“And everything you do must be done with love.” I Corinthians 16:14 NLT
It is true. Having a dog requires much work. Besides walking and feeding, there is grooming and bathing, training and teaching, exercising and playing. I suppose you could pay someone else to do all these things, but then why even have a dog?
For a brief time I entered Famous into show competitions. This required his grooming to only be done by a professional. His groomer had several dogs of her own, and one day she had a new dog in the yard. He was an older dog and overweight which surprised me because she took such great care of her animals. She explained a retired couple who had kept this dog as a pet for nine years had decided he did not belong in their lives anymore since they wanted to travel in their RV in their golden years. They had concluded keeping an older dog would not be very convenient and had contacted the groomer as the only resort short of taking the dog to the pound.
Perhaps this couple would tell you they loved this dog and it broke their hearts to have to abandon him. But I cannot imagine they lost very much sleep over their decision. As for me, I eventually learned to groom Famous myself. I did it out of love. I can also say it was love that enabled me to clean up the carpets when he would become sick in the house, to repair the screen door when he could not wait for me to open it, and to give him a bath when he would eagerly splash through a mud puddle or a scum-covered pond.
Love should be the best explanation for our actions.
Take my heart, Lord, and give me no preoccupation other than love.
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