By Pr. Rhoda Klein Miller
It’s been almost 2 months since we said goodbye to Callie dog, the mini-Aussie Shepherd who was part of our family for the past 6 years. She was one week shy of her 16th birthday so we are grateful for the bonus years beyond her 13 year life expectancy. There are some wonderful benefits to adopting a dog in their senior years. They are already potty trained and won’t chew up everything. Despite the myth, I could still teach this clever old dog new tricks. She enjoyed road trips and forest hikes and wading, not so much swimming, in the water. Last summer at the church camping retreat we took her canoeing for the first time and she was clearly living her best life. But her favorite activity was fetch. If there was a lost tennis ball in the park or under furniture she would find it. Callie was not one to be cuddled but she always wanted to be close and within line of sight as her herding instinct made her the classic “hall monitor” of those in her pack. Her big dark round eyes and wide smile always generated smiles from strangers in return. I witnessed my husband’s tension release when she greeted him on his return home and how she could get him to laugh when my efforts failed. I don’t take as many walks in my neighbourhood now. Our apartment feels dreadfully quiet without the tapping of her nails on the floor. You can stand in the kitchen or eat a plate of food without a pair of beady eyes staring you down. The busyness of life helps keep me distracted but you can’t hide from grief, you have to move with it and through it. In my sorrow I’ve asked God if He would please reunite us one day. And Radar, my first childhood dog, a mini Sheltie and frisbee-catching champion. The Bible doesn’t explicitly address the eternal fate of animals. The focus of Christian teaching is on human salvation and the relationship between humans and God and each other. While there is a unique specialness to humans being made in the image of God, Scripture also speaks of God’s love and care for all of His creation. In Genesis 9:8-17 we read God declared His covenant promise to “every living creature”. Jesus also taught that our Heavenly Father is aware of every sparrow that falls to the ground (Matthew 10:29-31). While we believe Jesus’ second coming is an escort to enjoy the heavenly realm for a time, we have several Bible references to this world being made new which we will return to and make our home. I like to think it is then I will get to meet Noah’s dove, Jonah’s whale, Balaam’s donkey, Elijah’s ravens and my beloved dogs Radar and Callie. But if not, I trust God will heal our broken hearts and replace our loss with love unimaginable as He wipes away every tear from our eyes and our final moments of mourning will pass away (Revelation 21:1-5).