Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to "Joni and Friends".
This week I’ve been highlighting stories on the incredible canine companions who are trained to help disabled people like me. It is, after all, Assistance Dog Week. And this week, who should come to the Joni and Friends office for a visit other than Destiny, a puppy in training — and I tell you when we all saw this little dog, we all work stopped. I mean, what a cute little yellow Labrador retriever, only a few months old. And here she was all decked out in her little “puppy in training canine companion vest” and I must say, she was very obedient on her leash which was held by her temporary owner, Gene Newman. Gene and his wife Monique have raised nine service-assistance dogs, mainly for wheelchair users, or for people who are blind.
Of course, the first thing I wanted to do was pet this cute little puppy, and so I asked Gene — proper working-dog etiquette — I asked if I could pet Destiny. He said it was okay since she was still in the socialization stage. I said, “Social-what stage?” “Socialization,” he replied. It's just a period early on when you introduce a puppy to all sorts of people in different circumstances — maybe at the mall, at the office, in an elementary school, at a church, you know, wherever folks are doing different things.
I asked about the little yellow vest Destiny was wearing. “Well, that’s the next phase of training,” Gene explained. “We want this puppy to associate that vest with working; that is, when we put it on her, we want her to come to attention, get focused, be mindful, and understand that she is about to perform a very important job to which she must give her full concentration. In other words, when we put the yellow vest on her, it’s no more messing around.”
At that point, Gene started rubbing Destiny’s neck, reflecting on how his service dogs and their vests have taught him and his wife a lesson. He said to me, “You know Joni, this little yellow vest is a little like Ephesians chapter 6, verse 14 where we are told to, ‘Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and with the breastplate of righteousness in place.’ When we Christians snap on that breastplate in the morning, it’s like that working vest: it’s a reminder; it’s a signal that we should be ready to go to work, come to attention, get focused, and be mindful that we are about to perform a very important job for the Lord to which we must give our full attention. It’s no messing around! We are ambassadors of Christ.” Gene paused for a moment and then he added, “Isn’t it just like the Lord to teach us through the animals He gives us?”
You know, I looked at his puppy at this point — she was totally oblivious to everything he just said, but when she saw me looking at her, her ears perked up and she sat up and started wagging her tail, looking interested; looking like she was waiting to do something, do anything to please me. Yep, it’s just like God to teach us how we should live using even a little puppy. Oh, that we would be as excited to wait on the Lord; excited about doing whatever we can to please Him. By the way, you really must see this little pup with her training vest on — it is such a cute photo and I’ve posted it today on my radio page at joniandfriends.org. Oh, and while you’re there, don’t forget to check out the download on do’s and don’ts you can remember when you might be around a service dog that is working. It’s all there for you today right on my radio page at joniandfriends.org. And be on the lookout for ways your pet might teach you a lesson or two about serving our wonderful Creator.
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