Paw Prints in the Snow

Winter is my least favorite season, but it does have a special place in my heart. The driveway was blanketed with the familiar dusty sheet a few months ago, and I knew that a long snowy season was ahead. Instead of huffing and puffing, tears gathered in my eyes and I had to stand back from my grief and soak in a fine moment that God blessed me with.

To my winter surprise, there were tiny little paw prints on the drive. They must have belonged to a kitten less than a month old. The prints were so tiny and so intricate, that they looked like they came from a stamp stencil. Besides the cute shape they made, there was a young innocence in then. This kitten may have been separated from its mother and now on it's on its own for good or for bad.

My animal-loving instinct made me run inside to get a plate of cat food for this lone ranger that could be taking up quarters just outside my home. Later that day, the world made me take another breather again so I could appreciate another precious soul close to me.

I took my 9-year-old Rottweiler outside so he could use the facilities in the backyard before the air turned too cold for his liking. Rocky walked at my side and went to through the gate to the backyard with a quiet swagger. I turned back to walk up the drive when my heart warmed through the chilly air. Rocky's paw prints stamped the snow alongside the young kitten's. His gargantuan prints made the kitten's look like faint patters in the powdery snow. Even though his prints were bigger and had some more life to them, his shined an innocence too, but a different kind. Rocky's prints gave voice to a dog that has been through quite a life. His innocence shows because he is 9 years old, but now living like a puppy.

Rocky has only been mine for about eight months, and he has been a treasure. Some other time I will better explain how Rocky and I came to being lifelong friends. For now, I will say that he is a wonderful dog with a heart bigger than the sky.

More fine things to come...

- Farah