A Gift From the Dogs

Dogs and cats have a habit of bringing unwanted gifts to their owners: mice, lizards, gophers, birds, and on and on. The dogs here are no different. A few weeks ago, on a Sabbath morning, the dogs left a gift – a much-appreciated gift.

At one point the previous night the dogs had been barking incessantly, which they usually do when something especially interests them. In the morning we found out what it was: an enormous cobra. Thankfully these are true watchdogs that don’t take too kindly to intruders. The dogs frequently hunt lizards during the day and, as a result, are very efficient as a team. The cobra did leave its mark on them, but eventually it was killed. Nibbler and Sandy (the black dog and the golden/white dog) both had their eyes spit in and Tiger (the largest dog) was actually bit. When a cobra’s poison gets on the eyes they swell and are temporarily blinded but it typically fades away in a matter of days. Tiger, on the other hand, was bitten and was given penicillin so she wouldn’t die.

This isn’t the first snake they have killed, but it is the largest. I walk these courtyards every night, and as glad as I am to have the dogs constantly on the alert what is truly comforting is the knowledge that I am in the hands of God. I am thankful for His protection.