Prayer for a Sick Dog. Ed. Dr Chapman Chen

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ASK for in prayer, BELIEVE that you have RECEIVEd it, and it will be yours," advises Jesus (Mark 11:24 NIV).

In 1994, a dog owned by a veterinarian in California, USA — Dr Hilary Petit — became critically ill. The dog was already very old (14 years) and could barely stand. Hilary diagnosed widespread metastatic cancer throughout its body. Four years earlier, the dog had undergone surgery to remove one eye because of a tumour behind it, followed by radiation therapy.

Recently, the dog had been suffering terribly. Because of an ear infection, it was given antibiotics, and it was also continuously taking antihistamines, steroids, thyroid supplements, and other medications. Instead of improving, it grew weaker and weaker, hovering near death.

Desperate and out of options, Hilary did something she had never done before that evening: she prayed to Heaven, asking for help — either to restore the dog to health or to let it know that the time for euthanasia had come.

A miracle occurred — something she had never witnessed in her professional career. The next morning, the dog stood up and took several unsteady steps. The following day it walked about twenty steps. Thereafter, it gradually regained the ability to move about on its own.

Paradoxically, instead of feeling happy about the improvement, Hilary felt disturbed. She explained:

“Unfortunately, I must admit I was terrified. As a physician trained in medicine, I found it extremely difficult to accept what had happened — partly because it occurred so suddenly and dramatically, and partly because I had stopped all treatment and was doing nothing but praying. To be honest, on the third night (two days after the sudden improvement), I decided to stop praying. I had seen how effective prayer appeared to be, and I felt uneasy and confused. The next day, my dog’s condition deteriorated again and returned to its previous state. Despite every effort to save it, the situation worsened, and about two weeks later I had it euthanised.”

Later she reflected:

“Certain thoughts would not leave me:(When I first began to pray) I was desperate and willing to do anything to save the dog. Things I normally would not allow myself to do or believe in were temporarily ‘permitted’.(When the dog suddenly improved) I was overjoyed, yet at the same time I stubbornly refused to believe that prayer had caused it — ‘This cannot be happening.’ I even doubted whether the improvement was real. My left and right brain seemed to be at war: the left represented traditional medical training — science and logic — while the right confronted an inexplicable reality before my eyes. I felt fear because I did not know what I had done. I resisted admitting that I might have performed something that contradicted scientific understanding.(On the third day, after stopping prayer and seeing the dog relapse) even when I tried to pray again, I could no longer do so wholeheartedly. I was afraid to confirm that my own prayer might have produced such astonishing, incomprehensible effects.”

After this experience, Hilary said her life changed:

“This shattered the dogmatism of my medical training. Since then I sometimes try praying over small matters. For example, during surgery — when performing a spay and I cannot find the cervix despite searching everywhere — I have become accustomed to saying aloud, ‘God, could you please help me?’ And time after time, after saying this, the cervix appears… There are many such examples. These experiences have made me think deeply about how prayer might be used to help my patients.”

She continued:

“I was not raised in any religion and did not practise spiritual disciplines, but I have always been interested in spiritual and ‘supernatural’ matters. Now, after much exploration, I am more willing to acknowledge that some people can do such things. If someone else produced an incredible miracle, I could accept it calmly — but I could not believe that I myself possessed such an ability (though I know this is irrational). Since my beloved dog’s death, I have seriously reflected on this issue. If someone else’s prayer had healed the dog, or if some unknown cause had healed it, I could accept that without reservation…”

Source: Larry Dossey, Prayer Is Good Medicine, HarperCollins, 1996, Part IV. Paraphrased by Chapman Chen