Soul Dog-Where I see God

My connection with animals is very special and sometimes, I think, pathological. I have come home a different way to avoid a dead animal in the road. I can’t watch nature shows because I can’t see animals die without crying. Don’t get me wrong-I have nothing against hunting and I GET nature. I just can’t watch the killing.

Animals have been a huge part of my life since I was a child. My parents were both professionals, but I was fortunate to grow up on 116 acres in southern Indiana, where we swam in a pond, had a huge garden, had horses that we rode, and raised cattle. We always had dogs-one for each child. And we also had cats. We tried to have ducks, but my German Shepherd, Puella, ate most of them. My brothers are 6 and 7 years older so my dogs and cats were my playmates. I dressed my dog in human clothes and had tea parties with her. Despite the fact that we had many of the same experiences as my rural neighbors, we really never did fit in. No one else named their cows after the Greek alphabet or had dog names that were Latin.

My relationship with a Higher Power has gone from none to many variations over my life, but I ALWAYS see something greater than myself in the eyes of a dog, particularly my souldog, Neko. When I look in his eyes I see all that is good in the world and beyond.

I “met” Neko on Facebook about 4 years ago. He was about 20–30 pounds underweight and had spent most of his life on a chain, outside, regardless of the weather conditions. A witness from a small town outside of Nashville saw his owner drive him out in the country and dump him. Being the amazing soul that he is, he ran after the truck containing the contemptible man. He was rescued by an amazing woman, Janet, and fostered by another amazing woman, Trisha. He was malnourished and had sores all over his feet. He was given food, love and veterinary care by these amazing women and much of his veterinary care was funded by Tom, another angel. He was too large for Trisha to keep and he needed a home where he could run, so she put him on Facebook. And I saw those eyes.

I drove 4 hours to meet Trisha. On the way down, my brain questioned, but my heart did not. It was like going on a blind date knowing I was going to marry the person! I worried that he wouldn’t get along with Heidi, our wonderful rescue dog, or he would have behavioral problems. But my heart said he would be fine. When I met him I was amazed at how large he was. I had a dog bed and a large crate in the back of my car, but he sat in the passenger seat and slept the entire 6 hours back. I brought him around to the back of the house and he slept with me that night. We introduced him to Heidi in the morning and they did fine. She was the boss, but he was okay with that. When Heidi died, he was lost. He wanted to be led.

This is my soul dog. He is such a love. He loves life. He loves people. He wiggles his rear end at everything. Every day is a joy to him. He chases birds and swims. Every morning he acts like today is the day he will catch the bird. And he brings so much joy to me. We got another dog a couple of months after Heidi passed away because Neko didn’t know what to do. And the acceptance he has for the other dog is just so unbelievable. He occasionally protests sharing me with him, but otherwise, he is very accepting.

Neko knows my heart. He is love, goodness, kindness, understanding, compassion, and happiness rolled into one warm, furry ball. Feeling him next to me every night is such a comfort. And every morning when I wake up and see those eyes, I see all that is good and right with the universe. He still runs after the car when I leave. But I will always come back to him. He is home.