Short Stories

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Every Good and Perfect Gift
The Dog Story


It was a difficult time in my life. My husband of ten years decided he didn’t want to be married anymore so he left. Life became harder as a single parent. I had plenty of responsibility, a professional but yet a good paying job, a large home to take care of and a young daughter to raise. My plate was full and I did not see a need to take on any more responsibility, financial or otherwise, at this time in my life. My daughter Lisa, however had other ideas. Almost daily she began asking me for a puppy. “Please mom, they are so cute and it would be fun!” Fun for who is what I thought! She made it clear that her preference would be to get a Dalmation. Even if we were to take on such a project as a puppy, a Dalmation would certainly not be my choice because I have always been a lover of furry fluffy dogs. They just looked more cuddly and lovable to me.

While I did like animals, my mind was made up, no more work for me! Puppies needed potty training, discipline for barking, chewing and crying, feeding, frequent visits to the vet for the first year, and other stuff that I had no interest in. Too much work for too little payback, were exactly my feelings.

That particular summer, my daughter and I went to visit a friend out of state, who was a stay at home mother with 4 kids. They had a regular petting zoo in their home, owning about every animal under the sun, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters and lizards and even a pot- bellied pig. As I confided in my friend about the increasing pressure being placed on me by my dear sweet daughter to get a puppy, she suggested I might look into getting her a rabbit instead. After all, rabbits are so much easier, and as I observed her 2 bunnies, that appeared to be the case.

On the long drive home I convinced my daughter that when we arrive home, we go to the nearest pet store and pick out a bunny rabbit. She conceded and agreed, so the next day we went bunny shopping. As we gazed over the top of the cages in a well- known pet store, we half- heartedly tried to catch and pet a bunny or two. We had no success in their capture to touch and cuddle, and were not highly impressed with their ability to fulfill the dreams of our heart. We left in silence without a bunny.

When we arrived home, knowing my daughter was disappointed, I told her that I would pray and ask God to change my heart if we were supposed to have a puppy. “OK” she said quite solemnly. That evening, before bed, I mumbled a half hearted prayer to the Lord that went something like this “Lord, if you want us to have a puppy, I am willing for you to change my heart but I really don’t want to have to go out and start looking, so some way, make it obvious so I know it’s you” “Amen.”

A couple of days later, as I was washing the dishes and looking out the window over my kitchen sink, I noticed a small but very furry puppy in my next-door neighbor’s yard. My neighbor already had a dog, so my first thought was, Oh great, Vicki got another dog and a puppy I might ad, so now Lisa will be pressuring me even more to get her a puppy! I immediately went outside to ask her what was going on. “Vicki”, I said,”I see you got a new puppy, what’s his name?” Vicki replied, “this is not my dog” and before she could finish her sentence the front door of her house flung open and out walked her adult step-daughter who finished her sentence “This puppy was left in a box with other puppies on the doorstep of my place of employment. Each of us took one and we are trying to find good homes for them. Because I live in an apartment, I can’t keep him.” She swooped him up and held him up to me and said “He’s free to a good home and he is already potty trained. His name is Ezekiel just like in the Bible” As I stared into the face of this adorable bundle of fur, I looked up and said in my heart “OK” “OK”, I got your answer”. She paused and said ”Do you want him?” Too which I replied “Yes I’ll take him”.

I asked if she could bring him back the next day, as I would have to make preparation for his arrival. After all I needed to go to the pet store and buy a few odds and ends, toys, dog food, bowl, leash, and don’t forget a cage for him to sleep in. We set his arrival time and I went back into the house in a state of shock that my prayer had gotten such a quick answer.

I gave my daughter the good news and she was of course ecstatic. I explained that it was not a Dalmation but a very fluffy dog, to which she replied “That’s fine with me mom”. I also informed my next-door neighbor Kevin that we would be getting a puppy. The reason for this was that while we each had fencing around the outward perimeter of each of our yards, there was no fence between our 2 houses. He had a dog and 2 young boys who frequently came to visit in my yard. This was a convenient and amicable situation for both of us so my neighbor needed to know there would be a new set of feet running back and forth between our houses. Kevin said that was fine with him and asked, “By the way, what kind of dog is he?”” I replied” Part Chow and part something else, a mixed breed”. “That will be great, he said the kids will love it”.

The puppy was promised delivery at 5:30 sharp the next evening. Lisa and I waited anxiously on the front porch for his arrival. While waiting, my neighbor Kevin came over with a look of concern on his face. Apparently, after finding out that our precious puppy was part Chow, he did some research. It seems a close friend of his had a terrifying experience with a full-blooded Chow, where he bit a child and injured him seriously.
Kevin began to relay the horrifying story about this other dog and ended it by saying “Whatever you do, do not get this dog”. “I’m sure he will be mean and it will be a big mistake”. As I looked over at Lisa, she began to cry. I stood there frozen as I watched the current owner of the precious pup pull into my driveway.

The pressure was on, I had to make a speedy decision. Would this 4-legged creature be the demise of us all? “Would I be the most awful mother on the face of the planet by refusing my daughter the desire of her heart? The answer hit me like a lightening bolt! The words came running thru my mind and pierced my heart “Every good an perfect gift comes from above”. My mouth opened as I began to speak these words “Kevin, this dog has come from the Lord. The reason I know this is because I prayed and he was the answer to my prayers. So that means, God’s gift is perfect and this dog is not going to be dangerous. Everything will be just fine” “If you do not feel safe from this puppy or he shows any sign of aggressiveness towards you or your children, I will put a fence right down the middle of our 2 yards. Surprisingly, Kevin was speechless, so he just nodded his head OK. At that moment, our precious pup was thrust into my daughter’s arms as she squealed with delight! “Oh mom, he is so cute” to which I replied “ I know”.

Ezekiel was renamed Teddy because he looked just like a Teddy Bear and I decided it would have been too difficult to say “Here Ezekiel, Here Ezekiel”. He just happened to be the furry fluffy dog that I would have chosen, and my daughter could care less that he is not a Dalmation. He was already house broken just like was promised, and he never chewed anything up. The cage only got used 1 night, so I later sold it, because he was so trustworthy that it was not needed. And he was just too cute to keep him out of the bedroom at night.
To this day everyone remarks about how good- natured and how cute he is. I had one person even say that if I ever didn’t want him, they would take him in a heartbeat(of course that will never happen). He is by far the best dog I have ever known. He made Lisa and I feel more like a family and brought joy were there was sorrow. I could never have guessed what a blessing his coming into our lives would be.

Coming home to this dog every night and receiving the unconditional love that I had hoped for in the marriage that didn’t make it, was a message to me about God’s unconditional love. You see He loves us even when we fall short and He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows just what we need and when we need it. We just need to have a willing heart to be open to his plan and when we do, we receive more than we can imagine in blessings! Every good and perfect gift comes from above!

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