A Dog Story

Ten years ago when our second son, Jay, turned eighteen years old he announced that he was going to buy a puppy. Both Steve and I had grown up with dogs, but we had never had one in our own family. Although the children (especially Jay) would sometimes beg for one, I was pretty sure that it would be me who would end up caring for it so the answer always was no.  Now Jay still lived at home, but he assured me that this would be his dog and he would be responsible to feed, water, train and care for all its needs. We have a large property with plenty of room to roam, so we agreed to allow him to get a dog as long as it was understood that it would remain outside at ALL times.

A few days later, Jay proudly brought home a cute little yellow lab male puppy that he named Chip.  I will never forget that first day.  Jay made a nice place for him in the barn and got him settled in.  Poor Chip was so scared. He just stood with his head drooping and his tail hanging miserably between his legs. I made the remark that I wondered if his tail would every wag. Well, it didn’t take too long for Chip to realize that our place was a dog heaven and soon his tail was wagging constantly.  The little guy melted our hearts and although some of us wouldn’t admit it, we were all pretty fond of him.  We realized just how much a few short months later when our oldest son Shawn accidently backed over him with the pickup.  The wheels didn’t run over him but he tumbled around underneath the vehicle and when we carried him to our porch he lay awfully still and breathed heavily.  I was afraid he had internal injuries and might not make it. While Chip was on his way to the vet, the rest of us sat at the lunch table trying to eat food that tasted like cardboard and got stuck in our throats. I was choking back tears and then I glanced around the table and saw that silent tears were falling on everyone’s plate. Thankfully Chip was not badly injured and soon he was running around as if nothing had happened.

Although some of us had been doubtful about Chip at first, there was one person who fell in love with him instantly.  I’m actually not sure who was more excited about Jay getting a dog—my dad or Jay. Dad loved dogs and as a farmer, he always had one as his constant companion. However, my mother did not share his fondness for them and so when they moved off the farm, Dad no longer had a dog to share his days with.  My parents lived next door and their property connected with ours so Chip had free rein between the two places. My mother’s health was failing rapidly and a few years after Chip’s arrival, when Dad could no longer care for her, the family transferred her to a retirement home where she died fifteen months later. During that time, Chip became my dad’s best friend.  With my mother no longer living in the house, Dad welcomed Chip inside during the day to keep him company.  He always sent him home at night but in the morning Chip would walk up the back steps to his deck and wait for Dad to open the curtains and door and leave him in.

Even though Chip spent time with Dad indoors (especially over winter) what the two of them really loved the most was the great outdoors.  Dad’s favorite place on our property was a wooded area that was cleared out and had a pavilion, small pond and a glider swing.  He referred to this haven as “his park”. My dad’s mode of transportation around the property was a lawn mower and I honestly don’t think anything got Chip more excited than when he heard that mower starting up.  He could be laying in the yard looking like he was fast asleep but his ear was always tuned for that first sputter of the motor (honestly, sometimes I thought he heard the click of the key). Immediately Chip was on all four feet making a beeline for Dad and the lawnmower.  Together they would go down to the park and spend many happy hours, puttering around with this and that and relaxing.

Gradually, even though we still fed, played and provided Chip with shelter (after we took the barn down we replaced his dwelling with a comfortable dog house), we all began to think of Chip as Dad’s dog.  When Jay got married, he moved away and was unable to take Chip with him. At that time he made the comment, “Even if I could take Chip with me, I don’t think I would.  I couldn’t take him away from Grandpa.”

As happens in life, my dad got older and so did Chip.  Both of them slowed down considerably, but without fail Chip would be at Dad’s back door each morning to greet him when he opened his curtain. Neither of them moved as fast as they used to, but they still made their way down to the park and rested in its beauty.  Last winter, Chip spent more time indoors with Dad as Dad didn’t go away much anymore.  Theirs was a beautiful companionship.

Then it happened. Dad took ill and died suddenly in early May.  On top of all the things that are thrown upon you and that you need to process when someone you love is taken from you, a question that was foremost in all of our minds was “what will Chip do?”  It broke our hearts to watch Chip go up to his house each morning and sit on his deck for hours and then eventually slowly and dejectedly make his way home again. The neighbors on the other side of Dad’s house were so torn up about it that they cried each time they saw him sitting there patiently waiting for Dad.  After several weeks of this we breathed a sigh of relief when Chip stopped going up to the house regularly.  We all tried to show him extra affection and spend a little more time with him but there was no way we could make up for the friendship that had been taken from him.

Steve and I bought the house from Dad’s estate and spent several months cleaning it out and making small repairs.  Chip had finally given up and no longer went up to the house on his own, but whenever we walked up to work on the house, he was right there by our side. He would sneak in the door as soon as we opened it and promptly sit down on the very spot on the carpet that he had inhabited for years.  As we prepared to rent the house we worried how Chip would react to the new tenants.  We explained to would-be renters that it was likely they would see Chip around the property, and although we requested that they be kind to him they were certainly under no obligation to play with him or let him inside the house.

We rented the house to a friendly, newly married couple.  At first when Chip saw strange vehicles in the driveway he would bark and run up to see what was going on.  After all, this was his domain and he was in charge of who went in and out.  However, overall he seemed fine and we really didn’t see him hanging out at the house too much. We were hopeful that this transition would be fairly painless. Then one day, I came home from work and there was Chip camped out on their front porch step!  My heart sank.  We didn’t want him pestering our tenants, and sitting on their doorstep so they would have to step over him to enter their house was not ideal.  Later, we were talking to our tenant and he told us he almost fell over in surprise one of the first mornings when he opened the curtain to the back deck. There was Chip standing on the deck, peering in at them! Fortunately the tenants took this good naturedly and we all had a good laugh over it. I guess we really hadn’t warned them that they might encounter Chip outside their window.

After these few instances, Chip seemed to settle down and accept things as they were.  He continues to wander both properties and I am sure that some mornings he still greets the young couple from outside their deck door, but for the most part he stays at our house and is content with his surroundings.  I had to laugh out loud when I came home from work a few weeks later.  There was Chip plopped smack in the middle of the yard exactly between the two houses. It was as though he was saying, “It is my responsibility to guard both properties and this is the best spot to do that!” 

So many times in life, we are thrown obstacles that we have to overcome. Often they are really difficult circumstances and sometimes it seems like we can’t accept what has happened to us. Losing someone close to you, suffering poor health, failing financially or many other catastrophes can cause us to sink into despair. I want to take a lesson from Chip and view these difficulties as challenges that I can accept with grace.  Instead of wallowing in self-pity, I will be like Chip and find the best spot to “sit” and assess what I can do to make this a time in my life where I am happy and content with everything that God has given to me.

Philippians 4:12 …I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…