As many of you know, last July, our dog, Hank, died of complications associated with DCM, dilated cardio myopathy, a heart disease that affects Doberman Pinschers and several other larger breeds. He lived almost two years post diagnosis and, in truth, Hank had a number of issues that negatively affected his quality of life the first several years after he was born. He was allergic to the process of making kibble and had skin problems as a result of auto-immune disorders. He was also allergic to all kinds of protein and we had to be incredibly careful of what he was fed.
Continuing our tradition of almost 50 years, Hank was a rescue. He had already been surrendered twice by the time that he was two years old – we adopted him on December 28, 2017. Traveling to Urbana-Champaign in central Illinois during a snowstorm, we returned with Hank and immediately made him a part of our family. We were fortunate to have him and I like to think that he lived his best life with us. Make no mistake – he was a handful. Special food needs, drugs, probiotics, acupuncture and finally, after his heart murmurs were discovered, a pretty strict regimen of drugs, heart monitors and work with the fabulous vets at Purdue University helped to keep Hank alive. Finally, he passed over the rainbow bridge and joined Bobby, Sassy, Nicholas, Ellie, Abby, Beau, Sadie and Lexie, our other dogs that we had adopted throughout the years. Of course, there were also a number of cats – Nibbles, Ernie, Chenin Blanc (CB) and Karbon Copy (KC).
To be sure, the house has seemed a little empty but Janet and I needed time to grieve the loss of Hank. In fact, I still miss all the dogs that we have had throughout the years. Each one of them had special qualities that added fullness to our lives. I honestly thought that our time with dogs would end with Hank’s passing. As we enter our early 70’s, I thought we would spend more time traveling and resting after half a century of bearing the responsibility of pet ownership.
But that was not to be… Thanks to the efforts of Brad, the owner of the kennel that boarded Hank for us during our trips to the Greenbrier and beyond, we were made aware of a special little female puppy available in Buffalo, NY. We took a hard pass – we just weren’t ready back in early October when the opportunity came up. But, as the next several months passed, Janet thought it may be time to explore acquiring another family member. With Janet’s arthritis, large dogs were out of the questions and we were looking for a pet that had been trained, at least to some degree. Medical history was important and family lineage as well. It was a tall order, but Brad found the perfect addition for us. He had kept Eva for us – realizing that such a special dog wouldn’t come along very often. And then we were ready…
Harbor Run’s Eventuality is her legal name. She is the latest generation of a line of special English Black Labs from Pennsylvania and Buffalo, NY. Brad was so sure that she was the dog for us that he bought her and spent five months training her. This was before we even knew about her! We finally broke down and met her in November. Eva, as she is known on a daily basis, came to visit us the weekend after Thanksgiving and we were immediately taken by her temperament and disposition. She isn’t going to be as large as a number of our other dogs, but she should be more laid back and easier to handle. After all, we will have her into our eighties assuming all goes well!
What struck me is that the breeder wanted to keep her and add Eva into her own breeding program. They show at Westminster and other major shows, but Eva’s sister, a chocolate Lab, stayed with the family and Eva became available. Heidi, the owner of Harbor Run Labradors, named her Eventuality, with the idea that the right family would come along and Eva would eventually get a chance at her best life. And that’s exactly what happened.
We have made it a habit to not change a dog’s name when we get them. Even if we disliked a name, we would not change it. That’s because we are of the opinion that names are important and deciding a name implies dominion. Whoever named the various animals we have acquired had a reason for their choice. I can only think of once or twice that we had to choose a name – such as when a dog was rescued on the highway and didn’t have a tag. The Scripture is clear that God gave Adam the right to name the animals and they were to be called whatever he named them. So, Eva, a name we just happen to like, has stayed Eva!
So we are raising Miss Eva, having made the decision to go around at least one more time with a furry family member. Even though Eva will be nine months old on February 1st, she is still a tremendous amount of work. It’s been 30 years since we have had a puppy running around. Usually, we have dogs that are several years old. But, as Janet says, it is all part of the experience and if we hadn’t acquired her, who knows what blessings we would have missed out on.
Our verse for tonight highlights God’s mandate for Adam to name, and have dominion over, the animals. Moses, the author of Genesis, tells us, in Genesis 2:19-20, “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.”
My encouragement this evening is that God wants us to take care of His creation, including the animals and the pets that we raise. My prayer is that we will continue to be thankful for the opportunity to play an important role in the lives of these animals that God has created. Welcome, Eva! We are thrilled and blessed to have found you! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…