Piper!

I love my dog, Piper. I am one of the few people who do think well of her. But, I do love her.

Piper is a little and older chihuahua/terrier mix, with more chihuahua than terrier. As such, she tends to be a little hyper and a little skittish. I cannot trust her around my grandchildren, or anyone else for that matter (including myself). She is nippy. Piper also has a very high-pitched bark, and as she is so small, she uses this bark as her constant defense. She also tends to go after your ankles if she is at all intimidated by you.

As way of illustration -- A few years ago, my son adopted two large, old labs from a vet who did not want to euthanize them so was looking for someone to take them. The male is a very easy going, plodding soul, but the female was dominant and moody. When I was not at home, my granddaughter kindly thought to take my Piper out on the leash to give her a break from being alone in my room all day. On her way out the door with Piper on the leash, the female lab came up behind Piper to sniff her, as dogs normally do. Piper, frightened, aggressively growled/barked at her, and she attacked Piper, grabbing her by the back and shaking her. My sons had to literally pry Piper from the dogs mouth.

Piper ended up with 6 broken ribs and months of painful recouperation. Nevertheless, Piper still has no qualms about going after the male lab to keep him in line. It would be funny to see this little rat-sized dog barking and trying to intimidate a huge old lab, funny if I weren't afraid that he might lose his temper and put her in her place. (The vet told me that due to her injuries from the last attack, she will not survive another.)

Anyway, my point is, this is a dog that only a 'mother' could love. And, I do love her. Despite her aggression, her getting into trouble quite often, and the fact that she pays no attention to me whatsoever when I call her or discipline her, I love her. She is my baby and I would probably rush into a burning house to rescue her. Oh, did I mention that she is not an especially affectionate dog. I mean, she will patiently allow me to hold (read 'hug') her, but only for so long. She mostly wants to lay at the foot of the bed ignoring me.

This morning as I was considering all this, I realized that even so, God loves us. We may be ornery, noisy, too big for our own britches, aggressive, smelly, and have very little time for Him. Nevertheless, He loves us. And I can imagine Him longing for us to respond to Him, even as I wish that my dog were more responsive to my expressions of love for her. He does discipline us when we need it, as I do Piper. And, just as with Piper, our actions can land us in painful trouble sometimes. Yet, His love is unmarred by our failures. His love is unconditional. He loves us dispite our loud and obnoxious rantings!

Love,
Ev

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