Job 12:10, “In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”

God created man, but also remember He created every living thing. Our pets, our animals are also created by His hand. The horse or dog breeder may believe they are the creator, but they fool themselves with such thinking. It is God who will always create life. It does not come into existence by any man.

Those who have pets are blessed in many ways. If one owns a dog for example, that very dog was sent by God to teach a sinner MANY things. One is sacrifice. My neighbor for example says he doesn’t want to get another dog because it would tie him down. To each his own, but it is he who is missing out on the blessing. He knows the sacrifices which must be made and does not want to be burdened by them.  And I appreciate that he is honest in this respect. Many dogs end up in a shelter because the owners are not honest with themselves.

One will always show they appreciate their blessing in the grief of loss of their pet. They aren’t granted long lives as humans, so having one will also come with the loss of them. Watch out for those who aren’t phased with the loss of a pet, those who treat their pets as chattel. They might seem like nice people outside of this, but they harbor much evil.  They expose themselves as narcissistic and unloving. They should never be trusted.

Some treat their pets as a necessary inconvenience, a part time toy. Watch out for these people as well. They are the ones who lock their dog up in a crate all day and bring them out for an hour, only to lock them back up. Or the dog left on a chain in the yard all day, the one who snarls and barks because they have nothing else really to do. The owner of such a pet exposes themselves as sadistic and narcissistic. If they treat their pet this way, how will they treat you when they are needed? An owner like this should never be trusted.

Some see their pets as money makers. Constant breeders for their bank account with no care for the animals. They will seem to think they are doing the buyers a favor by this. These type of people will also treat human beings in their life by the narcissistic love of money which is the root of all evil. Some will use their dogs for show for boasting, abuse them for specific purposes, and if the dog does not prove to be worthy, they discard them. The degenerate practice of dog fighting comes to mind by disgusting evil owners. Imagine these same people with their own children if they could abuse them this way and get away with it, because they possess this degenerate trait.

The pet will always be a reflection on the owner. If you see a well behaved pet, the owner is also well behaved. If the pet is a scatter brain, reckless, etc., the owner usually is also a scatter brain, reckless, etc. In other words, a pet will expose those dark hidden things we cannot always see. A person might externally look like something to you, but their pet will show you their internals, whether good or bad.

A dog for example is very intuitive. They pick up on non-verbal signals much better than human beings. They naturally crave and need guidance and discipline or they will be disobedient if allowed. An unhappy dog is the undisciplined dog. If the owner leads an undisciplined life, the dog generally is as well. If the dog is passive aggressive, the owner generally will have this trait as well. Shy dogs will have shy owners. The little firecracker dog who is always unwelcoming to visitors, generally has an untrusting owner of visitors. The kind hearted non aggressive loving dog, will generally have a kind hearted non aggressive loving owner.

Too much blame goes on the breed. I see it as an excuse. I met a very kind Rottweiler this past winter, I could discern the owner by him. Some breeds are predisposed for aggression, because owner after owner after owner were just as externally or internally aggressive as well.

So many end up in a shelter for this reason. The owner cannot seem to get a dog to change their behavior while being oblivious to their own behavior of which the dog picked up on and was conforming to. The dark secret things are always revealed. A confident, happy and content owner will have a confident, happy, and content dog. So be conscious and aware of this fact. Your pet will expose your internals, again whether good or bad.

Now tying this in with your Christian walk. If Jesus is your owner, and you are being conformed to Him, you will share His traits. Albeit not perfectly, but generally you are like your dog who desires to behave as their owner. Jesus hates sin and false gospels, a child of His will also hate sin and false gospels. Those who claim Jesus is their owner but lead a totally different life, can be discerned just the same as a dog to its owner.