Bye, Barney

Barney died last week, but I wanted to honor Florence, so Barney had to wait.
For those of you who don't remember (how could you forget!), Barney was the dog that we've been praying for. His family is still hesitant to ask for prayers for themselves, but they were eager to get any help they could for their faithful friend.

I remember the first time I set eyes on him. I had already heard so much about him at work, that I finally insisted on meeting him, so a dinner was arranged, just as an excuse for me to get to know the dog. After we finished eating (spanikopita, saganaki, tatziki, scordalia, grilled octopus, pita, sangria), 'S's girlfriend went across the street to fetch Barney from the apartment. When dog noticed 'S' waiting on the sidewalk, he greeted him happily.

The picture above isn't really him - he was actually a combination beagle and basset hound, and I had never hear that kind of happy howl before. It wasn't the traditional baying at the moon crooning. It wasn't the sound of a wolf wannabe. Rather it was more like a song of great joy -- a loud song of great joy. A song that resonated up and down Broadway, and across 76th street. Pavarotti would have wept in envy to hear the resonance, sounding effortlessly above the noise of the traffic, and the taxi-cabs, and the people.
Awoooooo, Awoooooooo, Awooooo-wooooo-wooooo-woooo.
I laughed so hard I ended up sitting on the sidewalk of Manhattan, with the dog in my lap. It was one of those unforgettable moments.

But over the past few years, Barney has been accumulating illnesses. Each medication had side-effects that caused other problems. And every time he was taken to the hospital, we prayed. (You guys were praying, weren't you?). His family is still not quite comfortable with this prayer thing, and certainly weren't interested in going to church with me, but they would reach out to try anything for Barney.

They are a wonderful, thoughtful, intelligent, friendly, humorous couple from a Jewish tradition, who are respectful and patient with my beliefs. When we get together they ask me how church is, because they are good conversationalists, sort of like asking someone how their hobby is going -- it's an example of good manners and friendly courtesy rather than true interest. But Barney was the one touchpoint where they were intensely interested. When he was sick with pneumonia, I got daily hospital bulletins from them. They clearly figured that it couldn't hurt, and just maybe it might help.

As he aged, and the frequency of his illnesses accelerated, I realized that unless he was going to be some kind of miraculous Elijah-dog, he was going to die. Frankly, I worried that there would be a backlash. (To be honest, I worry about that when I pray for people too -- if the prayer doesn't 'work', will they be resentful and mad?).

But 'S' was unfailingly gracious. He called to tell me that Barney was dead, and then said that they figured that the prayers had pulled him through several times, and brought him an extra year of life.

So we won't be praying for Barney any more, but please pray that 'S' and his wife 'S' will keep reaching out for prayer for other topics.