I rescued my dog from being put down at a shelter when I came along by a God Send about a dozen hours before it was scheduled; and a couple of days before Thanksgiving! If I hadn’t been working near the shelter and heard howls that reminded me of the wolf howl or “Call of the Wild” which I used to do with mush team dogs I had rescued years prior; like Jack London’s great story which I’ve always loved, I would not have been curious before the shelter closed that afternoon to go look and then found out in fact that two Champion blood line Siberian Huskies had gotten out of a house in an affluent town next door and were there at the shelter only a few hours, because their owners were frantically looking for them; which also was the call out for help for my current dog, to give her my attention, in order for “me to be aware she was in dire need!” I got there and knew the director from years prior when she was a dog officer for the town and I said; “that dog what are you doing with her, no name on her cage?” And she said “the Police Department decided she has to be destroyed!” I said “NO WAY,” but only because this lady knew how determined and convincing I can be she went out on a limb for me as she later told me, and did what is unheard of there calling the Chief after hours and then others in the loop to save her; but then as promised, the next morning I was waiting before the shelter opened, in the parking lot! I gave Anne time to get things going as it wasn’t even public visiting hours yet at that point, but then I finally went in to ask about Penny, which was the name they gave her months before and she said, “Larry don’t say anything, and go see your dog!” Makes me cry remembering how I felt that day, just as Anne said that, how I started crying! I love this dog so much I would take a bullet for her or do anything to protect her! It’s been determined she is a dog with Jackal in her, being that she is half Basenji (derived directly from the Jackal) and half Rhodesian Ridgeback! She was very hard to control or get to be calm and be nice in the house for the first few years’, lots of work and mopping up after her, very destructive and defiant almost, tearing down mini blinds to see who was outside nearby, wanting so much attention and freedom to do as she pleases! I let her sleep on my bed every night now! She loves me so much and same back to her! Also turned out that the Police Department had given her a chance before I came into the picture and allowed her to be adopted after some months of working with her in the shelter environment, but, she was brought back immediately by the family as completely unruly, the final nail in her coffin, that is until I came along in the nick of time! Penny through no fault of her own had been placed in a category of dog similar to that of the “Wolf Hybrid” which isn’t even legal to own in many states; but, those Siberian Huskies with their “Call of The Wild,” an actual ancient “Wild Wolf Howl” if you will; was that all heart cry out or “final alarm” that changed the paradigm for Penny on that fateful day! Thanks be to God!
Hope I made you feel something nice inside telling you all this!
Lawrence Morra
Here I am several months after Penny having succumbed to age and illness; recalling this writing to another dog loving person I know online through our writings; which now I think is so appropriate to share this tribute to Penny!
In Memory of Penny
I just walked in after a walk with my dog and was contemplating; she is so old and weakening but would have been put down way back then if I hadn’t walked in to that shelter that late afternoon before the next day when she was scheduled to be put down! For several months they had worked with that stray unusual dog found as a pup, Basenji-Ridgeback mix that nobody knew anything about nor where she came from, and for months no one was looking for her! But she was deemed unadoptable even with the behaviorists input! The decisions for that euthanizing assessment are final and not reversed, but, if anyone could convince the director to find a way to stop that order it was me through her that director, who went out on a limb as she told me the next day when I returned before opening time, somehow overnight in off hours she worked some blessing for sure.
Oh yes; we humans are absolutely connected to the universe in the most profound way too! All an expression of God’s vastness, greatness and unimaginable love! But it is a journey and a long road that of course has many peaks and valleys with scattered bumps in the road, many trials; all helping to illustrate the many things we can and must learn along the way; while finding our worthiness! But my belief which I have seen proven time and again, is that God wants our cooperation and devoted love to Him! The way I’m so devoted to my animals is a drop in the bucket compared to what God is doing with us! But, He is so pleased and happy when we are getting it and trying our best!
That was right at this time of year many years ago when I happened in there by a very uncanny series of events just minutes before closing time, a few minutes off here or there leading up would have been curtains for the dog, such as my insisting on taking a look at the dogs being so compelled, and as it turned out this dog was scheduled before opening time the following morning to be put down; all of which happened I know for sure by a Godsend! 6/11/23
See ya Penny! Love you!
Zero Lift-Off 
Wow! Thank you very much, Lawrence, for sharing this beautiful love story. Bless you and Penny.
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Dear Sugar my Kind Friend for many reasons; even my telling this story was because you are one of the reasons I became inspired on Sunday knowing that God is constantly with us giving many incentives along the way if we will hold onto Faith realizing Hope is real and it will open the door to our tomorrows eventually leading us Home where our hearts yearn to be! Thank You very much for your acknowledgement and generosity, but especially for your prayers and Blessings! Penny told me she is happy you mentioned her too! ❤🐺😇🙏 God Bless You and All Your Animals who adore you! 💜✝🙏 We are Both Happy that You Loved Her Story! 🐺
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What a lovely story! I love how some things come together almost supernaturally. Her name is Penny? Please give her a cookie for me!
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Oh I tell you I’ve had some very truly supernatural God Sent things happen so to me there is no two ways about it! Yes I didn’t name her she came with that; but that would have been all she got was a name and death until God made sure I showed up at the right place at the precise time to save the day for her, as it says it was already a done deal she was done for; I wasn’t even thinking about getting another dog, I had two already. She was the most difficult dog I ever had to work with and most people I know would never have attempted it or if they did would have given up.
Right now she is sleeping on my bed and I would do it all over in a heartbeat, not even have to think about it! I’m a sucker for punishment some people say, but, I saw the potential and now the end result proves me right! In just a bit I’ll be taking her outside and then when we get back in I’ll give her one of her favorite Newman’s own cookies and say it’s from aunt Pam! Oh and her name is Penny!
Thank you.
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That story made me heart sing with joy! We rescued our last two and Boon, my Australian Dingo, looked a fair bit like Penny. Dingoes cannot bark, only howl. Her nature was very much like Penny’s too. She was hyperactive but quiet- kind and affectionate with family- shy with all others. May God bless you and Penny. Thank you for that ray of light!
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Proverbs 12:10 Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“The righteous one is aware of the soul of his animal, and the evil withhold their compassions.”
Proverbs 12:10 Amplified Bible
“A righteous man has kind regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.”
Very good and so appropriate to get this commentary from you right now, as I read it another God Send! Boon sounds like an awesome dog and I like the comparison to Penny as she being a mix of Rhodesian Ridgeback and Basenji which is descendant from the Jackal, and is called a bark-less dog too. Yes they, your Boon and Penny’s temperament would be easily seen as the same! One distinct difference I can point to is Penny’s acceptance of just about anyone that came around to visit or that we approached, being kind and loving to people in general, but, other dogs she seemed to always perhaps see them as a challenge and she needed to be the alpha; so her display of dominance was strong consistently with meeting any dogs except when I first adopted her and brought her home introducing her to the two dogs I already had, it all went perfect, and there was no rivalry at all! The intelligence she possessed and perhaps the strong bonding I already showed immediately to her and obviously to the other two dogs, along with their affection for me, made it apparent that all was well.
I speak in a past tense now because I’m just getting settled with my loss of Penny who fought to hang on with me as long as she could and her time had come on December 28th to leave this life. For two weeks I felt so alone her being the “The Last of the Mohicans” in a sense out of all the dogs I’ve had over many years non-stop and so I sobbed often when missing her; but through God’s grace and another God Send, when I had not really been motivated to look into finding another dog too quickly because I was unsure what would be best to do; in just two weeks’ time from when Penny departed another companion dog came into my life through more than coincidence again! This one I will have to have a DNA confirmation to be sure but she seems to be most likely Border Collie and Australian Shepherd, mostly white coat with some patches of black and barely a smidgen of brown, along with having the most beautiful blue eyes, a first for me to have a dog with such eyes! Her name is Tula and an older woman in the area another advocate for dogs told me just after Penny passed to find another dog that loves me, and Tula sure fits that description totally! I can’t stop missing Penny or any of my former canine friends, but that woman was right because Tula is helping me deal with it all beautifully and that is why God Sent her my way now! Amen.
I recently wrote these words in response to a comment that fit here too.
I just lost a beloved dog companion pet which I had with me for nearly 16 years; and she passed at home with me tending to her as she took her last breath; and because it hurt so bad I think God in His mysterious ways is giving me more incentives to push forward and to know its all fine because He loves all of the good within His creation, even the dog more than I can imagine, and He will help me get through it because He surely loves me and wants me to heal!
I’m very happy that Penny and my explanation in this story touched you and sent a ray of light, which of course originates from our Father above in heaven!
God bless you and your entire family, of course that is Boon too!
Brother in Christ Jesus,
Lawrence
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Wow Lawrence, what a grace! An amazing did. Boon’s companion all her life was Buster- a rescued Blue long haired Border Collie! He lived to 16.5 years and although started out with issues including nipping, became the most faithful and obedient dog and teacher for Boon who we received as a 5 week old pup taken by a thoughtless person too young from the bush. Remarkable! Thank you for sharing. 🙏🏻
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Hello again! Wow for sure sister Donna in Christ Jesus!
So many connections happening in all of this as God the Father directs His Holy Spirit to our aid and comfort!
Both Boon and Buster to me are so precious from what you’ve said, and I see dogs as a very precious special blessing from God to accompany human beings that care to have them as companion pets; truly Man’s Best Friend!
So interesting how Boon you say was taken too young from the bush and my Penny from all I could find out was found stray as a young feral pup of about 4 or 5 months and then the shelter had her for about a year with nobody ever claiming her along with much effort made to assimilate her into being a house pet for a family or individual. But as the story went nothing worked out for her and she “reached the end of her rope” as the saying goes; until God made sure I came along stopping the euthanasia order in the nick of time; to take her home for keeps! Man, oh man, do I miss that amazing dog and friend, tearing up now as I type, but, I accept all is in God’s hands and I’ve been so blessed to have had the opportunity to have her with me all those years!!!
So I know I must look forward to the future with “Hope and Trust” in the Lord our God to resolve all of the difficulties and hardship we all face in this life! His will be done and His kingdom to come! We must try our best for this is a test and in the end it will be made complete and perfect for those who believe and trust in Him through our Savior Jesus Christ the Son of God! Amen.
Thank you very much again and again for coming along with your wonderful messages when you did!
God bless you and yours!
Brother in Christ Jesus,
Lawrence
By the way, the day I was connected to Tula and brought her home, I had gone off in a quiet park outdoor setting next to the shelter after spending some quality time having just met Tula by Divine Providence and had been talking with a fine man that works at the shelter who pointed out her usual strong interest in me a stranger! As I sat and prayed I suddenly realized that her name phonetically was like a slap in the head to wake up; Tula is To La and La was my dad’s nickname for me throughout my life, he being the only one that called me that regularly or at all. And he being such a devout Catholic and saint for God over the course of his whole life; always being such an advocate for God and His plan! Right at that moment I jumped up saying oh thank you Lord, I must adopt this Tula now! When I got to the shelter building again and walked in, I recalled how earlier there had been two women seated at the large counter area, only now just sitting down between them as I walked in the door, was a third woman who had on a sweat shirt which had the word “Love” in large letters across it! How could I not see this, a bulletin board would make it a bit bigger, but the same giant message; “TO LA LOVE!”
Thank you Jesus!
LA
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I have pondered why the love between a person and a dog is so strong and good and I have decided on this, at least. They were put here and we appreciate them because they remind us of the unconditional love of God. We never really experience the same ‘ no strings attached’ in humans. Each dog we have adopted from a stray has been a great gift from God. We have had 12 months break since owning our last two. I’m not sure when or if God has planned another for us. I am concerned about the times we are in but trust He will send a help dog to guide, comfort and protect when needed. 🙏🏻
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Yes I agree with your insights here totally!
The connection you made regarding the unconditional love is at the heart of this I do believe! I mean look what our heavenly Father did for us through His only begotten Son, our Savior Jesus because He loves us that much! 🙏🏻
This reminds me of the great gift dogs have been in my own life for so many years and I can point out here something I wrote back in 2019 in the comments of that blog posting I wrote about another of my dogs named Angel that came to me as part of God’s will and plan also; that I think profoundly illustrates this idea we share!
“Yes Indeed! I left out so much because it’s a very long story about Angel. Up to the point when I met the priest and had to talk about the loss of her in my life I had never realized one other little so obvious fact! Immediately after he told me how “with God anything is possible,” he continued smiling as he always was so positive and uplifting in all he did, including his being a 30 year paramedic with the fire department and always helping on some level; he said to me “what is dog spelled backwards?” I then said, oh my God father that’s it, I’m fine now and know that God just told me through you that everything is fine and to just have faith in Him! God does work in mysterious ways and like my Mom would sing to us when children, “He has the whole wide world in His hands!”
Here is the full blog post which puts into perspective the above excerpt I shared here.
My dogs have brought me so much assurance and unconditional love while reminding me how God is present at all times in our lives wanting us to see and recognize these connections that aren’t whimsical or happenstance but are part of His plan and it does help us on our path to Him!
Today via an email another interesting dog story came my way that also demonstrates this human and special dog connection in a heartfelt way.
“Newly Adopted Rescue Dog Gets Loose, Then Rings Shelter Doorbell in the Middle of the Night”
Posted by Bearded Writer
February 16, 2023
https://beardsofliberty.com/newly-adopted-rescue-dog-gets-loose-then-rings-shelter-doorbell-in-the-middle-of-the-night/
Watch the video explanation here:
I do think you are also right in saying that “God will send another dog again your way when needed;” we already know from our past experiences how they “guide, comfort and protect us” and in my current situation being alone it is clear that the dog I now have which was another Godsend to me only 2 weeks after the loss of my Penny, is here to comfort and help guide me too; Tula is a great very special dog that loves me and she’s already comforted me greatly with her presence, friendship and watches to protect me too!
Thank you for your insight and caring!
God bless. 🙏🏻
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Terry Jacks – Seasons In The Sun (Official Audio) – YouTube
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