Tag Archives: a step onward and upward

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A Snakebite Saved My Dog’s Life

Years ago, I had a Lassie Collie named Casey.  She got bitten on the jaw by a copperhead.  I rushed her to the vet.  The vet treated her life and death situation,…….but it wasn’t the snakebite that was killing her!!!

Casey was my companion.  Wherever I went she went with me.  She loved me.  She loved people.  She loved riding in the truck.  Shucks, this dog loved everything……… except snakes.  She hated snakes!  With a passion like I’ve never seen.

You’ve seen your dog, or maybe a video of someone’s dog shaking the life out of a snake, literally.  Casey was a pro at it.  She would grab the snake by its tail and shake her head back and forth whipping the snakes body like a piece of spaghetti.  I’ve seen her do this numerous times.  I don’t know if it breaks the snakes neck or what but after a few whiplash sessions with my dog, its over.

I was driving my truck on our farm, stopping at one of the gates to open it.  When I opened my door and got out, there at my feet was a pretty good sized copperhead. (My mother always called them Rattlesnake Pilots, she should know as she got bitten by one as a young girl).  I did what I normally and instinctively do when I’m too close to a snake.  Yep, I danced that awkward dance of trying to lift both feet in the air at the same time, while giving out this scream sounding exactly like a twelve year old little girl.  Well, Casey must have known what it meant as she was out of the truck like a bolt of lightening.

The snake was actually coiled with his tail vibrating as a rattlesnake’s would.  Scary sight to me.  Casey, without hesitation, grabbed that snake and gave it a violent shake back and forth.  Whoa, she slung the snake several feet in the air and jumped on it again.  I got to thinking, maybe I should back up several feet, or yards, or maybe a football field away in case she slings that thing towards me!  Wouldn’t want to do the dance or sing/squeal like a girl again.

Then it was over.  Just like that!  Casey had racked up another trophy in her long list of snakes killed.  She was now riding in the back of the truck.  I honestly thought I saw her smiling.  Look, that dog is smiling.  Her jaw had an unusual bump on it causing her gums to drop and her teeth on one side to show.  Silly dog, smiling like she had just won the Super Bowl of Snake Slinging.  Only now I could tell.  She wasn’t smiling,…… she had been bitten!

Off we go to the vet’s.  When I bust in with my companion in my arms, I holler “snakebite”!  The vet’s busy with his daily routine of wormin’cats, and or giving the latest round of shots to Trixie, Poofie, Scruffy, or whoever the dog is.  Nope, that can wait.  We’ve got an emergency here.

The vet tells me to relax.  Take it easy.  It’s gonna be OK.  He’ll give me a call later this afternoon.  I leave, but I can’t relax.  My buddy, my best friend is in there………and I have to leave and wait at home.

Phone call finally arrives later that afternoon.  “Well, good thing you brought your dog in.  I think I saved her life.”  Those words are still etched in my brain to this day.  I told the vet thanks for what he did.  But he had some news for me.

He said the snakebite wasn’t that bad.  Must have just been a glancing blow, or the snake didn’t really give a good dose of venom.  There was a swelling on Casey’s jaw the size of a walnut and that was about it.  Not going to be a problem according to the vet.  But there was a problem.  A BIG PROBLEM!!!

When the vet took some blood with a needle from Casey, she wouldn’t stop bleeding.  The vet had enough experience with farm dogs to know what this meant.  Somewhere, somehow this dog had been eating RAT BAIT!!!!!  POISON!!

That’s how rat bait works.  The chemical in the bait causes the rat’s blood to not coagulate, therefore the rat dies.  The same thing was happening to my dog.  Another seven days said the vet, and she would have been a goner.

How ’bout that.  I take my dog in for a snakebite, and what’s really killing her is discovered in the process.  Never thought I’d say that a snakebite would actually save a life.

What about you?  What snake has bitten you lately?  Have you had an event happen in your life that’s causing you to do the awkward dance while squealin’ like a little girl.  You break in line and rush to get it fixed, only to realize…… that’s not the really Big Problem.

A snake bite of any kind is a problem for sure.  But if you have been poisoned by accident or on purpose, well, that needs top priority and major attention.

By the way, I’m not sure who your “vet” is.  But somebody (with experience) is telling you to calm down, it’s gonna be OK.  Your “vet” also tells you your little episode is not the problem.  The poison in your life is.  Maybe your “vet” is a close friend, a parent, or even the Holy Spirit heard by you in a still small way.  You better listen.

Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. –psalm 103:2,3

I hope and pray that you never have a “snakebite”.  But if it causes you to realize the “bigger picture” in your life is actually the problem, then maybe just like what happened to me and Casey, it will truly be a Blessing in disguise.

See Ya!   Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher still dancin’ and squealin’ like a girl

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It’s in My Backyard

Colorado Wildfire

This is in my backyard!  The picture shows a closeup of what we see from our view at our log house.  It’s about 40 miles away, but definitely part of our view. Scary and powerful this destructive force.

It (this wildfire has been named the “Spring Fire”) destroys any and everything it comes across.  As of this hour, ( numbers change hourly) it has burned 105,000 acres, and destroyed 104 homes.  No telling the impact on the wildlife.  My heart hurts for what is happening there.

There are over 1,000 first responders there.  Firefighters, bulldozers, helicopters and aircraft that drop water are in the fight.  This is one of the largest fires in Colorado history.  My heart hurts but at the same time is so proud of these people who risk there all for people like me and you.  Sometimes fires here in the wilderness are started by lightning.  BUT…… in this case this fire was started by a careless, (and I’ll say it,…..STUPID) man.  A spark blew from an outdoor fire pit he was using during a fire ban and, well, there’s no going back now.

Today there is help from above! (literally!!)  It’s raining.  Something that we haven’t seen in many months!!  Beautiful fire quenching rain with some snow falling on the mountaintops even in July!  The church has been praying for rain.  Today, we got some.  My heart is filled with joy and Thanksgiving!!!  Thanks you Lord!!

Hebrews 12:28-29 “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

I’ve witnessed the power in an all consuming fire.  I’ve also seen what power even a gentle rain can show.

Each of us has a heart and soul that needs protection from  forces set out to destroy us spiritually.  I’ve witnessed first hand destructive forces out to harm my own soul, my relationships with family members, even my relationship with Jesus.  Scary the powers that are out there.  Until the time that our Heavenly Father brings the healing rains to our souls, you stay on guard.  You fight the fight.

When it comes to your very own heart and soul,  you are the first responder.  Just know that you’ve got an all powerful backup.  All you got to do is reach out to Him.  All that you got is,…. well,….He’s all that you need.  Say Lord, help me…….. and watch out!!!!!!  You’ll see powerful forces at work even in your very own heart and soul.

(Currently overnight because of the rains, and first responders the fire is currently 35% contained. )  It’s not over, but it’s headed in the right direction.  What about your heart and soul situation.  Is it headed in the right direction?

See Ya!!   Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher  dancing for joy because of rain

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What If God Says No

In the middle of this extreme drought here in Southern Colorado, I’ve planted my yard in native grasses.  I watered just enough for the seeds to sprout.  BUT, I’m not wanting to water anymore for fear of running my well dry.  It’s that dry.  But I’ve got lots of good reasons for planting my yard.  Mainly to cut down on the dust, and give the deer something to munch on.  No plans for mowing at all.  I just want a natural meadow.  Now I’m leaving it up to Mother Nature,……. or should I say my God.

If we don’t get rains soon, this grass will die.  I find myself asking God for rain so that MY yard grass will grow.  I catch myself becoming concerned over this little patch of green turning brown.  I find myself facing the fact that God may not send the rains needed.  I Realize that God’s answer may be NO.

Ok, Ok,  this is small potatoes in the grand picture of my and your life in this world.  No big  deal whether my grass lives or dies.  But we all have wants and needs in our lives.  And the answer we hear concerning our wants sometimes is……. no, not now,……. ain’t happening.  That leads us to our next question.  Why am I hearing No?

I don’t think I’m being like a fussy kid in the candy store.  I seriously am not saying, “I want this and this and this.”  I’ve got no plans to throw a temper tantrum if I don’t get my way.  For all the right reasons I’ve got a want in my life. (it’s this little ole desire to see it rain).  My mind spins because…….. well, maybe I’ve not done something I should have done, maybe I’ve not been good enough, maybe I , maybe this and maybe that.

With these thoughts of God and how He interacts in my life, I find an answer to being told no.  The answer comes from a local rancher here in Colorado.  He didn’t even know my question, but he gave me the answer I was searching for.

I was on his place setting bee swarm traps. (It’s that time of year again.)  Looking around at his cattle and also seeing that his grass was more brown than green, I asked him, “how will you survive this extreme drought?”

His answer………..”I don’t know”……….. and that was that!

But his presence, his body language, his manner, (his being a Colorado Cowboy), gave me much more insight into this simple but complicated answer.

He has faced droughts before.  He has faced times of no rain, times of too much rain, times of well, living life on the ranch.  No need to figure out life’s good and bad.  Just need to live….admit that you don’t know…..and keep going.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever.  Isaiah 40:8

Such a mystery to all of us how bad things happen, why good things happen.  We spend enormous amounts of time trying to “figure out” the whys of life.  Maybe coming to the point in our life when we can comfortably say, “I don’t know” concerning spiritual and physical happenings in our lives is when we reach the point that TRUST and HOPE and FAITH become more than just words.

I say “I don’t know” more than I want to when asked about spiritual matters.I don’t know why bad things happen to good people.  I don’t know why circumstances catch up to some people but not others.  I don’t know if my puny yard of grass will live or die.  I don’t know , I don’t know, and I just don’t know.

But just like the rancher, there is a confidence in my answer of I don’t know.  You see, it’s not in realizing the answers to life that is important.  It’s realizing that my Lord is with me forever, no matter what!It’s not what you know, but WHO you know!!

I am someone who has let faith, trust, and beliefs as a Christian  take over my way of thinking about this life while here on Earth.

Call me a simpleton.  Call me naive.  CALL ME A CHRISTIAN!

See Ya!  Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher