Tobit 5:16. Tobit, having met and welcomed the angel Raphael into his home (thinking he was a distant relative), tells Tobias to prepare for his journey. He wishes Tobias great success and tells him "Go with this man; God who dwells in heaven will prosper your way, and may his angel attend you." So Tobias leaves with Raphael (who is, in fact, God's angel and will make sure to prosper Tobias' on his way), and "the young man's dog was with them."

The Bible makes sure to tell us that Tobias' dog is going on the journey with him! I do not remember hearing about the dog before, this is the first time it is striking me. I don't think the dog has any other part to play in the story other than this one line. So why is this here? Why do we need to know that the dog tagged along? Well, for one thing, it is a theme that we love - a young man and his dog, loyal to each other, the dog protecting the man as he finds his way through life - we see it over and over again in our stories. Is this where it started?

Even if not, the writer clearly knows that having the dog tag along will help his readers accept Tobias' leaving his family and especially his mother. We know he is protected by his dog, even if we don't necessarily believe the angel will protect him (and isn't that so like us?)!

Also, maybe the dog is a sort of reminder that God is keeping an eye on the whole thing. We know that Raphael is an angel but Tobias and Tobit do not. Maybe the dog allays the fears of the father and the mother as they send their son out with a stranger on a journey - they know that unconditional love (in the form of the dog) goes with Tobias.

God is that unconditional love for all of us, but it is certainly true that we feel it from our dogs. I really believe that God gave us dogs so that we get the tiniest taste of what unconditional love is really like.