tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post1055557937648213254..comments2022-11-20T00:24:42.916+13:00Comments on the art of sojourning: a stray dog and a moral dilemmaCarolynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00544223597726830584noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-3464827734122049872014-05-07T23:40:59.247+12:002014-05-07T23:40:59.247+12:00Hi Elizabeth2 :) - thanks so much for your comment...Hi Elizabeth2 :) - thanks so much for your comment. I love how you grasped the complexity of the dilemma so accurately, and portrayed so well how there just isn't always an obvious "right" answer!Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00544223597726830584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-1705545391643684342014-05-07T23:25:49.016+12:002014-05-07T23:25:49.016+12:00There definitely isn't one right answer! I'...There definitely isn't one right answer! I'm not not much of an animal activist myself, though I certainly wouldn't want to harm one. I remember seeing my first stray dogs in Mexico and just knowing from what I'd been told that they were probably pretty diseased. In the back of my head I sort of figured that there wasn't money in the budget for spaying/neutering/euthanizing/vaccinating, etc. Maybe that's sort of a privileged mindset, but letting it get out of control isn't exactly humane to anyone either.<br /><br />I often see old ladies buying sausages for stray dogs here, and in a way it's a picture of true compassion; spending their few kopecks on a poor animal. But it's foolish at the same time, encouraging a potential sick animal to hang around and depend on you and potentially reproduce. <br /><br />That's what the problem is, isn't it? God's wisdom just doesn't always make sense. Sometimes it means hurting another creature in order to make things better. And sometimes it means going against our instinct/wisdom/sense of caution, in order to show compassion.<br /><br />I would DEFINITELY join you in thinking about safety. But there are other lessons here, so many teachable moments, and lots of human beings involved with different thoughts and feelings. Lessons about why there are animals in the world who have been treated this way, lessons about decision-making, and lessons about how the right decision or answer to prayer might involve pain, but God always knows best.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15283395756742923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-11376955811580530542014-05-07T12:15:14.683+12:002014-05-07T12:15:14.683+12:00Hi Tenney, thanks so much for your empathy! And y...Hi Tenney, thanks so much for your empathy! And yes, our part of the world is similar to what you saw in India - some people do have pets, but they are pretty neglected most of the time and dogs kept at houses are often purposely trained to be vicious guard dogs since there is such a high crime here. (People just don't have enough, so they get desperate.) I have seen the occasional family actually love a pet dog in the way people love pets in the West, but it's rare. I've decided to take the boys out with me this morning to see if we can rescue the dog from where it was thrown yesterday, if it's still there, and then we'll go from there... I have no idea what's next. I'm in over my head, but I'm trusting God to show me what to do! And I'm also trusting Him to show my kids compassion in action in whatever road we end up having to take in this situation. Thanks for your encouragement!Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00544223597726830584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-15122917109463724532014-05-07T09:18:29.850+12:002014-05-07T09:18:29.850+12:00Oh Carolyn, I feel for you. I am not a dog person ...Oh Carolyn, I feel for you. I am not a dog person myself, and would be just as conflicted as you were about the critter. On the other hand, dogs do make good pets for children, if they can be trained, or if they are cared for and petted a lot. Also, soap and water goes a long way to fixing up a messy animal. My take on animals generally is that if I'm going to feed and care for them, they have to give some return: cats take care of the mice, chickens give eggs, etc. Dogs? I guess their best thing is playing with children, which is probably what Ruby is thinking about. As the youngest, she would see the dog as the next lower on the status rung, a big plus for her. I know the idea of pets is pretty much anathema in that part of the world (I saw ONE pet dog in my stay in India), but I like what Aaron said about being and bringing light to others, showing love to people AND animals (part of our original Edenic mandate, after all). Blessings to you, whatever you decide. <br />Tenney.<br />P.S. Dog was sort of "sent" to you, verdad?flamekindlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02603600582532864827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-11883327183328946402014-05-07T05:36:44.157+12:002014-05-07T05:36:44.157+12:00Thanks so much for sharing, Aaron. I was half-hop...Thanks so much for sharing, Aaron. I was half-hoping half-dreading you would read this post (because I do know where you and Faith stand, and I love you and respect you both so much for it!) - and I'm finding myself agreeing with your conclusion (hence why I'm still awake at midnight responding to comments on this issue!)... <br /><br />Salt and light. Yes. That is what we want to be. And if this is a way to do it, so be it. I just wish we were in a town as big as the one you lived in, so I could actually FIND the stuff we need to look after it properly! God give me strength :)Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00544223597726830584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-65706130285597400362014-05-07T05:25:51.292+12:002014-05-07T05:25:51.292+12:00Wow. That's tough. Thanks for sharing. As the...Wow. That's tough. Thanks for sharing. As the one who still wears the scars from the aforementioned pup that we grabbed out of a sewer, I think you know where the Dowdys land regarding the matter. :)<br /><br />Faith liked to talk about "redeeming the stray animals", but I think I looked at it as one of our ways of being salt & light in that part of the world. We always talked about how it always seemed our flights landed in the middle of the night over there, so when we stepped off the plane we were always stepping into literal darkness. But spiritually, we always felt the darkness around us. It was evident everywhere. <br /><br />Alcoholism raged. <br />Superstition and animism were everywhere. <br />Fear and shame ruled relationships. <br />Animals were sorely mistreated.<br />Jesus wasn't worshiped. <br /><br />So--not being proficient with the language yet--we did what we could to love others...to be salt & light. <br /><br />Whether it was shoveling our neighbor's gate whenever it snowed. <br />Talking with my tutor about what I do to love and honor my wife.<br />Taking in a stray dog or two. <br /><br />When there's a new heaven and a new earth, things will be gloriously different. In the meantime, we ask God for grace in ways to share a preview of what it'll be like to others. :)<br /><br />(So go get that dog.) :)Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428335425981029602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-90443925184744854882014-05-07T05:03:48.155+12:002014-05-07T05:03:48.155+12:00In case you didn't see my follow-up FB comment...In case you didn't see my follow-up FB comment tonight, I just went back outside (at 11pm at night) and threw a whole bag of food down the cistern to that poor animal to tide it over until morning... I also noticed there is actually a ladder going down in, so rescue is possible. Pray for wisdom and that in the morning I can figure out what to do! Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00544223597726830584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-50569512870591507982014-05-07T04:37:41.016+12:002014-05-07T04:37:41.016+12:00Hi Elizabeth, after our long conversation on FB, y...Hi Elizabeth, after our long conversation on FB, yes, this is a confessional, and I continued discussing it because I'm still so conflicted and feel so sick about the whole thing. As I mentioned in my P.S.s (added after our talk!), the culture we live in makes this whole humane-to-animals issue extremely difficult and sticky. There simply is no good way for dealing with unwanted animals (and no moral understanding of the fact that NO animals should be "unwanted"!) Your point about the ongoing conversation with my boys being the most important thing was so helpful - that I need to make sure my kids understand this is NOT OK, and help them think through how God wants us to treat His creation. Absolutely right. Thank you.Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00544223597726830584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4075126476030582782.post-12558864604244158692014-05-07T04:11:35.686+12:002014-05-07T04:11:35.686+12:00I'm so sorry. I must be misreading this. Does ...I'm so sorry. I must be misreading this. Does this post say that you had the neighborhood kids throw an animal down a public water pipe to its clear demise and you're not sure if this was the right thing? But you had time to write a 3,000 word blog post about it? I'm utterly confused. Is this a confessional? elizabethnoreply@blogger.com