"Jesus Wants Me to Have a Dog..."

I remember Mom saying that she had scarlet fever at approximately 6 or 7 years of age. Since she was born in 1928, this would have been 1935 or thereabouts. So not only was she sick, they were all in the middle of the Great Depression, and my grandfather was an electrical contractor (i.e., he most likely was not employed full-time). 

People used to die from scarlet fever...but of course she didn't know that at her age. (Thank You, God!) 

Mom remembered that she had wanted a dog for a while before she got sick, but wasn't allowed to have one. (In retrospect, it was probably because a dog was an un-needed expense.)

So she told her parents that she heard Jesus calling her - and that Jesus wanted her to have a dog, or He would take her away to live with Him.

I said, "MOTHERRRRR! You naughty girl!!!"

To which she replied, "Hey, it worked - I got the dog!"