Читать книгу Paws to Reflect for Dog Lovers - Kim McLean - Страница 13

Listen to what the LORD says: “Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.”

—Micah 6:1

The Great Pyrenees is a dog whose breed originated in the mountain regions of France as far back as 1800 b.c. They are often used to shepherd sheep. These dogs have a heavy double coat that enables them to be an effective deterrent to predators of sheep or goats.

Our family decided we needed a Pyrenees to help protect our farm from coyotes, so we located a rescue that had Great Pyrenees-collie mix puppies, where we picked out Jack, a little fluffy teddy bear. That small, cuddly stage lasted about a week. Pretty soon his feet were the size of feed buckets and his head was about the size of a garbage can lid. As we began to train him, we realized this big animal’s feelings were easily hurt. He would literally become embarrassed at each correction, bury his big old head in his gigantic paws and cry. Some guard dog, we thought.

Then something happened. Instinct began to kick in, and this hairy beast began to run sentry around the outer edge of our farm. His baritone bellowing intimidated the coyotes, keeping them away from the farm.

Jack’s bark was his greatest weapon against the coyote packs. When his voice echoed across the valley, he sounded eight feet tall. When Jack was healing from hot spots and had to wear a bell collar, he seemed thrilled with the effect of his voice, magnified to huge megaphone proportions. Jack literally sang across the valley, enjoying the power amplified by the huge plastic collar.

As children of God, sometimes we are called to sit quietly waiting for God’s instruction. But other times we are called to boldness, to use our voice to stand up for what we believe in and to make our beliefs known. Then our voice, like Jack’s with the coyotes, can be used for good.—d.o.