Sunny today, bit of cloud and not very warm, but I will take it.

Watching the cats, as I write, on the cat tree and back of the daveno as they look outside and react as they see the birds, a squirrel and occasional other animal ‘invade’ the yard is fun.

Not much else happening in our neck of the woods, except for the loss of Teresa’s and Ian’s beloved dog, Wanda – which I have some thoughts on in my daily scripture meditation.

Isaiah 55:8-9  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

My heart is heavy this morning as it aches for my daughter and grandson; they lost their beloved dog, Wanda, last night.  It was unexpected and more tragic for being so; there was no time for preparation.

There will be those that scoff and say, animals are just that, animals – but those of us who have benefited from the unconditional love and joy an animal gives us, know better.

Those verses from Isaiah come to mind as I contemplate the deep love we can have for our pets and the real heart ache we have when they pass away.  Why did God give us such emotions for pets?

Is it the same as losing a human relative or friend, no, but it is a loss and it can be very difficult to deal with.  There is a grieving process that goes along with it.  It is different for each person, but it is real.

Losing a beloved pet; hurts; the pain is real.

Over the years I have lost several.  Some did not have as much significance in my life as others.  But with all, there was a time of missing them, a time of grieving.

For those that were particularly close to me, my ‘heart’ pet – and all but one of those were dogs – it physically and emotionally caused me pain, my heart ached.

We lost Max, our miniature schnauzer of over 15 years, three years ago, and I still feel the loss.  Max knew exactly where I was when I was home, didn’t matter where, he would be there too, or quickly find me.  And he could track me down.  Did it in town one day when I thought I had left him in the car – the window was down low enough for him to squeeze out and go over a block and around corners of buildings to find me.

When I look out at the garden I remember how much he loved it, how much time he spent with me there and how often he and Ozzy, one of our cats, would walk along its paths.  Our emotions are very real.  Our joy and sadness is very real.  There are some that cannot fathom a dog lover’s grief over the loss of a dog. 

But man has a connection with animals that is more than just managing them and their environment.  To be sure we raise animals for food, or we take them from the wild, we do our best not to get too emotionally attached to those because we realize the danger of doing that. 

But other animals, animals that seem to know our inner most thoughts and beings; animals that are there for us – sometimes the only animal that we have that cares for us when the humans around us seem to not care – have a special bond.

It is a bond that is never truly severed and will remain with us for all of our life.  I dealt with hundreds of hobos through the years, more than half of them had a dog.  The dog was always fed before the man was – I watched more than once a man give most of his scrounged or given meal to his dog before he himself ate.

Genesis 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

We look at these two verses and we see that we are responsible for the animals on earth.  WE should be depended upon to give them attention and aid.  Now, we also know there are predators, and diseases which we have no control over, but there is still a responsibility there for us to take care of them.

Does man go overboard at times, yes.  The annual sales of dog and cat food, alone, amounted to over 21.4 BILLION dollars in 2014.  Some of that is unnecessary, of course, but it gives a good idea of how many dog and cat owners are in the United States and what they are willing to spend to take care of them.

Estimated costs of keeping one dog is at between $500 and up to $10,000 a year (boarding and other incidentals that some must pay that others do not make up a large part of that.)

Veterinary care has taken great strides in the past few years, where it is not unusual for dogs and cats to have hip replacements and other medical procedures that used to be exclusively for humans.

Would it be better that we didn’t have pets, that we used that money to provide the Gospel message and meet the physical and medical needs of humans – ‘twould seem so.

So, why, why do we have such a need for these animals?

Part of it, of course, is because people are becoming ‘de-socialized.’  To some, the only ‘real’ people they can talk to are those on the internet, there is no connection.  It is becoming more and more difficult to express yourself without being condemned as a hater or idiot.

This isn’t new, of course, people have retreated to a close relationship with their dog for centuries.  Dogs are non-judgmental.  They love unconditionally; they listen and desire to help you get on an even keel.

There is a bond there that is difficult to describe; but it is real.

It is not be confused with our commandments to love our fellow man and to help them, to feed and clothe them, to tell them of God’s love for them.

But I do believe the love of animals and how we grow attached to them is a part of God’s nature that He has imparted to us. 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

When most people read these verses they think of the physical, what man looks like in comparison to other animals that He created.  But it is more than that it is our need for Spiritual interaction with God, with our need to Praise and thank Him – and, I believe, with our desire do love animals and form an emotional bond with them.

Am I wrong, quite possibly, (I am not saying this is or should be doctrine) but I do know that in learning how to care for an animal a person can learn how much God cares for them.  Transformation of people from withdrawn and despondent to happy and open to others can come from a relationship with a pet.

God loves all His creatures.  God created them for our benefit and responsibility.  I believe one of those benefits is to enjoy the unconditional love of a pet and then mourning over its loss.

Again, it doesn’t take the place of God in our lives, but for some people having a ‘heart pet’ draws them closer to Him.

Until someone introduces them to God it is the most unconditional love they may ever have.

Later, Art :-)