I Have a Dog

I have a dog.  I don't know his name, he doesn't greet me when I come home but I have a dog.  I don't feed him or take him on walks but I have a dog.  I don't have a kennel or a dish or a leash, but I have a dog. I rarely see him but he is here, not in my house or in my fenced in back yard but rather out front.  I don't feed him, bathe him, take him to the vet or scratch behind his ears.  I have nothing in particular to do with him or him with me.  I might not know he still exists except that he leaves a calling card on my yard regularly to remind me that he's still around.

I have a dog.  I didn't find him, buy him or adopt him from a shelter.  I have a dog that simply shows up, leaves his package and disappears.  If it weren't for the packages left on my front yard, I wouldn't even know I had a dog.  But I know I have one because I find myself picking up after him.

Of course I'm being a bit sarcastic.  I don't actually own a dog because neither my wife nor I have the time right now to take care of one.  Additionally, our backyard has a drainage problem that we have to fix before we could have a dog going out there and coming back into the house without making a terrible mess with each trip.

We have chosen, for the time being not to have a dog even though we both love dogs because it is simply not in the cards for the time being.  But, nonetheless, I have a dog.  A dog that I get to care for by picking up the mess his actual owner does not want to bother addressing.

So, what do I do?  Well, there are many options: Because this city has a lease law, I could call animal services.  I could package up the deliveries and redeliver them to my neighbors front porch.  I could set out an animal trap and relocate the K9.  I could get a BB gun and lie in wait for the beast.  I could react in any number of knee-jerk ways.  But how should I react?

Here's what the Bible has to say about reacting to a neighbor's dog leaving deposits on your yard (not directly you understand but the message applies): "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing" (1 Pet 3:9).

Take the battle to a higher level.  Instead of getting back at the neighbor or dog, offer them grace.  Rather than let them see the angst in me, let them see my Lord in me.  What my wife and I intend to do is take a cake to our neighbor and let her know that her dog is welcome on our yard.  I will offer to take care of his deposit when he is through with his business.  It is not what I want to do in particular but it is what I believe my Lord would have me do in his honor, for my neighbor's good and for my blessing.  Jus' Say'n.