Tag Archive | dogs

Which Wolf Wins?

Jun26

We’ve been dog sitting for the past week. Zoey is the same dog who came to swim with Berkeley back in the spring. Now, her family has gone on vacation, and we, along with two other families, are taking one-week stints watching her.

The first place she went has an older dog who really didn’t appreciate Zoey’s company very much. She got growled at a lot there. We have a big black lab that outweighs her by 56 pounds. But they’ve had a lot of fun together.

The next family she’s going to today has a young spaniel much more her size. I’m sure the romping with be epic. I’m also sure she won’t know what to do with herself once her family is back next week.

But looking at the two dogs at my house reminds me of the story of the black and white wolves. Apparently, the Cherokee Indians have a story about a time when there was a terrible argument between two adults, and an old wiseman was asked to mediate. With all the children gathered around to see what he’d say, the old man told this story:

Inside of everyone lives a black wolf and a white wolf. The black wolf is filled with fear, anger, envy, jealousy, greed and arrogance. The white wolf is filled with peace, love, hope, courage, humility, compassion and faith. They battle constantly. The obvious question to the children was this one:

Which wolf wins?

The old man’s answer? The one we feed.

We choose, every minute of every day, which wolf we’re going to let win in our hearts. Will we give in to anger and jealousy, fear, greed, arrogance? Or will we be filled with peace, love, hope? Those sound a lot like the fruit of the Spirit, don’t they?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22,23).

If we live by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

The principle is simple, but not easy: stop feeding the black wolf.

Thankful today for:

399. a week-long play date for my dog

400. this opportunity for outreach to their community for my boys

401. a cleaned off desk

402. a great husband who will run to the store at 9:00 at night to buy milk because we’re out

403. a significant time of prayer last night for the outreach this week

404. less than a week left before we leave

405. a new look to my living room

406. God watering my new little rose bush

407. the near completion of our landscaping project

408. friends returning home safely

409. the promise of heaven

410. that we don’t have squeaky toys in the house for our pets!

 

A Dog’s Life

Mar5


This is my black lab, Berkeley. He’s a good boy. We acquired him through Freecycle, a network of yahoo groups dedicated to trying to keep stuff out of the landfill. If you have something that has lost its usefulness for you, you can list it on the Freecycle in your area, and someone who wants it emails you back. It’s quite handy for getting rid of stuff you don’t need anymore. And believe me, Freecyclers take anything!

Well, it wasn’t that Berkeley had outlived his usefulness, is was that the couple who got him from another lady, who had gotten him from the animal shelter, realized that with such a big, boisterous boy, they needed to be home more than just a couple of hours a day. So they listed him on Freecycle and we went and checked him out. And obviously fell in love. Well, David didn’t fall in love, but he acquiesced.

Berkeley, which was the name he came with, (only it was spelled “Berkley,” after the sports-fishing equipment company; we changed it to match the city near where I grew up and where my parents went to
college) is a big, boisterous boy. He loves, loves, loves to play fetch with a ball. If he didn’t get so hot, he’d play it for hours. When he gets to fetch in the swimming pool, he lasts a lot longer. Here he is leaping out of the water to catch the ball. He’s really good at it.

Another thing I love about Berkeley is that he loves my kids. He lets them do anything to him. They lie on him, put hats on him, use him as a pillow, and he loves it. Here’s our friend Gabe using Berkeley as a pillow. Notice how much it seems to be bothering Berkeley.

When the kids leave for school in the morning, he barks as if it’s the end of the world. When he goes to school with me to pick them up, he’s a kid magnet.

Whenever they go outside, he is desperate to go with them.

When they’re gone, he pines for them. One day, he slept in the boys’ room on abandoned clothes while they were gone at school.

He gets along really well with other dogs, too. His best friend in the neighborhood is the black lab across the street, Sebastian. Though we don’t let Berkeley out off leash very often, Sebastian gets to run free when his people are home, so he’ll sometimes come over to visit.

Yes, there’s a lot of hair on our floors; yes, he put scratches on our brand new windows barking his fool head off at a squirrel; yes, our backyard won’t win any yard-of-the-month awards anytime soon. But just look at that sweet face. I can forgive a lot when unconditional love is given.

Thankful today for:

81. dogs

82. pizza

83. the confidence people have in me

New Members of Our Menagerie

Feb22

Yesterday, Morgan and I added two more members to our family: hermit crabs! Morgan had expressed an interest in getting one, and would be paying with her own money, so I agreed (Dad simply acquiesced). I put it out on Facebook for a crabitat and a friend came through with a 10-gallon aquarium, food, extra shells and a lot of good advice. She has 8 of the little guys herself. So with the purchase of sand, we were in business to buy crabs.

So yesterday afternoon, we all (minus Dad and Grandma) trooped down to our local Petland and, after a detour to pet puppies, Morgan acquired a crab (and I had to get one, too, just so the poor little guy wouldn’t be alone. “Hermit” is a misnomer, don’t you know.)

Morgan with "Charlotte" and "Titan"

So now we’re a family of Grandma, Mom and Dad, two brothers, one sister, one dog, one cat, 8 fish and 2 Ecuadorian hermit crabs.

Taking care of animals seems like it might be an easy task, but taking care of them properly is quite another proposition. That’s why I’m so glad to have people to whom I can direct questions. My friend Tiffaney is my fish expert. She’s helped me many times as I tried to get our fish tank in order. Check the water chemistry. Don’t put too many fish in the tank. Don’t feed them too much. Don’t buy them from a big box store.

Now Robin is our hermit crab whisperer. She directed me to websites and is always willing to answer any question. Keep the humidity between 70 and 80%. Feed them people food from an approved list. They don’t like to be alone, so get them a companion.

People who know what they’re talking about are very helpful and should be listend to.

This is Berkeley (on the right) with his favorite neighborhood friend, Sebastian

We have friends who recently adopted a yellow lab puppy. I have gladly and willingly shared my experience with them as we have already navigated the waters of dog ownership–and big dog ownership at that. Use treats to teach. Let her know who’s in charge. Get her socialized as soon as you can. We’re anxiously awaiting the day Berkeley and Zoey get to meet.

That’s what Paul was telling Timothy in his second letter: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

Learning ourselves, and then teaching others. That’s a beautiful thing.

And let's not forget Oreo in all this

And the fish

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thankful today for:
45. chocolate and peanut butter

46. a soft kitty

47. new pets