Parable of the Dog

Everyone has a story. Mine isn’t really all that different from anyone else’s, aside from the details. Perhaps the best way to tell it is with a modern-day parable. We’ll call it the parable of the dog.

This dog had a good home and lots of love, but one day she got lost. Suddenly, she had to learn to fend for herself, scavenging for anything that even looked or smelled like food.

At first, remembering the kindness of her original owners, she automatically trusted anyone who took notice of her. But after a few painful experiences, fear replaced trust as her first response to people. She began hiding under cars and behind dumpsters.

Soon, however, she found that she couldn’t get what she needed to survive in this new life unless she ventured into the streets. Because she wasn’t very strong, she joined up with some other strays and willingly submitted to the leader of the pack. It wasn’t the life she’d dreamed of as a puppy in that safe, warm house she vaguely remembered, but she had food; and if the leader was vicious, at least he bit others as often as he bit his own.

It was a rough life, though, and one day this once sleek, cuddly puppy woke to find herself a mangy, beaten cur that people crossed to the other side of the street to avoid.

Except one.

One person stopped. One person noticed her cringing behind a trash can, caught her, and brought her home. Suddenly, she again had all she wanted to eat and a warm place to sleep.

But she couldn’t shake her street mentality. All she saw when he came near were the hands of those who’d beaten and thrown her aside.

Yet when this one touched her it was to wash her and treat her wounds. His hands were always gentle, even while he didn’t allow her to get away. When he was finished, he allowed her to scramble back to her corner.  Often he just sat down, legs crossed, and watched her, patiently waiting.

After a while, as her coat grew back out and the wounds began healing, she began inching her way towards him. She crawled, belly glued to the floor, ears laid back as far as they would go, waiting for the blow that would confirm what she feared – that this overwhelming kindness was an illusion bound to falter as soon as she trusted it.

But he kept waiting. He kept watching. And one day, she could stand it no longer, and crawled all the way to his feet. Trembling, still cowering, she gingerly laid her head on his knee. She jumped as he gently placed his hand on her back and began stroking her.

Tension began to melt away as she finally relaxed under his hand. As the fear fled, he spoke to her:

“You’re safe now. You’ll never be on your own again. Now – let’s go tell the others…”