Tag Archives: dogs

Waiting: Help is on the Way -By Donna

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One recent morning Karla sent me a picture of her dog Teagan. At first glance I smiled and thought, How cute. She’s watching the world go by. But then I read Karla’s text, which stated, My current situation!   

Please tell me her head isn’t stuck! I responded.

Her reply: Extremely stuck!

Have you called someone? I texted back, feeling so helpless. I have a big heart when it comes to animals. Karla and I were just having the conversation the other day about how I don’t cry watching movies about people, but give me an animal movie and I’m toast.

I waited for her reply, but that was the end of the conversation for a while. Without knowing what was going on, I tried to piddle to occupy my mind. But I just kept thinking about the poor dog. I zoomed in on the picture and could see where she had chewed on the rails around her. Oh no, she has been there a while. But if her head fit in, it should be able to come out. Being 45 minutes away, all I could do was pray.

The Story

After quite some time, Karla texted, Sorry. Rick and Lisa were here. She is free.

Later Karla came to Rome to have her car worked on, and I got more of the story.

She had heard whining, went to check on Teagan and discovered she was stuck. The dog was too tense to get her head out, so she called her friends Lisa and Rick. The dog had panicked and pooped everywhere. She was also flailing her body (in all the poop) at times, trying to get free.

When they arrived, they tried working the dog’s head out, even rubbing oil around the fur on her neck. The conclusion was drawn that the board above Teagan’s head would have to be unscrewed or cut. They first tried a drill. But the angle of the wood wouldn’t allow it. So out came the hand saw. Karla gently held her mouth closed and loved on her to keep her calm. As the saw moved back and forth, Karla worried that when the wood gave way, or the saw would drop down quickly, but Rick had it under control. Soon Teagan was free, received a warm bath, and much needed TLC.

Help is On the Way

Later that day, my brother was telling Karla and I about a song by Doyle Lawson entitled, “Help Is on The Way.” It made me think about the dog and people. Sometimes in life, we are like poor Teagan. We are in a place that seems hopeless and we struggle and stress, but  just can’t get free. We have those around who love us, worry, and stress with us. They try to help us every way they know how. But what we forget in all the commotion, is that if we are believers, help is already on the way.

Teagan, being a dog, could not understand that concept. No matter how many times Karla told her, “Help is coming. It’s gonna be ok. Hold on a little longer.” She did not know that relief and freedom were forthcoming.

When we feel stuck in life, whether it is from relationships, finances, work, or health, we need to remember help is on the way. God will help. It might not be in the timing you would like, but He has a plan. Teagan would have liked to have been released much sooner, but he had to wait. Waiting is the hardest part. The chorus of Doyle Lawson’s song is so true:

“Just hold on a little longer, help is on the way

A brighter day is coming, for those who believe and pray

Help won’t help tomorrow, if you give up today

Just hold on a little longer, help in on the way.”

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Rescue: To Save From Danger -By Donna

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A week ago as Tucker left our house, he passed a car on the side of the road. Horrified, he saw a man choking a dog.
Tucker has a soft heart and is an animal lover like me. Instantly, he turned his truck around to confront the man. However, the dog stood alone on the side of the road by this time; the car appeared nowhere in sight. Tucker’s heart bleed and had to do something.
Unfortunately, the dog wouldn’t get into the truck. So, Tucker lured her through the woods to our home.
I saw him approaching; she was struggling to walk. Quickly, we saw the neglect. Matted hair, smelly, and covered with what appeared to be tar. Moreover, her long nails curled over the end of her paws. We had no choice but to cut off her collar because the buckle was severely rusted. Furthermore, when we removed it, we discovered dried blood underneath. Her collar was partially embedded in her neck. Obviously, She had led such a sad life.

Rescue Groups of Georgia

Knowing I couldn’t keep this sweet girl, I researched rescue groups of Georgia. I found one for almost every breed of dog. But I also discovered stipulations.
  • No mixed breed, must be full blooded
  • Not over 5 years old
  • Current on all shots
  • No illness

I assumed these guidelines applied for people surrendering their pets. So I read further and found: We cannot accept stray or abandoned dogs. We are only allowed to accept dogs from animal shelters, another rescue group or a legal owner.

No Stipulations

Definition of rescue:

  • (verb) save from a dangerous or distressing situation
  • (noun) an act of saving or being saved from danger or distress.

Heartbroken! A rescue group (which I think needs a new name) should rescue those truly in need.

I thought about my God and am so thankful that when we call out to Him in need, there are no stipulations. It doesn’t matter your ethnicity, gender, age, health, or sins, God is a true rescuer. 

“I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.”  Ezekiel 34:12


–Donna

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Help: Stuck in Muck -By Donna

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Saturday was a gorgeous, sunny day. I went walking with our three dogs.  The oldest dog Zeus, who is approaching eleven, is obsessed with fetching.  Anytime we walk, I am constantly throwing the ball for him to retrieve. He is always with me.  Seebee, the crazy dog, has to always be in the lead way uimg_2287p ahead. Carlton, the little prissy inside dog, is always in the middle, desiring to keep up with Seebee.

When I say walking the dogs, I don’t mean on a leash in the neighborhood. We were all roaming free on trails in the woods and on the open area where loggers have been clear-cutting. After strolling for about an hour, we were all four tired, thirsty, and dusty. All the creeks on our 40 acres had dried up from the lack of rain. So, the dogs were unable to drink until we neared our yard that has an acre lake. The side near the dam remains deep, but the opposite side has receded a lot due to the drought. Carlton headed on to the house to go inside, and Seebee just continued to run around, but my tired, old Zeus needed water.

“It will be like walking on water!”

I instructed him to walk over and drink, but he just stood there looking at me as I was holding his tennis ball. “No more ball, go drink.” He remained staring at me with his big brown eyes as he panted hard. “Fine, come on. I’ll go with you to get a drink.” He followed me just a few steps and then stopped. “Zeus, how cool we get to walk where part of the lake use to be. It’ll be like walking on water.” Clearly, it doesn’t take much to entertain me. I love to do things I’ve never done before. But Zeus, who never leaves my side, except to retrieve the ball, didn’t budge. Maybe that should have been my first clue!img_2283

I took about four steps on the black murky mud, where water used to be. Suddenly the ground beneath seemed to disappear and I sank to mid-calf. Surprised, I quickly tried to step up, but I sank to my knees! At first I began laughing. In my mind I pictured Gilligan pulling Skipper out of quicksand. The more I moved, the deeper I sank. “Zeus!” He clearly didn’t want to come, but walked toward me obediently. I grabbed his back end, but he began to sink too. Then he quickly retreated and ran to safety. Seebee, meanwhile stood to the side watching the show.

Help

My feet felt like lead weights as I tried to raise them out. The more I struggled, the deeper I sank. I found myself standing thigh deep in muck, stuck. I stood there looking around, accessing my situation. Finally giving in, I hollered, “HELP” waiting for someone much stronger than me to pull me out.

As I was walking toward the spigot to hose myself down, the Bible verse “Be still and know that I am God” flooded into my mind. I was overcome with the message portrayed to me. To be perfectly honest, right now in my life things are very challenging and I have decisions to make. I have always kept my faith and my eyes on God. But I find myself  attempting to figure it out, and the more I do, the more trapped I feel. I need to stop trying to fix everything and everybody. I need to be still and let His arms, that are so much stronger than mine, lift me up and out. 

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