Lessons I Learnt From Observing Our Pet Dog - Part 5

When Scot was younger and every time there is a heavy thunderstorm, with loud thunders, he would get nervous and would want to run into the house and hide under the table or under the sink in the bathroom or anywhere else where there is an 'overhead' shelter for him.

But over the years on a few of these storms when we were not at home, and we had forgotten to lease him up on the front yard, he would contort his body and slip under the narrow gap of the main gate or in between the bars in the garden fence, reason being that there is no overhead shelter for him in the front yard and plants do not count. I recalled we had great difficulties locating him as the entire neighborhood is very widespread. However, inevitably he would be found and kept by neighbors and strangers alike and they would call us to inform us to collect him home.

Initially we could not understand his strange behavior but over close to seven experiences we introduced new measure to overcome similar situations. What is also amazing is that he could squeeze between the vertical bars of the garden fence which the gap is only about four inches. How could he manage to squeeze his head (which is about 4 inched wide) and his torso (which is slightly more than four inches at his girth) through such a narrow gap?

And does he do that in every thunderstorm? No. Whenever we are home and he knows it, the winds can howl and the sky covered in flashes of thunderbolts, he would be most peaceful and fast asleep as he could have selective hearing. And we have also learnt that his refuge is under the toilet sink and so we would place him there and shut the door and go about our errands and not have to worry about his antics again.

It is very amazing what fear can do to a person. Out of fear, Scot would force his way out of 'danger' to seek 'refuge'. I see a parallel here - humans too have a great propensity to do impossible things out of self-preservation and fear but remove that fear and we will be most calm and collected. Jesus IS our good Shepherd and with Him around we do not need to have fear (Psalm 23 & John 10:14-16).