Thankful for dogs

          Moses, very early one morning, in a place he is NOT supposed to be:

     Yesterday I was up early typing away and having some time with the Lord, when I realized Moses was not resting at my feet as usual.  So I went looking for him... and found him resting comfortably on the sofa in the living room.  hmm.  Do you notice the sheepish look on his face?
      He knows sitting on the furniture is most definitely not allowed, but in his advanced old age, he has discovered the living room as an out of the way place to take advantage of a nice soft bed to cradle his achy bones.  Had my husband discovered him, he would have jumped down immediately and run to his bed under our kitchen table.  When I discovered him, well, you can see the results.  He just looked at me as if to say, "Well, what can you do? I'm old and tired and this pillow feels mighty fine."
     How could I get mad at him?  No way.  I just cut off the lights again after snapping his photo and let him rest comfortably for a few more minutes.  He is, after all, 12--which is ancient for a lab--and I don't know how much longer we will have the joy of his presence in our lives. Bad dog training... but great love.
     Today, such a simple reminder: thank the Lord for the gift of His sweet consolations in our lives--especially pets.  Well, especially dogs.  I really do love cats, too, but seriously, we all know dogs adore us... cats tolerate us.  I love the old saying: "Dogs believe they are human; cats believe they are God."  Now that being said, I do love cats, and we still really miss wonderful next door neighbor's equally wonderful cats, Cody and Digger.  So, thank You Lord for cats!
     And for birds, gerbils, fish (we've gone through a few of those around here), lizards and snakes (okay, that's a stretch but obviously some people love them), rabbits, and guinea pigs.
      And pet sea monkeys.  Yes, that was our very first pet.  When our children were begging for a dog, and we felt we were just too busy to properly love and care for a dog then, we got them some pet sea monkeys.  Our son even wrote about those microscopic sea monkeys when everyone at his class had to write about their favorite pet.  Truly pathetic. That was when we realized it was time to get a real pet.  So we got a fish: Jesse was his name.  They found that equally disappointing.  But Jesse hung in there for years, and in our book, he counted as a pet.
       Until the glorious Christmas we surprised the children with Moses. And can I just say, he has been nothing but love and joy and pleasure from the first moment the Lord brought him into our lives.  Boy, there is simply nothing like a dog.  Unconditional love, continual companionship. Work, sure, but worth every moment of it.  Gilda Radner once said: "I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.  For me they are the role models for being alive."  It's true--you can learn a lot from a dog.  But that's for another day.
     Today, thank You Lord for Moses and for all he has meant for our family... and thank You for all dogs.  Truly a gift from the hand of our loving Father who cares even about such things as dogs... and cats... and birds... and the mute companions who love His children.  That's just the kind of good and great God we serve.  To God be the glory.