CaraBella, Queen of Flynnland

Psalm 30:5, 10, 11, 12

"...Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning."

"Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
      Help me, O Lord.”

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
      You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
      O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!"


Joy came to me in a fur package.  Her name is CaraBella, Queen of Flynnland.  Cara means beloved friend; Bella means beautiful; the rest is self explanatory.

Cara (formerly Queenie) was surrendered to animal control in Philadelphia late December/early January.  Then the wonderful folks at Second Time Around Rescue, STAR, pulled her from there, had her spayed, chipped, UTD on shots, and listed her for adoption with Petfinder.com.  That is where I saw her photo, and read her bio.  That was on Tuesday, 25 January 2011.  We met her on Saturday, the 29th and she came home with us that afternoon.  STAR thinks she may be 1-2 years old.  She has a German shepherd face and the fur on her neck feathers typical of GSD.  She has erect, pointed ears, but are kinda-of small.  Also, she has a long torso.  All the rest is the unknown breed.  Could be pitbull, lab, or another breed with a broad flat head and big backside.  She is very docile, loud noises don't phase her; she is sweet, and greets with kisses.  Other dogs and cats, well, so far, not so good.  Did I mention she knows how to open doors? 

I am curious to see if she would be a good candidate for a therapy dog.  I am going to wait about a year or so, after we get some good solid OB training (she was not responding to any commands but is doing pretty good on sit).  She walks nicely on the leash for me.  Praise the Lord for that favor!

So here she is, photos from my phone-camera, both taken the first day at work.

waiting in the car, on the ride home:

snozzing, giving belly.  Hard to see from this picture, but her belly is shaved from her spay surgery.

I'll write more about her later.  But, I'll just close with these thoughts I had today, about why God gave us dogs.  A) to demonstrate how we should love unconditionally, quick to forgive, be faithful and loyal  B) the obedience we expect from our dogs is what our Father wants from us, particularly "come"--when He calls us, we should run to Him just as fast as we can.



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A Dog for Jesus

(someone posted this poem for Dylan, I don't know who the author is.)

 

I wish someone had given little Jesus a dog
as loyal and loving as mine
to sleep by His manger and gaze in His eyes
and adore Him for being divine.

As Our Lord grew to manhood, His own faithful dog
would have followed Him all through the day
while He preached to the crowds and made the sick well
and knelt in the Garden to pray.

It is sad to remember that Christ went away
to face death alone and apart,
with no tender dog following close behind
to comfort its Master's heart.

And when Jesus rose on that Easter morn,
how happy He would have been
as His dog kissed His hand and barked its delight
for the One who died for all men!

Well, the Lord has a dog now; I've just sent him mine,
the old pal so dear to me.
And I smile through my tears on this first day alone,
knowing they're in eternity.

From Rainbow Bridge To Heaven

God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” Genesis 1:25-26 (NLT)


Dylan, my German shepherd dog, turned 10 years old the other day. He is a gorgeous boy, classic black/tan/red sable/saddle-back, semi-plush coat, and up until a few months ago, had very little gray hair on his muzzle. Although the gray hairs have increased, black is still the dominant color. His ears are generally erect. If you compare to the hands of a clock, they are typically standing at 10:10, indicating a relaxed mood. When something has his attention, then the ears assume an 11:05 position. On Tuesday, his birthday, his ears were at 2:55. This means only one thing: he has an earache. Poor boy, he has so many aches and pains these days.

Dylan was diagnosed with hip dysplasia in both hips at eight months old. The right hip socket is too shallow to support the ball end of the leg bone. Hip replacement surgery was not an option because the left hip, also very shallow, wasn’t able to support the extra weight. Like me, he doesn’t know life without pain. Unlike me, however, he never complains. He’s such a trooper. He runs and plays, and has the highest play drive I’ve ever seen in a dog.

The average life span of a German shepherd is shorter than other breeds. Our remaining time together is short. I hope, and have prayed, that God takes him, sparing us of the gut-wrenching, heart-breaking decision to end his life. I so do not want to do that again. Ten years ago, we had our other bubby euthanized. On his final Friday, he was doing okay, and by Monday, he could not move his hind legs. He also stopped eating and drinking--that was the sign he was ready to go.

Accompanying our beloved companions to “Rainbow Bridge” is, for many, a part of sharing life with an animal. We are stewards of everything we have, including our pets. It is our responsibility to take care of the master’s possessions, as he would care for them. Showing mercy to a suffering animal by releasing their spirit from their broken body is by far the hardest task. Just like humans, their bodies are only temporary vessels, or tents, that house their spirits while they are here on earth. Our beloved pets, and people, are not the visible bodies; they are the invisible spirit that the body holds. Euthanasia releases the spirit to go on and then receive its permanent new body. When the Lord calls us to join Him to live in the Eternal City, we will have new, perfect bodies that will never die. I believe animals, our pets included, will too. I wonder, will we be reunited with them on that glorious day?


Scriptures

In that day, the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. Isaiah 11:6-8 (NLT)

And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” Revelation 5:13 (NLT)

One Track Mind

When a person has a passion about something that consumes their thoughts day and night, they may be referred to as obsessed. The object of their adoration could be a new love, a new hobby or interest or a new possession. In the dog world, this level of passion is labeled as “high-drive.”

The two types I am familiar with are prey drive and play drive. A dog with a high prey drive would be one that chases things that move. Not specifically to kill them, but to chase them. They excel in competitions such as lure chasing. Racing dogs, I imagine, would have a high prey drive because they chase an object around the track, and the fastest one wins.

My German shepherd dog is a perfect example of a dog with a high play drive. Playing catch makes his day. His concentration, a.k.a. focus, on the toy that you have in your hand is a sight to behold. He is not at all motivated by food, however he will do almost anything you request of him as long as you are holding a toy. His eyes will not leave that toy. If he’s taken off running before you’ve thrown the ball, he’ll run off into the yard to catch a pass with his head craned sideways so he can maintain his focus on the ball.

All of his toys have names and he’s pretty good at associating the name with the designated toy. My husband refers to the toys as soldiers. Our two favorite games are hall-ball and sits-ball. During the game of hall-ball, a soldier will occasionally make it’s way under a piece of furniture and will require a rescue operation with the use of either my cane or Mr. Pinchything (a tool designed to assist a person with picking up small objects off of the floor). If one of his soldiers is in peril, he will lay there and watch it and not take his eyes off of it until it is rescued and safely back in his mouth. He will bark to make you aware of the urgency of the situation in the event you are taking too long to respond.

I thank God everyday that He brought this dog into our lives; that He entrusted us to be his stewards. During the eight years he’s been with us, he has enriched our lives in countless ways. He has given us many hours of entertainment, and he’s lavished us with his love and loyalty. He taught me things no human could have. Because of him, I’ve learned so much about dogs in general. I learned how intelligent these beasts are. I discovered I have more love to give than I thought possible. And I learned that if you look at a ball long enough, it will move – someone will pick it up and throw it to you.

Doggy Wash

(Written on 31 May 2001)

There is a car wash in my hometown wherein the owners transformed one bay into a self- service pet wash. We went there today. It cost about ten bucks to bathe our one-year old German shepherd dog, Dylan.

In the center of the bay, a large, stainless steel tub is mounted to the concrete floor. A long hose attached to the over-head mechanism, has a gentle spray end that dispenses shampoo, either regular or flea & tick formula, mixed with the warm water; just turn the dial to your preference.

Dylan refused to walk up the ramp, so his daddy had to lift him up into the tub. I hooked him to the short chain attached to the tub and he promptly pulled it loose on his first attempt to bail out. My husband reattached the chain and we once we got started, Mr. Excitement relaxed and actually enjoyed is rubdown . My husband used our rubber glove that has teeth like a brush on the palm side and I worked the hose. After about ten minutes, we had a clean puppy, soft and shiny less lots of hair. He smelled of the soft, lovely fragrance from the cream rinse.

His first good shake came while he was bubbled up; the second, during the cream rinse application. After the final rinse, I took him outside to let him shake some more then I cleaned his ears; then he shook some more. By then, he’d had enough and really wanted to get back into the van and go home. After some towel drying, I coaxed my soaking wet little prince into a quick walk around the block to practice a little obedience and distract him from the van; instead, he pulled and tugged until we got back. While my husband finished cleaning up behind us, I brushed Dylan to remove as much of the loose fur as I could. Forty-five minutes after we arrived, we loaded our damp pooch into the van and drove away.

All in all, I thought it was a good experience and a splendid idea. The facility was clean, secure and well equipped. The tub was a comfortable height for me to work at. I enjoyed the convenience of the soap and conditioner dispensed with the water. The best part: I didn’t have to wipe fur off of the bathroom walls and ceiling! Guess what my husband will do tomorrow? Clean the van.