Billie Jean

I was not a dog person.

In fact, I know some of you will roll your eyes and think "it's just a dog" while reading this. That's ok and I get it.

I was not anticipating being a dog owner when we got Billie Jean. We had just built our new house. I had three young kids. We had tried having pets over the years to which multiple random course of events would not let them work out. We just weren't cut out for dogs and that was fine.

I got a text from my husband's cousin as they had a litter of puppies that they were giving away for free. They live on a farm. Their corgi had gotten "knocked up" by a random neighbor's dog. Not part of their plan so they were trying to give away the puppies.

I politely said no. Then a "thanks, but no thanks." Then she sent the picture. Sucker.

I told myself that I would run over there to "just look." It would be good for my daughter to see her cousin I thought. It would be fun for her to play with the puppies. Just play with the puppies.

Upon arrival, Shawn said, "That one has a really good personality." Ok, this guy is a rodeo guy. Animals are his thing...because that's what he does for a living. And SHE WAS SO CUTE!

Once again. Such a sucker. I came home with her.

Pretty sure my husband's reaction was, "WHAT IS THAT?" To which I just smiled and said, "A puppy!"

It was the day after Michael Jackson's death. We named her Billie Jean.*

And so we had a puppy and three children ages 6, 5 and 1 in a brand spanking newly built home.

Billie Jean was a mix of Corgi and Australian Shepherd (we think). She was playful. Loved food. Hated to sit still to get her picture taken. Loved to wade in the creek. Caught moles like it was nobody's business.

When people came over, she would sit on their feet. In her mind, she was only 10 lbs. She actually was closer to 45-50. We didn't talk of her weight in front of her -- we didn't want her to feel self-conscious.

And then life threw a curveball two nights ago. Billie Jean had probably found some walkers and made her way out to the busy highway where she was hit.  

Which leads me to counting blessings once again. Because every good thing (Billie Jean's life) comes from God. I'm sure of it. Even in her death, which was quick and without suffering, I am thankful.

I'm not going to get in a debate as to whether or not dogs go to heaven. Hey - there's animals mentioned in Heaven, so who knows?! I like to think that Jesus is playing with her. And if Heaven is more awesome than our human minds can even imagine...I'm not discounting that she's not waiting there for us. BUT, what I do know is that she was created to be a joy and blessing in our lives here on Earth. And how cool is it that God does that?

8 years of blessing from one dog. God is so good. So blessed and thankful. 

 *Yes, we name all animals after current events. We got Maya during the Mayan Apocalypse in 2012 and most recent Prince in 2016. It's our thing.