Guard Dogs

Some people get a dog for protection. Most people get a dog because they want companionship, with protection being a side benefit. No matter the breed, most dogs have some degree of protectiveness for their home and people.

Which brings me to Taylor (hi Taylor!).

Taylor is a Boston Terrier, and while she may be small, a terrier is a terrier is a terrier! That means they've got plenty of spunk!

Taylor's owners told me she is a great guard dog. She knows which vehicles belong in the driveway and which do not. She also knows which people belong on her porch and which do not.

Then the owners told me one of the funniest stories I've heard for a while. Like me, occassionally a well-meaning but misguided group of individuals dress up and pile into a van, touring the countryside, knocking on doors and passing out literature, just so THEY can get in Heaven. Like I said, the Bible they have has some translation errors that are extremely important!

Back to the story, a woman from this group knocked on Taylor's door, which set Taylor into full-protection mode. The woman insisted that she needed to come in and talk. Taylor barked and carried on to the point where the owner had to tell the woman to get off the porch or the dog would come out!

The woman, frustrated, said, "Well, then you can just go to H-E-Double Hockey sticks!" Except she didn't say hockey sticks. She swore! Not too great of a "witness" after all, huh?

But it still makes me laugh.

And Taylor was on guard, with good reason. Psalm 3, verse 3 says "You are a sheild around me, O Lord." I think often God protects us in unexpected ways, and dogs are one of them.

We need to be on guard from external forces that may want to harm us physically. Yet there are more subtle, sometimes internal, forces that try to harm us mentally and spiritually. Bad theology can lead to despair in religion instead of hope and joy of true faith.

In other words, protecting truth is something worth barking about!

Go get 'em, Taylor!