E-Mails From The Church Dog

Usually when we’d walk by the Old Cemetery, we’d find Victor taking a smoke break sitting on one of the benches, and Dad would stop by, sitting next to Victor and they’d chat while Victor patted my head and scratched behind my ears. Dad found that Victor had been in the Service, but left early because of health problems. Dad also found that Victor has a last name – Rintoul, and that his father was born in Scotland. Imagine that! We have a new tie with him. Now that Dad has this new friend, we both want to help him. He pawsitively can use a little helping hand, and Dad and I have taken Victor on as our “ministry” - to lend him a little support and friendship. Mostly, I’m very impressed with my relationship with Victor. I work very hard to be a friendly representative of my church, but this is beyond that – I’m on my own time when I walk with Dad, not wearing my Service vest, just the harness and leash. Yet, there is something deep inside me that reaches out to anyone I feel might need my attention, and just by being a good, friendly sort I bring comfort to someone who otherwise might be feeling pretty low. Our lesson is to always be receptive to others’ needs. It’s easy for us to plan to do good things for others, such as bringing meals to the Lowell Transition Center, or contributing food to Loaves and Fishes, but then sometimes we let our “charity” end there and it doesn’t carry over to our day-to-day experiences. I try to show everyone to ALWAYS be open to helping others, whether we have our Service vests on or not! So – a little bit of a different turn for us. You never know when God will whisper in your ear and give you a little nudge to help someone out. I thought you’d like to know that a Ministry Dog’s work isn’t just visiting folks in hospitals, etc., but, like a true Christian, my Ministry work is all over the place – I just have to learn to recognize it when it crosses my path.