Bark If You Love Life
He was a community dog. Many communities have them. They make the rounds of the residences to visit with neighbor dogs and their owners. Residents pet and sometimes feed community dogs so they keep coming around. Our community dog was a beagle. I called him, “Snoopy”, and other folk followed suit.
No one seemed to know “who Snoopy belonged to.” The usual answer to that query was “He belongs to some lady on that other street.” Rather vague, don’t you think? At first, Snoopy had a collar and some outdated tags; but he lost his collar and traveled stark-naked the last few years. Somehow our Welsh Corgi, Keely, knew when Snoopy was outside and would ask (bark) to go out and visit with him.
Well, somebody shot Snoopy. Though mortally wounded, He made it to a residence where he’d been befriended before. The residents took Snoopy to the veterinarian, but he died. Not only was I saddened, but I was also disappointed---disappointed with humanity. Why would anyone shoot a friendly little dog? He trusted us. I realize he could be a nuisance, but sometimes I am a nuisance. He was a good pet. I regarded him as the community mascot and will forever miss him.
Perhaps you are thinking, “It’s just a dog. There are lots of dogs. You can always get another dog.” True, but Snoopy had life. Someone took his life away, and you can’t get that back. There seems to be a human failure that enables us to disregard life unless it is our own. We read of murders, terrorism, fatal accidents; we shrug and say, “Life goes on.”
The Bible tells us when God made humankind, He breathed into him the breath of life; only God can do that. God is the giver of life to all living creatures from bugs to humans. We may not regard the life of a bug highly; but remember, if you stomp a bug it’s like Humpty Dumpty, you cannot put it back together again. Only God can do that.
Do you get the picture? Life is sacred---a sacred trust. It is that because only God can give it. What if someone were to come and say, “I’m sorry; but in a moment of annoyance, I shot Snoopy. I will get you another beagle.”
“Commendable,” I might answer, “but you really can’t replace a life.”
