Keeper of the Creatures

Lindsay has always been a lover of animals. My first realization of this was when she was a toddler. I remember one early morning as we sat on the front porch swing of our home on a quiet small-town street, a beautiful cat came wandering our way, jumped up to the porch, and sat. Swishing her beautiful long gray tail, she looked straight at Lindsay as if to say “good morning.” Swigging on her ever-present pacifier, Lindsay pointed at the cat, looked up at me with wide eyes, and cooed a soft “oooooooh!” then scrambled down to greet the newcomer. I don’t know how long she sat next to that cat, petting and cooing, but I do remember how upset she was when the cat decided it was time to go home! From that moment on, there have always been animals, animals, animals in and around our home. Cats, dogs, rabbits…she was never at a loss for animal friends. When we moved to the farm, Lindsay was thrilled to have a swampy area to slog around in. In addition to the dogs and horses, she maintained countless wet and dry aquariums full of hundreds of toads and spring peepers, thousands of tadpoles, and even a few salamanders, blue tail skinks, tree frogs, and baby turtles. She proudly designed and prominently displayed a wooden sign in the garage that designated her space as the “Treaty Line Wildlife Rescue.” She pored over books of uncommon pets, fed and exercised her toads daily, and filled notebooks with new milestones that each one met. She was obsessed with her little friends!

In the blink of an eye, that little animal lover grew up, put her empty aquariums in storage, and quit baling swamp water for tadpoles (although every now and then you can find her slogging in the swamp just to have a look around!). I began to miss those daily reports of how well Hopper-the-Toad was recovering from what seemed to be a sore leg muscle, or the number of tadpoles that were safely tucked away in our warm garage, their little delicate lives saved from that unexpected late spring freeze. Lindsay’s safe little world was frequently shaken by some small animal drama, but she was always there to pick up the pieces, fix what was broken, and turn them back out to their habitat to enjoy life.

I was reminded of all of this earlier this week when Lindsay came home from work. I could tell the moment she walked through the door that she was angry. Her jaw set with determination, she muttered a hello through clenched teeth, and my question of “How was your day?” was met with a huff and flaming eyes. “Do you remember Noble? You know, the horse at work that I fell in love with? The one Kim sold to another trainer a few weeks ago?” Yes, I remembered. Lindsay had told us many things about this wonderful horse that had quickly stolen her heart, and she was sad to see him leave the barn where she works. “Well, Kim visited that trainer today and saw that Noble was being mistreated, so she loaded him up and brought him back. Mom, you should SEE how ABUSED he is! He is skin and bones! His mouth is bloody! That horrible trainer nearly ruined him! I am SO MAD!” And there it was – the look of that little girl – protector of all things animal – her safe little world shaken again; this time by a tale a lot harder to swallow than a toad’s pulled leg muscle. I was heart broken too, grieved by the fact that my now-grown daughter had witnessed the all-too-common reality of a show-horse’s life. It’s a harsh and cruel thing in most cases.

A few days have passed since that initial blow for Lindsay, and time has tempered that first burst of anger that coursed through her veins, but I know, without asking or being told, that when Lindsay goes back to work today, Noble will get the treatment of a lifetime! He will be coddled and loved. His wounds will be soothed with gentle hands, his ears will be pricked by a cooing tongue, and his spirit will be calmed by a warm heart. I know this because that’s what God created Lindsay to be…a keeper of His animals…a defender of the defenseless. (And God help that trainer if he crosses paths with Lindsay anytime soon!)

“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.” Proverbs 27: 23