The Grief of Losing a Pet

Brian Davis got his partner when the dog was eight

weeks old. His name was Jethro, a German Shepherd. And here's

what most people don't know about a police dog. He doesn't

go back to a kennel at the end of the shift. Jethro went home

with the Davis family in Canton, Ohio. He slept on their pillows.

And every morning he got up, went, and was a police dog all

day. Then came home and was somebody's family dog again.

Davis said he spent more hours with that dog than he did with

his own family. Then came a Saturday in January of 2016. At

about 1.15 in the morning, an alarm at a grocery store on

Harrison Avenue. Davis and Jethro rolled up on it and a man

was inside. The officers gave him commands. He didn't comply.

So Davis did the thing he'd trained that dog for years to do.

He turned him loose and Jethro went through that door first.

The man opened fire. Not one officer got a scratch. Every

bullet that could have gone into a man that night went into a dog

instead. They rushed Jethro to an emergency clinic and Davis

went with him, refusing to leave the room. And the news started

coming back better than anybody expected. Three rounds had

struck him and not one hit a vital organ. They told Davis his

dog didn't even need surgery. So Ryan Davis sat on the floor next

to his partner all night and he let himself start to believe.

We'll come back to Jethro. But

first, welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm

Bart Leger. Let me tell you about my own dog. Right now, I

have a working partner named Treasure. She's a facility dog,

which means she spends her days with people who've been through

trauma, staying near them while they do the work of healing.

Before Treasure, we had a German Shepherd. And when she died, my

wife and I cried. Not a little. We cried the way you cry when a

member of the family is gone. Because that's what she was.

Maybe you've lost an animal you loved and maybe you found out

how alone that grief can be. Somebody says, it was just a dog.

Just a cat. Oh, they don't mean to hurt you. But the words tell

you your grief doesn't quite count. So you learn to keep it

to yourself. You go to work with a hole in your day and say

nothing because nobody hands out bereavement leave for a cat. But

you know what's a cat that's all for a cat that's all about. But

you know what that animal was to you. She was there when the

house was empty. He lay next to you through the worst stretch

you've been through. And she never once asked you to explain

yourself. Losing her or him was losing something you loved.

Grief is the reasonable response to that. say about a dog. Open

it and you'll find otherwise. God fills whole chapters with

animals He made and He looked at them and called them good.

Here's how the psalmist puts it in Psalm 36.6. Your

righteousness is like the mighty mountains. Your justice like the

ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.

Listen to that last line again. You care for people and animals

alike, O Lord. The God who runs the universe, whose justice is

as deep as the ocean, keeps the animals in His care. He made

them on purpose and He notices when a sparrow falls. So when

you love one of His creatures and lose it, your grief makes

sense. You're grieving something God Himself thought was good

enough to make. And here's the part I don't want you to miss.

The same verse that says He cares for animals says He cares

for people. That's you. He stays close while you hurt over your

dog. The way He's always close to the brokenhearted. He can

handle grief that other people wave off. You can bring Him the

whole thing. The empty spot by the door. The leash you can't

throw away yet. And He won't tell you it was just a dog. Let

me finish telling you about Jethro. On Sunday morning,

Jethro took a sudden turn and was gone. One round had caught

him on the bridge of the nose. It never went through, but it

did enough damage, apparently. He was three years old. Officers

lined up and saluted as they carried his body out. And then

Davis said the thing people who've never loved an animal

don't know what to do with. He said, I would trade places with

them in a heartbeat. And he meant it. If he'd be the one who

died, he wouldn't have to be the one still here without him.

Canton held a funeral. They filled the Civic Center on what

would have been Jethro's third birthday. And officers drove in

from all over the country and brought their dogs. About 2,000

letters came. One was from an 11-year-old girl named Allison,

who folded her allowance into the envelope so the department

could buy vests for the other dogs. year later, Davis had a

new dog. He was still saying the same thing about the old one.

I'm here because of Jethro. That's a man grieving in the

open, refusing to pretend the lost was small. You have

permission to do the same. Here's today's challenge. If

you've lost an animal you loved, give yourself permission to

grieve it and take that grief to God the same way you take any

other. Tell him what that dog or cat or whatever it is meant to

you. Say the name out loud. And if someone in your life is

grieving a pet right now, don't just call it a dog or a cat. Ask

about the animal and let their loss count. Father, you made the

animals and you called them good. You know the ones we've loved

and lost, the ones who've met us at the door and stayed close on

our worst nights. Thank you that you care for them and that you

care for us when they're gone. Meet the listener who's grieving

a pet today and feeling foolish for how much it hurts. Tell them

it counts. Be near them the way you're near everyone who mourns.

In Jesus' name, amen. If you need prayer today, I'd love to

hear from you. You can leave me a voicemail at

dailydevotionsforbusylives.com slash voicemail. I listen to

everyone and it would be an honor to bring your name before

the Lord. Thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy

Lives. Remember, the God who made the animals and called them

good cares for them and he cares for you when you lose one. Come

back next time for more encouragement to help you live

grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless and have a great

day.