The Swine Take Flight-Why I let a dog in the house...

Duke and Turk

Let me begin by saying that I'm not a pet person.  I grew up on a farm and animals were for business.  We always had dogs, but many last long.  Most made the mistake of making a hobby of following Dad on the loader tractor.  Too often they ended their life journey under the wheels of said farm implement.  But they had a good life while it lasted.  They had the run of the farm as they weren't penned or tethered, and they were well fed.  So while they were well cared for I didn't get overly emotional when they were no longer there.

Breadwinner also grew up on a farm but in a family much more attached to dogs.  We had been married perhaps 6 years when we got our first dogs together.  I suggested that maybe he should own 50 acres before acquiring a dog.  We moved onto our 14 acres 4 days after having our second baby and brought home 2 Great Dane pups 3 months later.  I am pretty sure he caught me at a time when my ability to display rational thought was hindered.  One thing about large dogs that for me is a positive that others may consider negative is their 8 year average life span.  I figured if I didn't like them they wouldn't be around too long and that would be that.

Duke was 7 when we had to put him to sleep due to bone cancer.  His sister Daisy is now 9 and doesn't appear as if she is long for this world.  We got Duke (the second) two years ago.  My brothers have a male and female Mastiff.  They are Duke's (2nd) parents.  Sam asked if we wanted Duke as he was his favorite puppy of that litter and he wanted to be able to come visit him from time to time.  We considered that Daisy needed a friend, which is the same reason we had purchased two Great Danes to begin with, and she also needed to train a new dog for the place before she died.  Three days after we got Duke two of his litter mates perished in a machine shed fire.  In retrospect we decided we had probably saved his life and perhaps he should have been named Phoenix instead, but we were used to "Duke" so it stuck.

Turk in his snow cage

On New Years Day 2011 Olive and Loki  had another batch of pups.  The 6th of March Turk came to live with us.  He appeared to be happy and content in his new home.  The dogs share half of the chicken house with "the ladies of the roost".  We keep a heat lamp in there for Daisy, so Turk was warm.  We put his food under a low board so the older dogs couldn't chow on his puppy food.  He wasn't lonely as he seemed happy following his big brother around the yard learning the ropes.  His one mistake, which may yet prove fatal, is that he didn't learn his place in the order soon enough.  Last Thursday I threw some ham scraps out for the dogs and Turk thought he could share in the snack.  Duke caught Turk's head in a snap and he now has an infection.

I have now been ministering to the poor little fellow for almost a week.  He has been living in the house this whole time.  One friend was aghast that I of all people would allow a dog in the house.  As she put it, "You don't even want to let the dirty kids in!"  I even put him in the 3 girls' room at night so he isn't alone.

I told Breadwinner that caring for this puppy was almost more than I can take.  Turk seemed to be healing and then took a turn for the worse.  Yesterday we started him on some penicillin and we've been watering him with a syringe.  He is so pitiful and I feel so responsible and concerned for this soulless creature placed in my care.  Does that seem strange when I so recently lost my dad?  Maybe you are wondering why I am at peace about that and hung up on a pup I've known for a week?  For the sake of full disclosure, I was stumped a little about that myself which led me to review the matter.



My Dad was ready to die.  He was yearning to meet his Savior as his earthly body betrayed him. {2 Corinthians 5: 1-8}.  He was at peace with passing from this world into a better one.  When my dad, who died of lung cancer, breathed his last breath there was no gasping.  He was gently ushered into eternity with a whispered exhale.  He didn't give up, he peacefully gave himself over to an eternity with God.