Rylee was so ugly that he was cute. Rylee had a bark that was heard for miles. Rylee was our $20 dog.

I’m not an animal person. It’s not that I don’t like animals; it’s just that I don’t have time to care for animals, and I don’t want to take the time to invest in animals. I’d rather take care of and invest in humans.

But for the past 8 years I’ve cared for and lightly invested in Rylee. Rylee was our puggle—part pug and part beagle. My husband picked him out from an internet listing at a local dog shelter and our middle son prepared to spend $80 of his own money to purchase him, but that week he was in luck! Rylee was on sale for $20! It would be the best $20 our son spent.

There were plenty of aggravating things I can tell you about Rylee. He was tenacious; if he wanted something, he would bark until he got it or the neighbors called the police (true story).  He pooped big and a lot. His appetite for eating any type of white napkin or Kleenex left plenty of messes. He mastered the art of escaping out the back gate.

But as I reflect on his life, there are plenty of worthy things I can say about Rylee. He greeted everyone with enthusiasm. He would look at you as if to say, “You exist! And I am delighted to know you.” He forced you to be a better person and show him some affection by putting his head under your hand and nudging it so you would pet him. For my sons, he was a listening ear, a faithful companion, and a giver of affection on difficult days. Rylee forced you to love, to care, to be unselfish.

A couple of weeks ago Rylee’s health rapidly declined, he stopped eating, and when it was apparent that he was not going to recover, we made the difficult decision to put him down. Yet even in those lasts days as he was ill, when one of us walked into his room to attend to him, he would gather his strength to wag his tail. He lived to show love to his people.

God can use all of life’s moments to teach and shape us, so I shouldn’t be surprised that he used the life and death of our family dog to give me an example of how to live in the service of my Master. If my dog can joyfully exist simply to love me, if he can find happiness just by knowing me, if on his most trying day he can find a way to wag his tail as if to say, “your nearness is my good,” then I can do the same for my Master.

Thank you, Rylee, for teaching me how to be a joyful lover of God.

“But as for me, the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
So that I may tell of all Your works.” (Psalm 73:28)