Faith | Her dog gives off good ‘vibes.’ Do we remember to do the same?

My dog has one responsibility and that is to give off good vibes.

Wherever possible, I like to include my dog in activities such as watching my son’s football games and going on family road trips.

At one game, an elderly woman came over and while tenderly patting my dog said, “I just lost my dog of 11 years to cancer. Oh, how I love and miss my dog!”

Another time, we stopped to get gas and a male patron in front of our car smiled and asked, “Is yours a Goldendoodle? I just lost mine. They are sure great dogs!”

Dogs are great at bringing people together.

Dogs don’t remember if you are attractive or intelligent, they just remember if they feel comforted to be around you. You can be the most average person, but if you treat a dog properly, to the dog you are a hero.

When you have a beloved dog, the years are precious, because, hopefully, you will outlive your dog. But at the same time, the thought of losing a dog is difficult to face—a definite reminder that every day with our family is a gift and an opportunity.

My dog spends most of her time observing me and my family. She knows our routine like the back of her paw.

I don’t expect everyone to understand, but she talks to me in barks and I talk back in baby talk and we communicate just fine. Her constant observing helps me pay closer attention to the energy I give off—not only to my dog, but to the humans I live with as well.

Luke 16:19-26 records Jesus’ parable of the rich man and the wounded beggar. The beggar would have been happy with even the crumbs from the rich man’s table, which he was denied. Even the dogs had more compassion than the rich man and came to clean the beggar’s wounds.

When they had both died, the rich man’s spirit was in torment because he remembered his meanness while the beggar was given rest. The rich man’s spirit cried for peace but the “great gulf” between his torment and his peace had been fixed.

It’s plausible that the rich man wasn’t all bad.

Perhaps, he contributed regularly to charitable organizations. Maybe he gave great speeches that motivated many. Perhaps, he had all the wonderful attributes Paul outlines in 1 Corinthians 13: gift of prophesy, understood all mysteries, and had all faith, etc. But when the rich man was in the privacy of his home, he did not care about the lone beggar outside his own door.

If we were to be observed at home, would we be the dogs or the rich man in this story?

I thought having a dog would be good for my kids. I didn’t realize how much she would soften my heart and how her quiet stare would be like a mirror, reflecting back to me how my reactions affect those I love most.

Every day is a gift to act rather than react. I can practice being one whose presence is therapeutic to have around by increasing my: patience, forbearance, kindness, charity and giving generously of my time to have fun!

Life can be “ruff”, but it doesn’t have to be bitter for “whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” but charity never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Guest writer Alicia Walters is a member of the Kennewick Washington Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and serves as a Social Media Specialist. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 4253 W. 24th Ave., Kennewick, WA 99338. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.