced—only to be stopped cold, dragged back into the yard, and leashed up again. And from my back-to-square-one position, I still have a painful view of all the Amish buggies passing me by, of missed opportunities and daily reports of others getting their films produced.

  Yet year after year I persevere, I bark and chew and keep writing even when it hurts—because writing isn’t something I do; it’s who I am. It’s my passion. Until God shows me otherwise, it’s what I’ll do until the day I die.

  What is your God-given passion? That something that can’t be superficially scraped off like frosting on a cake? What’s your Amish buggy? What do you pursue that is powerfully instinctive and primal; something you were born with; something God planted in the deepest part of you?

  I believe we all have our Amish buggies.

  Back in Old Testament times, Nehemiah had a passion to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem that had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians around 600 B.C. When Nehemiah (cupbearer to the King of Persia) returned to his ancestors’ homeland 150 years later to do what God put on his heart, he was met with opposition. He had finished most of the wall, but still had to hang the huge doors. His enemies conspired and sent him a message inviting him to a meeting. But Nehemiah didn’t take their bait. He knew they meant him harm. They sent the same passive-aggressive message four times and each time Nehemiah sent messengers with the same blunt response: “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3 NASB).

  Don’t waste my time. Don’t distract me from my heart’s goal.

  Don’t get between me and my Amish buggy!

  Nehemiah’s enemies continued to put up more obstacles between him and the completion of the wall—but Nehemiah chewed right through them with Beagle-like persistence. The wall was completed in 52 days. It was an externalization of a passion, something quantifiable, like a chewed-up leash and a dog running after an Amish buggy.

  But beneath the surface of external things, there is a deeper underlying internal passion that must be pursued no matter how busy we are, how tied down we are, whether young or old, sick or healthy, rich or poor. In 1 Timothy 6:11 we are told to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”

  Can you imagine what might happen if you pursued God and these God-given qualities with the same passion and perseverance that Pepper pursued her Amish buggies?

  Nehemiah did.

  Here’s a little peek behind the scenes of the building project. It wasn’t just a one-man job. Nehemiah also got a little help along the way! In Nehemiah 6:9 (NKJV) we hear him pray, “Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.” And when the wall was completed in an impossibly short 52 days, Nehemiah lifted the curtain to reveal Who helped him achieve his heart’s goal. (Hint: The same One who planted it there.) Nehemiah 6:16 (NASB) tells it like it is: “When all our enemies heard of [the completion of the wall], and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.”

  What if you took after Nehemiah and pursued your heart’s passion and the God who planted it there—at the same time?

  Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor (Proverbs 21:21).

  Consider This:

  What do you pursue most passionately in life? What has been the result? Do you pursue God with the same passion? If not, what do you think might happen if you did?

  Part IV

  Tales to Lift Your Spirits

  Katie

  The Pup That Wouldn’t Give Up

  Persistence Pays

  Fall seven times, stand up eight.

  JAPANESE PROVERB

  Katie is a beautiful little border collie that Duane and Cher Jost adopted from the pound. At first she was timid and cautious, but her family poured love on her and she opened up her heart to them. Katie is a very friendly dog and quickly became a favorite in their beautiful country neighborhood. She had an early morning routine of going across the street and greeting everyone as they went off to work or school. They all happily greeted her too and then lovingly shooed her back home.

  One day a neighbor noticed Katie in her front yard, barking and jumping around as if she were on a mission. From her front door, the neighbor greeted Katie. Then she asked the dog to go home. Katie wouldn’t budge. She kept persisting in whatever mission she was on. Finally the neighbor stepped outside to shoo Katie away. But the moment she turned back to the house, Katie started insisting again. This made the neighbor realize there might be something more to Katie’s behavior. She started walking toward her barn. Katie ran circles around her and then darted toward the corral area. The neighbor suddenly noticed a newborn foal out by the road’s edge. The foal had rolled under the fencing and was lying outside the corral area. Without help, the newborn could have died. But thanks to Katie’s persistence, the neighbor found him and took care of him, and he was fine.

  That day, Katie was hailed as the neighborhood hero. Even though she was already loved, she got even more genuine attention from the neighborhood folks from then on.

  Katie’s persistence saved the foal’s life, but only because the neighbor responded. There was a choice involved. In my life, my doctor is persistent in giving me the right medications for my medical conditions. But if I chose not to take his advice, I could very possibly die. When I was having heart trouble my husband, Steve, was persistent in taking me to the doctor to be checked out. I told him I didn’t have time to go to the doctor, but he insisted. The next day I had a quadruple heart bypass. Had Steve and my doctor not been persistent I would not be writing this story.

  Back in the day when our children were young, during Vacation Bible School our home and car were always full of neighborhood kids. Some would stay for lunch and play. This gave them a chance to ask questions about the stories they had heard from the Bible, and it gave me a chance to talk to them more about Jesus. One particular young man would often stay in the kitchen with me after the others went out to play. We would talk about dogs or school or the swim team, but it would always end with him asking a question about the Bible. You could say I was persistent, but I would say that he was even more persistent in his questioning. Finally, one afternoon he decided to pray and ask Jesus to forgive his wrongdoings and to rule his life. He was probably in the fifth grade at this time. Now he is a grown man with a family of his own. He loves the Lord and lives to please Him. His persistence paid off. He lives a full life here and will have
eternal life in heaven.

  Katie’s persistence saved the foal’s life. Steve’s and my doctor’s persistence saved mine. The young man’s persistence in seeking God brought him life eternal. These are three proofs of Jesus’s teaching and Paul’s words in Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).

  Consider This:

  Have you ever struggled to persist in something and then seen your persistence pay off? What was hardest about keeping on? What was most rewarding about the end result? What did you learn that may help you persevere in the future?

  The Facebook Bark

  Communication Counts

  The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.

  CARL F.H. HENRY

  I love the classic Disney movie One Hundred and One Dalmatians. One of my favorite parts is the twilight bark. When the Dalmatian puppies go missing, their frantic doggie parents use a barking relay to search for them. News of their disappearance is woofed from one dog to another until finally, the puppies are found and eventually rescued from the villains who stole them.

  Well, that particular brand of social networking was a figment of storytelling imagination. So when my dear friend Charlotte’s toy Sheltie, Tess, went missing recently, she tried a Facebook bark instead.

  Charlotte lives on a farm in South Carolina. She teaches horseback riding and raises toy Shelties. She adores every puppy born in her home and has a standing policy that any dog can be returned at any time for any reason if its family can no longer keep it.