Hit By A Car

We've had "Baby" for over a year. We new when we got her, she definitely had some trust issues. It took several months to house brake her, and even longer to teach her even basic commands (sit, stay, heel, etc). In the spring we enrolled her in a basic dog obedience class. But she freaked around the other dogs, the leader of the class, and cowered terribly and wet and pooed herself. YUCK!

Understanding she was probably a victim of abuse, we've tolerated her barking, her shyness, and inability to be around other dogs and people. However, recently, when she got out of the house and wouldn't come when called or get in our van, I realized giving in to her fears was the worst thing we could do.

After an hour and a half of not getting anywhere with her, our entire family gave up. I was angry and said so many things that I wish I could take back now. One of them was, "Well, she's been with us a year. She should trust us." Another was, "Fine, get hit by a car, you deserve it." I acted like it wouldn't bother me.

But as she wandered toward the highway running circles around us, I cringed. We tried to catch her again, but to no avail. So we ran along the highway hoping she'd follow us because she loved to chase us. That's when it happened.

As fast as lightening, she shot out into that 4 lane highway. My heart sank and I let out a hellish scream that could wake the dead. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Too late!

My scream was deafened by honking horns and squealing tires as cars tried to stop. My worst nightmare flashed before my eyes as I envisioned her being thrown under the the wheels of the car. A precious 15 pounds of sweetness--gone forever!

That's when something bigger hit me. Just like Baby, I was abused most of my life too. I thought about how long it took me to really trust my third husband after being abused by the other two for so long. It was definitely more than a year. We've been together 17 years and sometimes I still have trust issues.

"God forgive me."

In a split second the greatest miracle happened right before my eyes. Baby didn't get squished by the car that hit her. Instead it ran over her left paw, the tire burned against her left jaw, and she went running across the highway, completely missing the other two cars headed straight for her.

"Thank you God," I cried as I ran after her.

She whimpered as she hobbled at a fast pace for 3 blocks and then stopped. We picked her up into our arms, carried her home, and called the vet. I thought for sure she had at least broken her leg. So we prayed, "God please heal her and don't let her have any broken bones."

By the time we got to the vet, she wasn't even limping anymore. He checked her over and said, "It's definitely a miracle that she's even alive. But what's even more amazing is that she doesn't have any broken bones."

Tears filled my eyes. I was so thankful to God, not just for healing our precious BABY, but for showing me that I should never give up on anyone or anything--because FAITH and believing heals all wounds in time!