I am a dog man! No, that is not a super hero; however, I have had a couple of dogs that were heroes…at least to me. I like cats, too, but I have not had one for quite some time. I do prefer dogs because they will usually come when I call them, instead of looking at me and saying, “Are you talking to me?”
Actually, I love almost all animals, except the ones that bite or sting. Over the years, and especially in my boyhood days, I’ve had a variety of pets. I have had more cats than I can name or number. I’ve had rabbits, guinea pigs, a goose, a duck, an orphan opossum named Junior, turtles, terrapins, frogs, a dessert horned toad and even a pet alligator.
One of my brothers had a pet squirrel, and my other brother gave me one of his baby alligators. That brother was in Mama’s dog house for a while, and my gator ended up in a rabbit coop. Yes, the rabbits had already vacated the premises. Mama would not allow me to put my gator in our pond or bring him in the house.
On the tamer side of sense and sensibility, I have had at least one dog at all times most of my life except when I was away in college and seminary. God must love animals, too, because He created them, and He did so even before he created mankind. Noah had the best collection of animals and his all lived inside!
I think I’ve had 15 dogs. The first one I ever had was a great American dog named Sport. I think he must have been older than me because I can’t remember him not ever being there. Sport was a hybrid…a Heinz 57, if you will. He was an outdoor dog who would not come inside the house for any amount of calling, coaxing or even bribing with a dog treat. Our dog treats back them were biscuits…literal biscuits.
Sport was my 50-ish pound, by-my-side body guard. My parents discovered early on that Sport did not vote in favor of any physical disciplinarian actions carried out on his boy. I did not vote in favor of such actions either, but I didn’t growl and show my canines at my disciplinarians like my canine friend would. Sport also did not like to swim or get a bath, even for a biscuit.
At a young age, I realized exactly how much Sport loved me and was my protector. He had crossed the bridge over our creek and walked up on the other side for a pretty good distance. My family was trying to get him to come back around on our side, but he was having nothing to do with it. He just stood on the other bank, looked at us like a cat might and barked at us.
That’s when we discovered how to get him to cross the creek, swim and take a bath, all at the same time. My brother pretended to spank me and before you could say, “He won’t swim or he won’t bite,” Sport was soaking wet and showing my brother his pearly whites! That was the day Sport became more than my dog…he became my hero. Lassie had nothing on my dog!
Yes, they say a dog is man’s best friend, but I believe God, who created us all, is actually man’s very best friend. I cannot number the circumstances when I have found myself in times of trouble, only to realize that God was right by my side giving all the guidance and protection needed.
Bill King can be reached at bkpreach@yahoo.com.
