DailySusan Humor Blog

THE SHAGGY NANNY

I will not leave you comfortless:
I will come to you.
-- John 14:18

It’s been an Alka-Seltzer / Tylenol / Maalox / Hot-Fudge Brownie Sundae kind of summer, news-wise.

War!

Terrorism!

Basket-case countries going “noo-coo-lar”!

Wildfires!

Drought!

Global warming!

Illegal immigrants!

And now Mel Gibson! (Sob!) Say it isn’t so, Mel! The hunkiest actor ever, in a drunken moment last week, revealed ugly, shocking anti-Semitism.

I cried out in agony when I read of my longtime crush’s freefall. I slumped, and my arm dangled down the side of the chair.

Suddenly, a cold, wet snout bounced my hand upward so that it landed on a warm, fuzzy head. It was Sunny Bone-O, our yellow Labrador retriever. She’d heard my cry, and in her doggy way, thought I’d feel better if I petted her a little bit.

Darn right I did. I think it’s in the Plan. I believe our companion animals are deputized from above. When people aren’t around to give you comfort and tenderness, animals are there to do it, and do it well.

One starry night years ago when I was sad and couldn’t sleep, I went outside to have a private little pity party on the back patio. Not too many tears had dripped down before Fat Louie, our often-AWOL and usually neglected barn cat, jumped into my lap, demanding to be petted, all warm and cuddly and purring. Isn’t it funny? Usually, he’d bolt away from anyone who tried to pet him.

We don’t speak of it; cats have their pride, you know. But he certainly made me feel better. Maybe it’s nuts, but I feel we’ve shared a special bond ever since.

How do animals know what we’re feeling? How do they know when we need them so much? It’s a great mystery, and a comfort. People who had rocky childhoods even say that the one who knew them the best and cared for them the most was the family dog. You feel sorry for them . . . but so glad they knew the true love of a God-given, faithful friend, four-legged or otherwise.

So in this summer of stress and anxiety, crisis and doomsday talk, I was delighted to hear about a dog named Hogan who’s gone above and beyond the call of Man’s Best Friend. Hogan, you see, has become a New Baby Nanny beyond compare for a week-old infant named Charity Rose.

Hogan is a 3-year-old, 80-pound, Great Pyrenees / Chow mix who belongs to Jeff Curtis of Omaha, and wife Beth McDaniel. Hogan’s been a playful companion for the blended family’s older six children, ranging in ages from 13 to 6.

But when Beth became pregnant, Hogan changed. His sheepdog lineage already made him protective, territorial and loyal. But through the pregnancy, he just went bonkers over Beth. He watched her like a hawk, following her from room to room.

“He slept on the floor on my side of the bed,” she said. He’d never done that before.

“Any time I had any kind of twinges or anything, especially as the baby got bigger and would kick me, he’d be right next to me. Maybe I would kind of wince, but I don’t know. It seemed like any time the baby would kick, it was like he could sense it.”

Charity was born last Monday, at 8 pounds, 14 ounces. The couple didn’t really know what to expect from the dog when they brought her home. Well, Hogan’s tenderness and concern turned him in to an adorable, shaggy Mary Poppins . . . heaven-sent, pure love.

“He always wants to be next to her,” Beth said. “He doesn’t care about me now – he’s completely bonded to her. He sleeps by her bed. If she makes a peep, he runs right over to her. He likes to lick her, too – Jeff says it’s his instinct to clean her – but I don’t really want her to be cleaned by a dog’s tongue.”

Jeff says it best: “If Hogan only knew how to make her a bottle and bring her a Binkie.” †

(If you’d like an update on Charity and Hogan, help this young family, and get some mighty nice, sparkling windows, note that Jeff Curtis runs Xtreme Glass Cleaning in Omaha, 208-9314)

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Miles For Mali Update

Goal: Raise $5,600 by walking 56 miles in 56 days and obtaining sponsorships to help build a much-needed maternity hospital in impoverished Mali, Africa.

Fifth week’s report: 32 miles walked, $1,545 raised. Deadline: Aug. 20. Eek! I’ll be putting the pedal to the metal, or should I say the Reeboks to the pavement, bigtime, these last two weeks of the effort. But I believe!

Please consider sponsoring me for $1 a day, to help bring decent medical care to nearly-destitute women and children in West Africa. Any amount would be greatly appreciated, of course! Let me know your prayer requests, too. Your generosity and kindness to people who are literally at the end of the earth will be noted in prayer every step of the way.

Please send checks made out to Christ Community Church to:
Susan Williams, P.O. Box 995, Elkhorn, NE 68022.

Donations tax-deductible; you will receive a letter for your files. THANK YOU!!!

Learn more at: www.themaliproject.org or www.christcommunityomaha.org