Rainbow Bridge
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...
A TRIBUTE TO DUCHESS
By: Dorann LaPerch
The day we met I had no clue,
that I would be going home with you.
He let you off your short old chain,
you looked at me and over you came.
I kneeled right down, you came to see
just who this strange young woman might be.
Your eyes looked deeply into my soul,
at that very moment my heart you stole.
You took your nose and lifted my arm
you wanted some petting, you had such charm.
I made the deal, and home I ran
to get the cash for my Doberman.
Dobermans' they said a ferocious breed,
thank goodness dear Duchess you did not read.
A kinder dog with the biggest heart,
always so good and so very smart.
You thought your job was to take care of me,
but you dear love became my world you see.
Just being with you was such a pleasure,
every moment with you I always will treasure.
I almost lost you when you got so ill,
but you toughed it out with your iron will.
Six weeks we worked to get you healthy,
we made our vet so very wealthy.
There is no price for one so rare,
just for the pleasure of stroking your hair.
An inseparable pair, our bond was deep,
so at the hospital your cage I did sleep.
Every night they let you come home,
IV and all for I would not leave you alone.
On borrowed time they always would say,
life is always like that we cherish each day.
We showed them all that never say never,
even though we knew it wouldn't be forever.
One day I saw that there had been a change,
that lipoma you had was looking so strange.
Once more to the vet, just to see
he nodded his head and did the biopsy.
For the first time Dutch I had a strange feeling
and after the Doctor called my head was reeling.
Inoperable, untreatable, malignant he said
I hung up the phone and I felt such dread.
Its never enough, fifteen years is so short
it seems only yesterday you'd bark and cavort.
I promised you love that on that inevitable day
that I would help you go in the easiest way.
The doctor came here so home you would be,
and I told you to go and sleep peacefully.
Now you are gone the house is so bare,
I look at your photos and see how you stare.
They say the eyes you know are your souls mirror
I've never seen goodness or kindness shown any clearer.
The day will come when you are back with me,
for without you my love no heaven could be.
My beloved friend
DUCHESS
March 19, 1981-April 16, 1996
Dorann LaPerch
"Beau"
He never came to me when I would call
Unless I had a tennis ball,
Or he felt like it,
But mostly he didn't come at all.
When he was young
He never learned to heel
Or sit or stay,
He did things his way.
Discipline was not his bag
But when you were with him things sure didn't drag.
He'd dig up a rosebush just to spite me,
And when I'd grab him, he'd turn and bite me.
He bit lots of folks from day to day,
The delivery boy was his favorite prey.
The gas man wouldn't read our meter,
He said we owned a real man-eater.
He set the house on fire
But the story's long to tell.
Suffice it to say that he survived
And the house survived as well.
On the evening walks, and Gloria took him,
He was always first out the door.
The Old One and I brought up the rear
Because our bones were sore.
We would charge up the street with Mom hanging on,
What a beautiful pair they were!
And it if was still light and the tourists were out,
They created a bit of a stir.
But every once in awhile, he would stop in his tracks
And with a frown on his face look around.
It was just to make sure that the Old One was there
And would follow him where he was bound.
We are early-to-bedders at our house --
I guess I'm the first to retire.
And as I'd leave the room he'd look at me
And get up from his place by the fire.
He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs
And I'd give him one for awhile.
He would push it under the bed with his nose
And I'd fish it out with a smile.
And before very long
He'd tire of the ball
And be asleep in his corner
In no time at all.
And there were nights when I'd feel him
Climb upon our bed
And lie between us,
And I'd pat his head.
And there were nights when I'd feel this stare
And I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there
And I'd reach out my hand and stroke his hair.
And sometimes I'd feel him sigh
and I think I know the reason why.
He would wake up at night
And he would have this fear
Of the dark, of life, of lots of things,
And he'd be glad to have me near.
And now he's dead.
And there are nights when I think I feel him
Climb upon our bed and lie between us,
And I pat his head.
And there are nights when I think
I feel that stare
And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair,
But he's not there.
Oh, how I wish that wasn't so,
I'll always love a dog named Beau.
Jimmy Stewart 1908-7/2/97
A Prayer for Animals
Hear our humble prayer,
O God,
for our friends, the animals,
especially for those who are suffering;
for any that are lost or deserted
or frightened or hungry.
We entreat for them all
Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them,
we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves,
to be true friends to animals
and so to share
the blessings
of the merciful.
Albert Schweitzer
Boatswain
At the death of 'Boatswain', the Newfoundland who was the trusted friend of Lord Byron, the famed English poet has a monument erected on his grave at Newstead abbey. Then he wrote the following poem, which was etched on one side of the octagonal shaft:
When some proud son of man returns to earth,
Unknown to glory, but upheld by birth,
The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below;
When all is done, upon the tomb is seen,
Not what he was, but what he should have been.
But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, the foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his master's own,
Who labors, lives, fights, breathes for him alone,
Unhonored falls, unnoticed all his worth,
Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth.
While man, vain insect, hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole, exclusive heaven.
Ye! Who behold, perchance, this simple urn,
Pass on; it honours none you wish to mourn.
To mark a friend's remains these stones rise,
I have never known but one - and here he lies.
A Bridge Called Love
It takes us back to brighter years,
to happier sunlit days
and to precious moments
that will be with us always.
And these fond recollections
are treasured in the heart
to bring us always close to those
from whom we had to part.
There is a bridge of memories
from earth to Heaven above...
It keeps our dear ones near us
It's the bridge that we call love.
If It Should Be
If it be I grow frail and weak,
And pain should wake me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this last battle can’t be won.
You will be sad, I’ll understand,
Don’t let your grief then stay your hand,
For this day more than all the rest,
Your love and friendship stand the test.
We’ve had so many happy years,
What is to come will hold no fears,
You’ll not want me to suffer, so,
When the time comes, please let me go.
I know in time, you too will see,
It is a kindness you do me,
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering, I’ve been saved.
Do not grieve that it should be you,
Who has to decide this thing to do
We’ve been so close, we two, these years,
Don’t let your heart hold any tears.
Author Unknown
To My Best Friend
The day they laid you down to sleep
I prayed to the Lord; your soul he'll keep
Until the appointed day and time
when together we'll meet; and all will be fine
With all God's; creatures great and small
go run and play now, have a ball
No more aches; and no more pain
just bright sunshine; no more rain
Rest in peace; for now best friend
cradled in God's arms; to the end
Dream of that special; day and time
when we'll meet at the Bridge; one last time
Although we'll be separated; for a long time
we'll be together then; and all will be fine
We'll cross Rainbow Bridge; side by side
with a soft warm feeling; deep down inside
Once again then; all will be fine
we're together forever; till the end of time
John Quealy
I ONLY WANTED YOU
They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.
A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.
In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.
If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I'd walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.
Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.
Author unknown
Rosebud
When God calls little puppies to dwell with Him above,
We humans always question the wisdom of His love.
For no heartache can compare with the loss of one small 'child',
Who does so much to make this world seem wonderful and mild.
Perhaps God tires - always calling the aged to His fold,
And so He picks a rosebud before it can grow old.
God knows how much we need them and so He picks but few;
To make the land of heaven more beautiful to view.
Believing this is difficult, yet somehow we must try,
For the saddest word that mankind knows will always be "good-bye".
And so when little pups depart;
We, who are left behind, must realize how much God loves puppies....
For angels are hard to find.
Author Unknown
EACH GENTLE TOUCH
Each gentle soul
whose own special journey
directs them to join us..
has visited for whatever time
we are graced to spend together..
to enhance our essential natures.
It is not for us to control or direct ..
It is not for us to understand
It is a mystery.
It is a teaching..
Love.. so precious.. is a gift..
Which nurtures and abides in our heart
Awakens our magical spirit.
Heals our wounds..
Love is eternal..and boundless.
Love given and received unconditionally
restores and renews.
As you gaze into a mirror
Look deeply into your eyes..
What do you see?
Love!
Everlasting love is conceived and birthed
from the depths of our beingness and
Connection with Angels who watch over us.
Touch someone and feel
loved.
Author Joan O'Brien
A LIVING LOVE
if you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always
remember...
The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new
friend. You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked
numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder.
Or perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking
mutt in a shelter - simply because something in its eyes reached your heart.
But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its
special place in your hall or front room - and when you feel it brush against
you for the first time - it instills a felling of pure love you will carry
with you through the many years to come.
The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later. It will be a day
like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you
will look at you longtime friend and see age where you once say youth. You
will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy. And you will see
sleep when you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your friend's
diet - and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing
uneasy feeling on and off until the third day finally arrives.
On this day - if your friend and whatever higher being you believe in have not
decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own -
on the behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own
deepest Spirit. But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you - you
will feel as alone as a single star in the dark night.
If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they
must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of
family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.
But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joy-
filled years, you may find that a soul - a bit smaller in size than your own -
seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come.
And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen,
you may feel something brush against you leg -- very, very lightly.
And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to
lie - you will remember those three significant days. The memory will most
likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your heart. As time passes the
ache will come and go as if it has a life of its own. You will both reject it
and embrace it, and it may confuse you. If you reject it, it will depress
you. If you embrace it, it will deepen
you. Either way, it will still be an ache.
But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when - along with the memory of
your pet - and piercing through the heaviness in your heart - there will come
a realization
that belongs only to you. It will be as unique and strong as our relationship
with each animal we have loved and lost. This realization takes the form of a
Living Love -
like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted,
this Love will remain and grow - and be there for us to remember. It is a
love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go. And it
is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live. It is a Love which is ours
alone. And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our Beloved Pets - it is
a Love we will always possess.
(by Martin Scot Kosins)
A Little Dog-Angel
by Norah M. Holland
High up in the courts of heaven today
A little dog-angel waits,
With the other angels he will not play,
But he sits alone at the gates;
"For I know that my master will come," says he:
"And when he comes, he will call for me."
He sees the spirits that pass him by
As they hasten toward the Throne,
And he watches them with a wistful eye
As he sits at the gates alone;
"But I know if I just wait patiently
That some day my master will come," says he.
And his master far on the earth below,
As he sits in his easy chair,
Forgets sometimes, and he whistles low
For the dog that is not there;
And the little dog-angel cocks his ears,
And dreams that his master's call he hears.
And I know, when at length his master waits
Outside in the dark and cold
For the hand of Death to open the gates
That lead to those courts of gold,
The little dog-angel's eager bark
Will comfort his soul in the shivering dark.
DJ Goldens
EPITAPH FOR A PET
By: Frances Rodman
This grief is for the time he chewed the slipper
And took his punishment with hurt surprise
That from all kindness could fall such chastisement;
This tear is for the sorrow in his eyes.
And this, for all the times we had no leisure
To romp with him, and left him lonely there,
Hoping, until the door closed, to be summoned
Scrambling and eager, down the darkened stair.
And this regret is for the many pleasures
So trivial to us, so great to him,
We might have offered, but it was a trouble;
Although it seems, now, that our eyes are dim
With the remembering, we might have given
(Having it in our power), more of heaven.....
Submitted by:
DJ Goldens
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