Did you ever know that you’re my hero?

Have you ever been given a chance to be a hero? Where you stepped up and saved someone, even at risk to yourself?

I got to be a hero to my dog once.

His name is Buddy. We got him from the animal shelter when he was about three months old.

We live out in the country, and our house sits on an acre. My husband constructed our fence using green plastic-coated wire and wooden posts. The wire forms squares about three inches tall by two inches wide.

The neighbors behind us foster dogs, so they usually have seven or eight, ranging in size from 100 pounds to little yippy dogs. When they’re all outside, Buddy and the three big dogs would run up and down the fence, barking at each other. I thought they were playing.

I was wrong.

The biggest one, Cash, was dark brown with long, shaggy hair. He looked like a cross between a Chow and a German Shepard. Cash really got into the racing game.

One day I was working beside the fence and saw the row of the wire that matched Cash’s height was bowed in, toward our house. I could see when Cash barked at Buddy, he was pushing his face against the fence, poking his nose through the squares hard enough to stretch the wires into a curve. I had the disquieting realization that Cash wanted to get at Buddy. From then on, I would often stop the run-up-and-down-the-fence game and bring Buddy inside.

When I write, I sit at my kitchen table. There is a window to my left that looks out into the backyard. One morning, the dogs began barking, doing their “game.” I was in the groove with my writing and didn’t want to stop. At some point, the tenor of the noise changed and got very intense. I looked outside to see what they were doing. All the dogs were bunched up at one spot, not running.

I walked outside to see what was so interesting.

To my horror, I realized Cash had pushed his face through the wires so many times he’d managed to break some. His mouth had a grip on Buddy’s head, and he was yanking, over and over, pulling Buddy through the fence into his yard. The other six dogs behind him were in a frenzy, egging him on, down to the little Yorkie with a bow in her hair.

I was home alone. What to do? Cash was in a blood lust. He was not letting go. I couldn’t prise his jaws from Buddy’s head. I couldn’t pull Buddy away from him. Helpless to stop him, I almost panicked.

Instead, I prayed.

The idea came to me to poke Cash in the eye. So I stabbed his eye with my thumb.

He loosened his grip and pulled away, but didn’t let go.

I stabbed him again. Would he transfer his attention from Buddy to me, biting my hand? I didn’t care. I had to do something.

This time, he let go and backed off. I fully expected Buddy’s skin to be scalped from his head, but he had only a small laceration behind his ear. He trembled, traumatized. I took him inside.

We talked to our neighbors (who were home at the time) and explained what had happened. If I hadn’t been there, I truly believe Cash wouldn’t have stopped until he had Buddy’s head pulled far enough through the fence that he could kill him. I showed the neighbor how Cash had been slowly destroying the wire fencing. That night, they nailed plywood along the bottom of the posts, creating a barrier. The next day, they had a company come out and install six-foot tall stockade panels across the backyard (at no small expense, I’m sure).

I did what I had to do to save Buddy because I love him. God did infinitely more for us. He didn’t risk a bite to his hand. He gave up his son. What a blessing we’ve been given to be called God’s children. I’m so grateful for his love.

Share your stories. When did you snatch a chance to wear a Superman cape?

As we move into the season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus, you may find yourself wondering what gift to buy for someone. Here’s your chance to win some books. You can enter this contest to win all twenty-six eBooks, plus a few paperbacks as a bonus. I’m offering book one in my San Antonio series, Protected, as an eBook and a paperback. Reviewers have described it as “a great read with stellar writing.” Readers appreciate the interesting characters, especially the strong Christian female character, Abby.

Simply enter your email to be put into the running.

https://authorsxp.com/giveaway

I follow author Randy Ingermanson. He always has great stuff for writers, and I highly recommend you sign up for his newsletter. Recently, he sent out a post about a one-sentence summary. Here is a link to his page if you want to read the whole thing: https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/2024/11/24/your-one-sentence-summary/

Basically, he explains how to write that hook or tagline that grabs your reader’s attention. To do so, include most (or all, if you can do it in 25 words or fewer) of these pieces of information.

1. Time or place information to establish the setting.
2. A paradoxical description of a major character.
3. A surprising event that suggests the Story Question.
4. At least one emotive “kicker” word.

My example for Protected: An 18-year-old girl must assume leadership of a wagon train across Texas, disguised as a boy.

Mention of the wagon train sets the time in the past. The surprising event is that Abby must assume leadership of the train. Hopefully, the reader instantly wonders, “Why? What happened? I must read on to find out.” And the paradoxical description is that she is disguised as a boy. Again, why?

Try this with your books. Add it as a first line in your book description on Amazon. Include it on your book cover’s back blurb.

Merry Christmas to you all. I hope everyone spends time with loved ones. But most of all, know God loves you better than we could ever love ourselves.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV).