Animal Lover

 Y’all, I’m an animal lover! Without question, if I found a baby bobcat, I would try to raise it as my pet and would walk around with my bobcat on a leash! Not. Even. Kidding. While raising my kids, we had dogs, cats, fish, lizards, hamsters and guinea pigs. Of all the animals though, I just love my dog Murphy! He’s a 3 year old goldendoodle and my best buddy!

I recently got to thinking if God intended for dogs to be our pets. If you’re hoping I have the answer to that question, sadly, I don’t. The Bible does not have much to say about keeping animals as pets.

2 Samuel 12:3 refers to the poor man that kept one little ewe lamb that grew up with his children, ate his food and was like a daughter to him.  

Proverbs 12:10a says, “A righteous man regards the life of his animal”.

We know that God commanded Adam in the garden to rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky and every creature that crawls on the earth.

And Psalm 147:9 says “He provides the animals with their food, and the young ravens what they cry for.”

If God cares for and provides for the animals He created, we should also. Maybe God’s desire to care for animals is why we have a desire in us to care for and keep animals as pets.

I have to think that God made dogs smart enough to be aids to us, intuitive enough to come to us when we are sad and goofy enough to keep us humored. They are like toddlers that can’t speak, but with hearts of humans that have spent a lifetime by your side. They teach us about unconditional love. You may have had the worst day and when you walk in the door; no matter what mood you are in, your dog comes to greet you with a wagging tail, so happy to see you. They don’t care what you look like, how much money you have or what kind of house you live in. They love us!

They require so little of us but have so much to give in return. As humans, our pets are a part of our lives. For them, we are their whole world. Don’t forget that we get out, we interact with other people, we go on vacations and see other parts of own towns, states and country. Our pets see our homes and the backyard. We are everything to them and God called us to care for His creation.

And if you see me walking down the street with a bobcat… just mind ya business!