TO ALL THE DOGS I'VE LOVED BEFORE

I remember a song I heard in the early Eighties called “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.” It was written by Hal David and Albert Hammond. It has been recorded by several artists and bands, in several different languages, but the one I remember the most is the version by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson, from 1984. I have always loved parodies of songs and I’ve written several over the years, so when I was thinking about a name for this story about dogs I’ve loved and lost, the title “To All the Dogs I’ve Loved Before.” just jumped out at me.

I remember having several different pets, other than dogs, that I truly loved. Most of them loved to receive affection but were not that great at returning it. There’s no animal that I know of that returns affection quite like a dog. Their love seems to be unconditional.

The first dog I remember having as a friend was named Clete. I wrote about him a while back in the post titled “Our Best Friend.” I’ll put a link at the end of this post in case you missed it. Check it out to see the strange way he got his name. I don’t have a clue what breed he was, but he was a brown and white mid-sized dog. He was with us for several years before he died. He was family, and it broke our hearts when he left us.

Then, there was Bonnie. She was a mutt. Her mother was a small black Chihuahua named Pretty, but Bonnie was much bigger than her mother. She was very smart, too, but something was wrong with her. She had a litter of puppies, but they all died within a few days after birth. The same thing happened to her next litter, with one exception. As puppy after puppy died, one little black and white male kept growing. When all the others were gone, he was still going strong. I named him Sparky. He was a miracle and I loved him. I was so happy he didn’t die, but that happiness was cut short. Early one morning when I went to see him, I found that he had died during the night. I was so heartbroken.

My aunt, who was my dad’s sister, had given Bonnie to my parents, and they had let me have her. I was told my aunt wanted her back. By this time she had given birth to another litter of puppies. They all died except two. Those two had made it several months and were still going strong. I named my favorite one Dee Cee from the name of a pair of jeans I had at the time. My grandmother said I could only keep one dog so I gave Bonnie back to my aunt and later, I gave the other dog to a distant uncle. When I would come home from school DeeCee would always run out to meet me and jump up into my arms. We played together all the time. Once again, I had allowed myself to love an animal, setting myself up for another heartbreak, which did eventually come.

One day we came home and my best friend wasn’t there to meet me. I searched the neighborhood and looked everywhere for him, but hours turned to days, and days turned to weeks, and I finally realized he was gone for good. I never saw him again.

I had other dogs over the years, but I wouldn’t let myself get too attached to them, so when something happened to them, I wouldn’t be hurt so bad. Several years ago I wrote a short story called “Billy And His Strange Pet.” It was an allegory or parable about my experience with losing pets that I loved. I’ll put a link at the end of this post in case you missed that one.

I grew up and had children of my own, but I still would not allow myself to get attached to animals. Several years ago, God revealed some things to me about myself, and he began to soften my calloused heart. That healing started with a true understanding of forgiveness and continued on to include an appreciation for life, love, and family.

We need to appreciate the time we have with those we love, and when they’re no longer with us, we will have the memories of the love we shared together, whether that love is shared with humans or animals. It has been said many times that love is a universal language. The Bible says God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16) and love covers all sins (Proverbs 10:12), so everything we do should be done with love (1 Corinthians 16:14). Give love, and cherish the love you receive. In the end, it will make a world of difference, to you and everyone in your life.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2017 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

RELATED POSTS BELOW ---

Our Best Friend
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com/2017/05/our-best-friend.html

Billy And His Strange Pet 
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com/2015/07/billy-and-his-strange-pet.html

I Forgive You, Mr. Richmond
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com/2015/08/i-forgive-you-mr-richmond.html

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

BILLY AND HIS STRANGE PET

Billy was a sad little boy. He was only eight years old but, a lot of bad things had already happened to him. His parents had given him away when he was only three. He was abused in foster care and was bullied and picked on in school. He was full of anger, fear, and confusion, but even with all that going on inside him, he was still able to show love.

He really loved animals. He especially loved those he had been able to keep as his own. Dogs, cats, rabbits, opossums, and even some mice. He loved his pets so much that he didn’t think of them as possessions, but as friends. But it seemed like every pet Billy ever loved had died, or was somehow taken away from him.

One of his cats was killed by a car. Another cat just came up missing. One of his dogs died from a terrible disease. He had a little puppy named Sparky that he loved so, so much. But one morning, when he went out to play with his little friend, he found he had died, too. Billy’s heart was broken again. Then there was his dog Dee Cee. Billy loved him as much as he had loved Sparky. He was always waiting for Billy when he would get home from school in the afternoon. He would run to meet Billy and jump into his arms and lick his face. Then they would run and play until they were both exhausted. One day when he came home from school, Dee Cee wasn’t there to meet him. He searched for him for what seemed like forever. Then, day turned to night, and days turned to weeks. He never saw his best friend again. His heart was broken once more.

He had been hurt so many times. Not only by losing his pets he had loved so much, but also by the people in his life. He decided that he had had enough. He didn’t want to be hurt again. He became cold and distant. For a while, he didn’t even want a pet, but he was so lonely. Eventually, he decided to give it another try. He had to choose this pet wisely, so he thought and thought about it for a long time. What kind of pet would be the best for him? He thought and thought some more.

Then he saw it. It had been there all the time, right in front of him. He had played with it before and he knew that it would be the perfect pet for him. It wasn’t like any of the pets he had before. It had a long neck and a long body. Its head was wide and it had a big mouth. It wasn’t at all pretty, but he had found the perfect pet. A pet shovel. Billy thought to himself, “the beauty of having a pet shovel is that you don’t have to worry about it dying and leaving you alone.” When you want to play, it will always be there and it won’t get tired and lay down, or run off and leave you when another shovel comes around. It will never get angry and yell at you, or abandon you, or abuse you in any way. No sir. This pet would never break his heart. How could it?

Billy loved his pet shovel and took good care of it and carried it everywhere he went. He washed it and cleaned it. He petted it and talked to it, and he even fed it. Now, what does a pet shovel eat? Dirt, of course. Billy spared no expense. He went straight to the flower garden. “Only the best dirt for you”, he told his new best friend. “Only the best.”

There are many people in this world like Billy. People who have had a bad life and feel they have nowhere to turn, and no one to turn to without finding more pain. But thankfully, when he was older, Billy met someone he could trust. Someone who would love him unconditionally and would always be there for him and would never let him down. No, I’m not talking about his pet shovel. I’m talking about Jesus.

Jesus is always there for us. No matter where we are, where we’ve been, or what we’ve done, Jesus loves us and will never leave us. He loves us so much that he came down to earth from heaven and died to redeem us from the curse of sin. He bought us back with his blood. Not so he could own us, or boss us around, but so we could live forever with him as friends.

There will always be pain and disappointments in this life. People we know and love may say or do things that hurt us. Our pets and family members may die or leave us, but, no matter how bad things get in life, no matter how bad or worthless we may feel, Jesus is always there to help us make it through it. He promises us he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He wants to be your friend. All you have to do is accept his friend request. He’s waiting for you right now.

———————————————–

My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2005 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6