My heart still grieves and mourns with the loss of my beloved dog Leo. I believe the closest we will come to God’s grief with the death of His son Jesus Christ is by seeing your perfect obedient dog die at a young age.

Leo was obedient from the very day I adopted him. It was natural for him to listen to me. I never had to tell him twice. I don’t believe I was even close to this with my parents who had to tell me several times with a few whippings so that I would finally listen.

Those who have never lost of dog, will have a hard time understanding but also have not realized the perfection in so many ways that they bring. They unconditionally love, they forgive, they live each day trying to make it a great day in every way they can for those around them. The line “man’s best friend” rings true in every way. it isn’t a cliche.

We know as dog owners, our time is limited with them. God’s will doesn’t allow them the same amount of years humans have. If your dog lives past 10 years old, you are on borrowed extra time with them. But this doesn’t prevent us as owners to become attached in every way. I think mainly because they have so many qualities we wish and hope we could possess.

Leo would greet those he loved each time with pure joy and excitement. He would never hold back in expressing his devotion. He could see the same person each day, and still greet them like this. I always said that IF other human beings would greet those in their life this way, what a different world we would live in. There was nothing fake about Leo’s excitement either, he always showed it.

In the back of every dog owner’s mind is the day they will need to say goodbye. We hope they live out long lives, but nothing is assured. But when that day comes, despite all the preparations you make, the grief will not subside. Leo’s prognosis was cancer, I had to accept we were on borrowed time. But when the day came, the grief hit me like an avalanche.

Now imagine God from all eternity preparing for the day of Jesus Christ’s torture and death on the Cross. To see His perfect Son die a gruesome death on the behalf of sinners who were in rebellion against Him and His Kingdom. There was NO GREATER LOVE than this! And we get a mere glimpse of this with our beloved pets who loved us without so much as one condition. They loved us on our good days, our bad days, and every day in between without chastisement, guilt, or manipulation. It was always genuine love! And I believe it is God’s way of showing us fallen human beings what love actually is.