Sparrows Point

To my right, jumped down a young, adult male, Chocolate Labrador off the couch, and proceeded to sniff my feet. I had arrived a few minutes earlier at the house of the dog's owner, after seeing an ad at a local pet shop.

The young owner worked too many hours and wasn't able to devote the much needed time for his 1 year old dog. He was willing to give him to a good home. He had even sent him to obedience training.

Several months prior, we had the heart-wrenching task of putting down our faithful Golden Retriever of 13 years. Since my son was 12, I wanted a big dog in the house to protect him when I wasn't there on occasions. There also was a void in my heart for another loving, big dog.

After a barrage of questions, the owner agreed that I could take him to my husband's place of business so I could see if he would be willing to give him a home. Upon arriving there, though, I was horrified to discover there were fleas crawling on the dog's back. Fearful I would have them in my car, I rushed to get him to my husband as quickly as possible. I didn't think that he would be interested in the dog because of his condition.

My husband stepped outside and immediately fell in love with the dog. Those hypnotic yellow eyes held my husband in some sort of trance. I later found out, that as a child visiting his grandfather's farm, my husband would spend many hours intently gazing into the eyes of his grandfather's Chocolate Labrador. This new dog held the same fascination to him as his grandfather's dog 50 years prior.

After the adoption, we changed the dog's name to Bosco and gave him a much needed bath & dip. He soon settled into our family's routine. His sweet disposition and quick intelligence made him a valued member of our family. When Bosco aged and was 8 years old, he began experiencing more and more medical problems with allergies.

Flaky skin, running eyes, and constant scratching caused us to seek more trips to the vets.

These past 2 years, our attention also has been mainly focused on the care of my mother, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. Many a night, Bosco would sense my sadness and frustration over my feelings of despair against this dreaded disease. He would slowly and carefully nuzzle my hand with his big, tootsie-roll nose or rest his huge head in my lap and look sadly up into my eyes to bring me comfort for my soul.

It has been necessary to move mom 3 times within the past 2 years because of problems we had encountered with her at different, large facilities. Several months ago, we finally found a resident home that houses about 6 people who also have Alzheimers and provides 24 hour care. The house is one of 8 facilities and is located in a residential neighborhood. It was upgraded for safety to be in compliance with the state and offers the warmth and smaller setting for individualized care.

One day, I was looking through my records and happened upon Bosco's AKC papers that had been sent to us many years ago from his prior owners. I noticed their return address and stared in awe. I told my husband, "Look at this! You won't believe it!"

I rushed to my address book to verify my findings. 5013 Sparrow's Point was the return address on the paperwork sent from Bosco's prior owner. At one point, Bosco had lived in the house of the owner's father. Their address was the exact location where we had just moved my mother! Apparently, the owners of the Alzheimer's facility had bought the house 8 years ago from Bosco's prior owners.

The transition time dealing with my mother's disease has been extremely challenging. In both Bosco's senior years, as well as my mothers', God in His compassion and wisdom knew ahead of time our heartaches we would be facing. He provided a canine companion from the same home that my mom will eventually spend her remaining days. One canine life began there, and one human life will end there. Even through our sadness and sorrow, God has reminded me that He is in control of our lives and He is ever mindful of our needs even more so than the sparrows. My mother's street name is Sparrow's Point and it will be a constant reminder to me of His love.

Flowing out from God's support, is the firm foundation in which to draw strength and hope. He made sure of it through the love and devotion of our loving, 4-footed, canine friend.

Matthew 10:31
“Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

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Ginnylynn is a new local book author who is a native of Texas. Her first inspirational book, A Family's Stronghold was written to provide encouragement to others dealing with Alzheimer's disease. Also included are my true stories and poetry about my family and pets. The book can now be purchased through the publisher as a rush delivery at www.publishamerica.com or other online services such as www.amazon.com, and available for ordering at area bookstores.
© 2010 Ginnylynn Rodriguez - All rights reserved. Visit Ginnylynn's blog here: http://ginnylynn.fetchbook.info
E-mail Ginnylnn at nitewriter54 ( at ) yahoo.com

This column is used with permission.