The companionship of a pet has helped many people through some pretty tough seasons in life. Pets bring comfort when comfort cannot be found, laughter when you are filled with tears, companionship when you feel like you are facing the world alone. There is something very heartwarming that happens when you walk into your home and your dog jumps with glee, wags his tail, licks your hand as if to say, “It’s You! It’s really you! Where have you been? I have missed you so much!!”  Or your cat that brushes up against your pant leg greeting you with a welcoming “meow.” There is joy and  mystery found in God’s creatures. The animals we care for and love become an expression of unconditional love with no motive other than to love us; and we in turn learn how to love God and love others. A pet does not care if you are tall or short; thin or plump; financially blessed or struggling to make ends meet. They just love you for you. Simple love, without complication, expectation, misunderstandings or offense. The world could learn a lesson in love from the behavior of a pet., but even greater still, there are life lessons and God’s moments that only a pet can bring. Through God’s gift of animals we discover the heart of the Creator.

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

-The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gift the commonest. – Martin Luther

“I think God will have prepared everything for our perfect happiness. If it takes my dog being there [in Heaven], I believe he’ll be there.” Rev. Billy Graham

“A dog wags its tail with its heart” – Martin Buxbaum

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace.” – Milan Kundera

A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. Proverbs 12:10

“Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Cry with those who are crying.” Romans 12:15

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.” – Unknown

“Recollect that the Almighty, who gave the dog to be companion of our pleasures and our toils, hath invested him with a nature noble and incapable of deceit.” – Sir Walter Scott ‘The Talisman’