Farm Life: Where Did The Dog Go?

Sometimes a parent means well, but the prayers of a child can really bypass all that a parent intends. We had a collie dog named Poochie. She had puppies and we kept one of those puppies. We named him Yippie because all he ever did was bark and cry and whimper when he was left alone.

We loved to come come from school and play with Yippie. He was about the size of a small pony. When we would take him off of his leash and let him run free in the farm yard, we would all run for cover. He would run at us full force and then tackle us down to the ground and lick us until we were covered with his slobber. We just loved that dog. He was a sandy color with spots of white mixed in. I thought he was the most handsome dog around.

One day the dog came up missing. We called for him and called for him but he was no where to be found. I missed him so much. I prayed and asked God to please bring him back to us.

Many months passed and we went through the winter with no sign of our dog. We rode the bus everyday to school and on the way home were the last ones to be let off the bus. One spring afternoon as the bus was letting the last kids off at their home before our stop, I thought I saw Yippie. I couldn't contain myself. I opened the window of the bus and called out for him. The dog I had seen was three or four houses away from the bus stop. When I called out for Yippie, the dog looked into the direction of our school bus. His ears perked up and that big slobbery smile came over his face. Before I knew it he came bounding across the yards to the school bus. It was Yippie.

Our school bus driver bent the rules that day and allowed a large overgrown collie onto her bus and drove him and us home. Nothing could describe the look on mama's face when the bus pulled up to our house and we all jumped off with the dog in tow. It turned out that mama had taken him to the dog shelter because she was tired of fighting with us to take care of the dog. Now here he was in all his glory, barking and bounding toward her. Surprise mama, we yelled as we got off the bus. I knew God had answered my prayers and brought our dog back home! I did not know until later how much He really had answered my prayer.