Walking the Dog

February 11, 2008

Gulliver

I have a 23-pound, three-way mixed mutt. Gulliver is Jack Russel terrier, Whippet and Sheltie. His high vigor loves to run, jump, chase and pull. Gulliver must be exercised daily for the sanity of us both. Most of the year we take two walks a day; Gulliver on his feet and I on my scooter to which Gulliver is attached by a retractable leash. Usually he is at the far extent of it, pulling to make us go faster.

These days, though, I haven’t been able to take Gulliver for walks. The snow on the road was too deep and now the slush is so bad my scooter would get stuck in a second. In fact, it is so awful today that I didn’t even venture out in my car for fear I would get stuck. Gulliver didn’t understand all that. He just wanted to explore the neighborhood and begged me to the point of distraction. So I phoned a neighbor who has two boys who have helped me with Gulliver before. Would one of them be able to walk here (a quarter-mile of two-feet deep snow) and take Gulliver up the road for some exercise? “Sure!” was the enthusiastic reply. Soon, though, their mother’s four-wheel-drive SUV came slippy-sliding up my driveway with one of the boys inside. He told me, “You know how slushy your roads are? Well, Mom said our roads are better. They were plowed. We can take Gulliver there and walk him on those roads.” Gulliver didn’t even bat an eye as he hopped into their car and left on his adventure. He came back much happier and calmer. Stephanie said to call on them any time. They’d love to do it again.

Walking the dog may seem an insignificant thing, but it isn’t. Proverbs 12:10 in the Bible says, “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal.” It seems to me that the logical opposite would be that a person who doesn’t care about his animal’s needs is not righteous, or is – well, wicked. Don’t we all react with disdain at the stories of cruelty to animals that we see on TV? Why? Maybe because deep in our hearts there is the echo of the memory of God’s command to our first ancestors to take care of His creation. If conscious obedience to God is worship, then something as simple as walking the dog can be worship! That’s an amazing thought. Do you agree? Click on “comments” below to respond.

For another animal interaction tale, see my story, “A Boost Up.“