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 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 have 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 begins to quiver. 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 Dog’s Prayer
Treat me kindly, my beloved master,
for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness
than the loving heart of me.
Do not break my spirit with a stick,
for though I should lick your hand between the blows,
your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me
the things you would have me do.
Speak to me often, for your voice is the world’s sweetest music.
as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail
when your footstep falls upon my waiting ear.
When it is cold and wet, please take me inside,
for I am now a domesticated animal, no longer used to bitter elements.
And I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting
at your feet beside the hearth.
Though you had no home, I would rather follow you through ice and snow
then rest upon the softest pillow in the warmest home in all the land,
for you are my god and I am your devoted worshiper.
Keep my pan filled with fresh water,
for although I should not reproach you were it dry,
I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.
Feed me clean food, that I might stay well,
to romp and play and do your bidding,
to walk by your side, and stand ready to protect you with my life
should your life be in danger.
And beloved master,
should the great Master see fit
to deprive me of my health or sight,
do not turn me away from you.
Rather hold me gently in your arms
as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest
and I will leave you knowing with the last breath I drew,
my fate was always safest in your hands.
Author…. Beth Norman Harris
If you ever loved 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 companion. 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 dog 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
living room, bedroom, anywhere for that matter. When you feel it brush against you for the first
time.it instills a feeling 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 your longtime
companion and see age where you once saw youth. You will see slow deliberate steps where you once
saw energy. And you will see sleep where you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your
companions’s diet and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing fear deep
within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and
off, until the third day arrives.
And on this day–if your companion and God have not decided for you,then you will be faced with
making a decision of your own on behalf of your lifelong companion, and with the guidance of your
own deepest Spirit. But whichever way your companion 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–comparable in size to 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 your leg–very very
lightly. And looking down at the place where your precious, 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.
IF IT SHOULD BE
If it should be that I grow frail and weak
And pain should keep 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 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 can hold no fears
Would you want me to suffer? So
When the time comes, please let me go.
Take me where my needs they’ll tend
Only stay with me until the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.
It is a kindness that you do for me
Although my tail its last has waved
From pain and suffering I have been saved
Do not grieve it should be you
Who must decide this thing to do
We’ve been so close, we two these years
Don’t let your heart hold any tears.