Gus's new thing

Gus is a friendly dog. In fact, I am convinced that if humans would be even half as friendly as Gus, the world would be a remarkably better place.

Gus is also a sociable dog. If you come to our house, he will be excited to meet you. That is, after he has barked so loud he has scared you half to death. But it is only because he loves you. Even if he has never met you before, he loves you. I think Jesus would like that about Gus.

We are blessed not only with a very nice dog, but also with a very nice neighbor named Tom. Tom and Gus are friends. I don't know when it happened, but Gus managed to sneak over to Tom's yard enough times in the past year to establish a bond.

So this is Gus's new thing. Gus never runs off, but he does occasionally disappear for about thirty minutes when I let him out for his morning business. And I recently discovered where he disappears to. He goes on walks with Tom. They go on morning walks in the corn fields behind our yard. Why? Because Gus is the kind of dog you take on walks without a leash, and he just quietly keeps you company. He may nudge you around a little bit, but that is only to herd you in a better direction. Don't ask what makes it a better direction; it just is.

Dr. Beck (the chair of Psychology at ACU) did a blog post a few weeks ago about how the relationship between man and pets (especially dogs) is a reflection of the way things were meant to be in Eden. I entirely agree. There is something deeply good about Gus. He is loyal, kind, obedient, and unconditionally loving. All of these things make for a very good dog and a very good friend. So if you are feeling blue or people are being mean to you, come over to our house. BJ and I may not help very much, but Gus will make it all better.