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...
Our household has changed a bit over the past few years. We had pets older than our son who passed away. We miss them a lot. We had a ten year old Collie named Shane, who got sick & died when we were on vacation. That was tough. We had care for the pets, it was just one of those things. One year later (June 1999) our sweet Pattie girl (cat) got really sick & we found out from the vet that her liver was failing. She was fifteen. In March 2000, we lost Pepper to kidney disease a day after his seventeenth birthday. He was our first baby together. When his kidney failure was first beginning we thought he was just turning into a little piggy. That is when I added the picture below.
Would you believe that one of our babies is old enough for a driver's license? Yeppers. . .Pepper is already 16 years old. Not only that, but in his old age, he thinks it is ALWAYS time to feed the kitty. So, to commemorate the occasion, we got him a red convertible. Here he is on his way to the drive thru:
Picture courtesy of my Hubby, 9/13/98 :o)
We still do have our other pets though, & our newest additions are Pomeranians! The first one we got is named Britney. She was born January 20, 2000. Her full AKC name is Princess' Britney Rose. We got her in March 2000. We adopted an adult Pom on March 23, 2001. His birthday is April 10, 1999. His AKC name is KoKo Man Brown, but we call him Teddy because he looks like a little Teddy Bear! He is a chocolate Pom. He is completely brown complete with a brown nose. He's a cutie. You can see a picture of him here. Our others are Tweetie, who is a sixteen year old Cockatiel; Princess, a four year old white lab; Baby, a nine year old cat; & Lauren (Kimmie & Shane's pup), who is 3/4 Collie & 1/4 Chow & is also nine years old.
Our dog Kimmie passed away the morning of July 9, 2001. We don't know why, but she was lying dead in the backyard when Craig went into his office that morning. She had done tricks for her Heartworm Pill (they think they are treats, must be good!) just the night before, & on the 4th of July was playing with Benji while Craig was grilling burgers. Poor ole' girl. She was only nine.
Not wanting to leave Lauren in the backyard all alone, I called around & found her a buddy. We got an already grown white Labrador Retriever. Her name was already Princess so we will let it stay that. She seems very sweet. Her owners were going to be away a lot in the coming months & felt she needed a new home. Our Poms live in the house & the big dogs have always lived in the backyard. The Poms go out back often, but we didn't want Lauren to feel alone when the Poms are inside after she has always had doggies out there with her.
UPDATE
We lost Tweetie in April 2005 to old age.
We lost Lauren in August 2006 to congestive heart failure.
We lost Princess in January 2007 to a brain tumor.
That is the saddest part of having pets. Treasure them & don't take time for granted. Their little lives are so short!
