Our Granddog Destro in My Office

As you know, I brought Destro to the office with me a couple of weeks ago for the very first time in his young life. Destro is one of our “granddoggies”; an energetic, lovable one year old Corgi who thoroughly enjoys being with people.

We’re holding off on a dog of our own, so I have decided to bring each one of our three granddoggies to the office with me from time to time.

Corgi’s were bred to work; specifically to herd. They’re at their happiest when doing this but, really, any sort of work or obstacle course activity will do. So, Destro was thrilled to help me get the mail, bring in the trash bins and water the lawn. He was also quite content to lay right next to my office chair as I worked (as long as I scratched his stomach once in while). Strict orders from our daughter kept me from “over-treating” him. I also soon learned not to allow him to see his ball while inside the office as this meant “Let’s play!”

Destro is very friendly, which is why I became puzzled he wasn’t thrilled when Dick Hansel showed up. You all know Dick. He’s liable to arrive on the church property on any given day and time, looking for something to repair. I constantly marvel at what this man can do; not to mention how generous he is with his time for Tree of Life Fellowship.

“Hello!” Dick called out, announcing his presence, as he walked toward the garden shed to look at the riding lawn mower. It seems “Speedy Sharon” (Doss) blew a tire at our last work day as she zoomed across the field lickety-split (we have pictures of the dust bowl she created to prove it), then later complained that the thing was “pulling to the right”. Faithful Dick had come to fix the flat.

All of a sudden, Destro began growling - a low growl, like he meant business. I’d never heard nor seen him do that and wondered what could be going on outside my office or in the garage. Confident Destro would warm up to Dick right away, I leashed the little guy and took him out to meet our visitor. But can you believe your Pastor was wrong? Destro didn’t like Mr. Hansel one bit. Dick tried to get acquainted but Destro wasn’t havin’ any of it. Instead, he continued to growl and even cowered behind me.

Now, Dick is one of the most down-to-earth trustworthy guys I know. Although I couldn’t imagine what it was my usual friendly granddog found to be so upsetting, I was certain the two of them could become friends.

Sure enough, given enough time, Destro eventually warmed up to Dick (most people and pets do!). But it caused me to think about all of human (and pet) natures. If something is new and strange to us, we sometimes react a little differently - at times, we’re not even “ourselves”. All it took was a little understanding and patience on the parts of Dick and myself. Dick didn’t take offense that Destro didn’t immediately take to him. He waited. Eventually, Destro determined that Dick was safe.

As we enter even more new and strange waters at Tree of Life Fellowship, we’ll sometimes not feel “ourselves”. We may react differently. But I’m certain we’ll remember that all it takes is a little understanding and patience (Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23), not take offense and, yes, sometimes we wait.

By the way, Jayna and I have two more granddogs. One is a huge Rhodesian Ridgeback named Payton and the other is a rescue dog who sometimes trots around on only three legs - a Chug (Pug and Chihuahua mix) by the name of Mac. I’m sure you’ll see them on the property with me from time to time.

I just felt it fair practice to give Dick notice ahead of time. God Bless, Pastor Jim