D-O-G Spells Unconditional

The day I met him, he had waited an entire year for someone to take him home. He had been saved in the eleventh hour from being euthanized and tossed aside as a guy nobody wanted. He had some rehab to complete before he was ready for a new family and his time had come to be considered by whomever was interested. Several parties had expressed an interest, but the owner of the ranch where he was did not get a good vibe and turned them away. When I showed up, things were different. I was drawn to him and I suppose he was to me too. I asked if I could spend the day with him and test the waters. I opened the door to my pick up truck and he willingly jumped in. I drove 60 miles to my mother’s house to see how he liked her. Should I keep him, he would become a grand-dog and spend a lot of time there. He rode in the truck like a champ; no whining, no whimpering, no nothing, just a silent passenger who only shifted in his seat a couple times during the 120-mile round trip.

I brought him back and completed the paperwork to adopt him and would bring him home a few days later. He already had a name: Micah. My veterinarian guessed him to be between two and four years old. He didn’t come with any papers, so it was an educated guess, as was his breed. He looked like a black lab whose legs stopped growing prematurely. He wasn’t as low as a basset hound, but was definitely short. His large black head and stocky shoulders gave the appearance that he was likely mixed with pitbull.

I quickly realized this guy was like having a teenage boy in the house. He was not a morning person! This gave me the luxury of not having to hurry up and let him outside. He also proved to have an iron bladder and had no issues with me being gone 10-11 hours at a time. An important factor in choosing a new guy was that he must be an excellent travel companion. Long rides in the car were in order if living with me. I spent many weekends making the three hour drive to my family’s lake home in northern Minnesota. I also enjoyed taking day trips when not going up north and invited him to ride with me as much as possible in town.

His adaptability would be evident right away when I began to travel. He often stayed with my parents: the place we visited during our first date. He revealed some funny quirks that evidenced he was likely left outside in his prior life. Despite having fresh water in the house, he would knock over my mother’s watering can on the deck and drink the water. She would leave it out intentionally to see if he would do it and he did almost every time.

Shortly after I got him, a friend came over and was feeling exceptionally sad. We sat on the floor in my living room while tears poured down her cheeks. Micah sensed her sorrow and came over and began to lick her face. She asked if I believed he knew what she was feeling and if he had been sent by angels. Yes, I sure did believe that. These guys have a sixth sense and love us like no one else can.

We made countless trips to the cabin and one time spent eleven days there in the winter. We walked everyday and I learned that he would chase a deer, but never a ball or a squirrel. Riding in my truck or car was easy with him. He never strayed from his behavior on our first date of not fussing one bit. He didn’t even like to stick his head out the window. I imagine this was because in his other life, he never rode in a vehicle. I can’t say for sure, but this was unusual.

Five years into our relationship, lightning struck my house and started it on fire. He was laying next to me when it happened as we both were startled from a sound sleep to being immediately upright from the unbelievably loud crack that struck my house. Chaos ensued and thus began a greater show of his resilience. He stayed with a friend for five months until I was able to take him back. When I did, we stayed with my father for a month and then I moved to Florida with him as a backseat passenger. Over the next two years we would travel through twenty states and stay with various friends here and there. Often times there were other dogs and children present. He would sleep without issues wherever space was made for him. So long as he was with me, it didn’t matter. He was a faithful companion in that passenger seat. He tolerated living in the Florida heat and one time even took on an alligator that was creeping towards us as we sat on the dock in the wee hours staring at the stars. He also got really excited when dolphins would swim past.

He never once complained, he never told me how to get where I was going or what to do once I got there. From day one, he took a stoic seat beside me and loved me unconditionally. There is a reason DOG is GOD spelled backwards. No conditions were ever given for Micah to love me, yet he had many to tolerate with my nomadic spirit. He has been a faithful friend. Babies love us unconditionally too, but they outgrow it, dogs never do.

After I took him home, I searched for the meaning of his name. It means “who is like God.”
Biblically, Micah prophesied of the coming of a Savior 700 years in advance. One of the notable scriptures from the book of Micah (6:8) is this:
O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Pretty good advice if you ask me.

I saved him and he saved me. The time has come for us to say goodbye. I am going to miss him terribly. I pray that I will reap what he helped me to sow over these past eight years, especially the unconditional part. Dogs are the four-legged experts on this. I can only hope to be half as good. Bye Mikey, you’re a good, good boy! I’ll see you when I get there.