Passing of a friend

Only a couple of weeks have passed since my dear friend Bailey was put to sleep. Bailey was my ten year old Chessie-Chocolate Lab mix. Many of you have expressed your condolences in one form or another - cards, calls, talking in the hallways of our church. And I thank you for your kind words.

It's amazing how special we find our pets - our friends - to be as we learn about their personalities, their likes and dislikes, their faults and their good traits over the course of years. I got Bailey as an 8-week old puppy and watched as he grew into a fine hunting dog and one of the best retrievers I have ever seen. Up until his last day Bailey would rather retrieve his ball, his Frisbee, retrieving dummy ... than do anything else.

I remember the last time I went hunting before entering seminary was with Bailey. We went out on a cold, drizzly, morning, long before the sun was scheduled to rise, looking for geese. We found a nice flock on a public pond not too far from where we lived. As the sun began to rise and the hunting day officially opened the flock began to stir and as one lifted off the waters. Bailey and I had been sitting for almost half an hour. I rose up and leveled my shotgun. With one pull of the trigger I downed two geese. Bailey went to retrieve the one and then the other.

Great shot? Better retrieves!

Bailey was my running and walking companion - when I could be stirred to run or walk - for many years. I knew we were nearing the end when our runs would be shortened because Bailey could no longer make it the full 2-3 miles. So, we would head back early to relax and rest in comfort. Him on his bed in my office; me on my futon in my office.

I've been asked the question before - "will our pets be with us in heaven?". The Bible is silent on this issue, so I go with my intuition on this as well as the intuition of some of my mentors in life. John Wesley believed that he would be reunited with his horse that had been his traveling companion for over two decades in countless preaching missions. C.S. Lewis’ writings about the metaphorical land of Narnia seem to reflect this desire.

I believe that we will see our beloved pets again. They, more often than the people around us, show unselfish love and undying faith to the very end. I believe that Bailey may be one of the, if not the, first to greet me when I come home to be with the Lord.

Patrick