How Far Would You Go to Save Your Dog's Life?

My husband, Clayton, and I have always called each other Babe. It never occurred to either one of us to name a dog Babe. Two Babes under one roof was enough.

We had been out of touch with Clayton’s father for close to eight years. We missed him but distance and circumstances prevented much contact. In the spring of 1995, we decided it had been too long and Clayton made plans to visit him.Only two weeks passed when we got the call from my sis-in-law.  "Dad slipped on the ice and hit his head. He didn't make it. He's gone."  

How could this possibly have happened? But it did. The long trip was made but it was to dad's funeral, not for a visit. 

Not All Surprises Are A Good Thing

When Clayton called me after the funeral, his voice sounded sheepish and I sensed what he was going to say before he ever said it."Uh.....Babe.  You aren't going to believe this but...."I interrupted his sentence, "Dad had a dog, right?"

"How did you know?"

"And you want to bring him home, right?"

I was rapidly preparing my argument in my head against it. We HAVE a dog! 

But then he said, "Her name is Babe. She is a Doberman/Shepherd cross and she's beautiful. She has ears as big as her head and you will love her. Tell Rochelle I got a special dog, just for her."

I hung up the phone and told my daughter that Daddy had a special surprise for her and she was excited.

A Brilliant Idea!

When they got home that evening, Rochelle took a flashlight outside to see her special surprise. Babe took one look at her holding the flashlight in her hand and lunged at her, growling, barking, and showing her teeth. I was screaming and terrified but within seconds, Babe realized the flashlight was not a threat and she settled down."Thanks, Dad. Nice surprise!"

In the years that followed, Babe proved to be a first-rate guard dog and our daughter grew to love her dearly. Babe was trained but only understood commands in German. We did not know the commands but that didn’t matter to her. 

She knew exactly how to protect her family and was always on guard. She was gentle and fun, smart and goofy. She attached herself to my husband's hip and rarely left his side. No matter where he went, whatever room he went into, she had to follow him.

Then This Happened...

We lived at the end of a country road where teenagers liked to party late at night. This disturbed Babe greatly and when she saw them coming she would run up behind them and smash the full weight of her body behind their knees. They would freak out and didn't know what knocked them off balance but they stopped coming around. Babe would nonchalantly walk away as if she was not guilty.

Teeth?  What teeth?

My father-in-law, her former owner, kept his false teeth in a glass on his bedside table. Before going to sleep one night, he had eaten a piece of lemon meringue pie and left the crust on his plate. When he woke up in the morning, Babe had licked the pie plate clean and she must have realized that there were some pie scraps on the teeth in the glass of water. She ate the teeth as well. Yup – she ATE the teeth!

Heartbroken!

Even though Babe never hurt anyone, she sent a message that her sole purpose was to protect her owners. Some of the neighbors felt threatened by her and a woman complained to the by-law officer that Babe had bitten her while my husband was walking Babe on a leash. 

All she did was smell the woman, didn't even bark. We knew this was a lie and told the officer that when he arrived at our home with bad news.

Babe's demise was to be put to sleep.

"I am afraid you will have to put her to sleep. She is a threat to the neighbors and we have no tolerance of dogs that bite people.""I want you to have the complainant show me the bite. She is lying." my husband demanded.

A few days later, the officer came back and said that we were right. Babe had not touched the woman but she was afraid to go for walks and therefore, he would have to uphold his original decision to have Babe put down. 

We had 30 days to relocate or destroy the dog.

We were heartbroken. She was NO threat and had never bitten anyone. My daughter wrote a heartfelt letter to the by-law officer. She told him that she was raised to be honest and did not understand how he could kill a dog that had harmed no one and was the victim of a vindictive lie. 

The letter went unanswered.

A Brilliant Idea Changed Babe's Life

A few days later, while shopping one afternoon, I got a brilliant idea and I began to laugh out loud in the drug store. I made my purchase and drove home so excited I couldn't wait to tell my family.

I bought three boxes of black hair dye and we dyed Babe's hair black.  

No one in the neighborhood questioned us about the ‘new’ black dog.

To her dying day, she never hurt anyone but there was no question as to who was in control and Chief of Security.

Taking Action to Save a Life

Were my eyes deceiving me? I leaned over the steering wheel to get a closer look. Yes! It was a tiny bird. He was sitting right in the middle of the intersection.  

I leaned as close to the windshield as I could, waiting to complete my left-hand turn. I could see him quivering. I was appalled and astonished when no one stopped long enough for him to fly away. No one seemed to care. Cars from both directions drove right over him and each one barely missed hitting him. I knew it was inevitable he would die. I had to take action.

The adrenalin soared through me as I pulled into the middle of the intersection, got out of my car, and raised my hands to stop traffic from each direction. My labored steps seemed to be in slow motion as I met with horns honking and people shouting obscenities, but my focus was not on them. My focus was on the sparrow. I had to save that little bird, and nothing else mattered.   

Each step I took closer intensified my determination to save that little bird. I bent down and gently picked him up and carried him to safety under a shrub on the corner. As I headed back to my car, instead of honking and cursing, I heard shouts of praise for my good deed. “YAY!” “Thank you.” I felt exhilarated.

Then as clear as possible, I heard God speak to my heart. “How do you feel?” 

“What do you mean how do I feel?” I thought. “Isn’t it obvious? I feel wonderful.” I wanted to add, “What an odd question, God should know how I feel.” 

But He was asking me so that I would take notice. He was about to teach me something regarding His love for me.

I had a warm sense of His presence like He was smiling at me, “Now you have an idea of how I feel when you fall and I pick you up and take you to safety.”  

I was amazed. I had always beaten myself up for the stupid mistakes I had made in my life. Now it was as if God was saying how much He enjoyed being there to help me, to protect me, and to shield me. To pick me up.  

I am constantly reminded of that little sparrow. If you ever have a hard time relating to an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father, think about the sparrow. God wants us to know how much He loves us. Every. Single. Day.

In the world’s current climate, we need this message of love more than ever before.

Do We Allow Panic to Cloud Our Thinking?

Last week I had one day packed with running errands of every type. One of those errands was to go to the recycle center. I had several trays of recyclables but there was a strong wind outside which made cans and plastic bottles fly out of the trays and roll down the parking lot. It was a gong show. I would run after one can while another bottle was flying through the air. 

Finally, I got inside the building, cashed them in, and left for my next errand. When I turned the corner, my eye caught my right hand on the steering wheel - with NO ring on it. I freaked. I started to pray out loud as I turned the car around, ran into the recycle center, and then searched the parking lot - NOTHING. 

Sifting through my tense brain, I tried to remember when I last saw it -- or felt it on my hand. Nothing. Empty.  

Do I call my husband? What would I say to him? He made me this ring for a special anniversary.

I carefully emptied my purse onto the front seat of the car and there it was - at the bottom of my bag. How did that happen? This was not possible -- yet there it was. Was this one of those times when an angel was looking out for me and placed it there? I will never know.

I called my husband but only told him the first part of the story. Was that mean of me to want him to feel my panic? Halfway through the story, I had to say, "Don't worry - everything's okay."

Lesson Learned: 

Leave your jewelry at home when running errands.