Religion Today: His name was Sako!
Religion Today: His name was Sako! – By Richard Lewis
Sako was a 4-year-old King Shepherd dog from British Columbia who was inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame in 2015 for his efforts to protect his 16-year-old owner, Joseph Phillips-Garcia, after a horrific car accident.
The family was returning from an outing on a back road when the car left the roadway and plummeted 100 yards down a steep hill into the forest.
The accident took the lives of an aunt, a cousin and a friend in the car. Although Joseph and his dog, Sako, survived, he was unable to move due to a compound fracture of his femur and other broken bones and the accident would be the beginning of a 40-hour ordeal in the wilderness waiting for help to come.
SEE OTHE RECENT DEVOTIONALS BY RICHARD LEWIS:
Religion Today: A Wallet in the Sea – A Picture of the Depths of God’s Love
Religion Today: What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world
Religion Today: Saddles and Salvation
Sako laid on top of him to keep him warm, helped pull him to the bank of a stream for water and fought off coyotes that came during the night.
Joseph would drift in and out of consciousness and Sako would remain guarding him and keeping him warm. Once Joseph was located, the accident site was so steep that it took the rescue workers 3 hours to reach and carry him out.
Authorities were amazed by the length of time Joseph was able to survive and credited Sako with his survival. Sako was subsequently inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame.
Over the past 47 years of the award, in addition to 140 dog inductees there have been 27 cats and even one horse. A video about Sako is available here.
Sue and I have had several dogs over the years and the unconditional love and self-sacrificing behavior is something we have experienced firsthand.
I recall many times when Sue or I were ill and one of our dogs would cuddle up beside us on the bed or couch. It always seemed to me to be just a beautiful expression of love – a love that seems to be an earthly shadow of what God’s love is like.
Romans 1:20 indicates that God’s invisible qualities are being revealed through His creation.
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
This verse divides the clearly seen evidence into two categories: His eternal power and His divine nature. So, we see that in creation we can learn a lot about God.
When we see a sunrise or a beautiful scenic view, we are actually seeing a testimonial to God’s eternal power.
When we experience the love of a pet, I think we are witnesses to that earthly shadow of what God’s love and forgiveness is like – They are a part of God’s divine nature.
As I think about God’s love in our lives, I think about how it is not just love alone but a love that is bundled with joy, tranquility, self-sacrifice, patience, kindness and faithfulness.
Oh, what a wonderful Heavenly Father who would love us so much He sent His son to sacrifice Himself for us!
Psalm 106:1 “Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Richard Lewis is a graduate of Arizona State University (Advertising) and California Baptist University (Computer Information Systems). Richard and his wife Sue met while they served as staff members at Campus Crusade for Christ for 8 years in the 1970’s. Richard served in the Campus Ministry at University of Texas at El Paso, Louisiana Tech and at the International Headquarters in San Bernardino, California.
Following their ministry in Campus Crusade Richard was the owner and manager of a bicycle shop in Riverside California for 19 years. After retraining in the computer field at California Baptist University, Richard worked as a Information Systems contractor and employee at Boeing for 17 years.
Richard has written over 150 published articles in Information Systems and Computing publications including Windows Magazine and Windows Scripting Solutions. He has also served in a leadership role as a Deacon and Elder in several churches as well as being a meditation presenter and Men’s Ministry coordinator.
Richard has written hundreds of meditations and devotionals that have been used in church and small group meetings. Many of these have been published in The Upper Room and Racers For Christ publications and on their web sites.
In 2021, Richard published a collection of his devotionals. These are available in a Kindle and paperback format on Amazon (ISBN 979-8705738878) “Life Stories to Uplift and Encourage”.
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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.