Willow - Queen of the Sad Eyes

Earlier this week I went with my younger daughter, Bethany, to the emergency vet hospital in Fayetteville with her dog, and our granddog, Willow. She was pretty sick. The vets at the emergency hospital were hopeful, kind, and encouraging.

Later in the week I went with Bethany to her regular vet, Willow was most likely sick beyond recovery. I sat in the room as the vet, an extraordinarily kind and compassionate professional, and my daughter agreed that we were at the end of the struggle. Peacefully Willow left this world for the next world - a world that Scripture itself describes with remarkable ideas about the relationship between humans, created in the image of God, and all other creatures made by God

Willow was a rescue dog. Bethany,and her husband Chad, rescued Willow about ten years ago. She was a mix of who knows what - perhaps Jack Russell and something else - and snow-white in appearance. As the title of this post suggests - she was "queen of the sad eyes."

As a rescue dog, Willow wasn't fond of all humans, and especially humans who drove white cars. If you were outside with her and a white care passed by, you needed to make sure you had a firm grip on the leash. Someone in the past had clearly abused her, and they must have driven a white car.

Some would say, "She was just a dog." But I would say, even as a "dog" she modeled a sense of God's intentional purpose at creation that her first "owners" failed to model in significant ways. The biblical idea that humans are created in the image of God shouldn't make us think that all other creatures are merely at our disposal. If the truth be told, Willow modeled God's intentional purpose at creation in ways far better than the sub-human morons who first abused her.

Willow loved creation. She may be the only creature I've ever met who thought being outside was the greatest of gifts more than I do. Just say the world "let's go for a walk" and Willow was in high gear, ready to go. She adored looking outside, and being outside, and smelling outside.

During the winter months, I don't think I know a human who better enjoyed a fire in the fire place. In all honesty, the pleasure in Willow's eyes for a fire in the living room was more than worth the money I paid for the fire wood every winter.

Her heart, pancreas, who who knows what else finally gave out last weekend. She was our "grand dog" for about ten years. For about five of those ten years, she lived close by. She was, as the title suggests, "queen of the sad eyes." You just couldn't look at her and not realize that she saw stuff the rest of us ignore. But those sad eyes could quickly turn to eyes filled with joy and thanksgiving at being in the company of others who loved her.

Bethany and Chad chose well when they picked Willow to be a part of their family. Vicki and I, and "Aunt Sarah" were blessed by the sweet, loving, and penetrating eyes of Willow. While I would have rather been anywhere else in the world than in a vet's office as Willow's life ended - in great mercy and compassion - I wouldn't take anything for the blessing of having known her as one of my "grand dogs."

Creatures made by God are special. Just read the Bible for crying out loud. I hope one day to see Willow - along with other special creatures in my life - in an eternal, renewed and restored creation that measures up to what God intended in the first place.

Here's my favorite picture of Willow.



Thank you Lord, for making creatures like Willow. They bring blessings beyond measure if we just pay attention.