Pam Padgett, member of the body of Christ
Ten years ago I purchased a 2-month old puppy, Gracie, from a breeder in Michigan and arranged for her to be flown from Michigan to Colorado Springs where I live. Gracie was very scared and stayed at the back of her crate as I drove home from the airport.
When we got to my house I was spending a lot of time with Gracie trying to calm her and assure her that she was safe. But before long, I noticed that my 11-year old dog, Sara, was showing a little aggression toward Gracie, as if jealous of her. This really concerned me.
I asked God what I should do, and was given the idea to start giving commands for Sara to follow and then reward her with a treat when she did as commanded.
So I turned my attention to Sara and told her to "sit". She did this right away and I gave her a treat. Then I gave another command and rewarded her when she did it.
By about the 3rd command, I realized that Gracie, the puppy, had started copying what Sara did in response to each command. So I gave both dogs treats. We went through several commands with Gracie following what Sara did each time.
When we finished this little exercise, Sara was her usual happy self and Gracie no longer seemed nervous. What a simple way to help both dogs! And this was the beginning of Sara and Gracie being good "buddies". There was never trouble between them.
I was reminded of this recently and it still makes me marvel in God to recall how HE helped me (and the dogs!) in this.
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