Thursday, November 20, 2008

Gentleness

Anyone familiar with the Great Pyreneese knows how protective they can be. I thought I would relate a story about my Pyreneese, Sam, that showed me that sometimes even when protecting, violence is not necessary:

About a year ago, my middle brother moved in with us temporarilly. He brought with him a Pit Bull mix. Of course with two adult male dogs a power struggle insued. The Pit would try to pick fights with Sam at every opportunity, and I would have to try to break it up, since Sam would not stand up for himself. One evening in particular, as I attempted to break up the "fight" (which consisted of Sam trying to walk away while the other dog continued to try to bite), the pit bull attempted to bite me. Sam leaped into action in the most peculiar way. Instead of biting or scratching at the other dog, he simply interjected himself between me and the Pitt Bull and used his own body weight to pin the other dog to a nearby wall until he calmed down. It was the damndest thing I have ever seen.

I'll let those with more a philisophical vent try to find a higher meaning from that, but whenever I feel angered at others for trying to hurt someone else, I remember that day and try to be that same "buffer" that Sam was for me. Instead of using hateful words or actions, I pray I can be dog enough to protect others in the same way Sam protected me. I'm not there yet, but I'm trying.

3 comments:

Carrie said...

Great post. I too had a dog that would protect by physically holding down the other dog, but not biting. I used to say she was "baptizing" the other dog! Sorry for the loss of your good friend.

June Butler said...

Hillbilly, what a beautiful story and what a powerful lesson from Sam. Did the pit bull leave Sam alone after that?

You have a lovely family. Eli is adorable.

Rev. Raggsdale said...

Thanks, Mimi. They never did get along, but fortunately, soon my brother left with the Pit, so everything worked out.

Eli definitely takes after his Mamma. That's the picture from his Christening at our church last year. He's gotten alot bigger since then.