{"id":511,"date":"2022-10-05T17:56:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T21:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/sacredinsightsbymichaelangelo\/?p=511"},"modified":"2022-10-16T20:18:27","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T00:18:27","slug":"our-lesser-bretheren-aka-georgy-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/sacredinsightsbymichaelangelo\/2022\/10\/our-lesser-bretheren-aka-georgy-boy\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cOur Lesser Brethren\u201d aka Georgy Boy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a9<\/span><\/p>\n

St Francis of Assisi, the popular Italian patron Saint of Animals, once referred to God\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>marvelous creatures as\u00a0<\/span>\u201cour beloved lesser brothers\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought it was a marvelous notion, and a tip of the hat to the fact although they may not in some ways possess the cognitive abilities of man- they are sentient beings deserving of our love.<\/span><\/p>\n

Frequently\u00a0referenced in scripture, Christ himself rode a donkey into Jerusalem, doves of life and peace showed Noah the way, and someday the lion will lie down with the lamb.<\/p>\n

They provide company to humans and unrequited affections.<\/span><\/p>\n

They are our friends, our family, our assistants, even many times even our eyes and ears.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are their stewards, and we can usually all provide some warm stories and anectodes to share glimpses of how they have entered into our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my case- it was via my usual introduction to my tiny beastly buddy, George the Chihuahua. Other then having a cat as a little boy- I had never really owned a pet as an adult.<\/span><\/p>\n

In any event, I must\u2019ve been out of my mind, as Georgy\u00a0<\/span>had dropped into my world quite unexpectedly. \u00a0\u00a0I can clearly remember the day that my Florida friend Diana informed me that I \u201cneeded \u201c a dog.\u00a0 I had undergone some very serious health issues only months before and she thought it would be of help.<\/p>\n

She begged me to adopt her blue Chihuahua, innocuously named Georgy. \u00a0I instinctively recoiled. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was highly suspicious as to why Diana wanted to give me her Chihuahua, but I hesitantly said \u201cyes\u201d. \u00a0 <\/span>That is when I started questioning my sanity. <\/span><\/p>\n

I clearly remember the day she brought Georgy\u2019s little carrying case to my condo, opened its door slowly and this rat-like creature with eyes bigger than its head, stepped out, and nonchalantly stretched and yawned as if it owned the place.\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u2019t even know if it was a canine. <\/span><\/p>\n

On that beguiling day, Diana spoke to Georgy as she sheepishly pointed to me and said \u00a0\u201c this is your brand new <\/span>Daddy \u201d. \u00a0\u00a0I glared at her for the presumptuous statement and \u00a0I <\/span>assured\u00a0<\/span>her that this creature was no progeny of mine.<\/p>\n

Georgy and I eventually bonded and In the mornings I would greet him by saying \u201cHey there Georgy Boy\u201d, similar to the British tune of a similar title.<\/span><\/p>\n

He would sit on his favorite beige pillow and hold court all day till something or somebody got his attention. \u00a0 <\/span>At first,\u00a0<\/span>his quite ordinary name rang hollow to me.<\/p>\n

Being Italian, I was hoping to have had a pet for which I could someday provide a name with a wordly tone such as \u201cVinny\u201d \u00a0or \u201cPagliaccio\u201d<\/span>from the opera of that name, \u00a0but it didn\u2019t seem natural to change his name, so I was \u201cstuck with \u201cGeorgy\u201d\u2026.in more ways than one.<\/p>\n

I surprisingly found Georgy to be exceptionally playful, friendly, and had an uncanny penchant for playing fetch. \u00a0\u00a0He especially loved his little Elmo toy, \u00a0and \u00a0jumped triumphantly when capturing and conquering the wiry red celebrity from Sesame Street. <\/span><\/p>\n

Georgy was originally not a yappy kind of chihuahua-but I soon learned that there were times when those 4.2 lbs could become a holy terror.\u00a0 <\/span>The Door bell soon became the very bane of my existence<\/span><\/p>\n

To Georgy, every doorbell, every swishing sound, every insect, and any\u00a0 <\/span>person at the door \u2013 was the clarion call for the Apocalypse which had just come.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a constant cacophony of canine sounds in my condo.\u00a0 <\/span>He was indeed a miniature nemesis (in his own mind)\u00a0<\/span>to all things which moved,\u00a0 or crawled.\u00a0 He protected OUR home.<\/p>\n

I had purchased the book \u201cChihuahuas for Dummies\u201d \u00a0on ebay in order to be a better owner to Georgy. \u00a0 One section mentioned the fact that the Chihuahua, compared to all other canines, had the largest head and brain -to -body ratio. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I pridefully relished in the fact that my dog might be a genius, as exhibited by his clever little ploys.<\/span><\/p>\n

Georgy liked to play games,\u00a0 <\/span>strategic little escapades. <\/span>They were calculated\u00a0<\/span>efforts which left me baffled in being\u00a0 hoodwinked by a few pounds of fur .<\/p>\n

While I was eating, Georgy would somehow misdirect me from my dinner and rapidly finish my plate for me. \u00a0 <\/span>It left me astonished, and quite often hungry.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was like Lucy with Charlie Brown\u2019s football- \u00a0I fell for his pranks repeatedly.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve grown to love Georgie, as he can be a pain as much as a delight.\u00a0 <\/span>In the mornings his pure delight of life, at waking up, at jumping and chasing, was life affirming and prompted me to my daily prayers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Animals are indeed very life-affirming. \u00a0I have always liked cats as well as a French author once noted that \u201cGod\u00a0<\/span>Created the cat in order for man to enjoy the pleasure of caressing the lion.\u201d<\/p>\n

An interesting analogy\u00a0<\/span>as perhaps the canine, likewise, provides people the edifying opportunity to befriend the wolf.<\/p>\n

All In all, \u00a0i\u2019m glad to have Georgy in my corner of the world, but the more I contemplate it, I\u2019m pretty sure God did not own a doorbell when he invented the Chihuahua.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, next time ya cuddle up with your kitty, or walk Fido- or stroke your canary, whisper a prayer of thanks\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to God, and to St Francis for the existence and appreciation of our \u201clesser\u201d -but no less important fellow brethren, his amazing creatures.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can follow MichaelAngelo Massa and further of his popular \u201cSacred Inspiration 2.0\u201d series here on Patheos.com<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 St Francis of Assisi, the popular Italian patron Saint of Animals, once referred to God\u2019s\u00a0marvelous creatures as\u00a0\u201cour beloved lesser brothers\u2026\u201d I thought it was a marvelous notion, and a tip of the hat to the fact although they may not in some ways possess the cognitive abilities of man- they are sentient beings deserving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4762,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[211,217,205,214,208,232,223,226,13,229,220],"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-beasts","tag-beings","tag-cats","tag-creatures","tag-dogs","tag-family","tag-george","tag-georgy-boy","tag-god","tag-pets","tag-st-francis"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cOur Lesser Brethren\u201d aka Georgy Boy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a9 St 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