A Dog Love Story -Dedicated to Travis
I think God was pretty serious when he asked Man to be stewards of the earth. And while some people see Man on earth as a sort of invasion, mucking up the perfection that is untamed nature, the existence of dogs proves otherwise.
Dogs came from thousands of years of breeding wolves who showed favorable traits with wolves of similar traits. Eventually, the canine changed from a wild pack animal to a creature specifically adapted to be of use to humans. And, in fact, every dog breed in existence serves a specific function, from hunting rats and herding sheep to leading the blind and rescuing people. It's astounding that humans, of all people (fun), managed to change and shape a predator into a companion.
Dogs also make me question the grunting, animal-like cave man we all imagine evolving from apes. The missing link exists for a reason. While the earliest of humans may have--indeed--lived in caves, they were not grunting idiots. They didn't own smart phones or drive cars, but they innovated. They created. They built things, planted things, tasted things, then passed their knowledge from generation to generation. And each generation became that much wiser.
We're the lazy, self-important offspring of thousands upon thousands of years of trial and error. The dog we struggle to potty train, who always gets underfoot, is the result of a millennium of planning and testing.
It is difficult to verbalize how giant God feels in light of the existence of dogs. It's hard to express how I can think of my dog and every wonderful thing she was and know that this amazing, astounding creature was created by Man. And that Man was created by God.
Dogs came from thousands of years of breeding wolves who showed favorable traits with wolves of similar traits. Eventually, the canine changed from a wild pack animal to a creature specifically adapted to be of use to humans. And, in fact, every dog breed in existence serves a specific function, from hunting rats and herding sheep to leading the blind and rescuing people. It's astounding that humans, of all people (fun), managed to change and shape a predator into a companion.
Dogs also make me question the grunting, animal-like cave man we all imagine evolving from apes. The missing link exists for a reason. While the earliest of humans may have--indeed--lived in caves, they were not grunting idiots. They didn't own smart phones or drive cars, but they innovated. They created. They built things, planted things, tasted things, then passed their knowledge from generation to generation. And each generation became that much wiser.
We're the lazy, self-important offspring of thousands upon thousands of years of trial and error. The dog we struggle to potty train, who always gets underfoot, is the result of a millennium of planning and testing.
It is difficult to verbalize how giant God feels in light of the existence of dogs. It's hard to express how I can think of my dog and every wonderful thing she was and know that this amazing, astounding creature was created by Man. And that Man was created by God.