It was a cold, rainy night before Christmas and I was waiting in a Wal-Mart parking lot for someone I’d only talked to on social media. It sounds awfully shady, I know. The windshield wipers were keeping the beat with my radio as I looked for a car fitting the description. A vehicle pulled up next to me and we looked quizzically at each other through the rain splattered windows, wondering if we were looking at the one we were to meet. After a nod and wave, I grabbed my things and got into her car. A stranger’s car. And we were about to go walking around in a wooded area…..on a rainy night. The only way I could’ve broken any more of my mother’s cardinal rules at one time would’ve been if I could’ve also worked in giving out my social security number, going to an ATM in the dark, and sitting on a public restroom toilet seat. Anyway, I was decked out in my rain boots, baseball cap, and rain jacket and was ready to face the elements with someone I’d just met. This is the first my mother has heard of any of this, so she’ll be calling me in 5, 4, 3, 2…..

The story started a couple of months earlier when I was driving home at night and saw a beautiful hound dog in a commercial area. Obviously out of place, he looked lost and scared and, if I have a soft spot for anything, it’s any dog from the hound family that needs help. Just ask Ruby. I’m a sucker for long ears, big feet, and droopy eyes. In a dog, at least. So, I rolled my window down and tried to talk to him, but could tell he wasn’t going to have anything to do with me. He was scared and ran away. His hangout spot is on one of my beaten paths and not too far from our house, so he was impossible to forget. When I’d see him during the daytime, I’d get out and talk sweetly to him. He’d stop and listen, but wouldn’t let me get close. After a few more encounters and getting nowhere even with food, I posted him on a lost and found pet page. I know when I’m in over my head. I was sure there were people who were well-versed in how to capture a stray dog. That’s when Amber messaged me and that’s how I was introduced to the the world of dog rescue. 

I certainly wasn’t the only one concerned about the dog. There were multiple people leaving him food and attempting to coax him into their cars with the same results. So, it’s a few days before Christmas and we pick back up where I met my new friend, Amber, in the dark parking lot. We were going to try to capture the sweet hound before that arctic blast was to come through our area. We had three days before the weather was predicted to plummet to 11 degrees with winds up to 35 mph. For two nights, we set a box trap with tempting, smelly treats as bait and would wait nearby. A canine stakeout. Sardines, hot dogs, rotisserie chicken. Apparently, those are some of the tricks of the trade. On the third night, a professional trapper came and set up his fancy contraption to try to help us. Over those three days, I learned a lot of things about dog rescue besides the fact that it’s terribly frustrating. First, I learned when one’s phone is submerged in rotisserie chicken juice, everyone who calls the said phone from then on will sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher. Secondly, when canned sardines touch any surface whatsoever, the said surface will retain the smell of sardines until time is no more. After three wet and muddy nights of bad smells, we failed to get the dog we’d all come to call Otis. 

At the beginning of the week when the weather was mild, our spirits were high and optimistic, but the night before the weather front, I commenced crying. I couldn’t stop. Davis had been helping our efforts and he was trying to reassure me with talk about instincts and undercoats and dens, but it wasn’t helping me. A posse had formed to try to help this dog and we took turns leaving him more food for extra calories. One of the ladies left a dog house in the area and others added a tarp, hay, and blankets for him. We’d done all we could do and I had to find a way to get peace with it or my family would have a miserable Christmas watching me blow my nose and my mascara run. 

When my prayers to catch Otis before the cold front weren’t answered, I changed them to asking God to protect Otis from the cold. When I shifted the care of this sweet dog from our responsibility to God’s, I finally felt a peace about it and was able to enjoy Christmas. It wasn’t what we could do to save him but what God could do to protect the creature He, Himself, had created. Our attempts failed and continue to fail even with five different visits from the professional trapper trying three different traps. But, God’s efforts didn’t. Otis survived the multiple nights of sub-freezing temps without even sleeping in the dog house and he’s still staying one step ahead of the network of people who continue to try to rescue him. He is the Road Runner and we are Wile E. Coyote with all of our fancy Acme gadgets. Otis is no dummy. 

You may or may not be an animal person. You may not even like dogs. But, God reminded me of a simple truth through that elusive hound to whom I’ve grown so attached but never even touched. A truth I seemed to have forgotten in some other areas of my life. Whatever the troubling situation- whatever problem I wish I could fix- there’s peace when I release the responsibility of solving it and just give it to God. There are many things that are too big for us. The weight is too heavy. The odds are too low. The need is too great. The solution is too far outside our ability. But, when I’ve done all that I can humanly do- all that God has led me to do, I can leave it in His hands and let Him take it from there. When I frantically work and worry about solving something, I’m acting like He’s not capable and that the outcome totally depends on me. Thank God that’s not the case. There are situations in my life- bigger, deeper, more personal situations- where I have taken the lesson learned from a stray hound and am trying to apply God’s reminder to those places as well. I should do what God has purposed me to do and leave the rest in His capable hands. 

I can’t sign off without acknowledging the amazing network of animal rescuers that are out there. They’re people with regular jobs who spend much of their free time and money on helping animals who find themselves in desperate situations. I had no idea that so many people were involved in this until I reached out for help with Otis and met Amber and people like her. Teresa, Tracie, James, Pam- just to name a few. I’m not sure how they see the situations they see and keep at it. The day before the horrible cold, they were out and about leaving storage tubs and cardboard boxes filled with hay in areas where they’d seen stray animals or animals who weren't cared for properly. Anything that would help them survive what was coming. It’s definitely a calling and not for everyone. I admire those who are willing to put their emotions on a roller coaster to help God’s creatures. 

We’re not giving up on Otis even though we’re way past plan B. I believe we’re somewhere around plan J or K, but not giving up on this beautiful boy. The next step is in motion and we’re determined he will know the warmth of a loving home soon. 

Y’all have a great day! Next week, we’re going to the mountains but I still plan to come by here and say hello. See you then! 

JONI