Doggy Paddle

The ducks couldn’t pierce the icy surface of the pond and half-expected the small audience of humans to help them. We didn’t. Standing on the snowy bank we laughed loudly at their clumsy efforts. A hole did appear in the frozen sheet eventually, much to the delight of the birds who boasted in having the last quack.

We could still see the pond from the dinner table a few hours later. As I took a savagely bite out of a wedge of cheese, I saw my friend rise quickly and head to the front door. A dog had escaped the eye-line of his owner and had fallen through the ice.

I slammed my boots on, grabbed a long pole from the garden and sprinted to the dog. I arrived first. Though the black and white spaniel was panicking in freezing waters, there was an odd silence around the pond. I weighed up my options in about three seconds and concluded all I could do was to call the dog towards the solid ground.

I ran to the side of the ice and called the dog. My grandfather always said animals are drawn to a deep voice so I impersonated my Grandad’s epic Welsh accent.

“There’s a good boy, come on, get up there. Go on dog, that’s right, you’ve nailed it.” (I did feel a little bit odd to be honest.)

The dog’s head was dropping in the water as his muscles began to cramp. He was indeed dying. I crouched low to the ground at head-height with the animal and could see his fear-ridden eyes staring at mine.

I clapped my hands twice and called again. To my surprise he lifted his two paws onto an unbroken piece of ice and clawed his way out. It was like watching a corpse navigate his way out of a hospital morgue. There was nothing idyllic about this.

He crawled, puppy-like towards me, using every drop of beating blood to keep himself in motion. And within seconds he was running for the fields where his owner was waiting.

Watching the dog run like a four-legged ice pop I was reminded about how God rescues me when the ground beneath me breaks. Be it that ground maybe grief, greed, fear, pride or lust, the solution is always the same. I have to redirect my gaze towards the Lord and listen to his word. Though I am rarely pulled free instantly, I do clamber out in the end.

The dog incident reminded me of Isaiah 53:6.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

It also reminded me that there’s always one of the lads in icy waters.

Lets keep an eye out.