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, someone who was 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 breaks from the group,

flying over the green grass,

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 those

trusting eyes, so long gone

from your life, but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together ...



* Author Unknown *

I stood by your bed last night. I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying. You found it hard to sleep.

I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear.
"It's me. I haven't left you. I'm well. I'm fine. I'm here."

I was close to you at breakfast. I watched you pour the tea.
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.

I was with you at the shops today, your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels. I wish I could do more.

I was with you at my grave today, you tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I'm not lying there.

I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled with your key.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said" it's me"

You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.

It's possible for me to be so near you every day.
To say to you with certainty, " I never went away".

You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew
in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.

The day is over... I smile and watch you yawning
and say "good night, God bless, I'll see you in the morning"

And when the time is right for you,  to cross the brief divide
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand , side by side.

I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see

Be patient, live your journey out...Then come home to be with me.


* Author Unknown *

My early morning runs are an out and back affair - out two miles and then back two miles. My turn-around spot is marked by a pleasant visit with a large mixed-breed very old scruffy dog, who lies just inside her wrought iron gate. She hears my running shoes as soon as they hit her driveway, and she is up, with her snoot out the bars of the gate, tail wagging, waiting to give me her morning kiss, (and for the two biscuits she knows I have in my pocket for her.) This morning on my approach I was alarmed to see she wasn't in her usual shady spot, waiting. Instead, there on the gate was a hand-written poem entitled "Dear Friends of Dutchess..." It was a lovely tribute to a beloved living creature who touched many lives with her grandness and love. I left her two cookies beside a single rose that another stranger-friend had laid in her spot, and ran home blinded with tears over the loss of such a gentle friend.

The thing is, we all touch people in endless ways. Dutchess's owners didn't know all her friends, only that she had many. Even the least among us, and Dutchess was anything but that, have unceasing power to give love and to receive love. Love is all around us if we but leave ourselves open to it. I have lost a dear friend - no one will ever take her place, but the wondrous thing about the human heart is its' uncounted compartments, and something else will come along to make its own special place. Dutchess's spot will still be there.

Moral of the story?.......I don't know. I suspect there are many. But the lesson I learned through my tears this morning was this - We can never be certain how great the power or influence we have on others. A stranger's touch is sometimes the most powerful in our lives. The people we touch, and are touched, by matter greatly.