WHAT IF DOGS COULD TALK?

An elderly couple, who were walking their small dog, said hello as they passed my yard. A few houses down, two dogs attacked their dog and chaos began. Neighbors ran out to separate the animals. In the end, no one was hurt. Too bad we couldn’t ask the dogs which one started the fight.

That night, I had dogs in my dreams! For whatever reason, a dog walked up to me and started a conversation. In dreams, anything can happen, but even then I knew this was unusual. When I woke up, the question crossed my mind, what if dogs could talk? What would they say? Would they have an accent? Would they know about sports, politics, or religion?

In TV land we have met several talking animals like Mr. Ed (horse), Buck Bundy (Briard dog), Wishbone (Jack Russell Terrier), and Arnold Ziffel (pig). Their words were important to the story line and added humor. But we knew it was all fiction because animals don’t talk, right?

In the Bible, several animals could talk. The serpent spoke with Eve (Genesis 3), and then there was Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22). These animals had a leading role in each of their stories which are told as truth. When the Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1947, one of the books that was with them was called “The Book of Jubilees.” This book was written in the Second century, but was not added to our Bible. However, it followed almost exactly the book of Genesis. It did have some additional information that surprised scholars. The Book of Jubilees says in Chapter 3 that originally when God created animals, they could talk!

Our pets spend lots of time with us and know us very well. Question: If your pet could talk, what would it say about you? Would it say you are kind, gentle, and patient? Would it say you read the Bible and pray? Or would their story be upsetting and disappointing?

The Bible says, “The righteous man has regard for the life of his animal (Proverbs 12:10 NASB).” In Proverbs 27:23 we read, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds.”

Many people probably hope their dog cannot talk. How about you?