A Dog Named Tippy

            There was a farmer had a dog,

            And Tippy was his name-o.

            T-I-P-P-Y, T-I-P-P-Y, T-I-P-P-Y

            And Tippy was his name-o.

            Samuel sang this song about his dog in the morning and at noon and at night time too. He named his dog Tippy because he had a white tip at the end of his big brown tail.

Tippy’s tail told Samuel if he was happy or sad. Swoosh, swoosh, it swept the floor. Sometimes it pounded on the door or the furniture.

Tippy did not like thunder. He tucked his tail underneath himself and hid under Samuel’s legs. He wouldn’t come out until the storm passed.

Samuel fed Tippy every morning before he went to school and played with him in the afternoon when he got home. Tippy loved fetching balls and sticks and Frisbees. He loved doing tricks Samuel taught him. He rolled over or played dead when Samuel gave the command. He even shook hands with Samuel’s friends. Tippy loved to please Samuel.

One day Tippy wasn’t at the door after school. Samuel looked in his room but Tippy wasn’t there. He looked in the garage, but Tippy wasn’t there. Samuel looked in the back yard but Tippy wasn’t there either. Samuel saw a big pile of dirt by the fence. His heart pounded. Tippy must have dug a hole under the fence and ran away. But why?

Samuel thought and thought. Maybe Tippy chased a cat. Samuel saw him chase cats over the flowers and under the bushes. But he was always home. Tippy came to Samuel when he called him.

“I wish I was home today,” Samuel told his Dad.

“I wish you were too,” Dad said. “Let’s look for him.”

Dad and Samuel looked up and down the street until after dark. They called, “Tippy! Tippy!” but Tippy didn’t come.

Several days passed but Tippy didn’t come home. “It’s like Tippy died,” Samuel told his Dad.

“I know,” Dad said. “I’ll look at the shelters again tomorrow.” Dad went from one animal shelter to another. He walked up and down the aisles looking in every pen, but he didn’t find Tippy.

When Samuel got home from school he ran into Dad’s office, but Dad just shook his head. A tear trickled down Samuel’s cheek. “I guess Tippy is not coming home.”

“I’m sorry, Samuel.”

“Dad, do you think we’ll see Tippy in Heaven?”

“I think that's a great possibility,” Dad said. “God made animals before He made man. They were part of His original plan and He kept them through the flood of Noah’s time.”

Samuel smiled.

“There was a farmer had a dog and

Tippy was his name-o.

T-I-P-P-Y, T-I-P-P-Y, T-I-P-P-Y, and

Tippy was his name-o.