This is Keegan - our one eyed wonder. We rescued him from Eleventh Hour Rescue in Randolph, NJ. His story is: Apparently he was a fight dog, full of scars - mostly bite marks but one rip on his hind quarter. He was found in Tennessee chained in some yard with no food and no water and a metal bar literally sticking out of his head. Someone took him and brought him to a vet who was able to save his life, but he lost his eye. When we adopted him he was a handful. We thought he was a pit bull/boxer mix. But because he was SO stubborn and exhibited signs of ADD, I had him DNA tested to see exactly what i was dealing with. He is actually a full blooded American Staffordshire Terrier.....AKA the American Large Pit Bull. He knew NOTHING. Had clearly never been in a house. I did some research and several months later now, with very STRICT pack rules in place, he is EVERY bit of what he was bred to be. Extremely loyal, loving and affectionate with people.....kids included. He is bullish (doesn't mean to be he is just a tank), fun, quirky, and SO desires to obey his owners. However, he does NOT do dogs. He is a fierce watchdog and protector of his home and his owners.....and actually at this point in our lives, a fierce watchdog is a good thing in our home right about now. He is JUST learning how to play fetch. He can sit, lay down and will wait however long we make him for his food. We are working on "shake" and he has earned his way out of the crate and now has kitchen privileges. He does not go anywhere else in the home, except with me during the day....I make him go everywhere I go on the main floor of the house including the bathroom. See, our other dog ran out the front door and got hit by a car and killed right in front of my house. I NEVER EVER want to go through that again so I am trying to train Keegan to stick with me.
He is so sweet and for all he has been through, he as an amazing ability to love unconditionally and trust unconditionally. Dogs are like that. They aren't like people who hold grudges and harbor anger. They just live in the moment. Kind of like what I am trying to do these days. Life has been rough the last couple of months, but having Keegan has been a great distraction and a good reminder of how to live in the moment.
So, heres to our Keegan.....a bull dozer, a tank, a dog that seems to get himself in trouble without even trying by his sheer size and strength.....but he keeps trying. Always trying to please me. Kind of like me. Blowing it and not meaning to, but I keep trying. Trying to live a life pleasing to my Lord Jesus Christ. And like Keegan, I am trying to not think about all the peripheral things that really don't matter at the end of the day. What matters is my family, my relationship with God and the position of my heart.
So, once again, God is using a dog to teach me some simple things.....patience being one of them. Keegan has sucked me dry of patience, but one look from that eye of his and somehow my patience tank gets refilled and I'm ready to forge ahead.....
Until next time.....
