The Gift of Dogs Named Scout

An unexpected holy moment on a random trail

My day today started with a holy moment on a random trail where a life was touched by my dog, Scout, even though she was 500+ miles away.

I am in Pennsylvania with my pastors group with whom I meet annually and I started my Sunday with a walk at a nearby park.  It was a beautiful walk especially as I came to several fields of wildflowers and this future bridge made from an old shipping container.

After walking past this beautiful spot, I saw an older woman walking her dog.  The dog, who I would find out is named Kringle, came up to start sniffing me and I asked her human if she was ok for me to pet.

I started giving this very floofy pup some scratches and I shared with this woman how I would normally be walking with my pup but I was away from home.  She asked if I had a photo of my dog and so I showed her this photo of Scout.

She saw this photo and took a small step back and said, “That’s my Scout!”   She probably saw my confused look and then told me that she had a dog that looked exactly like this who died about 6 months ago.  I then shared that our pup is also named Scout.   There was a moment of shared surprise between us followed by her asking about my Scout’s breed - bluetick beagle - and then her sharing that her Scout was a bluetick as well.  I showed another picture of Scout...

...and she responded that her Scout would do exactly the same.   She thanked me for sharing and spoke of how she felt like her Scout visited her through me in that moment.

We continued to talk and she shared that she often walks that trail each morning and I spoke of the beauty of the fields of wildflowers to which she asked if I had seen a bench under construction a short ways away.  She noted that the bench was being built in memory of her son Keith who had died five years ago.  I had seen the bench about 30 minutes before and photographed this moment of the morning sky...

Our conversation continued for a few more minutes as we discovered that she was a participant in a UCC congregation while I was the pastor of one as well.   She asked me to remember her son as I walked by the bench and to pray for her.  We ended by introducing ourselves - me sharing my name and her sharing that her name was Faith.  She thanked me for blessing her and we continued on our walks.

It was such a beautiful moment that came about by two strangers willing to engage each other.  It was a blessing to see the ways that two dogs named Scout can mean so much to two people.    Even though I still had a worship service to attend later that morning, I felt that I encountered the Spirit and a holy time there on that trail.

So, what’s the learning here?

Ask to pet a stranger’s dog.

Ask one another’s names.

Be open to the surprising appearances of the Spirit.