Monday, December 6, 2010

Belle and Brother

I don’t know if I have told you this about myself or not, but I love animals— pretty much all of them. Except for opossums, they are just ugly and they don’t know how to spell their names correctly. (I mean what is up with a silent ‘o’?) I am not the kind of person who loves animals so much that I won’t eat them or anything, don’t get the wrong idea. I delicately balance a love of helping animals and a love of eating animals you see.  I am the kind of person who will cry if I see one that is hurt or hungry or needs love. That is just the way I am. Some might call me a sissy; I call it tender-hearted.

So, a few weeks ago I was headed with a truck and trailer to gather our heifers at the lease place and bring them back home when I saw it. A little puppy on the side of the road, starving. It was skin and bones. I cried. I stopped and tried to get it to come to me, but it ran off and I cried some more. It didn’t know that I was there to save it and love it and feed it. After I got done with the cows, I headed back down the road in my Jeep armed with dog food to try and coerce the little guy into trusting me so that I could take it home. It was nowhere to be found. I left the food there, cried a lot, and went home.
I took some more food down there a few days later hoping to catch a glimpse of the puppy, but to no avail. I left the food, prayed that it would find it, and went home discouraged again.

 Last Sunday was a beautiful day for a ride. Papa Bear (daddy), John Darrin, and I saddled up and went across the road to ride a bit. When we came up out of the creek, there was the hungry little puppy across the road. And there was another puppy with it. My heart leapt! It was still alive! I looked at John Darrin and told him that we had to save the dogs, glad that I could blame the water in my eyes on the wind in my face. He asked what we were going to do with them. I told him I didn’t care, but we had to save them. He said ok. He is so patient with me.

After we rode back home, I got some dog food and a sausage from Momma’s fridge and we headed back to the barn where we had seen them.  They were still there!

I gradually got one of them to see that I had food and threw it a few bites at a time. Eventually the other came and joined in the feast. They were so skittish. They were so skinny. My eyes filled with tears again. They needed saving, but were so scared and untrusting. I sat there for probably an hour and a half while John Darrin watched from a distance and went and got me more dog food when I ran out.

Then we had a breakthrough. One of them let me scratch her chin, then pat her head, then rub her ears. I was so excited. John Darrin was sitting beside me on the ground and she went over to him and rolled over for him to scratch her belly. The other puppy was much less adventurous. At the slightest movement he scurried back under the barn to safety.

I looked at John Darrin as he was petting the girl and he said, “I like this one.” I smiled and replied, “Perfect, I like the other one.” There was a boy and a girl, brother and sister. The girl was adventurous and brave. The boy was wary and skeptical. They were adorable. I stayed there loving on the girl and trying to convince the boy that I was trustworthy while John Darrin went home and fixed the fence in the back yard. When he got back we coerced them into trusting us with some leftover Thanksgiving turkey, scooped them up, took them home, and put them in our yard.

And that is where they still are. John Darrin named his Belle, and I named mine Brother. They are such happy puppies now. Their tails wag, their bellies are full, and they are putting on weight and getting healthy. 

It is interesting to me to think back to a few weeks ago, when I saw one of them for the first time. I tried to save it. It needed me. But, had I seen it that day, and had I been able to get it to come up to me, I wouldn’t have known to look for a second one. I would have been saving one while leaving the other behind all alone. Isn’t it so great that God is sovereign over every aspect of our lives? From jobs, to health, to children, to saving little hungry puppies or even saving lost souls- His timing is perfect.

Here are some pictures of Belle and Brother. They just keep looking healthier and happier every day. 

This is Belle. She is kind of a brindle color- very similar to Fea!

This is Brother. He is chocolate brown with a little white dot on his chest.

Can you tell they are brother and sister?

They have put on even more weight since this picture.
They are looking so great now!

"Helping" John Darrin fix the fence.
Adios Amigos!
Michelle

3 comments:

  1. I hope you keep them, they are precious! :-) And very lucky to have yall pick them up and feed them!!

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  2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

    The o's not silent, you're just calling it the wrong animal. :)

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