Today I visited my cousin Christy. She has two girls in her life. Her dog, Willow and her seven-month-old daughter, Madison. Although I didn’t get a picture of them together, I watched the two play – Maddy in her Johnny Jump-Up, Willow at her feet, offering a toy. Christy says that Willow has given up on bringing her toys to play with and instead brings them to the baby. She showed me a video of the two engaged in such an exchange. I loved watching the interchange between these two species – dog and child, the trust between the two. Funny, that two such very different species not only coexist, but also, so amiably exist, together.
The Biblical tradition says we once dwellt in a peaceable garden where we communicated with the animals and God walked among us. Perhaps our dogs, so often referred to as man’s best friend, are a reminder of those days – a gift from God to keep us company in our exile, companions until the lion lies down with the lamb.