Love Wins

In July, I was sitting in my lawn chair by the neighborhood pool scrolling through Facebook posts. I don't know why I stopped with a post about a dog for adoption because we needed a dog like we needed a hole in the head. That very day we went and got this neglected German Shepard, one year old, female. She needed us. Now I knew she had been chained to a tree for her entire one year of life. And she wasn't potty trained. But let me just say that I was mortified when she pooped on my carpet the first time. It.was.DISGUSTING.  Gave her the benefit of the doubt, moved on with my day, etc.  Then she did it again and I was ready to take her back. So I called the folks I got her from and told them I wanted to take her back. I was told I could just drop her off in the yard where I got her from. I couldn't do it. So, we got a kennel and started with kennel training. It went very well very quickly. We decided she was super smart. 

Since she was chained to a tree, she was terrified of other animals and we had two other dogs, one of which only weighs 4 pounds and this German Shepard was terrified of a 4 pound Yorkie. Like cowering in the corner terrified. What in the world?!  After a bit of trying and time to let her get used to our other animals, it wasn't working, so in a fit of desperation, I called the Humane Society who didn't have room for her, so I called another friend who said she didn't want her. We buckled down, pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and pressed on.

 Things got better until one day I got sick of how wild she was. So I called the girl I got her from and asked if she wanted her back. She said no, that she had adopted two other dogs since this dog left. So that was yet another dead end. The pattern here is that I would get fed up with her, call someone and try to find a home for her, and because no one could ever take her right then, we just pressed on. Pressed on with patience, discipline, and love. Yes, in the meantime I had grown to really love this incorrigible dog. What in the world?!  Shock collars, bark collars, attempts to socialize her, shock collar returned(didn't work for her), bark collar returned, training training training, love love love, gentle talks, Kong balls, frozen peanut butter, patience, patience patience...and ultimately an underground fence. 

Today I sit in my home on Melody Lane, with my big ole German Shepard laying beside me letting me pet her as the other animals lay next to her. I watch her chase tennis balls in the yard, I take her for rides in the car and she feels the wind in her fur. I needed her like I needed a hole in my head. And then I discovered she was just the hole in the head that God wanted me to have. She is my baby. I'm not looking for anyone to take her anymore. She is home.  She would be happy anywhere else.  As I sit here today I think of 1Corinthians and chuckle with God about how His words there apply to my dog. 

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Sounds just like all my feelings along the way with this ridiculous dog that I didn't need. But then later in that same passage it says:

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I didn't always have faith that I could endure her behaviors. I hoped it would be ok but many times it wasn't. But I loved her. The greatest of these is love. 

An unlovable dog, a willing heart, and more patience than I realized I had all turned into love. Now she is still wild sometimes, and sometimes you would think she would readily eat the cat, or someone who comes to the door, but with patience, My Baby will learn to trust. All because we have love, the greatest of these. 

Thanks for reading my blog!

Jennifer