All Saints' Episcopal Church
God Incident
God Incident
I believe that people and animals come into our lives for a reason; either because they need us or we need them. As an animal lover, I have had the privilege to be a pet parent to a number of different types of animals and personalities, all of whom seemed to come to us under extraordinary circumstances. I found our cat, who happens to be around 12 years old now, when he was only a few weeks old actually hanging upside down in a pine tree on our property. He was entangled so tightly in branches that his head was actually swollen. It was a miracle that I even heard him or walked close enough to the tree to hear his faint meowing. Our previous dog (who passed away about 2 years ago) escaped being euthanized in shelters on more than one occasion and eventually found her way to our door from New York City through a friend of the daughter of a friend of ours who happened to make a casual inquiry at a picnic at our house one day, asking if anyone wanted an older dog who desperately needed a home. Last year there was the dove who dragged itself up our long driveway to the house after suffering what looked like a gunshot wound to its side. We gave it shelter in our barn and provided it with food and water throughout the summer until it was finally strong enough to fly out on its own.
One of the more miraculous incidents though happened a few years ago. Our dog was getting older and, living in the woods and being home alone a lot, I didn’t want to be without the protection of a dog in the house. I wanted something large and protective but nothing that would chase the horse or animals in the woods. After doing some research, I came upon the Anatolian Shepherd which is a large dog used for protecting flocks rather than herding them. They grow to be 150 lb. The problem is that they aren’t very popular in Pennsylvania and you should adopt them at a young age because they form a very strong bond with their family. On Easter weekend of that year I went on PetFinders.com and actually found a puppy being fostered in Stroudsburg. I immediately got in contact with them, filled out all the necessary paperwork (which is VERY extensive) and waited for the good news. On Easter Sunday, I received notification that someone had beat me to it, that all they had to do was a home visit, but they were very sure the dog would go to them. I was told to pick another dog. I had a very strong feeling that this dog was going to be with us so I told them no, I would wait and see what happened. A few days later, I got a call that they failed the home visit and the dog was ours. We found out that the dog was from Kentucky, was 4 months old, and was found as a stray being raised by a cat in February, when the weather was very cold. It was a miracle she survived that. She was taken to a high-kill shelter in Louisville where they only keep animals for 5 days before they kill them. They were in contact with several rescue groups up north but couldn’t find any foster homes with room. On the fifth day, a foster family in Stroudsburg made room for her, even though they already had 6 dogs. She was put on the truck to Pennsylvania and that is how we ended up adopting her. It ended up she wasn’t an Anatolian at all; in fact, she was only about 25 lb. I believe it was through God’s intervention that she came to us because I wouldn’t have even been interested if they hadn’t listed her as an Anatolian. It was through God’s intervention that she even survived her ordeal being abandoned at 4 months in the winter and the foster home taking her in on the last day. She had a lot of scars psychologically, and she still suffers a bit of separation anxiety, but she has come a long way. God has sent us a treasured addition to our family.
Janine Snyder
"God Incident" is written by parishioners of All Saints' Episcopal Church.