The Rainbow Bridge

Our pets give us so much love and affection that they become as much a part of our lives as our human family members. But it seems that their lives are so short compared to ours! When they pass on, we never forget them.

I like to think of them waiting at 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...

Click to expand...

This is the place to post pictures and talk about our pets that have gone ahead and are waiting patiently for us to join them there. Share your wonderful memories with us and tell us what these pets meant to you.






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Since I began this thread, several wonderful poems have been found and posted by our members, and I would like to share them here. I hope they bring comfort to you, as the did to me.


I STOOD BY YOUR BED LAST NIGHT

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 for 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 everyday.
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 "goodnight, 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






MAY I GO?

May I go now?
Do you think the time is right?
May I say goodbye to pain filled days
and endless lonely nights?
I've lived my life and done my best,
an example tried to be.
So I can take that step beyond
and set my spirit free?
I didn't want to go at first,
I fought with all my might.
But something seems to draw me now
to a warm and living light.
I want to go,
I really do
It's difficult to stay.
But I will try as best I can
to live just one more day.
To give you time to care for me
and share your love and fears.
I know you're sad and afraid,
because I see your tears.
I'll not be far,
I promise that and hope you'll always know
that my spirit will be close to you
wherever you may go.
Thank you for loving me.
You know I love you too,
that's why it's hard to say goodbye
and end this life with you.
So hold me now just one more time
and let me hear you say,
because you care so much for me,
you'll let me go today.

by Susan A. Jackson






IF IT SHOULD BE

If it should be that I grow weak,
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this last battle cannot 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 for me must stand the test.

We've had so many happy years,
What is to come can hold no fears,
You'd not want me to suffer so,
The time has come, please let me go.

Take me where my need they'll tend,
And please stay with me until the end,
I know in time that you will see,
The kindness that you did for me,
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I've been saved.

Please do not grieve, it must be you
Who had this painful thing to do,
We've been so close, we two, these years,
Don't let your heart hold back its tears.

Author unknown

Seren died just a few weeks ago. She was such an awesome guinea pig (the boat shes sat on in the picture was actually named after her). She was the shyest gui ea pig I ever had but towards the end of her life she only ever wanted to curl up with you... in the last few weeks though before she went her back legs stopped working properly and she kept fitting really badly. she'd always had fits but these were around 7+ times a day in the last two weeks.

she died in my arms on may 26th.

wow I made this post depressing

Macarthur but we called him Mac
He was the dog I grew up with... He died in 1993

And Gunner.
He died July 3, 1999 which is weird because July 4 was the day he hated the most. You know, the fireworks and all that noise, poor thing.

No pics, but here's a run-down of the pets I fondly remember:

Judy: Black labrodor. My recollections of her are vague, as I was only a small child when she died, she belonged to my parents before I was born. She was lovely, as I recall. Died April 1992 aged nearly 18.

Tuppence: White crossbreed dog. Like Judy she died when I was very young, and had belonged to my parents. They acquired her a few years after Judy so she was quite a bit younger. She was very close to Judy and sadly pined to death a month after Judy died in 1992. She was 12 at the time.

Fudge: Guinea Pig. Fudge was my joint first ever guinea pig, bought at the same time as Pepper and Snowball (see later on). She was quite a tubby little thing and she used to love dandelion leaves to eat. She was very quiet and a joy to hold, but sadly passed away at the premature age of 2 in April 2000 due to a suspected heart attack.

Pepper: Black Dutch Rabbit. My first ever bunny and a hutchmate to Snowball and Fudge. She was a very happy-go-lucky rabbit, she loved people's company and she especially enjoyed sunbathing on the grass. She developed an abcess in her mouth which was incorrectly diagnosed, and thusly given the wrong treatment. By the time the correct diagnosis had been made she was beyond help. Died May 2001 aged 3 thanks to the stupidity of a vet.

Snowball: Albino Guinea Pig. Was bought along with Fudge and Pepper. Earnt the nickname "Squeaky" due to her tendency to sqeak a LOT, and very loudly too! Of the trio, she was the longest living, dying only in November 2003 aged 6.

Smokey: Hamster. Acquired as a freebie, she was a most playful little rodent. I loved stroking her, she was so soft to the touch. Her favourite pastime was running immense distances at once in her wheel. She became very temperamental suddenly and bit me several times, which raised suspicions. Died of a brain tumour aged 1 and a half in 2002.

Peanuts: Hamster. To help me get over Smokey's demise, I bought Peanuts. She was a golden hamster, white a lovely white belly, she used to roll over so I could rub it . She died of an unknown ailment, very suddenly in early 2003, and we decided that perhaps hamsters are a little to delicate for us. She had no successor.

The Godfather: Betta. Ah, who can forget my first Betta? Acquired just 4 months ago from a horrible fish shop, I nursed him back to health after having 80% of his fins removed. He was a good betta who was happy in a community situation, which made him even more special. He died just last week from leaping out of the tank.

Slurp: Firebellied Toad. And finally, the almost-legendary Slurp. Despite being in my care for only a week, earlier this year, he was one of the most influential pets I ever had. He was in a horrible state when I bought him and he was too weak to pull through. His sibling Splodge survived, and continues to thrive today.

i've had fish and rats die on me, i guess im not too good w/ animals, though i think my mom killed my rats, she never liked them lol. well here's some pix of Gulliver, the blonde dog. He was truly ingenious. He played dumb. He pretended to do stupid stuff but he was really smart when he thought we weren't looking. lol
he was almost 12 when he died. pretty old for a pure bred golden retriever.

here's the other pic.

Honey: (Female Canary) Died of old age on 4/06/1999
Sunshine: (Male Canary) Died of old age on 6/04/2000
These where my favourite little pets before I got into fishkeeping...Sunshine was really beautiful and sung every morning...
I really miss them...

Un-named english budgie (right)

Died shortly after a surgery for a feather cyst.

My friend's Quarter Horse Thoroughbred cross colliced not too long ago

My dog who was put down in '00.

The fish that have died that I owned.

Lance, our orange tabby.

yep.. I try not to remember them by their death, but of all the joy they had brought into people's lives.

George- Golden Lab. We got him when I was two, and he was 6 months old. The best pal a girl could ever have. He suffered from epilepsy his whole life, but near the end of it it became worse, and grew to the point where he could no longer eat because of the seizures.

Blackberry- Male black cat. A grumpy old thing, just the opposite of Moses. She ignored everyone in the family except me, probably because I was the one who fed her. Blackberry got hit by a car one morning.

Moses- Female black cat. I picked her out of the litter because she was so shy and lonely. She became the friendliest cat ever. She used to lay around my neck while I'd play soccer in the backyard, and when we played hide-and-seek, she would always come and hide with me. On day she didn't come back inside the house. We think it was either racoons or coyotes.

Whizzer- Hamster. Named because he could not be held without peeing on someone. He lived until he was two.

Peter and Benjamin- White bunnies. Escape artists. On their final escape, Benjamin fell off the retaining wall, and Peter got stuck under the chain fence surrounding our yard.

I've only lost two pets to death. Her name was Sammy and she was a 1 year old love bird whom i had raised from birth. We had a housefire and regretfully she burned along with all our other belongings.

and Yukon was a german shepard husky mix. He was a beautiful dog and passed away when i was only about 5 years old. He wasn't my dog, he actually belonged to our neighbors across the street, but he spent th emost time with me and my grandpa, we suspect his owners did not want him anymore and poisoned him.

I'd also like to remember several pets that I had had that my mother has made me get rid of for one reason or another.

SMUDGES: my male long hair black and white cat. He was a little feisty devil, but was always nice to me, we had him for 5 years untill he started spraying around th house and had to be given away (or so my mother says)

YUKON the 3rd: a grey tabby cat who my grandpa raised from a kitten but when my grandpa passed away he came to live with us. He was the reason for smudges spraying, but was an extremely sweet cat.

(if we hadn't given them away though they would have burned in the fire as well. it occured 2 weeks after we found them new homes)

SIMBA: Cocker Spaniel Puppy
SHEBA: Springer Spaniel
SMOKEY: grey cat
SHADOW: Smokey's kitten
CHI CHI: Chiauha
Yukon the 2nd: angora rabbit

and last and most importantly:

KODI: my mothers New Foundland. He lived with us for 4 years, I moved out and she kept him another year before she found another home for him saying it was too much work and he was too big. I loved him very much. He was the best of friends to my Mini Poodle Bentley and his Brother Maxx (my mothers German Shepard whom she still thankfully has).

I MISS YOU ALL!

I would like to remember Snuggles my Russian Dwarf that passed away quite suddenly and i was upset because it was the day after my birthday. Died 3rd May 2004. Rest in Peace my little one.

Just today i want to post my tribute to Alfie golden and white dwarf hamster with pink albino eyes, he was just 6 and half weeks old and was my favourite out of the recent litter i had. Had a cut inside his mouth which prevented him from eating, i nursed him 24hrs for 3 days. He as treated by a vet yesterday he had antibotics and rehydration sachets. But sadly passed away in the night. He was quite spritely after coming home from the vets after having the food removed from his cheek pouch. Discovered his lifeless body and it looked like he choked on some of his food when he tried to eat. Died 30th June 2004 (5am and 9.20am)

Very Heart broken i lost these little critters, may you rest in peace.

Marmalade- hamster (male)
Our first hamster, died of a tuma. I named him.

Silver- Hamster (female)
Our second hamster, forgot what she died of.

Many, many fish.

Our colony of stick insects.
Most died of old age, some of accidental drowning and some of loss of limbs.
A very cool pet.

There is a few more pets that have died, but I forgot what they were.