Dog Owner and Log in My Own Eye

It had been a good day. Work had gone smoothly; my evening meeting had been canceled, and I was able to get home in time for dinner. My wife was happy to have me home earlier than usual, and the dog pranced around the house, barking to announce my early arrival. My wife and I enjoyed dinner while the dog patiently waited for attention. After dinner, the dog grabbed her frisbee and waited by the door for me to play.

We went out into the dark winter evening, and I threw the frisbee into the neighbor’s yard. It was our usual routine. After I threw the frisbee, I noticed a dark shadow moving in our direction. It was someone walking their dog. I knew my dog, being extremely friendly, would go over to say hello on her way back from retrieving her toy.

“Thanks a lot!” said the dark figure in a somewhat angry, exasperated tone.

I recognized the person. It was a woman who walked by regularly and owned one of the meanest dogs I’d ever met. It didn’t matter what side of the street she walked; upon seeing another person or animal, the large black dog would suddenly lunge with a growl and snap its teeth. It was all the owner could do to restrain it. I usually avoided her and the dog when possible.

“Sorry,” I replied. “I didn’t see you in the dark, or I wouldn’t have thrown the frisbee.”

As expected, my dog ran over to say hello. The dog snarled, snapped, and lunged. Fortunately, my dog was quick on her feet and avoided the attack. She ran back to me none the worse for wear. I motioned her to go inside, and we headed for the door. I thought it better to let the woman and her dog pass before we played further. I had just let my dog enter the house when the woman spoke again.

“You know,” she snarled, “there is something called a leash law!”

I calmly closed the door after my dog was inside and then turned towards the woman.

“You know,” I snapped back, “there is something called dog training!”

We stared at each other for a moment.

“Well!” she said, “have a nice day!” and turned and left.

I went inside, deflated that I had not kept my cool. My good day had just been ruined. It wasn’t like me to respond in anger.

Several weeks later, I brought my dog to a dog park. We entered the dog park, and I told the other owners how friendly my dog was and let her off the leash. She ran with abandon across the park, greeting other dogs as long-lost friends. That is until she deflated a toy football on the ground. She picked it up and ran to a nearby bench to chew on it. The other dogs decided the football was a new object of fascination and proceeded to try and take it away. My overly friendly dog let out a guttural growl, showed her canines, and proceeded to snap and snarl. I was shocked.

The other dog owners looked at me with chagrin. I was cast out of the dog park because of my vicious dog. It was embarrassing, and I was frustrated that the other owners thought of my dog as an angry beast. I felt this was unfair.

Then I remembered my earlier encounter with the woman in the neighborhood. Our Lord teaches us in Matthew 7, “first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” As I thought about my reaction and behavior, this verse took on new meaning. The same behavior I had condemned now was mine. It was wrong for me to judge another person’s experience and hold mine superior to theirs. It was a humbling experience, and I felt the Lord was pointing this out in my life. My reaction had been self-centered and not how the Lord would expect me to act.

As we move into 2023, may we ask the Lord to continually show us where He desires us to grow and how we can show compassion for others.