He was a rather difficult dog. He was incredibly territorial. He acted like he wanted to kill anyone who wasn't a member of our family - which made backyard parties rather difficult. Sometimes he didn't even want us in the backyard! He barked a LOT. He was destructive. We couldn't let him roam free in the backyard because he would dig up the garden and tear apart anything he could sink his teeth into. Australian Shepherds are sheep dogs - they need to run and herd sheep all day long. His confinement lent to his difficult temperment.
I am not a dog person. I am a cat person. But we had a dog, so I became a Huckleberry person! I tried to take him for a walk everyday. This was not always possible, but I tried. He was a silent audience to many conversations I had with the Lord on those walks. When Phillip was in highschool, he would come with me sometimes and would talk about what he learned in seminary. Jenna or Lauren would come with me or I would visit with them on the phone while I walked. We talked about boyfriends, school, and eventually fiancees and wedding plans. Nick didn't like Huckleberry at all, until a few weeks ago, but sometimes he would walk with me too, and we'd talk about his drama class at UVU and all he was learning.
Huckleberry became my buddy. I came to understand him. He had a big tumor growing on his side and it became obvious that it was his time to go. I can't think about him without crying - I hope the Lord has a big field in Heaven where he can run and run and run.
Huckleberry was stuck in less than desirable circumstances. He was meant to run free and he couldn't and he became fairly miserable and ornery. He didn't have much choice. He was relegated to the life he had, even though it probably wasn't what he would have chosen.
I've thought lately about how we as human beings often relegate ourselves to less than desirable circumstances, even though we DO have choices.
Isn't it interesting, that instead of choosing to follow a path that takes us to what we want, we often wish we had the life that someone else does. I used to think that the 10th commandment ("Thou shalt not covet...") existed because we are not entitled to have what our neighbor has. Today, I realized that I have been wrong. We are (in most cases) completely entitled to have whatever we want, for ourselves. It's just that wishing we had what belongs to our "neighbor" keeps us from going out and getting our own blessings! I think the act of "covetting" leads to obsession, which is a most unhealthy emotion. Obsession opens us up to great darkness and despair. It gives us a false sense of ownership of someone else's possessions or lifestyle. It is NOT a good thing.
So, here's to Huckleberry. I'll miss you ol' pal. I'll think of you as I walk and pray. I hope you'll be waiting for me so one day we can walk together again. Because, darn it, I am going to make the choices I need to make to get to where I want to go!!!
:0) 
