All Creatures January/February 2019

OUR PETS ARE SOULFUL CREATURES. They think and they feel. They dream and they scheme. But most of all, they love. And love is proof of a soul. So can an animal be a soul mate? I think so. It’s easy to overlook the emotional lives of our pets, their complex inner lives, especially from our too-often anthropocentric perspective. Yet one of the great miracles of life is our capacity to reach across the boundary of species to connect with a creature not of our kind. I force myself to remember that the God who created me is the same God who created my golden retriever, Grace. I believe her presence—like that of many people who are brought into my life—is due to the hand of heaven. She is a…

French bulldogs are adaptable, friendly pups that crave attention. Megan Noes knew all this when she took in five-month-old Nono, whose owner could no longer care for him. But there was one thing about the pup she wasn’t sure of. Noes, the kitten nursery manager at the ASPCA in New York City, often fosters kittens in her apartment to prepare them to live in homes. From the way Nono chased squirrels, she thought he might play too rough. But the moment a litter of kittens arrived, the Frenchie’s paternal instincts kicked in. Nono, now two, has helped raise 21 kittens so far. He shows them where the litter box is and gently nudges them toward their food bowls. “If he finds the cats in his bed, he lies on the…

Share a moment of connection you’ve had with one of God’s creatures (poems and prayers welcome). Send it to allcreatures@guideposts.org or All  Creatures, 110 William Street, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038. Cardinal God of tiny, tender things a valentine, a bird that sings God of bramble bush and thorn God of tree limb unadorned You paint the barren, gray, and drear then leave a promise ever near A flash of red that I might know life stirs beneath the snow.…

Birds of a Feather Ever seen a flash mob? Flamingo mating dances involve large groups moving in unison. Both males and females rhythmically sidestep, spread their wings and twist their necks. When a female is ready to mate, she leaves the dance and her chosen male follows. Other birds that woo with fancy footwork: albatrosses, blue-footed boobies and red-capped manakins (they moonwalk!). Hand in Hand When your home is the vast ocean, it’s important to keep your loved ones close. Sea otters sleep floating on their backs on the water’s surface and hold hands to avoid drifting away from their group, known as a raft. Sometimes they float in kelp forests and wrap themselves in strands of the giant seaweed to help them stay anchored in one spot. A House…

AS PREPARED as we were, the one thing my husband and I never planned for was the result of Petey’s therapy dog certification test. We did our homework,›took classes and practiced, but in the end, Petey didn’t pass. “He just needs to grow up,” our trainer assured us. She’s confident Petey has what it takes to be a great therapy dog, so together we’ve come up with a new plan: 1. WAIT. Dogs must be at least one year old to take the test, but not all are ready at that age. Petey still has a lot of energy and a near irrepressible desire to play with other dogs. We never want him to lose his fun-loving personality, but we’ll watch for signs that he can control his exuberance and…

I WAS ON an early morning walk with my husband, Cecil, when a tiny white kitten darted into the road and sat just a few feet in front of us. I scooped her up, put her in my sweater pocket and took her home. That was over 40 years ago and I can still recall how certain I felt that she was meant to be mine. Miss White was a mellow cat, content to purr in my lap or soak up attention from anyone who came into our family flower shop. A few years later Cecil passed away, and Miss White came to mean even more to me. Cecil and I had found her together—she was my last link to him. I was heartbroken when she died at age 13.…