Today my son from St. Louis arrived for a week-long visit.  This is the first trip he has made here since I adopted my basset hound Cooper.  Sadly Cooper had been abused before I adopted him through a local rescue shelter.  Because of his abuse Cooper can be accepting of new people or very antagonistic.  So far in the 18 months Cooper has lived with me he has not displayed much consistency in who he accepts and who he rejects.

My challenge, so I thought, was to find a method to introduce Cooper to my son in a manner where Cooper would accept him.  I had my son stand on the side walk in front of the house.  Cooper and I left via the back door and came down the alley and encountered my son.  To my surprise Cooper went right up to him and laid his head against my son’s leg literally begging to be petted.  They got along famously on our walk.

Then we entered the house and my son had the audacity of laying down on the sofa that Cooper considers “his”.  I was in the kitchen and suddenly heard the loud barking/growling and could not imagine what was the matter.  My son had a look of confusion on his face which literally conveyed the question, “What did I do to set Cooper off?”  I explained Cooper considers that sofa his personal property.  My son offered to move and I said no, Cooper needs to learn to share.  In a few minutes I got Cooper quieted down which was a breath of fresh air for both humans in the house.  Cooper did not like giving up exclusive rights to the sofa.

So are you wondering how did things worked out?  It is now 6 hours later and my son and Cooper are both sleeping on “Cooper’s sofa” and all is right in the world.  The answer was letting Cooper learn that I was very pleased with my son being here.  Once Cooper saw that I was not in danger, he accepted my son.  It is nice to have a protector.  This prompted me to think about the Heavenly Protector that loves us, God.  Fortunately God does not bark, but God does give us wisdom to know when a situation is safe or dangerous.  I feel blessed to not only have God looking out for my safety but to also have Cooper  being on duty to protect me from any “strangers” that dare to enter the house.  May all of you whom have had pets thank God for the blessing your pets are to you!  Amen!  Feel free to post how you feel protected by your pet.  We can all be inspired as we read each others experiences.