The Death of Dottie

Most of the posts which appear on this blog deal with God and the theology which surrounds that entity, but I have published a few posts over the years which describe in some shape, form or fashion how I personally relate to these topics. This is such a post. For several weeks now, I have been dealing with my grief over the loss of a beloved family pet. Her name was Dottie, and we loved her very much.

Now, I'm aware of just how self-interested and self-important many humans are in relation to the other living things which share this planet with us. For them, humankind is so much more important than any of those other lifeforms as to render them almost invisible. Who has time for household pets when humans are starving and coping with horrific issues like disease, slavery and violence? For these folks, taking a moment to comment on the passing of a pet chicken is a huge waste of time and attention. And, after all, he did just say chicken - we aren't even talking about a beloved dog or cat. In other words, an animal which ranks far below the aforementioned "normal" objects of human affection!

Nevertheless, I do believe that Dottie was deserving of my love and attention, and the grief which I have experienced as a consequence of her passing was real and merited. Dottie enjoyed being held, petted and told how pretty she was. She enjoyed her daily walkabouts, being fed dandelion greens and wild strawberries and running after my grandchildren. She would get excited when she spotted one of us in the yard and start clucking and pacing in her coop. Unfortunately, Dottie was also extremely jealous of our neighbor's dogs. When she was out of her pen, if she happened to spot me petting on one of them, she would immediately run toward the offending dog and try to attack them! (I had to save the dogs on several occasions, but my scolding never seemed to deter her from repeating the scene over and over again.)

And then, last month, she was gone suddenly. Dottie had survived the deaths of the other five chickens who had begun their lives with me as chicks under a brooder lamp in my basement. She had survived five Illinois winters and an attack by a hawk, but a stray cat figured out a way to get into her house one night and violently put an end to her life. And, yes, I do understand that Dottie's death was not the equivalent of a human child taking its last breath in its mother's arms because of inadequate food or medical care, but it wasn't nothing. And that awareness brings to mind a question: Does that disparity between the child and Dottie mean that my pet's final breath was the end for her, but not for the child?

Although the Genesis account of creation is a beautiful and meaningful narrative, I worry that it has made too many of us insensitive to the other lifeforms which share this planet with us. The fact that we belong to separate creative acts, and that humankind was given dominion over all of those other lifeforms, sometimes has the effect of inflating our sense of our own importance and diminishing theirs. Moreover, for too many individuals, the poetry and symbolism of that Genesis account has replaced or obscured the scientific narrative of how life on this planet became so diverse.

Science teaches us that all of the life on this planet (including us) evolved from a common ancestor. The Bible teaches us that God is the source of all of the life on this planet. Hence, in both accounts, our origins have ONE source! In other words, we share a common origin with all of the other lifeforms on this planet. Not to mention the fact that we share this planet with each other and depend on each other in ways too numerous to mention. Like it or not, we are inextricably linked to each other!

Unfortunately, our English translation of the original Hebrew of the Old Testament, sometimes obscures the fact that those writings do not support many of the notions which we believe distinguish us from those other lifeforms. For instance, did you know that the Hebrew words for living, breathing things is used to describe both humans and animals? In other words, in the original Hebrew, a human's breath is the same as the breath of a lion, dog or chicken!

Moreover, this concept of the same breath/life inhabiting the breasts of both man and beast is not just implied in the language of the Hebrew Old Testament - it is also explicitly stated in the book of Ecclesiastes. We read there: "For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return." Ecclesiastes 3:19-20, English Standard Version This leads the author of the book to ponder: "Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?" Ecclesiastes 3:21, English Standard Version

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ taught his disciples: "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" Luke 12:22-28, New Living Translation

At first glance, Christ's statement appears to support the narrative that humans are so much more important than plants and animals. However, when we stop and contemplate what Christ was saying, we see that God also cares about ravens and lilies. Yes, humans are more important to God, but Christ makes very clear here that God cared about those other lifeforms too! In similar fashion, Christ also revealed to his disciples that God is aware of the death of a single sparrow (see Matthew 10:29).

I don't wish to be misunderstood - I'm not advocating for the acceptance of the notion of a pet heaven. I do, however, think that the author of the book of Ecclesiastes was asking the right question: Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? It may never happen, but the thought of seeing and holding Dottie again someday does bring a smile to my face!