Are We Going to the Dogs?

They say that truth is stranger than fiction. They have made a believer out of me. My local newspaper recently ran an article about a growing number of pet owners who are buying custom-built wheelchairs for their dogs whose legs, hip, or backs don’t work anymore. Most dogs have rear wheel wheelchairs to compensate for their lame hind legs, although a growing number of front wheel drive wheelchairs are being ordered for animals with front-leg problems. (I’m serious. This is no joke.)

 One dog owner got a wheelchair for her dog after learning that his odd gait had damaged his spine and would have required surgery. She said, “He just wants to live, after all those years of really hobbling and not being able to get where he wanted to be”. Really? How did the dog communicate this to her? 

 The owners of the animal wheelchair business began in 1989 when their ten year old Doberman lost the use of his rear legs because of disc disease and spinal problems. Since then, they have made wheelchairs for cats, a ferret, alpacas, goats, sheep, a rabbit, and a possum. One pet vet said that animals whom once would have been irreversibly crippled are benefiting from a variety of advancements, such as improved hip and joint replacements, better physical therapy, and wheelchairs. (Remember, these are not human beings, these are pets). One of the company’s founders said, “Dogs don’t understand why this is going on, but they’re very accepting: ‘Oh, this is the way I am today.” So when we put them in the wheelchair, they’re like: ‘Oh, now I’m back to normal. I can go where I want.’” Really? How do the dogs communicate this?

Even if treatment is expensive, these are people who say they’ll do anything to keep their pets moving, to keep them happy, and to keep their quality of life up. Why do they do this? The owners’ goals are simple: to reward their pets’ unconditional love with whatever it takes for the animals to live normally. 

As I read that, a light went on in my head. Maybe that is the real issue. Perhaps people are starved for unconditional love. Maybe they experience more unconditional love from their dogs and their pets than they do from people. And when people do experience unconditional love, look at how much they are willing to give back in return. They are willing to spend lots and lots of money to return the love that means so much for them. 

If this is the case, maybe it’s time for the church to go to the dogs. As our churches seek to become more missional, and intentionally move out into our neighborhoods, it’s important that our community life extend unconditional love to the world, even when it doesn’t come naturally. The Bible teaches us that God loves us unconditionally. People who buy wheelchairs for their pets have experienced this unconditional love from their animals. But it sounds like they have not experienced this from other people or from the church. People not only need to hear the message of God’s unconditional love in Jesus Christ, they need to experience it in the community of Christ’s followers. They need to see it, feel it, taste it, and touch it. If it is fake and phony, they will sniff it out in five minutes, and have their worst attitudes confirmed. It must be genuine, authentic, and real. It must not be something that is just a form of new member recruitment. It must be from the Father, it must be like Christ, and it must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

Maybe it’s time for the church to go to the dogs. If we learn to practice, to share, and to live unconditional love to our neighbors and colleagues, new doors of ministry will open. The church will become more missional. Unconditional love is powerful and life-changing. Just ask the dogs in the wheelchairs.

 

 

 

Comments

[Dave Hackett]

Clark, your point is well taken. I'm wondering where we can go to learn, who can teach us, how to better receive people, welcome people, give unconditional love to people? More and more I'm finding house churches and even mega church plants founded on the premise that they are for those burned out on "regular" church. Yours is a modern parallel to Prov 6:11 - "Look to the ant, sluggard!..." Look to the dogs for how to share love.

Dave

[Rick Carter]

Well, Clark, as one whose wife is this very day shopping for a wheelchair for our collie, I was quite interested in your comments. But I think you painted with too large a brush.

Why are we considering investing $400 in a wheel chair for a dog? Because our otherwise healthy dog has several more years to live, if we can help him get around. It's a tough decision. If we don't help him walk, we'll have to pay to put him down.

But are we trying to reward our pet's unconditional love because we are starved for love elswhere? No. This is a loving, Christian family that is thriving in a supportive church community. We're not starving for love.

But having taken responsibility for the care of this sentient creature, who is, yes, a good companion, we'd like to keep him around a while longer.

The idea of a wheelchair for a dog seems bizarre and excessive until you're in the difficult decision matrix. Then it begins to make perfect sense.

[Spike Coleman]

In a Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy is asked which verse of the Bible is his favorite. He answers, "Ecclesiastes 9:4: a live dog is better off than a dead lion." When asked what this verse means, Snoopy responds, "I don't know, but I agree with it!"

Clark, your point it well taken. Far too often we in the church to not welcome one another, muchless offer unconditional love. Shame on us! We can learn a lot from our dogs!!

As I post this comment, my five-month-old labrador retriever puppy is waiting for me to go outside to play with him.

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