If you ask me, I would say that basically all interactions with animals are pretty divine.   Take for instance, those moments when I don’t wake up for work on time and my cats climb in my berth, get as close as they can to my sleeping self and paw-slap me in the face.  True, they want to be fed and are asking me to get out of bed, but they are also ensuring that I maintain my 9-5 with some regularity.  I’d say that’s pretty damn divine.

But, I know people with stories of pets who have saved their lives or who they feel have emotionally rescued them.  It’s those types of stories that author Jennifer Skiff is looking to gather for her new book, The Divinity of Dogs: A Collection of Spiritually Enlightening Canine Interventions.

As she was selecting submissions for her current book, God Stories: Inspiring Encounters with the Divine, about divine intervention of the people persuasion,  readers mentioned stories about their own mystical experiences with mutts.  This triggered her own memories and she realized  she too had been the recipient of the gift of a canine-style emotional healing.  After that, she decided to take on the task of creating a book that allowed readers to share those touching stories.

A few of the samples that she has collected so far talk about  a 79-year-old man whose Australian shepherd pounced on his heart attack ailed chest with its paws so many times that his heart started again; a woman whose husky annoyingly licked and nudged her owner’s knee apparently predicting a cancerous growth in that spot; and a 7-year-old boy whose family dog dragged him up a hill by his shirt collar as a tsunami hit his home.

If you’ve got a story to share, hop on over to her Divinity of Dogs website and make a contribution before September 15th, 2010.  Don’t worry if you’re not the next David Sedaris, she’s not looking for crafty writers, but rather stories that leave readers with a sense of awe and a new appreciation for Man’s Best Friend.  Attaching a picture of you and your dog are also suggested.

Image: me’nthedogs’

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