Daily Devotional – April 23

Biology

All warm-blooded animals generate heat when running. When we run fast, we get rid of heat by sweating over our entire body. But a dog does not sweat the way humans do. Instead, a dog “pants.” Panting is a process where a dog hangs his tongue out of his open mouth and breaths over his wet tongue. This causes the wet saliva to evaporate – removing heat from the tongue in the process. This cools the tongue’s blood vessels, which carry the cooled blood throughout the body.

A dog’s primary method for regulating its body temperature is by evaporation through panting and sweat glands on its paws. This is a marvelous design. Imagine a dog sweating all over its body on a cold winter day; its coat would be covered with icicles. God had to solve many engineering problems when he created the wide variety of creatures to survive the diverse environments throughout the earth.

[The Lord] will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:….

~ Micah 4:2

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.