We had lost two dogs in as many years. Life was chaotic with work and school, and the travel each required. The last thing I wanted was a new dog, but Alan was committed. He spent time with the litter and shared pictures of his pick, Ringo. “He’s the one who snuggles the most,” Alan explained his decision. The high energy puppy who came to live with us brought a special gift. He is an intuitive healer who has made me his special project of care.
There are many examples of Ringo’s healing nature. Once I sprained my ankle and Ringo slid into the space between my leg and pillow to help prop it up. He has never done this again, despite me kicking up my feet from time to time. The day he got in my face and began sniffing my eyes, my nose, and my sinuses I had just started feeling a little ‘off’. Ringo was acting so concerned I took a COVID test. It was positive. His early warning prevented me from spreading it to others. A final example is when I had panic attacks. He laid his chin on my leg and just stayed there, no matter how long it lasted. He channeled some kind of calm that he doesn’t exhibit any other time of his life, and this became my most effective treatment.
I can say without irony that Ringo saved me. He helped the pieces of my heart restitch together after they had been shattered by a trifecta of life events. I’ve recently stumbled upon several movies that have a similar message, and this has caused me to reflect on my relationship with Ringo and to also consider what it means to be saved.
The short clip called “The Three-Legged Dog that Saved My Life” shares the story of Marne, who was in a traumatic car accident. He adopted Tripod, a dog who had a leg amputated after a different car accident. Marne had been suffering from panic attacks and depression after his accident, and no therapies had helped. He reflected, “I was broken and he was broken” when he and Tripod got together. He credits Tripod with teaching how to love, how to show emotion, and how to be forgiving. He called Tripod a miracle, an angel, and reflected that when he realized Tripod’s presence in his life “transcends all human understanding,” that he had peace for the first time in his life. The documentary Wildcat tells the story of an English army veteran suffering from extreme PTSD and depression. He works on a wildlife rehabilitation project in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest where he fosters an orphaned ocelot. Early in the film, he remarks, “I am saving him while he is saving me.”
Salvation is the deliverance from harm. In my Christian upbringing, I was taught salvation comes through faith in Jesus where one is delivered from sin. In my own life and in the stories I’ve mentioned, people were in need of saving, but not because they had done something wrong or because of sinful nature. Life had dealt anguish, as it does to so many, and in that anguish, a different kind of savior appeared. They shared unconditional love, walked alongside, became teachers, and provided healing. Some call them angels. I realize some may find this use of being saved sacrilegious, but I’m not proposing any kind of conclusion about salvation. I’m just relating these experiences, lifting them up as a place to find wonder and gratitude, for salvation that comes in different ways.
May you take time today to say thank you for all that loves you back together when things fall apart.