Need a new best friend?

I was reading the newspaper yesterday morning and saw something that made my heart break…  Every once in a while here the Humane Society runs an ad in the paper with a selection of some of their current dogs and cats that are up for adoption.  It looks kind of like a line-up of mug shots.  I’m sure the goal is that some sap (like me) will see a doggy or kitty photo and decide that they can’t live without that poor animal.  And if you are a realist, you will wonder how many days that particular dog or cat has left.  Let’s face it, animal shelters are kind of like death row doggy jail.

My family adopted our dog Charlie from Animal Control in West Richland.  The guy there mentioned that this was not Charlie’s first go around with them.  Apparently every time he got adopted he ran away (what do you expect if you don’t have a fence?) and this was Charlie’s third time there.  He also mentioned that his days were numbered.  When we first got Charlie he was a mess- he needed a bath and a haircut.  Here is what we call his “baby picture” (even though he is probably about a year old) because it was taken right after we took him home from the pound. 

Charlie on Adoption Day

We have always described Charlie as kind of a “Benji” dog, because he reminded us of Benji from the movies.  The papers from the pound called him a “Terrier Mix” and our vet concurred.  (Better sounding than just “mutt” I suppose.)  Actually, out of any one kind of terrier breed, he seems the most similar to a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, but that’s just a guess.  Anyway, he has turned out to be the best dog ever.  He is extremely smart, the sweetest creature I have ever met, and he makes us laugh all the time.  I could list a bunch more of his wonderful qualities, but I don’t want to embarrass myself.  We have had him for 8 years now, and I can’t imagine life without him.  He really is part of the family.  So, here is what made me sad when I was looking at that ad in the paper:

Benji's Mug Shot

Benji looks just like Charlie.  Benji’s little mug shot is seared into my brain now and I literally couldn’t stop thinking about him all day.  I know how much Charlie hated “jail” and what a rascal he seemed like when we first took him home, but the gamble sure paid off.  I know that we can’t adopt Benji, but that doesn’t mean I can forget about him.  I don’t know if Benji is the same kind of dog as Charlie, or if he would have any of the same characteristics as Charlie does, but come on-  don’t you think the odds are good?  So… Anyone need a best friend?  Anyone ready to own the best darn dog they will ever have?  Benji needs a home.  Benji needs to get rescued (for which he will be eternally grateful). Benji is waiting for someone to love him… is it you?

Useless info about me… I was tagged

I was tagged a little while ago by my friend Robin (who has a lovely new blog “Only in the Storm“) and I figured that I better get to it.  So, here is my response:

1.  What I was doing ten years ago

Ten years ago I was in France, spending the first three and a half weeks of my summer vacation visiting a dear friend of ours who lived in Nantes.  She had been an exchange student and lived with us the previous school year.  That was a wonderful trip, one of those once in a lifetime opportunities.  Touring a country is always good, but to be able to stay with a family and experience a true slice of their culture is the best way to travel, I think.  Being able to have such an experience at such a young age (barely 15) was a real blessing, and as I look back I realize it was definitely a defining moment in my life.

2. My favorite snacks

blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, cherries, blueberries… get the idea?  Chips.  Lattes.

3. 5 things on my to-do list today

Well, it’s Sunday, so not a lot to do.  Go to church.  Read, start homework.  This.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire

I would really love to take my grandmother (and anyone else who wanted to go) to Israel and hire our own private tour guide, so that she could set the pace.  She turns 85 this July 4th, and with as much love as she has for Israel (and has passed down to us) you would think that she had already been there; but she hasn’t, and I would love to change that. 

I would also buy a house on the Oregon Coast, probably in Lincoln City, on Road’s End.  We used to go there and rent the same house every year for all of my childhood.  I think I have wanted to own my own house there since I was about 5.

Of course I would love to find creative ways to give it away and bless people.  There are so many worthy (and sometimes unexpected) causes and ministries out there.  Check this one out.

And travel travel travel.  I love going places and seeing what the world is like for other people.

5. Five jobs I have had

share draft clerk (credit union), teller (credit union), checker (Winco), teller (bank), retail (clothing store)

6. Five bad habits of mine

procrastinating!! sleeping in too much, being late everywhere, driving too fast, over-thinking things

7. Five places I have lived

I only have three: Kennewick, Bellingham, Yakima

8. Five random things people don’t know about me

My first word as a baby was (an attempt at) my brother’s name.  I only like to play the piano when I am alone.  I took Spanish for 5+ years in school.  When I worked at Winco I had not one, but two stalkers. Sometimes I dream I am doing math problems that never end.

9. Five cd’s that I’d have to have on a desert island

Incubus (S.C.I.E.N.C.E.) - my favorite band

Jewel (Spirit) - my favorite singer

The Big Scoop - my brother’s old band

Chopin (24 Etudes performed by Murray Perahia) - my favorite composer

 John Paul Jackson (I Am) – for comfort and atmosphere

 

10.  People I’d like to know better (tag you’re it)

If you read this, you haven’t done it yet and you want to, then do it.  And then tell me. 

Disturb us, Lord

I came across this poem a while ago and it was one of those things that really stuck in my head.  One thing I like about it is it reminds me of something that Pastor Tom says, which is to dream God sized dreams not man sized dreams.  Oddly, when I googled it, the only sources that I could find were other people’s blogs.  Oh well, now it’s on mine too: 

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Attributed – Sir Francis Drake -1577

  A message for the ages, I think.