Devotional from Pastor Dave July 19, 2023

I was walking our dog Tiptoe the other morning this week. We were making our way back toward the house on Kentucky when I heard some heavy breathing behind us. I turned around and saw a Golden Retriever hot on our tail. We pulled over to the side of the road to let them pass. The dog’s owner was apologetic and said his dog just loves to meet other dogs.

As our dogs were sniffing each other, we got to talking. He asked my dog’s name, and I told him it’s Tiptoe. He said that’s a dog name you don’t hear much. I said the boys named him. He asked if I lived nearby. I told him I was the pastor at Signal Crest and lived in the parsonage up the road. I asked about his dog. He told me his dog’s name is Patience. I said that’s also a dog name you don’t hear much.

Patience had a collar that identified him as a service dog. I asked what kind of service dog he was. The man told me that he himself was a vet—a military veteran—and he’d been sent to work the scene after 9/11. I said I can’t imagine what that must have been like. He said it was pretty bad. He said he still gets flashbacks. He got paired with Patience through a program that pairs trained service dogs with veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress.

He told me that there’s a technique that he’s learned to help keep him grounded when he’s experiencing a flashback. It’s called the “five things.” You try to focus on something in each of your five senses—something you can hear, something you can touch, something you can see, something you can smell, something you can taste. He told me that Patience is his “five things.” He said Patience keeps him grounded in the present moment. I agreed that dogs have a way of doing that.

By that point, both of our dogs were looking at us, asking us how long we were just going to stand there and talk. So I told him it was very nice to meet him and his dog Patience, and he did likewise. Then they took off, with Tiptoe hot on their trail now.

I hadn’t seen them on my dog walks before, and I don’t know if I’ll see them again. But I’m grateful to know that there are organizations out there in the world that train and pair dogs like Patience to be there for those who have been there for others, dogs who are trained not only to heel but also to help heal.

Thanks be to dog.