The Makings of a Dog Lover and a God Lover

I’ve owned dogs since my marriage in 1995. I wasn’t around dogs much growing up and didn’t really like them. Until the day my husband talked me into getting a puppy. We ended up going down to the Humane Society. From the moment I saw his cute little furry face and big puppy belly, I was in love. All his litter mates had been adopted already. He needed hernia surgery that would cost extra. We were rescuing him. The adventure started three days later when the sweet little angel, Bear, ran non-stop from one end of our tiny rented home to the other end for two hours straight. But it was the beginning of my relationship with dogs. I knew next to nothing, but it didn’t matter to Bear. I was the primary trainer in the house. I made a ton of mistakes, but he loved me anyway and we learned together. Since then, there has been Gator, a German Shepherd who we lost to bloat, and Moose, a Golden/Shepherd mix who we will lose in a short time to cancer. Finally, Bison, registered Indo vom Triton, who is the main focus of this blog (pictured on the right).

This beginning makes me think of how we come to God. I was only four years old when I decided to give Him my life. My sister told me about John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” She explained that we can go to heaven when we die if we ask forgiveness for our sin. Even at the age of four, I knew I had done bad things. I don’t remember if she told me the verse at the time, but 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I bowed my head right there in the garage and with the faith of a child asked God to forgive me for my sins and take me to heaven when I die. In the church world, we call that “getting saved” because of Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

My relationship with God started that day and just like with Bear, I knew next to nothing. It didn’t matter to God, He loved me just as I was. Through the years my relationship has grown deeper and sweeter. Not only am I a dog lover, but I am a God lover.