Lessons from a pair of pups

There’s a lot to learn from dogs. Recently my two have been teaching me more than I’ve been teaching them I think. And they’ve been teaching me a good deal about myself.

Lesson #1: I don‘t always do things the right way. (Wait, what?)

Objective: Humility

Procedure: Wash dogs with shampoo, rinse, towel dry, enjoy clean pups…

Reality: It was a warm Sunday afternoon in November, and I decided to take advantage of the weather & spare time and wash the dogs. I grabbed the essentials: shampoo, towels, dogs, hose. Penny was first. I soaked her, loaded her up with shampoo, and scrubbed her down. While washing, I was unable to get a good lather going. So I added more shampoo… and more. No suds. I’m thinking, “Weird, maybe it’s her coat, it’s a lot different than Riley’s long, thick fur.” I rinsed and moved on. Next, Riley. I repeated the process. Still no suds. So I added more shampoo and more and more. I mean, I really loaded this guy up! Nothing. “Man, what's wrong with this shampoo? I can't get a good lather going on either dog!" So I rinsed, dried, and forgot about it. At least I had clean dogs. I didn’t realize my mistake until the next morning. I was looking at the bottle of shampoo that I used… wait, it’s not shampoo, it’s CONDITIONER! No wonder there were no suds, and no wonder the dogs were extra silky and smooth. Usually Riley’s pretty fluffy, but not after the gallon of conditioner I doused him with. Hello!

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Lesson #2: I make mistakes (as evidenced by Lesson #1) and I tend to shift the blame.

Objective: More humility

Procedure: Put Penny in crate with safe, durable chew toys, lock both latches, go to work…

Reality: In my defense, I perfectly followed the procedure above. What I didn’t do was remove the books, papers, and pens that were sitting on top of her crate, very well in reach of puppy, very well begging her curiosity. This is what I think happened… a corner of a piece of paper was peeking over the edge of one of the books. She was tempted and decided that it was good for her to take a bite. (Maybe we should have named her Eve). Somehow she got her little teeth onto that corner and pulled the paper into her crate along with a black pen that had probably been sitting on top of one of the books – ready and waiting to roll into her possession. She ate the paper, chewed on the pen and even devoured some of that meanwhile making a mess of black ink. When I came home, I didn’t notice it at first because her crate is also black. Then I noticed her tongue, which was not its usual pink color. There was black ink all over her mouth and the bottom of the crate along with some small pieces of plastic – remains of the murdered pen. My very first thought: Steve. This is Steve’s doing, it was his pen that she snagged, and now I have to clean it up. (Of course I refused to consider the fact that I was the one who crated Penny before leaving and I was the one who noticed the books, etc. that should have been moved). So I rolled up my sleeves, got on my hands and knees, crawled halfway IN THE CRATE, and started to scour the bottom of it. My anger and bitterness grew the more I cleaned, and I started preparing for the verbal attack I was going to launch at Steve the second he walked through the door. (Sin is good at blowing things out of proportion). In the midst of cleaning and internally grumbling and plotting, I noticed that there was a pen wedged in the middle of Steve’s Bible. Then it dawned on me, it was my pen that Penny got a hold of. Mine. And I was the one who could have prevented this. Ugh.


These are not really lessons learned per se. I knew full well before these events that I mess up and am prone to blaming. That’s no secret. The main truth (lesson) to remember and take hold of is this… I can take ownership of the ways I fall short. I can. And I can do this because my identity is secure in Christ, which frees me from shame and condemnation. And I should do this because it is good for me and it gives glory to God who supplies for my shortcomings. It’s such a temptation for me to try to be perfect, and I hate, I mean hate, to make mistakes even mistakes like using conditioner instead of shampoo or leaving a pen in reach of the puppy. I like perfection and control and order, but the Lord desires something better for me that is humble reliance upon him. And that is better. It is freeing and oh so satisfying to my soul.