{"id":22720,"date":"2026-03-11T13:29:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:29:39","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-15T20:43:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T00:43:26","slug":"the-pooch-that-answered-a-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/coping-with-illness\/the-pooch-that-answered-a-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pooch That Answered a Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was only a few minutes into my evening walk when the words fell from my lips: \u201cLord, please bring me a dog.\u201d What? <\/em>Where had that <\/em>prayer come from? Okay, so I\u2019d been half-thinking about getting a dog. I would\u2019ve loved one to walk with me. But I hadn\u2019t prayed <\/em>for one yet.<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t committed myself yet, and when you pray for something you\u2019re totally <\/em>committed. You don\u2019t ask God for something you\u2019re not quite sure you can handle.<\/p>\n

Three years earlier I was diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia, a neurological disorder that affects my coordination and balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t walk\u2013you won\u2019t!\u201d my neurologist warned. \u201cWalking will train your brain to remember how to move your body.\u201d That\u2019s when I started walking every night. I desperately wanted to hold on to my freedom.<\/p>\n

A few months later our neighbors\u2019 Labrador had puppies. They offered to give one to my 12-year-old daughter, Marilyn, and me. We couldn\u2019t resist! Lugh instantly became part of our little family and came walking with me too.<\/p>\n

Then, five months later, a tornado ripped through our town, destroying our home. The only apartment available was dogfree so our neighbors took Lugh in. We visited him often. They were an active family\u2013much more active than I could ever be\u2013and he loved it there.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d planned to take him back once we were settled in a house again. But Lugh grew bigger and my symptoms grew worse. I was exhausted and falling more often. When we finally found a home, we made a tough decision: Lugh would stay with them. There was no way I could manage a big strong dog, or maybe any dog.<\/p>\n

But I really missed having a dog around. Marilyn did too. A little dog wasn\u2019t the answer. What if they darted between my feet and tripped me? Forget it! Marilyn and I would have to be content with our two cats. I pushed all thoughts of getting a dog out of my mind. Until that prayer flew out of my mouth!<\/p>\n

Back home that night I had a strange urge to check out a local shelter online\u2013something I\u2019d never done before. I\u2019m not a big online person, yet I found myself browsing the site for hours. Athletic Labs, spunky Chihuahuas, stately imperious Poodles. All adoptable. But all either too large or too small.<\/p>\n

See? This isn\u2019t meant to be. That prayer was just an accident, <\/em>I thought, reaching to turn off the computer. Just then, the screen flipped to the next page of pets. That\u2019s when I saw her: Lil\u2019 Dog. The most adorable tri-color corgi with melt-your-heart brown eyes. She was perfect!<\/p>\n

I filled out a lengthy application, adding a note about my health, our two cats, our history with Lugh, and our vet\u2019s phone number.<\/p>\n

Three days later a volunteer from the shelter brought Lil\u2019 Dog over for a home visit. Right away, she scurried behind the woman\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually foster and rescue big dogs,\u201d she explained, \u201cbut a few weeks ago I got a call to check out a flea market that sold puppies from a \u2018puppy mill\u2019\u2013an irresponsible dog breeder. Lil\u2019 Dog was living in a chicken wire cage on the ground in the mud and water. She\u2019s only three but she\u2019s already had a lot of pups.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman said that the puppy mill owner had decided that Lil\u2019 Dog was worn out. He had no use for her anymore. My heart broke. How could someone treat an innocent creature this way? She needed food. Attention. Love.<\/p>\n

She needed me.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll require a lot of social training since she\u2019s spent her whole life in a cage,\u201d her foster mom added. \u201cOh, and there\u2019s another family interested in her too.\u201d Then she looked at my cane and walker parked in the corner. \u201cDo you really think she\u2019d be a good match for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

As if on cue, a bit like that accidental prayer, Lil\u2019 Dog trotted out from behind the woman\u2019s legs. She came up beside me and stuck her head under my hand. I melted.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, one of our cats ran in and introduced herself with a hiss! Lil\u2019 Dog whimpered and retreated. Then she seemed to think about it and decided that she had to stand up for herself if she was going to stick around here.<\/p>\n

She stepped forward and gave a little growl in return. That seemed to settle things. She looked up at me with her wide eyes as if to get my approval. \u201cI think we\u2019ll all get along just fine,\u201d I said, laughing.<\/p>\n

The woman turned serious. \u201cWell, I think you might,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it isn\u2019t up to me. The Animal Protection and Education Board makes all final decisions\u2026and, well, they think it\u2019s a red flag that you recently gave up a dog.\u201d Then she snapped a leash onto Lil\u2019 Dog\u2019s collar and headed out the door.<\/p>\n

Could she be more negative? <\/em>I tried to hold back the tears. Lord, <\/em>I prayed, I\u2019m trusting you to bring Lil\u2019 Dog into my life if that\u2019s what you want. If not, please let her find a good home.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two days later the shelter called. \u201cHello,\u201d I said, waiting anxiously for their answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour application to adopt the corgi has been accepted,\u201d they said. I almost dropped the phone!<\/p>\n

That weekend Marilyn and I went to pick up Lil\u2019Dog. But when I clipped on her leash and harness, she lunged right between my legs and I fell on top of her! I floundered on the floor, trying to disentangle dog, harness, leash and cane. Marilyn helped me up.<\/p>\n

Lil\u2019 Dog trembled, pulling away from me at the end of the leash, terrified, as if she wanted to run back to her cage. Oh, no! This was <\/em>a bad idea. How could I have been so foolish to think that God had directed me to adopt a dog?<\/p>\n

But something, some inner urge, wouldn\u2019t allow me to give up. \u201cCome here, girl,\u201d I coaxed, holding out my hand. Slowly, she stopped fighting to pull away and came toward me. \u201cThat\u2019s right. We can learn to walk together, can\u2019t we? We can help each other. We can\u2019t stay in our cages forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

I rubbed her soft multi-colored fur. A name came to me: Lily.<\/p>\n

Back home, Marilyn and I played with Lily all afternoon. I\u2019d almost forgotten how much fun a dog was, even a timid one like Lily. I thought it would be good to take her with me on my walk that night, get her socialized. But I grew nervous.<\/p>\n

What if I fell on top of her again? What if I scared her? She\u2019d spent so much of her life afraid.<\/p>\n

I strapped on her harness and leash\u2013this time she stayed put. Success! Step by step, we made our way out of the house and onto the street. Lily was a natural! It was like somehow she knew about my issues. She didn\u2019t tug or pull, just trotted along steadily.<\/p>\n

Sometimes she\u2019d stop short if she saw something unfamiliar. After spending her life in a cage, that meant trash cans, bikes and parked cars (even fire hydrants!). Still, she never jerked the leash or threw me off balance. She just knew<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Over the next few months I learned to trust that Lily wouldn\u2019t let me fall. And Lily learned to trust that I wouldn\u2019t let anything hurt her. Whenever we\u2019d approach something that scared her, I\u2019d look down into her sweet brown eyes and walk us closer to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Lily,\u201d I\u2019d say. \u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d Little by little, she\u2019d step closer too. Before long she was walking bravely down the block, charming everyone in the neighborhood. We made perfect partners.<\/p>\n

Five years later, my condition has grown worse. I need to use my wheelchair more than I\u2019d like. But Lily doesn\u2019t mind a bit. She\u2019s still walking alongside me every night. And I know someone else walks with us too. The One to whom no prayer is accidental, the One in whom we are always free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was only a few minutes into my evening walk when the words fell from my lips: \u201cLord, please bring me a dog.\u201d What? Where had that prayer come from? Okay, so I\u2019d been half-thinking about getting a dog. I would\u2019ve loved one to walk with me. But I hadn\u2019t prayed for one yet. 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