Often times in life we run into circumstances where we know what we are supposed to do but for some reason, as yet undisclosed, we do not do it.
One time, a man bought a hunting dog. A very expensive well trained hunting dog. He was proud of this fine animal, believed he had made a good investment and wanted to show his dog off to his son. So he called up his son and the three of them went hunting; the man, the son and the dog. They drove to a field which gave them access to their favorite hunting spot. Ducks was game for the day and this dog was supposed to be an expert at retrieving.
They crossed the field and over a barbed wire fence before they reached this honey hole. This favorite spot. After only a few minutes the son saw a duck and shot it. The father said “watch this” turned to the dog and barked, “fetch up!”
No response, the dog just looked at him.
“Fetch up!!” the father barked even louder. And the dog whimpered and slowly went out to get the duck. The son didn’t look real impressed and the father started to feel a little foolish for bragging so much about this dog. But they continued hunting. BANG, the son got another duck and turned to look at the dog.
“Fetch up” the dad said and the dog just sat there. “Fetch up boy!’ and the dog whimpered and laid down. A third time, “I said fetch up!” and the father popped the dog on the butt as he said it. The father was beginning to get angry. Did they sell him a lie? Was the dog actually trained? Was it being bad to spite him? The dog swam out about ten feet in a circle and then came straight back to retrieving the duck.
The son looked at his dad and said that he didn’t want to hunt anymore because he wasn’t sure the dog would bring the ducks back. He didn’t want to waste them. The father was furious at this point and snapped at the dog, let’s go. The dog had no issue with this and jumped up and started heading back towards the truck.
When the three reached the truck the father lowered the tail gate and told the dog to jump in. And the dog sat on his haunches and looked at him. Frustrated and angry the father reached down and picked up the dog to toss him in the bed of the truck. The dog landed and skittered in the bed whimpering. And the father noticed blood on his hands.
The son saw this as well and they began to look for where the blood came from. Come to find out, the dog had cut himself very badly when they crossed the barbed wire fence the first time. That would explain the dog’s behavior all morning! And the father began to feel shame and compassion for the animal. Realizing his fault in his behavior and thinking. And they cared for the dog.
Most people know what they are supposed to do or should do. But they have been injured in the past and this makes them hesitant, mistrustful, timid or scared. So when you run into a situation where you know someone knows what is best for them and they don’t do it. You know that they know what to do. You know that they can and should be able to handle this but they do not… they probably aren’t stupid but rather they are injured.
