It seemed like a chance meeting, but is any meeting really just by chance...?
I was in the midst of vending at a large Wool Show this past weekend when a stranger and I struck up a conversation about my rescue animal efforts. I talked to her about the 2 dogs and 10 cats I'd recently rescued and she told me about her two beloved Labradors, one she had just recently lost at the age of 13. With tears in her eyes she told me about her beloved companion and asked if any of my rescues were Labs.
I had just recently rescued a Lab/Border Collie Mix and then told her about 10 Black Lab mixes I had been working to place in new homes that were in jeopardy of being euthanized at the local pound. It seems Big Black Dogs don't easily find homes at this pound. Without hesitation she said, "I'll take one of those dogs". It took me by surprise that this perfect stranger would say something like that but I sensed she truly meant it. I promised to contact the pound when I got home and would get back with her.
I wasn't home 24 hours before I got a phone call from my vet telling me about a stray Black Lab mix that had come into the clinic over the weekend (at the same time I was speaking to the stranger about her dog at the Wool Show). He was a sweet guy, maybe 6 months old, and the vet had taken financial responsibility for him until he found a new home. "Thomas", she told me, had also tested Heartworm Positive. Unfortunately, the treatment for Heartworm Positive Dogs is not presently available from the company that produces it. No one seems to know the reason why, it's just not available. And, the vet also told me if they did not find a home for Thomas by Thursday or Friday he would be euthanized.
It's hard enough to find a home for a rescue dog but almost impossible to find a home for a dog with a health issue for which there may not be a cure. I told the vet I'd start contacting my rescue connections and get back with her then quickly prayed and asked God to help me find a new home for Thomas.
At that moment I knew I should call the lady I'd met at the Wool Show, the kind lady who said she'd rescue one of the Big Black Dogs at the local pound. Could I really ask a stranger, ask anyone, to take on this kind of a financial and emotional burden? Somehow it did not seem odd to ask her. Somehow I knew Thomas would have a loving home with her.
I had the ladies' work number and left a voice message on her business answering machine. I went to bed that night praying that she would accept Thomas as he was, problems and all.
The next morning I received a call from the lady and told her about Thomas and his medical problems. Without hesitation she said, "I'll take him". I repeated his medical condition to her and suggested she speak with her vet first. She said again, "I'll take him", but also wanted to check with her husband who told her he would support her decision.
We talked several times throughout the day and she told me about the preliminary research she'd done regarding Heartworm Positive Protocol and how she was sure she could come up with some alternative to the usual treatment. Even though she hadn't even met him yet, Thomas was already her dog.
Tomorrow I will take Thomas to meet his new family, a family who, even though they don't need the emotional and financial tug at their hearts and purse strings, are the ones who are willingly saving Thomas from being euthanized.
I consider these "strangers" to be Angels. Unexpected Angels. And I shouldn't be surprised God sent this Angel my way in the midst of a busy Wool Show. If I hadn't been paying attention, as is so often the case, I could have missed this opportunity, the chance to save a sweet rescue dog's life.
How often I go about my life at breakneck speed, barely noticing what goes on around me--just getting through the day. What if I paused for just a moment? How many unexpected Angels have I already missed?
I need to see past my own daily agenda and lists of things to do so I can be so much more aware of the Unexpected Angels God continually puts in my path. He puts them there to help make my life easier, my burdens lighter and to show me how much He really cares about what I really care about. Even when what I care about, at the moment, is a sick little dog with no home.
And, when all is said and done it's still hard for me to understand why the God of the Universe would take time to listen to my heart's cries. But I'm convinced He does. How else can I explain that, beyond all earthly reason, Thomas has a new home?
Some would say it's just coincidence or luck which always reminds me of a bumper sticker I read many years ago, "Luck is what a fool calls it when God gives him a break".
Believe what you will but I believe there's no such thing as luck, only Divine Intervention sometimes in the form of Unexpected Angels.
UPDATE: I just returned from taking Thomas to his new mom. It was love at first sight--for both of them. And, after contacting many vet offices, his new family already found treatment for his heartworm condition.
As I think again about the events leading up to Thomas finding a new home, I realize that even more Unexpected Angels took part in this story than I originally realized: There was the person who brought Thomas to the vet clinic in the first place and also the vet who, instead of refusing Thomas treatment because he had no owner, took on the financial responsibility herself. Thomas, I, and his new family thank you all!
Jackie Deems
Shepherdess Blog
Copyright September 2011
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