Reader Voices: The minor miracle of a 3-year-old's answered prayer

Our family had lost our longtime pet, a Samoyed husky, to bone cancer.

Several weeks later, my wife came home from a trip to the store. As she came through the door, our two children spied something hidden beneath her jacket.

My wife had adopted a mongrel pup — and when I say mongrel, I mean it. Bosco, as he came to be known, was as odd a cross of basset hound and Australian shepherd as you can imagine. During the next few weeks it became apparent that Bosco had attached himself to our daughter, following her around with adoring eyes and sleeping in her room, all of this much to the disappointment of our 3-year-old son.

This began a running discussion with our son about getting another dog — his dog. After all, his older sister had her dog. No amount of logic could convince him that we had a dog and had no need of another.

My wife and I were firmly united and laid down the law: There would not be another dog in our house.

We assumed that the issue was decided and the discussion at an end. Our son saw the matter somewhat differently. He simply decided to take the request to a higher authority. Our boy had learned in Primary that Heavenly Father would answer his prayers. Every night before bed he would kneel and give thanks and ask the Lord for a dog. This went on for several weeks — an eternity as reckoned by a 3-and-a-half-year old.

Nothing happened and our son began to doubt. He quit praying. Oh, he would say his prayers. He would go through the motions and say the words but the innocent certainty was gone. We were at a loss and had no idea how to help him with this. We prayed.

Then 14 years ago on a cold, wet, windy winter night a minor miracle occurred.

I say minor — and in the cosmic scheme of things — minor likely fits. Following the nightly routine, we heard a racket at our back door. Opening the door, my wife jumped back startled by some kind of small animal. Upon closer inspection the cause of the commotion was a very young, very small, very wet, very cold, and very loud, little black puppy.

We brought the little dog in and dried her off. We assumed that such young dog must belong to someone in the neighborhood and had simply wandered away from home.

Our son awoke the next day before we did. We heard something from our bed and looked up to see our son standing in our bedroom doorway in his footy jammies. His face alight and excitement in his voice, one arm wrapped around a wiggling little black body as he loudly announced, “I prayed and Heavenly Father gave me this dog.”

The dog we were not going to have joined our family.

Our son named her Baby Frisky the Great or Baby for short. She became our son’s constant companion, teaching him much over the years. She was his responsibility, as he cared for her, joy in life as they played and learned loyalty by her example.

The most important lesson, for my son and me, the Lord hears and answers prayers.

Guy Bliesner is a longtime educator, having taught and coached tennis and swimming. He is school safety and security administrator for the Bonneville School District in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He has been married for 26 years and has three children.