North goes to the vet

by Mary Ludlow Bookout

I've been thinking about that parable from Luke, the one about a friend who needs you in the middle of the night. I've been needed, and I've been the one who needed a friend, knowing that I was pulling her from something else she needed to do. Sleep, for instance.

When I've been called on, I always wish I could offer wise words or do what would heal, help, take away pain, find a solution. More often than not, all I can do is say, "I'm right here." That might be enough.

We saw that yesterday when one of our dogs had her first vet appointment with us. Sir Gideon (Giddy to his friends) and North are litter mates. We got Giddy as the pick of the litter when he was three months old, liking to sit on laps and carry his purple teddy bear around the house. We got his sister, North, seven months later, the one nobody had chosen, anxious, awkward, and, at almost eighty pounds, not so much of a lap sitter.

From their first day together, Giddy and North have run shoulder to shoulder, checked the perimeter of the yard together, chosen to drink out of the same bowl at the same time, and played together all the day long. But North is still shy of strange people, strange dogs, strange experiences.

We had qualms about North's first vet appointment, but Giddy came along. When they went through the door into this place full of suspicious smells, North had her brother beside her. When they went into a little examining room with even more unfamiliar smells, Giddy licked her ears. (He was pleased when the vet commented on how clean her ears were. He's always made that his responsibility, and he does the job thoroughly).

All during the examination, Giddy let her know that he wasn't scared and she didn't have to be. And when she was offered treats but was too nervous to eat them, he obliged by eating them for her. (He felt it would have been impolite not to).

The vet left the room to get what was needed for North's immunizations. She was ready to leave, but it wasn't time yet. Giddy lay down. That must mean it was safe for North to lie down too. She did, and Giddy laid his head on her flank, stretched a paw over her, let her know, "I'm right here." And that was exactly what she needed.

Joyful thanks to my friend, Mary Ludlow Bookout, for sharing her wonderful reflection on Luke 11:5-8 as part of our current series exploring friendship.

This series began on July 15th with "Martha, Mary, and the Smothers Brothers" and continued on July 19th with "parable of the grouchy friend." These reflections can be found in the Earlier Reflections section.