God Answers Prayer

I'm not sure how many of you have noticed yet that we no longer have Thor, the black/white, great dane/lab mix that we had for 5 years. Well, when we brought Travis home from the hospital, Thor did not understand how young and fragile Travis was; he kept lunging at Travis. We think to lick him, but it was pretty scary as Thor refused to calm down. I was scared for Travis, and told Ken that we couldn't keep Thor. This was pretty significant as Thor has always been my dog. He would cuddle with me, and I would love on him. Since he was a puppy, Thor has always been exuberant, rushing in where a dog with a brain would never go. Every time we had an incident, I would convince Ken that I could fix Thor, and would work with him to overcome the issue. However, I felt that because of Thor's exuberance, Travis would always be in danger. Though I loved Thor dearly, there is no contest between a dog and a child's safety. I couldn't take care of a baby and train a dog not to hurt him at the same time.

That night, Ken took Thor to our boarding kennel, created a website for Thor, and used Facebook to get help finding Thor a new home. I wasn't worried -- I knew that God honors persistence, and I was determined to be persistent. I prayed daily (some days, I prayed numerous times) for God to find a perfect home for Thor. I believe that if God cares even for birds (Matthew 6:26), he surely cares for my beloved dog.
We had several emails, but not many and most people had cats, which Thor would eat in a heartbeat. It was almost 3 weeks, and I started wondering about the bill we were going to get keeping Thor at the kennel. We had decided we could afford a month, and were starting to discuss other options. We couldn't take him to a shelter, he wouldn't have a chance and there aren't many no-kill shelters left in Austin. We would have to take him to the vet ourselves...and we sat down together and cried at the idea. Not long after, some friends called and offered to keep Thor with them when we got to the point of desperation. They had cats, but could temporarily clear the house to give Thor more time. I thanked God for people who loved animals and were willing to offer help to give them more chances at life, and I prayed harder and longer for a solution.
I confess I started to get a little worried, and had to remind myself that Thor was important to God, and that God would find him the perfect home. I continued to pray daily.
Around 3-4 weeks, we got an email from a lady who was looking for another companion dog that she could train in search and rescue. Thor sounded perfect, only, she lived away from Austin, and couldn't come meet him for a week. We said fine, no problem. He'll be around.
Cassie visited us first with her dog Ella, a border collie who didn't need a leash. She was perfect and couldn't wait to meet Thor. She then went to the boarding kennel with Ken while I stayed home with Travis. They hit it off immediately, and Thor even got along with Ella. She took him home. On the drive, Ella jumped in the backseat with Thor where they cuddled together. We heard from Cassie that Thor was working out beautifully, he was being trained as a cadaver dog and had learned to take off his harness and bring it to her. He was a great protection dog, and was sneaky about getting food. Even now, my heart soars in writing this.

Every time I worry, I remind myself that God cares for his creation: birds, dogs, people. He knows what we're going through, and has a plan. It just takes time and persistence to wait and let him work.  I believe God honors an active faith. We didn't just pray once or twice, and we didn't just talk to one or two people. We were active in advertising Thor, and in praying continuously for a solution. And God found the most perfect home for Thor. I still miss Thor, but I know that he is happier where he is, and I know that God will continue to watch out for him, and for us.