MORE ON A JOURNEY IN GRIEF:

LOSING A BELOVED DOG OR OTHER BELOVED PET

First a personal photo memoir followed by the listing and a partial description of a few books to help one through the grief process.  It is never easy to lose a beloved;  I still see all the faces of mine and know they are waiting for me with all my beloved family and friends who have gone before me.

My Wendy—My Heart

A Few of Our Beloveds Never to Be Forgotten

Waiting at the Rainbow Bridge

My Al with His Favorites from Our  First Bonnie in the Hotel Bed in England in 1989 to His Last Favorite Pistol in Bed Before My Beloved Al Passed

We all endure the pain of loss and grief whether the loss be of family, friends or beloved pets, in this case, dogs. Our beloved Dogs.  I still mourn my childhood pets: dogs, horses, cats, and a couple of wonderful ducks; most of all I mourn my dogs.  When people to me wanting another dog, but not knowing if they can go through the pain of loss again, I always tell them:  “One must endure the pain of losing beloved dogs in order to have the joy of having them.”  It is never easy.  The loss of my Wendy last summer was certainly not as difficult as losing my Al two summers ago, but it hurt as she was my constant companion for almost fifteen years as I expressed in a previous blog post. 

I would like to devote some time to exploring some of the books on grief that have been written about the total sadness overcoming and sometimes consuming one  at the loss of a pet.

I was asked to judge the Dog Writers Of America’s annual book review last year.  My first choice and the book that won first place for the best human/animal bond book was the following:

a 30 day guide to healing from the loss of your pet by Gael J. Ross, LCSW, is a powerful journal on the loss of a beloved.  I found this book even helpful when I lost Al.  Journaling is always a way to deal with grief and other emotions as a part of the healing process.  Using a guide to journal entries, memories, photos and more, this book chronicles the life and loss of a beloved dog.  I usually have a few copies on hand to give to those who come to me after losing a dog.  Amazon carries this book and it is well worth the purchase and the journey.

The books featured in this post on grief are all available on Amazon and are all helpful in dealing with the heartache of loss. 

By the way, grief does go both ways.

Please take a look at the following. Absolutely beautiful flash mob performance to celebrate Christmas.  Meredith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnt7euRF5Pg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

For those of you going into nursing homes with therapy dogs, especially all the Rattlebridge Cavaliers working in therapy, I salute you.  I wish I had your energy.  I may not be able to organize my schedule in my ADD way to make it to nursing homes, but I can take in a couple of senior citizen dogs to help.  The number of abandoned and neglected animals has grown with our poor economy.  Please join me in doing something for them as well as our own homeless people. 

I have a huge house for one person and have wanted to give a home to a homeless family even when Al was alive.  He wisely said no; last year I did try it on my own and it just did not work out. Long and sad story.  However, there are other ways to help: donating food, toys, clothes, or money in the Christmas season, working at soup kitchens, and finding other ways to help.  Prayer never hurts either.

As this blog continues to feature grief about losing one’s beloved pet, I came across this heartbreaking and heartwarming "The New Rainbow Bridge."

Across "The New Rainbow Bridge"

Unlike most days at Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray, damp as a swamp and as dismal as could be imagined. All of the recent arrivals had no a what to think, as they had never experienced a day like this before. But the animals who had been waiting for their beloved people knew exactly what was going on and started to gather at the pathway leading to The Bridge to watch.

It wasn’t long before an elderly animal came into view, head hung low and tail dragging. The other animals, the ones who had been there for a while, knew what his story was right away, for they had seen this happen far too often.

He approached slowly, obviously in great emotional pain, but with no sign of injury or illness. Unlike all of the other animals waiting at The Bridge, this animal had not been restored to youth and made healthy and vigorous again. As he walked toward The Bridge, he watched all of the other animals watching him. He knew he was out of place here and the sooner he could cross over, the happier he would be.

But, alas, as he approached The Bridge, his way was barred by the appearance of an Angel who apologized, but told him that he would not be able to pass. Only those animals who were with their people could pass over Rainbow Bridge.

With no place else to turn to, the elderly animal turned towards the fields before The Bridge and saw a group of other animals like himself, also rly and infirm. They weren’t playing, but rather simply lying on the green grass, forlornly staring out at the pathway leading to The Bridge. And so, he took his place among them, watching the pathway and waiting.

One of the newest arrivals at The Bridge didn’t understand what he had just witnessed and asked one of the animals that had been there for a while to explain it to him.

You see, that poor animal was a rescue. He was turned in to rescue just as you see him now, an older animal with his fur graying and his eyes clouding. He never made it out of rescue and passed on with only the love of his rescuer to comfort him as he left his earthly existence. Because he had no family to give his love to, he has no one to escort him across The Bridge.

The first animal thought about this for a minute and then asked, "So what will happen now?" As he was about to receive his answer, the clouds suddenly parted and the gloom lifted. Approaching The Bridge could be seen a single person and among the older animals, a whole group was suddenly bathed in a golden glow and they were all young and healthy again, just as they were in he prime of life.

"Watch, and see" said the second animal. A second group of animals from hose waiting came to the pathway and bowed low as the person neared. At each bowed head, the person offered a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ears. The newly restored animals fell into line and followed him towards The Bridge. They all crossed The Bridge together.

"What happened?"

"That was a rescuer." The animals you saw bowing in respect were those who found new homes because of his work. They will cross when their new families arrive. Those you saw restored were those who never found homes. When a rescuer arrives, they are allowed to perform one, final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort those poor animals that they couldn’t place on earth, across The Rainbow Bridge.

"I think I like rescuers," said the first animal.

"So does God," was the reply.

Author unknown but I wish I had written it.

---

My prayer group has been talking about service; sadly, I do not feel I am serving God nor man right now in my selfishness of keeping my own life going.  In the new year, that is going to change.  I think I might serve best, by adopting an old rescue dog or two to ensure their quality of life at the end.  I know that God loves all his creatures and that He will take care of us in eternity, but easing the way for a few of them would be wonderful for them who have no families so that they would have a family for whom to wait at the Rainbow Bridge..  I took my Snoop in when he was very young until I could place him. Well . . . he is still here twelve years later: tearing up paper, stealing food from the counters including the Thanksgiving turkey a few years ago (not cooked so I washed it off, smoothed his teeth marks, and cooked the damned thing), and practicing his other endearing habits. I keep threatening that he will go to the Rainbow Bridge a little sooner than he might expect, but then he just gives me that look and a kiss and I am a goner as usual. 

If you want to read an outstanding book about how a dying rescued dog changes the life of a family and especially their mother as he finds new life and purpose, please read:

I Am Listening With A Broken Ear by Vicky S Kaseorg  I read this book on the way to china; did not sleep, just read it on my trusty Kindle which then in my typical fashion I left on the plane. (Oh, well I have my eBooks on my tablet and iPhone I am happy to say in preparation for my ADD losses—left my good glasses on the plane also).   It is a wonderful spiritual story of redemption both for the protagonist and her rescued dog.  I won’t say more, just Google Amazon and get it for it is very timely in light of the anniversary of our own Redeemer’s humble birth.

I am in China to judge dog shows, more on this later.  Angie and Cindy are holding down the fort at home.  I am amazed at the development going on; construction everywhere.  A feeling of prosperity in the two areas I am visiting: Hong Kong and Guangdong Province.  We used to be like this—a healthy and growing economy. 

The following statement by financial guru Warren Buffett has been noted before, but it is worth reading again and again.  If you would like, copy and send to your friends or perhaps your congressmen!!!

Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offered one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971–before computers, e-mail,cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land–all because of public pressure.
…

Warren Buffet is asking each recipient to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2012
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressmen/women collect a salary while in office and receive no pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.

This is how you fix Congress!

Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Don’t you think it’s time?

If you agree, copy and pass this on.