Lying here in a hospital bed, I have realized that both Whitley and I have had our lives saved by dogs. Or is it really God in our lives?

Here’s why I think it might be. One night about three years ago while Whitley was meditating, he saw in his mind’s eye a big old dog shambling up to him. He recognized the dog as being the pet of a childhood friend. The dog was called Quagmire, and despite the fact that he had a really hard life, Quag was always bursting with joy.

I said to him, ‘It’s the joy message all over again. Joy in adversity.’ Then I thought to myself, dog is an anagram of god. So I said, ‘maybe it was a meeting with god.’ He laughed and said, ‘if I’m going to believe that, I need a sign.’

A bit later, we walked out to go to the store. As we reached the street, he stopped dead in his tracks. He pointed at a car. ‘Look there,’ he said. The car had a vanity plate. It was QGMIRE. Without being able to be certain about anything, as always, we accepted the idea that a relationship with god as dog was on offer to us.

This has led us down an amazing path of miracles, saving both of our lives once, and mine now twice.

When Whitley decided to rent a stick-shift car England in order to drive out to Stonehenge (on the "wrong" side of he road) when we there several years ago, he had a vivid dream about his little dog Candy, who had been his beloved childhood pet. When he used to climb trees, Candy would wait below, then rush up and nip him when he came down. She thought it was dangerous and didn’t like him doing it. In this dream, she was warning him about the rental car.

We started out in the evening. It quickly became obvious that Whitley couldn’t drive safely on the left side of the road. We were going down a dark, narrow country road when he said, ‘Candy warned me. We’re turning back.’ At that moment, a huge truck came around the corner, its lights bearing down on us. Whitley panicked and almost swerved into the truck, but because he was so worried about Candy’s message, he was prepared and managed to save us.

I’m in the hospital (I had brain surgery a few days ago) because I had been having grand mal seizures. I am here, and alive, because of God as dog. Here’s how it happened. On February 12, I had my first seizure. After a visit to the emergency room and a CAT scan, I was declared fine, and it was decided that the seizure had been brought on by some cough medicine I had been taking.

Six weeks passed, and then something incredible happened, that has given me back the life I was about to lose.

Early Sunday morning two weeks ago, Whitley was awakened by a horrible screeching sound in the sky. As he came to consciousness, he noticed that all the dogs in the neighborhood were barking, and also that something was wrong with me. I was on my stomach asleep, but the bed was shaking. He turned me over and found that I was in the middle of a full blown seizure. He helped me through it, and Sunday morning, our doctor prescribed anti-seizure medication. On Monday, I got another CAT scan. Wednesday the doctor called and said to go to the emergency room immediately because I had something in my brain.

I remember hearing the dogs, too. Five minutes after the seizure (it was a short one) I had regained consciousness and my first thought was, ‘why are all the dogs barking?’

In the hospital, the doctors soon found that not only did I have a benign tumor growing in my brain, the aneurysm that bled out in 2004 was about to bleed out again. I was right at the edge of death, and if that sound hadn’t come over our house and those dogs hadn’t barked, I would, at some point soon, have lost my life.

I like the image of God as a helpful dog so much more than God expressed through Papal trappings and in other ways as a distant, unapproachable figure.

If God has the guts to come to us as a humble dog, I can only be grateful. I owe Dog my life.

Thank you, God!

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17 Comments

  1. Thank you God! : )
    Thank you God! : )

  2. First of all, Get Well Soon,
    First of all, Get Well Soon, Anne!

    I believe dogs are one of the most incredible gifts in the world for us. And although I have a few remarkable dog stories of my own, I want to share one in particular, as it was easily the most incredible thing that ever happened to me, and remains in my life the most convincing evidence that there’s more to the world than what we see.

    I lost my male Keeshond, Linus, in 1998, just weeks before moving from a condo to a house where I hoped, at age 10, he would finally have a yard of his own. A number of fairly remarkable things happened in the 3 days while he was in the hospital, where initially he was thought to be recovering but ultimately he died. I was with him at the end, and as any pet lover knows it’s about the hardest thing one can go through. Shattered, I left the animal hospital that day and went home to be alone for a while, taking up his dish and putting other things of his away. Finally I went up to my computer to check my email. The *very first* message I had was from an email address I did not know, and it was a note from a stranger expressing sincere condolensces on the death of my dog! It was literally the first communication I had from anyone after leaving the animal hospital, yet nobody but my parents and the vet knew it had just occurred. As it turns out, the email had been mis-addressed, and meant to go to another customer of the same internet provider who had also recently lost their family dog! Now I can probably count on half a hand the number of times I received email that was meant to go to someone else, and here it happened with the exact message I probably needed at exactly the right time. I’ve had many cool synchronicities in my life, no doubt before and definitely after, but this one simply defied any odds one could imagine. I exchanged some email with the sender and the intended recipient and we were all astonished by the “coincidence”.

    It still took me months to grieve and start healing from Linus’ passing, but at least during that time I knew I had someone or something trying to look after me.

    And my dogs seem to get more remarkable each time. Lucy the Akita followed Linus, and that lovely girl also passed too young in 2008 from cancer. But she came to me in a dream and its elegant symbology (long story) led me down an amazing and non-obvious path to specifically finding/choosing her successor, Heather, another Akita. And a year later we adopted a male Akita, Ryouko (Rio) and they suit each other beautifully. They are the angels in my life, both special but Heather is one of the most remarkable souls I have ever encountered. I’ve never known another dog even remotely like her. I can’t imagine ever losing her, but of course the gift of the dog comes with an all-too-short lifespan, which I suppose can be its own gift in a way, or at least lesson. My heart has and will break every time, but the day I lose Heather (assuming I outlive her) will practically fracture the sky for me. I guess it’s the price of joy, and in the meantime I take as much joy in our “kids” as I possibly can.

    So yes, God as a Dog. I couldn’t agree more, and I hope that when I pass they will all be there on the other side (or eventually join me there). Nothing would make me happier.

  3. All the best for your
    All the best for your healing, Anne.

    We are currently raising two 7-month old Lab pups, and I’m reading the book, “Pukka’s Promise: The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs”, by Ted Kerasote, a wonderful book about the brilliance that dogs bring to our lives.

    God as Dog – Not a doubt in my world. 🙂

  4. I wish you the best in
    I wish you the best in recovery and continued good heath.

  5. Anne, sooo very happy to have
    Anne, sooo very happy to have you back…..

    When God had made the earth and sky,
    The flowers and the trees,
    He then made all the animals,
    The fish, the birds and bees.

    And when at last He’d finished,
    Not one was quite the same,
    God said, “I’ll walk this earth of mine,
    And give each one a name.”

    And so He traveled far and wide,
    And everywhere He went,
    A little creature followed Him,
    Until its strength was spent.

    When all were named upon the earth,
    And in the sky and sea,
    The little creature said, “Dear Lord,
    There’s not one left for me.”

    Kindly the Father said to him,
    “I’ve left you to the end,
    I’ve turned my own name back to front,
    And call you DOG, my friend.”

    GOD…..DOG

    Author Unknown

  6. This is really weird. The
    This is really weird. The other afternoon I sat down and had an incredible meditation. During the meditation I became aware of a white dot which turned to a cloud as it went right to left it breafly went out of sight then came back into my line of “sight”. As I looked what I saw was a small white wire haired terrier with floopy ears, a black nose and two big black eyes. It instantly went past my line of “sight” in my mind and I immediately said to myself ” What do I do with that?”
    And now 6 days latet as I sit here to see whats new on Unknowncountry.com I am amazed at the likeness that this dog has to the one in my meditation. Since last year my meditations have really taken off. I didnt know what to think of the DOG visit but I think I do now. All my Love to you Anne!
    A speedy recovery!

  7. Anne, so glad you are
    Anne, so glad you are healing!

  8. Such a beautiful tale, as are
    Such a beautiful tale, as are also those shared by other readers. Love and thanks to all the healing ‘beings of love’ critters that are with us!

  9. This from my own blog a few
    This from my own blog a few years ago…

    THE BOXER, THE PIT BULL, AND THE RACEHORSE

    The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse’s ears.
    ~Arabian Proverb

    For many of us, our connection to spirit can show itself in strange and mysterious ways, making us scratch our heads, connect the dots, and often leading to a spiritual “Aha!” moment that challenges our notions of how we perceive our own definitions of The Divine. Little did I know that in April 2004, The Divine would find me; and it would come disguised as a dog.

    That year I was fortunate enough to be able to telecommute from home, which enabled me to take full advantage of the beautiful spring weather with daily walks to our neighborhood park. April 30th was no different, and as I set out from my house around noon, I eagerly looked forward to time away from my computer and a chance to get my blood going and enjoy the sun and the light, cool breeze of the day. The walk was uneventful until I reached the far side of the park where the trail circled around a small group of live oak trees. I usually just continued on this turn-around and looped back on the trail to return home. As I was coming within 15 feet or so of the turn-around, all seemed normal, except for 3 small squirrels that hurriedly scurried up the nearest tree. As I was coming into the turn-around, I soon heard the barking and growling of dogs. I looked up just in time to see two cow dogs running like bats out of hell directly towards me. They were so fast that I realized that I had no chance of getting away from them. A voice in my head just told me to freeze and to not run. I placed my feet close together, with no space between them, looked straight ahead, and held my hands and arms as high as possible. About that time the two dogs reached me, barking, growling, and sniffing at my feet. Standing across the street at one of the houses was a man with a “mullet” and wearing a yellow tank top. He was yelling at the dogs and attempting to call them back, stopping briefly to shout in my direction, “Don’t move!” After about half a minute, the dogs finally left and ran back to the man across the street. During this whole encounter, more than fear, I felt anger at the irresponsibility being displayed by the dogs owner, and the fact that he had not moved from his own spot to retrieve his aggressive dogs. As soon the owner secured the dogs, I headed back home where I sent a complaint to our neighborhood MUD board about residents and the problem of unrestrained pets. At the time, I was not only concerned about my own close call, but realized that if a small child had come down that section of the park at that day and time, the outcome could have been considerably worse.

    The next day (Saturday) was the running of the Kentucky Derby. I have always loved horses and fell in love with watching horse races about 17 years ago when I had a chance to watch quarter horse races at the local racetrack, Manor Downs. In 2004, one of the horses entered in the Kentucky Derby was named Pollard’s Vision, a steed named after “Red” Pollard, the famous jockey that road the great Seabiscuit to victory back in the late 1930’s. The story of Seabiscuit and Red Pollard had touched me for a very long time, being a testament to spirit, hope, courage and the special relationship between horse and rider. One of the interesting things about Red Pollard was that he was blind in his right eye, a fact that cost him at least one race in which he rode Seabiscuit. In addition, he had earned a reputation as fighter, often earning extra cash as a boxer. I discovered in reading the newspaper and listening to T.V. news stories about Pollard’s Vision, that the horse got his name because he was also, like Red Pollard, blind in his right eye, rather unusual for any racehorse. I decided early on that I would pull for Pollard’s Vision in the derby race, strictly for sentimental reasons. When the race was run late Saturday afternoon, Pollard’s Vision pulled away early and held on to the lead for quite a while, as I screamed my lungs out at the TV in our den, pulling for him to win. Alas, he was soon passed by several other horses and ended up losing the race. I was heart broken, cried a little, but then just let it go and didn’t give it another thought. It was just another horse race, and I felt rather silly about getting so caught up in an event that was, in the grand scheme of things, pretty insignificant.

    Sunday was another bright and beautiful day, so that morning I set out on another walk to the park. As I was approaching the area of the dog attack from Friday afternoon, I remember thinking about those two dogs and hoping that I never saw or encountered them ever again. Being a little wary, I noticed that the coast was clear ahead, and I continued on. Right after I rounded the trees and started back towards home, I suddenly became aware of something behind me. I turned around and just about jumped out of my skin when I spied a white dog coming up beside me; it was as if he had come out of nowhere! The dog was a pit bull with no tags or collar, was very lean, and was white except for a few very small, dark spots, almost like freckles, around his muzzle. He did not appear aggressive, and continued to walk jauntily beside me, keeping pace as I walked. Once he jumped up for attention, but I ordered him to get down, which he did. I then noticed that his right eye appeared clouded over, possibly due to an injury or blindness. He paced me all the way to the other side of the school, turning in to the school parking lot and headed back in the opposite direction. Although nervous initially, I realized that he had never intended to harm me and I even felt, in some strange way, that he was protecting me.

    As I got a couple of blocks away from the dog, tears flowed from my eyes as I realized that I had been given a message that I was safe, not to worry anymore, and that someone was looking out for me. Red Pollard had just thanked me for my support the day before during the Kentucky Derby!

    Never before, or since, have I encountered problems with dogs in our local park, and I came to a new appreciation of the seemingly small, insignificant events that tie together the various aspects of our lives. Everything that we experience has meaning, but we must take the time to feel and notice all that goes on in our personal lives and the world around us. We are part of a matrix or grid, connecting all and everything that exists, and we are never truly alone; and connecting to those people, things, and events that stir our feelings and emotions in a positive way is the key.

    The difference between mere “coincidence” and that of realization of The Divine Connection is simply one of perception, and we all are given opportunities every day in deciding how we choose to perceive our reality. We can be cynics and scoffers, or we can become entwined in the magic that surrounds us, allowing The Sacred to penetrate our souls and lead us to an unimaginably beautiful destiny of our own making, that of being co-creators in the Divine.

    In the story of Red Pollard, Seabiscuit, and the pit bull, metaphor is everything. All are symbols of love, loyalty, and strength of will beyond all odds. We must see beyond the literal, the facts, and what our normal senses perceive to get to the truth by how people, things, and events make us feel.

    For me, I finally understood, on a whole other level, the interconnectedness of my life to all others, as well as why dog is God spelled backwards.

  10. Ms. Strieber: I had a small
    Ms. Strieber: I had a small aneurysm burst in my brain in 1994 while I was in a hospital emergency room waiting for injuries from a motorcycle crash to be patched-up and a stroke three days later so I know at least a little about what you are going through and wish you the best and hope you have a speedy recovery. I have been waiting to hear the results of your procedure and surgery and am very relieved and glad to see you are again posting to your online diary.

    STK

  11. Sitting here with one dog
    Sitting here with one dog asleep on my feet and another asleep beside me, I can only nod and smile.
    God has manifested as Dog for me all my life.
    Healing blessings, Anne. May all be well.

  12. We have a dog program for the
    We have a dog program for the inmates in the prison where I am a teacher. You’re absolutely right, Anne. I watch each man be saved by the love he expresses for his dog.
    My best thoughts to you for a speedy recovery.

  13. This is such a beautiful and
    This is such a beautiful and heart moving story.
    THANK YOU GOD AND ANNES ANGELS. )))

  14. Thank the dogs. Sending you
    Thank the dogs. Sending you love and hoping you’re on a good road to recovery 🙂 Anna

  15. I am an dyslexic agnostic…
    I am an dyslexic agnostic… I do not know if I believe in dog or not.

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