A Cat Named Dog

We may make our plans, but God has the last word.

“GOD, PLEASE SEND ME A DOG.”

At twenty-six, Dana realized she had been praying that same prayer for more than half her life.

From the time she was a little girl, all she could think about was getting a dog. Dogs graced the covers of her notebooks and lunchboxes and were on each of the posters on her bedroom walls. But Dana’s younger brother was severely allergic to dog hair, so she knew from a young age that the canine companion her heart longed for would have to wait until she was grown and had a house of her own.

So earlier this year when she moved into a townhouse with a small fenced-in yard, she began praying again in earnest for a dog.

“Please send me a sweet, fun-loving dog who will keep me company and make me laugh,” Dana prayed while she scoured dog rescue websites and classified ads.

There was no point in looking at breeders and purebred dogs since her current part-time administrative assistant job paid just enough to cover her bills and put any extra away toward the dental program she was hoping to start in the fall. While her list of possible canine contenders was quite long, by the time she got around to visiting them, the dog was either spoken for or needed a bigger yard or more time than she could offer.

“God, please send me just the right dog,” Dana asked one night after learning that a three-year-old chocolate Lab mix she had fallen in love with online had just been adopted.

A few days later as Dana was rushing out the front door for work, she almost tripped over a brown-and-black cat.

“Well, hello,” she said, grabbing the railing to regain her balance. “Where in the world did you come from?”

Dana had never seen the cat before, but it looked healthy and cared for, not like a stray. Dana pondered the situation for a moment. What should I do? If she’s lost, I should probably take her inside and put up signs or something. But if she’s a stray, she might destroy my house while I’m at work. If I leave her here, she might get even more lost . . .

Realizing she didn’t have a litter box or any clue how to properly care for a cat, Dana wished the cat well and hurried off. But she thought about the little cat all day at work. Did she find her way home? Is she lost and scared? Did she wander into the road?

Later that evening, when Dana stopped at the grocery store for a few items, she found herself in the pet aisle, putting an inexpensive litter box, a bag of litter, and some cans of cat food into her cart. Now, if I ever find another cat in need of help, I’ll be prepared, she reasoned.

And the next morning when she found the cat on her porch again, she was indeed prepared. Dana used the food to lure the brown-and-black-striped cat with a snowy white chin into her guest bathroom where the litter box was already set up.

The female cat was surprisingly loving when Dana petted her. Dana figured the cat couldn’t get into too much trouble in the small bathroom while she was at work. As she walked to her car, she saw her elderly neighbor outside watering her plants.

“Hey, Mrs. Dixon, have you ever seen a brown-and-black cat around here?”

Mrs. Dixon frowned. “No, I haven’t, but lots of folks will drive out here and dump animals they don’t want or can’t keep. It’s a cryin’ shame.”

Dana’s heart dropped. Did someone just abandon this poor little cat? How could they do that?

While on a break at work, Dana called a nearby vet to ask if she could bring the cat by to check if she was microchipped.

The cat didn’t have a microchip, and no one responded to the “cat found” signs Dana had posted around the neighborhood.

Two weeks after caring for the cat, playing with the cat, snuggling with the cat, and deciding to keep the cat, Dana realized her cat needed a name.

“How about DD—for Dana’s Dog?” Dana laughed, trying the name out again.

DD purred in agreement. And Dana offered a prayer of thanks to God for her cat named Dog.

PAWS & PONDER . . .

How do you respond when your dreams are dashed? What longing do you have in your heart today that you fear won’t happen? Are you willing to surrender that longing—that dream—to God and trust his will and timing? If not, what is holding you back?

Paws & Pray

Lord, sometimes it is hard for me to trust your will, timing, and provision. But I know trust is built when I spend time with someone. Give me a desire to set aside more and more time with you, reading your Word and talking with you. Please draw my heart closer to you so that I may never doubt what you have in store for me.