My grandma was an exceptional little lady. She raised a big family and she loved children and animals. And in her later years when all of her children and grandchildren were grown, she began really pampering the animals around her.

She would fry chicken strips for the cat. She would microwave hot dogs for the skunks that came around the house at night. Because she said a cold hot dog would “hurt the little skunk’s teeth.” (And yes, it was a bit disturbing that she was feeding the skunks!) And she would sit outside and crack nuts for a very fat squirrel that lived in a tree beside her house. I’m quite sure that the squirrel was perfectly capable of cracking the nuts for himself. He did, however, seem delighted that grandma was doing it for him! We were a little worried that the squirrel might bite her. But, as far as I know, he never did. I did see him run up her leg one time with his little fat behind just a jiggling! Grandma’s response to that was, “Here now!”

I thought of my grandma the other day when I was on my back deck. A little squirrel came right up to me. He was hopping and prancing along the railing like he wanted to play. I thought about feeding him but decided against it. It wouldn’t be safe for him to make routine trips to the deck with all of the other animals (dogs & cats) around.

It is funny how animals often seek out the companionship of people. When we’re outside doing yard work or working in the garden, the dogs and cats are always right there. And the sheep and cows always come up to the fence as if to say, “Hey, what cha doing?”

Could it be that during the creation, God encoded the animals with a sense that man is their care giver and has dominion over them??

Genesis 1:26-28 KJV - And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

#God #squirrel #dominion