Pugsley - Pawverbs for a Dog Lover's Heart

A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

SUSAN HAD NEVER SEEN HER DOG, Pugsley, look more pitiful than when she picked him up from the veterinary hospital after his dental cleaning. The seven-year-old pug trembled as the technician handed him to Susan.

“He did great,” the tech said, “but I know he’s ready to get out of here.”

Susan offered an apologetic smile. “I don’t know why he’s so frightened to come here. You guys are great. He’s just a big ol’ scaredy-cat, aren’t ya, boy?”

After a few parting instructions from the tech, Susan took Pugsley home, where he promptly fell asleep. After listening to him snore for several hours, Susan got up to prepare his dinner. The vet tech had suggested softening his kibble or giving him canned food for the next few days, in case his mouth was a little sore from the procedure. So Susan popped open a can of food and scooped it into Pugsley’s ceramic bowl.

“Come, Pugsley, it’s din-din time,” she called.

The pug opened an eye but did not move a muscle.

“Pugsley,” she tried again. “Come eat your dinner.”

Pugsley got up, turned in a circle, then once again curled up in a ball on the sofa.

Susan carried the bowl of food to Pugsley and held it under his nose. He looked from his bowl to Susan, then back to his bowl. Finally, he lowered his head over his bowl and began to eat.

Susan felt guilty for letting her dog eat while lying on the furniture. Just this once—because he’s been through such an ordeal, she assured herself.

The next day, when Pugsley again refused to come into the kitchen to eat, Susan tried to stand strong.

“Pugsley, you have to come in here to eat. Come here,” she commanded.

Her dog stepped one paw into the kitchen and then lay down. Two big round eyes stared beseechingly at her.

“Oh, all right,” Susan sighed. “At least you’re in the kitchen.”

She again brought his bowl to him, where he leisurely ate with his front half on the kitchen’s tile floor and his back half on the family room carpet.

After four days of catering to her dog—including hand-feeding him—Susan realized her dog had become quite lazy and spoiled. At his last feeding, he didn’t even lower his head to the bowl, but simply waited for Susan to bring the kibble to his mouth. She knew she needed to bring Pugsley back to reality. So the following day she poured a scoop of kibble into his food bowl and placed it next to his water bowl on the floor.

“Pugsley,” she called out. “Dinner!”

Pugsley sashayed into the kitchen where he sat with his hind end on the carpet and his front paws on the tile.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Susan chided. “You are coming in here to eat today, mister.”

Pugsley turned the full force of his sad puppy eyes on her, but Susan was resolved.

The standoff lasted several hours, during which time Susan completed a lengthy list of household chores, while Pugsley stared longingly at the food bowl lying ten feet away from him.

Finally, after his pleading looks and incessant whining went unanswered, the disgruntled pug sulked his way into the kitchen, lowered his head over his bowl, and surrendered to his hunger.

Twenty minutes later Susan laughed out loud as Pugsley sank to the floor with his head on his food bowl and fell sound asleep.

Susan shook her head as she carried the pug to his bed. “You silly dog. You may be a scaredy-cat and a lazybones, but I sure do love you.”

PAWS & PONDER . . .

A one-time indulgence resulted in an unintended pattern for Susan and Pugsley. Have you ever experienced a similar result? How did you break the habit? Or maybe you are still stuck in that routine. If so, what steps can you take today to break free of the destructive pattern of laziness and/or overindulgence?

Paws & Pray

Lord, I love to be comfortable and content, but sometimes those things can become bad habits if I’m not careful. I sometimes opt to be lazy and self-indulgent when I should be doing the work you’ve given me to do. Help me to fight against those destructive patterns so I can live a full and purposeful life.

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.