A Little Boy’s Faith
If you read my SSSSSSSnake blog you will remember that I mentioned Skeeter, the family Yorkie who had distemper as a pup and so had lost some teeth and his tongue hung out the side of his mouth because there were no teeth to hold it in. I think I mentioned that Skeeter died of a Heart attack. What I didn’t tell you was how his replacement Yorkie, Rambo came to be in our family. Oh, I remember that my dad brought Rambo to us as a replacement for Skeeter. And I remember how upset Andy was when Skeeter had his heart attack and we had to have him put down. All the way home from the emergency vet visit, Andy kept saying “but Keeter was my best friend. I remember seeing the tears streaming down Mike’s face, not because he was that fond of Skeeter because he wasn’t…but because his son’s heart was broken and he couldn’t fix it.
I was looking through my mom’s journals and I came across the story she had written about the loss of Andy’s beloved pet. And so instead of my words today , I want to share with you the story my mother wrote about that. In its entirety.
A Little Boy’s Faith…by Betty LaFave
It all started the week before the garage sale. No, I have to go back further. It all started when Skeeter, the family dog, was found lying on the ground one night, struggling to breathe. LeeAnn and Mike loaded the boys in the car along with Skeeter and rushed to the vet. But Skeeter had suffered a massive heart attack and there was nothing to be done but put him to sleep.
No one even realized that Andy felt so deeply about Skeeter. After all, he was only 2 and ½ years old. His mother took him aside and told him that Skeeter was in Heaven. He was playing with a lot of dogs up in Heaven. That was to be the end of that, or so she thought.
But a deep wound was in Andy’s heart and he did not understand. One day while he and his mother were running some errands, Andy had this little toy gun and he was shooting it toward the sky. His mother asked “Andy, who are you shooting?” God, he replied. “But why?” she said. “Because he took Skeeter and there were other dogs he could have taken. But he took my dog and I’m really mad at God.” So LeeAnn tried again to explain about death to Andy but he still did not understand. Throughout the next year, at the oddest times, Andy would say, “mom, tell me again why God took Skeeter to Heaven.”
At times, Andy completely forgot about Skeeter. The family got another dog, Max but Andy only tolerated him. He was big and rough and he was constantly digging up the backyard and chewing up the swing set. He wasn’t kind and gentle like Skeeter. No Andy, really and truly missed Skeeter.
One day, about a year after Skeeters death, Andy was playing in the front yard and he looked up and thought he saw Skeeter. Only it was a miniature Skeeter. A baby Yorkie had mysteriously appeared in their yard. Andy was so excited as he ran to tell his mom. “God gave Skeeter back, God gave Skeeter back! Look mom, God really did give Skeeter back, just like I prayed. Andy’s mother was at a complete loss as to what to say to this. Andy’s dad took him aside and explained that since there had been a storm the night before that the wind had probably blown open a gate somewhere in the neighborhood and the little dog had gotten out. He told Andy that they would keep the puppy until they found out who he belongs to. We’ll put an ad in the paper his dad said and surely someone will see it and want him back. But in spite of the explanation Andy was convinced that God had answered his prayer and sent Skeeter back to earth. One day passed, two, then three and Andy played with his baby Skeeter. But on the 4th day, the owner came to claim the dog.
That night, Andy’s mother went in to hear his and his brother Christopher’s prayers and to tuck them in. To her surprise, Andy was lying in bed, his little hands already clasped and he was praying, saying earnestly, Please God, I just need Skeeter so bad. Can you please give him back to me. “
The weeks passed by and the family was planning a garage sale. They all worked together to get the sale ready. Andy and his big brother Christopher cleaned out their closet for toys that they didn’t play with anymore to put in the sale.
The next day, bright and early Andy and Christopher were awake and ready for the sale. Much to Andy’s surprise, there sat Skeeters doghouse with a for sale tag on it. You can’t sell Skeeters house mom , h e said. I need it for my dog. But we don’t have a dog anymore Andy, his mom said. Yes we do, he said. God is giving me a dog today. Then he climbed on top of the house and anytime anyone approached it he would say “ this is not for sale, because I need it for the dog God is bringing me today. People would smile and walk away but at some point, the house was unprotected by Andy and was sold. When Andy realized that while he was playing his parents had sold the doghouse he was very upset. But his parents told him that if God gave him a dog, that he would also give him a dog house.
Now across the state, 3 hours away in Kingfisher lived Andy’s grandpa and grandmother. They knew all about Andy’s prayers and how much he still missed Skeeter and wanted another dog. Andy’s Pepa as he called him could come across as a gruff old man but everyone who really knew him knew that his heart was soft as putty and that Andy’s Mema knew all about God and knew God cared about Andy’s need. As Andy’s Pepa sat reading the newspaper that morning he called out to Mema“hey just look, there is an ad in the paper for a Yorkie for sale. It says he is fully trained, a male and he’s priced reasonably. Yorkies usually cost a lot more than this. So they called the number and got the address and drove to the place where they Yorkie was for sale. While Mema waited in the truck, Pepa went inside. Ten minutes, twenty minutes went by. Then out came Andy’s grandpa with the Yorkie, a dog house and a dog carrier.
Across the state , Andy’s home telephone rang and his mother answered then handed the phone to Andy when her dad (Andy’s grandpa) asked to talk to him. Suddenly Andy threw his little hands up in the air and said “thank you God, for my dog…this is the happiest day of my life!”
Now you may be saying, well that’s a cute story but the story doesn’t end there. You see the yorkie, Rambo belong to a pastor and his wife and their two little boys, who happened to be the same ages as Andy and Christopher. The younger boy had developed an allergy to the dog and the dr. had suggested they find the dog another home. They had placed the ad in the paper and the little boy Andy’s age had prayed each day “since I can’t keep my dog, please find him a home with a little boy just like me so he won’t be so sad. “
When Pepa had gone into the home, the Pastor said, we were really hoping to sell Rambo to someone that had small boys like ours. Then and there, Pepa knew that Rambo was intended for Andy and Christopher. He told the Pastor about Andy’s prayers. The pastor, hearing the story wanted to give the dog to Andy’s grandpa for free. He wouldn’t take money for the dog. But Andy’s dad insisted that he take the money and so the Pastor agreed and said he would put it in a fund at Church for families in need.
And to this day, no one in the family questions that God worked all this out. That there are no coincidences in life. God works through people and he had heard the prayers of 2 little boys, from opposite sides of the state and answered both their prayers. And the money that Pepa insisted paying for the dog? The very next day the pastor called to say that as soon as they had left with the dog they had received a call from the Church asking if the Pastor could spare that same amount of money for a family in need.
LeeAnn’s note: Rambo was a great dog. Another thing that happened was that Andy told us that if he got a new yorkie his name would be Bo. The dog my dad found and brought to him was named Rambo but the little boy who was heartbroken about giving him up called him Bo. Now you may say, what a coincidence. Not me. I believe with all my heart that God heard a little boy’s prayers .
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