God loves ugly puppies?

a few years ago, just around the date of our wedding, my parents' dog got mange or some skin disease of the sort. she's a pug-poodle mix, and apparently poodles are genetically predisposed to skin diseases, result of years of inbreeding. the vet said that there was nothing he could do and she would end up suffering for quite a while before dying of some infection resulting from the disease. he suggested putting her down before it got to that point.

my youngest sisters love this fugly little beast and were, of course, very upset. mom suggested waiting till after our wedding, using the three weeks spent in Holland as time to get used to being away from her so they would be more ready to say goodbye when they got back. but one wise little sister scoffed "Oh you of little faith!", and the two girls proceeded to pray every day that their ugly little mangy dog would be healed.

would you believe it if i told you that the dog actually got better? her sores disappeared, her hair grew back, and she has not had skin problems since.