Did you ever have an Angel in your boat? No? Well, have you ever caught an Angel with a crankbait? Until last month I would have had to say "no" to both questions. But a strange turn of events with a homeless man, a hospital visit, and a chewed up door changed all that. Confused? Me too! Let me see if I can make this... make sense.

Randy discovered the church I serve last October on a cold and rainy night. Homeless, hungry, and needing a dry place to unroll his sleeping bag for the night, he made himself at home under the large eaves of my office. I found him the next morning fast asleep, with a tail sticking out of the sleeping bag. That's right - a tail! Long, brown, and big. Either Randy was a freak of nature, or you guessed it - there was a dog in there too!

When the snoozing canine awoke, turned in the bag, and stuck it's head out to see who I was - I gasped. It was huge - the head I mean! It turned out to belong to a 10 month old Pitbull and Chow mix. I was relieved to discover it was a friendly head whose huge jaws (while capable of engulfing my leg's calf) was filled with a strange black tongue that seemed content to lick every square inch of exposed skin I had. It seemed fitting that this four-legged love machine should be called... you guessed it: Angel.