A colleague of Steve’s was searching for a home for his
son’s dog. This son was serving in the
U.S. Coast Guard. We were happy to
provide a home for this dog. The dog was
a handsome medium size longhaired white American Eskimo breed. When Bob and Betty brought the yelping and
hyperactive dog, Nanook, to us, it was a huge surprise to our three kids.
After Bob and Betty said their goodbyes, we were left alone
with our new dog. Cautiously, Chris
asked, “Is the dog ours?” “Yes, he is!”
we answered smiling at our three kids.
“You will have to take good care of him!” Steve informed them. “We will.” they chimed together. “Dogs are similar to us in many ways in that
they need shelter, food, and love.
One of the first things we did was to introduce Nanook to the
fenced in back yard. We led him to his
dog house. This is a place for him to
stay dry in the rain and a place to stay warm on cold evenings. We showed our kids the correct measured amount
of food morning and evening for our new friend.
They made sure he had plenty of water each day.
“It is not enough to feed and water Nanook we must become
his friend.” I told them. Each day the
kids patted Nanook on the head and talked to him. “How’s my dog?” Chris would
say while standing on the back porch. On many occasions I looked out the window
to see Hannah sitting in the dog house with Nanook. She loved to sit with him inside the dog
house. “Such a good puppy!” she would
encourage him. Nanook loved all the
attention. Nanook always wore a smile on
his face and he was always running and walking everywhere with us.
The kids soon discovered Nanook already knew how to sit down
and beg. Chris proceeded to teach him to
climb the steps to the tree house and run down the slide and to run up the
slide and walk down the steps. He was
taught to jump up on a tree stump, to sit on it, and to stay. Staying was the difficult part for him,
especially when we walked away from him.
He wanted to go with us so much, but most of the time he obeyed. Nanook was always anxious to please us. It was exciting to discover that our dog was
smart and not stupid like some dogs.
A few days later we
took Nanook for a wellness check up.
This was an opportunity for the kids to speak with the veterinarian
about Nanook. The doctor explained about
the importance of rabies vaccinations, heart worm, flea and tick prevention, and
more. Our children learned that Nanook
is healthy and happy all because of what they do for Nanook. “Wow, I did not realize just how much we do
for Nanook to keep him healthy. He is
worth it all.” observed Chris.
Everyday I encouraged the kids to care for our dog. I watched them take responsibility in feeding
him and spending time with him. Even on
stormy nights when Nanook was so scared of the lightening they discreetly put
him in the garage. They talked to him
saying everything would be alright. I
thought our three kids were only learning responsibility, but I observed a
boost in their self-esteem. Nanook’s
enthusiastic ear, wagging tail, and licking their feet and hands are positive
encouragement for them.
In Genesis 1:20-21 it says, “And God said, Let the waters
bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that my fly
above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every
living creature that moveth, which the water brought forth abundantly, after
their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind; and God saw that it was
good.” I am thankful
to God for allowing Nanook to be a member of our family. Not only does he provide opportunities to
grow our children’s habits of responsibility and grow our children’s
self-esteem, but he is just fun to be with.
He has provided much joy and blessing.
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