Our sweet girl from Ukraine, Bulochka

Scripture teaches us that all creation points to the Creator. In the things God has made, “His invisible attributes are clearly seen,” (Romans 1:20). God reveals His glory in sunsets and starry skies, towering trees and tiny turtles, mighty oceans and mundane oranges–and dogs. 

The incredibleness of a dog’s design points us to an all-wise Creator who specially endowed these creatures with features that not only help them but also help us humans. 

For example, a study showed that when dogs smell sweat from a human who is afraid, they seek comfort from their owners and are less open to strangers. When they smell sweat from a happy human, they show happiness themselves. 

A second study revealed that dogs’ faces are more expressive when humans are looking at them.

And a dog’s sense of smell? It’s pretty amazing. 

Dogs have approximately 220 million scent receptors in their nose. Humans have about 6 million. The volume of the olfactory lobe of their brain (the part of the brain that is associated with the sense of smell) is three times that of ours and 31 percent of their total brain volume, compared to our 0.1 percent.

Our loving Father in Heaven knew how we would benefit from having animals who respond to our emotions. Pets can offer us protection and they bring fun and joy to our lives. Service and therapy dogs help their owners in many ways. And their amazing sense of smell comes in quite useful in various capacities. Dogs serve us with their noses by engaging in search and rescue missions, sometimes even sniffing out and finding people who have been buried under a landslide. They’re used in airports and law enforcement to sniff out drugs and other illegal items. 

Yes, dogs are just one of the many seemingly ordinary creatures that upon a closer look are truly marvelous. But even while they are worthy of our admiration, we must remember that only humans are created in the image of God. The book of Genesis tells us how God created mankind, male and female, in His image and gave them the task of taking dominion of, or stewarding, the earth. 

Being good stewards of creation includes taking good care of dogs, whether they’re Huskies, Beagles, Poodles, Labrador Retrievers–or Bernese Mountain Dogs. And as we love on our sweet bundles of fur, let’s remember that the God who created them also counts the number of hairs on our head. He cares for us, so much in fact, that He died to forgive us of our sins and give us eternity with Him. 

Dog facts source: answersingenesis.org