The good gift of pets (a tribute to a good dog named Copper)

Copper

Things are sad at my house this week. Our 11-year-old golden retriever died this past Monday. Copper came to our family as a gift from friends and proved to be a gift of God’s grace. When he joined our family, our oldest was eight years old, and our youngest was two years old. With such a young family, Dana had a lot on her plate. She was home with the children, and a new dog would only add to her responsibilities. Because of this, I felt that the decision of when (or if) we would get a new dog should be hers. It had been a while since our first dog had died, and other than saying she wanted our next dog to be a small breed we had talked very little about getting anything new.

Then one day, Dana called me at church to tell me that the Hancock’s had offered to give us a dog. Mike and Cathy Hancock were members of our church and good friends. I had been to their home many times and knew that the dogs that they bred were beautiful golden retrievers and that the father was large for the breed. A little surprised that Dana was considering having another large breed dog, I asked if she was sure she wanted a golden retriever. She countered that she thought a new dog would be good for the children. I was happily surprised both by the gift of the Hancocks and the receptiveness of Dana.

A few days later, when the puppies had been weaned, Cathy brought Copper over to our house. We were instantly smitten with him and happily welcomed him into our home.

From his first day with us to his last, he fit well with our family. At first, I thought he would be partial to our daughter, but fairly early, it was clear that he was going to be my dog. He was never shy about asking for affection. In fact, if he saw one of us hugging another, he would attempt to nose his way in between, assuming that all affection should be directed towards him. His main concern in life was to be near the family and wherever the action was. He was a good dog.

As we have reflected this week on how much Copper has meant to our family, I have thought a lot about how we should think and feel about our pets. There is a part of me that is embarrassed to say that we are grieving over Copper. In comparison to others who are grieving the loss of a spouse, a child, or a parent the grief felt towards a pet seems very small. Yet grief is the right word to describe how we are feeling over the loss of Copper. Our grief is real, but I also recognize that it is not the same as or bears the same weight as grief that is felt for a loved one. Let me explain.

Me and Copper 2019

We grieve because we lost something good. Dana explained her willingness to accept the gift of Copper because she thought that he would be good for the children. Years later, she also revealed that she thought he would be good for me. At the time that Copper joined our family, it was a difficult season of ministry. Dana knew this and accepted the gift of a new dog as a way to minister to me. I see this now as an act of grace. Grace in the gift of friends who gave us a good gift. Grace in the gift of a wife who sacrificed her wishes so that she might care for my needs. Grace in God’s care for us in that difficult season. He was providing for us in ways we did not even recognize. God’s grace is expressed in everything He does. Every good thing comes from the Lord (James 1:17). Part of the way God demonstrates His goodness towards us is through His creation.

Even as we grieve the loss of Copper, we know that our grief is not the same as is the grief over losing a loved one. That is because, though Copper was a part of our home, he was not equal with us. Frankly, this is weird to say, but in our day, when it is no longer common to have a biblical worldview, it needs to be said; pets are not the same as people. We love our pets. We care for our pets. And we miss our pets when they are gone. But pets are not equal with man. In the first chapter of Genesis, this distinction is made clear. God created man and gave him “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” To make the separation between man and animals even more clear, God had all the animals of creation come to Adam for him to name them. He named them all. The purpose of this exercise was not in the naming but in Adam’s recognition that none of the animals were “fit for him.” None were equal to Adam. None matched Adam. It was only then that God created Eve from the rib of Adam. When Adam first beheld Eve, he declared, “This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” He was greatly pleased that God had created Eve to go with him as a fellow image-bearer of God. 

This basic understanding of the separation between man and animals has become confused in recent days. As our world has grown more secular, and the ubiquity of a biblical worldview has given way to the deification of personal autonomy, what has been lost is the understanding of the uniqueness of man who alone is made in the image of God. This manifests in two ways. The first is the degradation of the sanctity of human life. The second is the attempt to elevate creation to be equal to and sometimes even greater than the dignity and worth of man. An extreme example of this is the effort to confer the rights associated with personhood to animals. There are animal civil rights organizations that are attempting to gain personhood status for animals so that they can have standing in courts to sue for their rights. In more subtle and common ways this same tendency has found a place in how we talk and think about our pets.

Many have changed how they speak about their pets. No longer are dogs and cats simply pets, but many speak of their pets as “fur babies” and themselves as parents to their pets. Added to this is a theological component where some insist that dogs and cats will go to heaven when they die. And lest you think this is just silly talk without conviction – I once had a family leave a church I pastored because they were so angry that the youth pastor would not affirm that their pet was in heaven.

Some surveys have indicated that for a third of millennials, the main reason for purchasing a first home is not marriage or children but a desire to provide more space for pets. Furthermore, these surveys have also indicated that for a significant number of pet owners, the cost of pet care has caused them to put off marriage and having children. In 2021 the US pet industry is expected to reach nearly $109.6 billion in sales, with the average dog owner spending an average of $1,480 annually on their pet. 

Is it bad or immoral to feel affection for your pet? Certainly not. Is it bad or immoral to spend money on the care of your pet? Certainly not. Indeed, the responsibility that comes with dominion demands that we care well for the animals under our care. But with all things this side of heaven, we must be careful not to allow something good to become something bad because of uncontrolled excess or elevation to an inappropriate level. Attempting to elevate animals to be equal with man does not raise the status of animals but rather lowers the status of man.

God created man in His image. God made His covenant with man and gave the law to man. Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of man. Salvation and the hope of heaven is for man alone. And though the glory of the new heaven and earth will be a blessing for all of creation, the greatest glory will be the restoration of man with God. Copper was a good dog, but he was not an image-bearer of God, nor a beneficiary of the covenant or under the law, and he was neither under the wrath of God nor hopeful for the glories of heaven. He was part of the goodness of creation. He was under my dominion and enjoyed by and a blessing to my family.

The goodness of pets and the blessing they bring is not enhanced when we elevate them above their proper place in the created order. The goodness of pets and the blessing they bring is fully known when we recognize them, appreciate them, and enjoy them for what they are. They are part of God’s creation. They are given to us to be under our dominion. We are to care for them, and they are to be a blessing to us. 

I miss Copper. I am thankful he has been part of our home these last 11 years. And I am thankful for the blessings of God expressed through the goodness of creation.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

All things bright and beautiful

All creatures great and small

All things wise and wonderful

'Twas God that made them all

He gave us eyes to see them

And lips that we might tell

How great is the Almighty

Who has made all things well

All things bright and beautiful

All creatures great and small

All things wise and wonderful

'Twas God that made them all