Wild Wonderful Wednesday: Cats and dogs

The last three weeks we have been cat-sitting. For those of you who know us, you are aware that this is remarkable. We love cats, but we are dog people. And cats are for petting in the street or seeing in the yard. Our neighbor cat regularly drops down next to me when I am weeding in front of the house. But this time we had our colleagues’ cat, Mocca, in our house for three weeks. 

He is an inside-outside cat, but since he was at our house and we didn’t want to lose him (he might have tried to find his way back home which is 7 kilometers away), he had to stay inside while with us. We tried at the beginning to find an option for this.We purchased a harnas for a cat and planned on taking the cat for a walk. The cat had other ideas. I did get the harness on him, but by the time we got outside he had found a way to get it off. 

This morning I brought him back to his own house. His family will be back home in two days. He was clearly glad to be back in his own place, although he had also clearly gotten used to us and our house and habits. I brought him home because today we said hello to a dog which we will be watching for two weeks. Lizzy is a little Boomer (a Lhasa Apso, Shi Tzu mix). 

When Mocca got here, he hid under our couch for a day. Lizzy is pretty-well scared of everything, so she doesn’t just allow us to pick her up. But she has allowed us to take her walking twice already today. So we will see how things work out by the end of the time together. We will first have to see how she sleeps tonight. That is always the most important test. 

So cats and dogs (although the weather has been great) have meant that our house is full of animals again. It has been almost three years since Chester left us. We were not sure how we would feel, but it has been quite nice. Mocca, more like a dog, greeted us every morning when we came downstairs. Lizzy is already used to us and sits next to us (when she is not running away in a jitters). 

Wild and wonderful this Wednesday! 

Whatsit Wednesday: Dog breeds

Back in June, we said goodbye to our sweet dog, Chester, who was not even originally our dog. He was chosen by our 90 year-old sister, Willemien, when she could not do without a dog after her previous dog unexpectedly passed away. Willemien had always asked that we care for her dog if she herself were to pass away first. She made it to 95 years old, so we took Chester at that time. Chester made it to 94,5 in dog years. But Chester was a cocker spaniel,  a common dog here, but not a Belgian or Dutch dog. Whats’s that, you say? What is a Belgian or Dutch dog? 

There are several Belgian breeds that are well known around the world, although you might not have known that they were Belgian. The Malinois is a very energetic dog often used for police and military purposes. The Brussels Griffon, on the other hand, is a well-known lap-dog as is the Papillon (a toy Spaniel, named as such because its ears look like butterflies). 

The bloodhound is actually called a St. Hubert hound from Belgium. Then there is also the Schipperke, a lesser well-known dog that doesn’t know how small he is. Sometimes nicknamed the ‘little black devil’ it looks a bit like a Tasmanian devil and has the energy to go with it. This is the Belgian version of a sea dog. 

And the Bouvier des Flandres is a huge wooly dog, from Flanders (the Dutch-speaking area of Belgium), which monks formed by crossing Irish Wolfhounds and Scottish Deerhounds. These Bouviers (which means cattle herder) are one of the first dogs I saw when I first came to the Netherlands. It amazed me, because the Dutch live in tiny apartments, but have no fear keeping such a dog as it lived on ships.  

The best known Dutch breed is the Keeshond. Every Dutch child at one time knew this dog, even if they had never seen a dog before. The alphabet was learned from a ‘leesplank’ a reading plank that had pictures to show the letters of the alphabet. So ‘a’ is for ‘aap’ (that is: ape) And ‘k’ is ‘kees’ with a picture of this dog. 

The dog was often kept on Dutch barges and was familiar throughout the country. At one point it was a symbol of the Dutch patriots. The name means ‘Kees’ dog where ‘Kees’ is a common name in the Netherlands. The name could have come from a well-known dog during the patriot days, or one of the patriots themselves. These dogs are family of the Samoyed and Pomeranian. 

These days we don’t really care what breed a dog is, as long as we get a chance to stop and pet it. On our most recent trip to the US a young woman had her dog with her in the airport. When asked, she was more than willing to allow me to say hello to her dog, understanding that we could use the comfort. We will not be getting another dog, but will continue enjoying seeing dogs around us. 

Dog days and family fun

The holidays are usually a time of friends and family. Of course our time here has always been a bit different. We have chosen to live further away from our family. And now that our kids are grown and flown, they too have chosen to live further away from us. Part of that comes from the realization that distance is relative and that family continues over all distances. 

So we enjoyed our Christmas time by visiting with our boys and their girls via technology (for which we are so very thankful). In generations past this would not have been possible. Then it would have been cards, letters, perhaps a long-distance phone call. Now we are able to enjoy pictures and video’s and seeing one another. It is different, but it is still good. 

Here are a few pictures of the cute ones in our boys’ households. Both of our daughters-in-law are amazing photographers, so we are blessed with amazing pictures. Both ladies are also allergic to dogs, which means that they have chosen poodles - which have no dog dander and make them compatible with people who are allergic to dogs. 

Stephan and Natalie have a puppy mini-poodle called Mochi. She plays disc-golf with Stephan and they are enjoying training her and getting used to her in their home. 

Sean and Jill adopted a 10-year-old mini-poodle mix from the shelter. He was already called Pierre, which fits perfectly with them. Pierre has no teeth, so his tongue is always hanging out. He knows it just makes him look chill. 

Our own old man, Chester (turning 13 in February) still has fun with us every day. He knows when we are calling the kids and always wants to get in on the conversation. He still takes the job he learned form his first owner (Willemien) seriously and barks every time the phone or the doorbell rings. 

We have enjoyed seeing all of your pictures in the last days, receiving year-end letters and cards, seeing how God has blessed you in this past year - in spite of or perhaps because of the various challenges in the year. Hold on to family and enjoy each and every minute. Praise God for this past year and put your ;life in His hands for the coming year, living day by day in His grace. 

Gospel truths of a dog owner – Show me!

We had been pampered as far as dogs go. When we welcomed Snuffles into our home, she was already 5 years old and had been trained by her previous owners. Yes, she was basically blind, but she was house-bred, didn’t bark, and listened when you gave her commands. And she loved learning new things – and was very quick at learning.

We taught her to roll over, to play dead, to dance – as well as sitting, lying down and staying. She would stay at my heel when we went into high grass, knowing that she did not know where we were going (and could not see it). You only had to teach her a new trick a few times before she figured out what you wanted and did it.

Chester has been more of a challenge. He can play ball and has even become quite good at playing soccer with Sean. But that is a natural thing that dogs do. After our experience with Snuffles, we were a bit disappointed with Chester. He can sit, but won’t always stay if you turn your back on him. He can lay down, but he cannot turn over (maybe because of his body type).

More importantly, it takes a good while to teach him something new. As with any dog, he learns best when given positive reinforcement – being praised. He just wants to make us happy! In fact he tries so hard that he hardly listens to what we are saying or looks at what we are showing him. He just does whatever he figures will work – tongue hanging out and tail wagging so hard it looks like he is about to take of in a helicopter move.

But if you take the time, he can be taught. You have to slow things down. Show him one thing at a time. Repeat. Repeat. And repeat. And once he has learned it... he will forget it. But it will come back. He really does love you and wants to please you. He just has to be shown how to do that.

Now he knows lots of things. He know how each one of us (Shirley, Sean or Scott) take him out for walks (because we all do different things). He knows where he is allowed to sit, when he is allowed to eat, when he is allowed to bark (to let us know if someone is at the door). And he does all of this very well. He also listen very well when he is called.

But he learned all of these things. He did not know them as a matter of course. He had to learn them from us. Now, once again, I am not saying that people are dogs, nor that God treats us like dogs, but there are a lot of things we can learn from this. You see, we don’t simply know what makes God happy. We can think we know and just start doing things. But if we really want to make God happy, then we need to slow down, pay attention and listen to what he wants.

And we may have to try again and again (I still get too angry when I should not). And we will sometimes forget. But God is patient with us. And he is not going to just give up on us. So, what did you learn today?

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:3-6

Welcome, "Sweetheart"

Willemien and Lyuba
Originally uploaded by sraabs.

We weren't planning on taking anyone home, but when we got to the dog pound in Maasmechelen and saw the little English Cocker Spaniel, Willemien was certain. There were some concerns: this little guy is only 8 months old, he still needs to learn a lot. But the two have taken to each other amazingly.

His name is slavic and (Willemien tells me) means "sweet heart", or "nice", or "kind" (I am sure that some of you might be able to give me a more precise definition - either in Russian, Ukrainian or Slovakian). And he is just that. From the first day he has been a loving help to Willemien. And unlike her other dogs, he listen to her first, and then to others (like me).

We are so thankful for this comfort in her life. God is so good!
You can see some more pictures of Willemien and Lyuba by clicking on the picture here.

Unexpected farewell

MacRooney was the runt of the litter. But that was perhaps why Willemien loved him and wanted him. He was full of fun and life, jumping and catching (he could throw a ball in the air and catch it - all by himself), beating your legs with his wagging tail. Willemien wasn't even sure she wanted another dog. Her experiences with Bartelo had not been good. And Willemien is no stranger to dogs. 

The day Willemien was born she was given a dog - a big bouvier. Since then she has always had dogs, even though she actually liked cats better. When she was married to Cor, they had dogs - first a collie, then various sorts of hunting dogs. Bartelo was the last of that line, taking over the house when Cor passed away, making life difficult for Willemien because he missed his master and decided that he needed to be master in the house. 

When Bartelo got sick and needed to be put down, Willemien was not planning on getting another dog. She had had enough. But MacRooney (Rooney for short) stole her heart. And they were so good for each other. Rooney probably would not have lived if Willemien had not chosen him. No one wanted the others in the litter and they were put down. And to be honest, Willemien definitely wouldn't have done as well without Rooney. 

The last three days Rooney has been at the vet. Willemien barely got outside (she usually walks Rooney 3-4 times a day). When she called today, I could hear that it was not good news. Rooney had developed a kind of meningitis - an inflammation in his brain, perhaps caused by a hernia which had gotten worse in the last days. He was already blind. Willemien didn't want to see him in any more pain and allowed him to go to sleep. MacRooney was only five years old. 

For anyone without a dog, this may all seem quite trivial. But these two helped each other live. Please consider Willemien in your prayers. She is doing well, although the sorrow hits in waves. We sat and looked at possible new dogs - she knows that she really needs to find a help (and one she can help) fairly soon. So we look forward to seeing who will choose her soon. 

Of dogs and the Holy Spirit

When I first came to the Netherlands I was quite a young Christian. I remember being frustrated at how much I didn’t know and thrilled at how much I could learn. I am still caught in this dichotomy and enjoying it as much. But back then I would take a walk each evening to clear my head and just think and pray. There was a beautiful park close to where I lived and I enjoyed walking there. It was there, while watching someone walking their dog, that I saw for the first time how the Holy Spirit worked at times in my life.

I don’t remember now exactly what was going on, but I had been reading that evening in my Bible (often trying to read in Dutch as well) and that evening I was able to put some things together. Just watching that dog put together some of the points that had been made in the Word barely an hour before. And it made sense because I could see it (I am visual and tend to visualize a lot of things). I believe that that is how the Holy Spirit works. Of course, if I don’t put any of God’s Word into my head and heart, then there is not much for Him to work with.

Yesterday the Holy Spirit was teaching me through Snuffles. Snuffles – for those of you who may not know – has been our dog for the last year and a half (for an interesting lesson concerning “our” dog, click here and see "Finally 'ours'"). She was born with tunnel vision and is basically blind. Since she doesn’t smell that well either, she is pretty wary of other dogs. As a matter of fact, she will attack first in order to make sure that she is not attacked.

This has several consequences for our walks. First of all, she likes to stay on the beaten path. She does NOT want to run off into the grass or whatever, because more than likely she will get some twig poked in her eye or fall off the edge of the road into the canal beside our road. If we go off the path, she has to stay right close to me (following me) to be sure that she doesn’t get in any trouble. And I have to take a path that is not dangerous for her. Where it is safe, she is free to roam around and get spooked every once in a while by the sounds of the rabbits in the bush. She can stretch herself and try new things. She knows I am close by.
Secondly, Snuffles is most ferocious with other dogs when she is on the line. She knows that I am going to pull her back. I have been trying to teach her to be calm around other dogs. But at the same time, I DO have to protect her from other dogs. Some dogs want to bite her head off (and could do with no great difficulty!) If she is loose (which I do when I know no dogs will be around), she is actually a scaredy-cat and stays nice and close.
Finally, she trusts me to keep her out of trouble – I am her eyes. I know when things are approaching and can see the whole picture. She only sees what is right in front of her (and can’t even see that half of the time!). When we drop a special snack for her, we usually have to tap the floor until she finally finds it!

So the HS pointed out how similar we are, Snuffles and I. If I am to stay safe, it’s good to be in close contact with God. Now it may sound strange, or even upsetting to think of this as a leash, but the only reason the leash is there with Snuffles is to make sure she doesn’t fall in the canal or get eaten by big German shepherds. God sees the whole picture, where we often only see what is right in front of us (and not even that half the time!).
When we are loose, it is in a safe environment, although we may not think so at times. And God will always keep us safe, so we need to trust him. When he says we are okay, we shouldn’t be growling like vicious animals (and I think about how we treat one another sometimes – attack first and think later).
Psalm 119:105 says that the Word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path, but 1 John 1:7 reminds us that we WALK in the light as HE is in the light. Having the light isn’t everything – we are walking along. And if we stop, the light continues and we are left in the dark. One of the most endearing things about Snuffles is how she always runs back to me to make sure that I am still there. She hears me, turns around with a little jump and confident walk, and heads back out to find out what is ahead, knowing that she is okay – I am there. Good thoughts. Amazing what the Holy Spirit can do with a dog and a walk.