My husband Tim used to call him: “Cantankerous.” Wondering who this was? Actually, it was our dog, Little John. Let me tell you, he was quite the hand full.
There was one thing about him that was different from the other dogs we had over the years: health problems. When he was a few months old, he was diagnosed with pancreatitis. I was floored. First of all, I had never had a dog diagnosed with that. Second, I could see this in an older dog, but Little John was still a puppy. The vet told us to only feed him dog food and no more table food, especially red meat. I said we hadn’t been doing that. Then it hit me. Mamaw Jo and Papaw kept Little John during the day. Sure enough, when Papaw was eating lunch, he would give Little John some of his food. When we told him he couldn’t do that anymore. Papaw became upset. “But he wants it!” That’s when I realized just how well Little John had him trained. So, we had to explain him: “Little John doesn’t know it’s bad for him.” Papaw quit and Little John got better; for a while that is.
Then he went through a period when he wouldn’t eat much or nothing at all. The vet suggested trying some cat food. She even gave us a few cans of it and said if it worked to stay on it. He did eat it better than the dog food we had been giving him. So, I went back to the vet to buy some more. The lady at the front desk handed me a bag of cans. I peered inside. “This is dog food. I need cat food.” She looked at and spoke to me as if I had become very confused. “Well honey, you have a dog.” Thankfully, The Lord shut my mouth for a few seconds. I did tell her I was well aware of the difference and what the vet had said. Again, she informed me that I had a dog. I told them to keep them and I left. I did get some cat food at a pet store, but it wasn’t the same. When I took him back for a checkup, I told the vet about the lady refusing to sell me the cat food. She laughed and shrugged it off. Obviously, this wasn’t that important to her. Needless to say, we no longer used that vet.
The next vet suggested we try warming his food up for a few seconds in the microwave. Seriously. She wondered if he wasn’t smelling it enough. The good news: I tried it and he actually ate his food. So, I continued warming up his food the rest of his life. I had a few little microwaveable dishes I used. “Don’t use or eat of these. They are for Little John,” I warned Tim and Sara. The bad news: it stunk! Have you even smelled of microwaved dog food? If you easily gag, I would suggest you never do that. Tim and Sara complained about it and I didn’t blame them. Since we loved Little John, we dealt with it.
“Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are there unto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
Do I believe Little John’s tummy issues were the reasons he was so cantankerous? Probably some of it. Regardless of why, we still loved him and treated him with kindness. So, what more can said of human beings that are created in God’s image. Remember, we are all dealing with something and we all have cantankerous days. Therefore, be kind and show them the love of Jesus.
To counter the odor of the microwaved dog food, I bought a spray air refreshener. It did work somewhat. But let’s face it, floral and breeze scents can only do so much in a kitchen. Too bad they didn’t have air sprays in scents such as: bacon, fried chicken, cornbread, and chocolate.

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.