HAVE YOU CONSIDERED ...

Dr. French O'Shields "A dog is a man's best friend."

Who said it first or when, I do not know. Evidence confirms it may be true.

I always had a dog. Family pictures show me and my dog when I had barely learned to walk. One dog I particularly remember. When I would leave my bike at a playground, friend's house or the city park across from the movie theatre, my dog would stand guard 'til I remembered and returned. Even better, my parents could not spank me while my dog was nearby.

I discovered dogs are not only protective of their owners, but the epitome of unconditional love. As a pastor trying to provide care to my members, I would occasionally have a rough day filled with frustration of tasks undone and of people whom I could never please. Pulling the car into my back yard, it all changed. My mixed collie, Angel, greeted me, welcoming me home with joy and playful affection. I knew immediately I was loved and wanted even though I had not spent enough time with her lately, forgot to feed her, or bathed her as often as I should, or spoken harshly to her.

The Daytona Beach News Journal printed a heart-warming story. A daughter was seeking to care for her Alzheimers victim father. His attitude was terrible, constantly irritable and demanding. She was near her wit's end when a friend suggested she get him a dog. She brought home a mature lab. Initially her father would have nothing to do with the dog. Soon that changed and so did her father. He became kind, loving and appreciative. He and the lab bonded and were inseparable. After the father became bedridden, the lab was constantly beside him. He was there to the end when the father died. The lab so grieved over his loss until two days later the daughter found the lab dead in the bed where his master had died.

Dogs are helpful as well as true friends. Dogs can be trained to do remarkable things: guide the blind, be ears for the deaf, assist in law enforcement, detect drugs, search for the living and the dead in ruins, find melanomas (the most serious skin cancer) dermatologists can miss, detect termites and bedbugs, herd cattle and sheep, guard property and much more.

Little wonder Americans love their dogs and spare no expense on them. It is reported to be 70 million dogs in the U.S. and nearly $3 million is spent on pets each year. Dogs have become part of the family, living in the home, eating designer dog food, going to groomers and even doggie day care and traveling with families on vacations.

Does God love animals? Of course He does. His Word says: "Your steadfast love, O Lord, is as great as all the heavens ... You are concerned for men and animals alike (Psalm 36: 5,6, Living Bible).

Have you hugged your dog today.

(Dr. French O'Shields is a Gaffney native and a retired Presbyterian minister.)