fra http://www.io.com/~rga/ 		

*Puppy Love
A store owner was taping a sign in his store window which read
"Puppies For Sale", when a little boy appeared. 

"How much are you selling the puppies for?" he asked.

The man told the lad he didn't expect to let any of them go for
less than $50. The boy reached into his pocket, and pulled out
some change, looked up at the store owner and said, "I have
two dollars and thirty-seven cents. Can I look at them?"

The owner smiled and whistled. From the kennel, a dog named
Lady came running down the aisle, followed by five tiny balls of
fun. One puppy lagged behind. Immediately, the little boy asked
about the limping puppy.

"What's wrong with that doggie?"

"The veterinarian told us that the dog is missing a hip socket,"
said the store owner. "He'll always limp like that."

"That's the one I want to buy," the lad said quickly.

The store owner replied, "No, you don't want to buy that dog.
If you really want him, I'll just give him to you."

The boy came close to the store owner's face and said angrily,
"I don't want you to GIVE him to me. That doggie is worth just
as much as all the other puppies and I'll pay the full price. IN
fact, I'll give you $2.37 now and fifty cents a month until I have
him paid for!"

The store owner replied, "No, no, no. You don't want that dog.
He's never going to be able to run and jump and play like the
other dogs."

In response, the little boy pulled up his pant leg to reveal a
badly twisted left leg, supported by two steel braces. "Well, sir,"
he said. "I don't run so well myself and the puppy will need
someone who understands."

The young boy who had been wearing a steel brace on his leg
for the past four months walked through the front door of his
home with a newly purchased puppy in his arms. The dog didn't
have a hip socket and, when placed on the floor, it walked with
a serious limp. The boy's selection of a physically challenged
puppy intrigued his parents, for he had been down-and-out. But
with his new companion at his side, they sensed a newly
revitalized spirit of hope and enthusiasm emerging from his
soul.

The next day the young boy and his mom went to see a
veterinarian to find out how he could best help his little dog.
The doctor explained that if he stretched and massaged his
puppy's leg every morning and then walked with him at least
one mile every day, the muscles around his missing hip would
eventually strengthen to the point of no pain and less of a limp.

Although the dog whimpered and barked out his discomfort,
and the boy winced and hassled with his own leg brace, for the
next two months they religiously kept to their rehabilitation
regimen. By the third month they were walking three miles
every morning before school began and they were both walking
without pain.

One Saturday morning when returning from their workout, a
cat leaped out of the bushes and startled the dog. Breaking
loose of the leash, the dog darted into oncoming traffic. With a
speeding truck only seconds away, the boy ran into the street,
dove for his dog, and rolled into the gutter. He was too late.
The dog was hit and bleeding profusely from the mouth. As the
boy lay there crying and hugging his dying dog, he noticed that
his own leg brace had broken off. With no time to worry about
himself, he sprang to his feet, picked up his dog, cuddled it
close

to him and started for home. The dog quietly barked, giving him
hope and turning the boy's jog into an all-out adrenaline sprint.
His mother rushed him and his suffering pup to the pet hospital.
As they anxiously waited to see if his dog would survive the
surgery, he asked his mother why he could now walk and run.

"You had osteomyelitis, which is a disease of the bone," she
said. "It weakened and crippled your leg, which caused you to
limp in severe pain. Your brace was for support. It wasn't
necessarily a permanent condition if you were willing to fight
through the pain and hours of therapy. You responded well to
the medication, but you always resisted our encouragement for
physical therapy,and your father and I didn't know what to do.
The doctors told us you were about to lose your leg. Then you
brought home your puppy and you seemed to understand his
needs. Ironically, as you were helping him, you were actually
helping yourself to strengthen and grow."

Just then the operating room door slowly opened. Out walked
the veterinarian with a smile on his face. "Your dog is going to
make it," he said.

And the boy learned that when you lose yourself, you find
yourself. It is more blessed to give than receive. 




This story left on Thursday, October 1, 1998 
Contributed by God-Mind Discussion Forum  



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