A story, for those mourning the loss of a friend with fur.
Fr. John Ahearn, MM, and his friend, Daisy
At one time (perhaps still) Hong Kong construction workers often kept semi-wild dogs on building sites to discourage the unwelcome, cruelly abandoning them after the work was complete. Walking past a site one day, Fr. John spotted a shivering puppy, the progeny of these unwanted curs, and decided to take her home. Daisy was too old to imprint properly and always remained somewhat feral. But she was fiercely loyal to her rescuer, and the Pastor’s dog became a respected member of the parish. (I remember her: Small in stature but with a bull neck and huge jaws, like she was part hyena) But she never barked, and Fr. John said that if Daisy wanted something, she would get his attention with the touch of her cold nose. Daisy lived a long and happy life, and when she died, the parishioners buried her, marking the grave with a little stone in the parish garden.
On one occasion, Fr. John relates, Daisy padded into his room at night and “nosed” him awake. He got up just in time to see a burglar trying to crawl through the window. The man panicked, tumbled out of the window and ran away. Crime –and possible assault- averted. However, Daisy was nowhere to be seen, for by then she had already been in her little grave for some six months . . .
Be grateful for all the creatures God sends your way. And be kind. For, as the guys in the joint taught me, what goes around, comes around, for good or ill.