 TeardropsIt is never easy to face the loss of a pet.
Over the years I have faced that loss and yet would still not trade away one minute of the time each pet had in my life. Every pet was special in their own way and I always have a tear waiting in the corner of my eye for each one of them.
The following is a small collection of things I have found that help me remember the companionship and love these animals brought into my life.
The 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.
To Quote Someone That Knows
With dogs and people, it's love in big splashy colors. When you're involved with a cat, you're dealing in pastels. ~ Louis A. Camuti, D.V.M.
A dog, I have always said, is prose; a cat is a poem. ~ Jean Burden
No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch. ~ Leo Dworken
Cats know how to obtain food without labor, shelter without confinement, and love without penalties. ~ W.L George
A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not. ~ Ernest Hemingway
Immortalized In Stone
Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just Tribute to the Memory of
BOATSWAIN, a DOG.
Who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead Nov. 18th 1808.
Found on the monument for Lord Byron's dog, Boatswain, on the grounds of Byron's seat in Nottinghamshire, Newstead Abbey.
Touched Even The Hardest Heart
This soldier, I realized, must have had friends at home and in his regiment; yet he lay there deserted by all except his dog. I looked on, unmoved, at battles which decided the future of nations. Tearless, I had given orders which brought death to thousands. Yet here I was stirred, profoundly stirred, stirred to tears. And by what? By the grief of one dog.
A quote from Napoleon Bonaparte, on finding a dog beside the body of his dead master, licking his face and howling, on a moonlit field after a battle. Napoleon was haunted by this scene until his own death.
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