Dear God:

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love,

Meredeth

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.

That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’ in an unfamiliar hand.

Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies.’ Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I am wherever there is love.

Love,

God

— Author Unknown

She said ‘There is a family that is waiting patiently and pretty soon we’ll find them, just you wait and see. And then they’ll join our circle, they’ll help to make it grow so there’ll be room for more like you who have no place to go.

I waited very patiently. They days they came and went. Today’s the day I thought my family would be sent. Then just when I began to think it wasn’t meant to be, there were people there just gazing down at me. I knew them in a heartbeat, I could tell they felt it, too. They said ‘We’ve been waiting for a special dog like you.’

Now every night I say a prayer to all the Gods that be. ‘Thank you for the life I live and all you’ve given me.’

— Author Unknown

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years –canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:

• 1. They live here. You don’t.
• 2. If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That’s why they call it “fur”niture.
• 3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
• 4. To you, they are an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn’t speak clearly.

Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

• 1. Eat less
• 2. Don’t ask for money all the time
• 3. Are easier to train
• 4. Normally come when called
• 5. Never ask to drive the car
• 6. Don’t hang out with drug-using friends
• 7. Don’t smoke or drink
• 8. Don’t have to buy the latest fashions
• 9. Don’t want to wear your clothes
• 10. Don’t need a gazillion dollars for college, and…
• 11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children

— Author Unknown

My skin would itch, my feet were sore, my body ached with pain. And no one stopped to give a pat or gently say my name. I never saw a loving glance, I was always on the run. For people thought that hurting me was really lots of fun.

And then one day I heard a voice so gentle kind and sweet, and arms so soft reached down to me and took me off my feet. ‘No one again will hurt you.’ was whispered in my ear. ‘You’ll have a home to call your own where you will know no fear. You will be dry, you will be warm, you’ll have enough to eat. And rest assured that when you sleep, your dreams will all be sweet.

I was afraid I must admit, I’ve lived so long in fear I can’t remember when I let a human come so near. And as she tended to my wounds and bathed and brushed my fur, she told me bout the rescue group and what it meant to her.

— Author Unknown

You will find dog hair on the floor, they will alert you’re at the door. They may request a little pat, a simple ‘no’ will settle that.

It gripes me when I hear you say “just how is it you live this way? they smell, they shed, they’re in the way..” WHO ASKED YOU? is all I can say..

They love me more than anyone, my voice is like the rising sun, they merely have to hear me say “C’mon , time to go and play!”

Then tails wag and faces grin, they bounce and hop and make a din. They never say “No time for you!”, they’re always there, to GO and DO.

And if I’m sad? They’re by my side and if I’m mad? they circle wide and if I laugh, they laugh with me they understand, they always see.

So once again, I say to you … come visit me, but know this too …

My dogs live here, they’re here to stay. you don’t like pets, be on your way. they share my home, my food, my space this is their home, this is their place.

Author Unknown

‘God’ I said, ‘this is terrible! Why don’t you do something?’ God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly. ‘I have done something.’ He replied. ‘I created You.’

— Copyright Jim Willis 1999

Years ago, I owned the very best dog in the world.

I was a child when we got her. She was a graceful brown hound, a foundling who taught me that our pets are not purchased, but ordained. She romped when I did and knew how to smile in that funny way that only some dogs have. She grew up with me, always there when I needed her. My grown hand still remembers the sleek bump on the top of her head and that gentle divot just past her nose that fit my index finger just perfectly.

She passed away during one of my college vacations. My heart broke then, and I knew that there would never be another dog like her, and there hasn’t been. I was sure that I could never love another dog as much as I’d loved her.

Fortunately, I was wrong about that part.

My next dog came into my life when I was married. My husband traveled for a living, and I was often lonely. This dog grew into a lumbering Wolfhound and Sheepdog mix who taught me patience. He was a large, grizzled sentry, that dog. He rarely left my side until the children were born, and then he became their guardian, too. I can still feel that swirl of fur along his back and the weight of his chin when it rested in my lap.

When he passed away, my heart broke. As much as I had loved that childhood dog, I had been wrong This was the very best dog in the world. There would never be another dog like him, and there hasn’ t been. I was sure I  would never love another dog as much as I’d loved him.

I was wrong again.

We got the next one, a loping black Lab-and-Terrier mix, when the children were little. He taught me the importance of adapting. He was everyone’s dog from the beginning, and that was just as it should be. When he played tug of war with the children, he dragged them across the kitchen floor as they shrieked with laughter. He always seemed to sleep in the room of the  child who needed his company the most. These days his face is expressively gray, and he spends more time with me since the almost-grown children aren’t around so much. The other day my oldest, home from college, played tug of war. We all laughed–just a little–as the dog was gently pulled across the kitchen floor.

He is, of course, the very best dog in the world. I will never forget that exquisitely soft tuft of fur behind his ears or the tickley feel when he nuzzles. There won’t be another dog like him.

And that’s okay, because we will never be at this point in our lives again.

Sometimes I’ve wondered why two species that get along so well should have such different life spans. It just doesn’t seem right. And then I wonder if that’s part of the lesson: To teach us that love itself has a spirit that returns again and again and never really dies.

It’s amazing, in a way, how they bring to our ev er-changing lives exactly what it is that we need at the moment. They make room for one another, this family of dogs who has never even met. And they fit–into our families, into our lives, into our memories, and into our hearts–because they always have been and always will be the best dogs in the world.

To the world you are a rescue person … To a rescued dog you are the world!!

Author: Unknown

I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold.
That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.
You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend.
You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.

And just when I thought you’d done all you do,
There came along not one new lesson, but two.
First you said, “Sweetheart, you’re ready to go.
I’ve done all I can, and you’ve learned all I know.”
Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss.
Along came a new family, they even have kids!
They took me to their home, forever to stay.

At first I thought you sent me away.
Then that second lesson became perfectly clear.
No matter how far, you will always be near.

And so, Foster Mom, you know I’ve moved on.
I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.
But I’ll never forget what I learned that first day.
You never really give your fosters away.
You gave me these thoughts to remember you by.

We may never meet again, and now I know why.
You’ll remember I lived with you for a time.
I may not be yours, but you’ll always be mine.

— Author Unknown

An issue, not often addressed here, is the fact that many residents really have no loved one for whom to wait. Think of the pups who lived and died in hideous puppy mills. No one on earth loved or protected them. What about the many who spent unhappy lives tied in backyards? And, the ones who were abused. Who are they to wait for?

We don’t talk about that much up here. We share our loved ones as they arrive, happy to do so. But we all know there is nothing like having your very own person who thinks you are the most special pup in the Heavens.

Last Tuesday morning a request rang out for pups not waiting for specific persons to volunteer for special assignment .. An eager, curious crowd surged excitedly forward, each pup wondering what the assignment would be.

They were told by a solemn voice that unexpectedly, all at once, over 4,000 loving people had left Earth long before they were ready. All the pups, as all pups do, felt the humans’ pain deep in their own hearts. Without hearing more, there was a clamoring among them – ‘May I have one to comfort?’ ‘I’ll take two, I have a big heart.’ ‘I have been saving kisses forever.’

One after another they came forward begging for assignment. One cozy-looking fluffy pup hesitantly asked, ‘Are there any children coming? I would be very comforting for a child ’cause I’m soft and squishy and I always wanted to be hugged.’ A group of Dalmatians came forward asking to meet the Firemen and be their friends. The larger working breeds offered to greet the Police Officers and make them feel at home. Little dogs volunteered to do what they do best, cuddle and kiss.

Dogs who on Earth had never had a kind word or a pat on the head, stepped forward and said, ‘I will love any human who needs me!! Then all the dogs, wherever on Earth they originally came from, rushed to the Rainbow Bridge and stood waiting, overflowing with love to share – each tail wagging an American Flag.

— Alexander Theodore, Bouvier

One dog is no trouble, and two are so funny. The third one is easy, the fourth one’s a honey. The fifth one’s delightful, the sixth one’s a breeze, you find you can live with a houseful, .. almost with ease.

So how ’bout another? Would you really dare? They’re really quite easy but, oh, Lord the DOG HAIR !! With dogs on the sofa and dogs on the bed, and crates in the kitchen, it’s no bother, you’ve said.

They’re really no trouble, their manners are great. What’s one more dog and just one more crate? The sofa is hairy, the windows are crusty, the floor is all footprints, the furniture dusty.

The housekeeping suffers, but what do you care? Who minds a few noseprints and a little more hair? So let’s save that puppy, you can always find room, and a little more time for the dust cloth and broom.

There’s hardly a limit to the dogs you can add, The thought of failure sure makes you sad. Each one is so special, so useful, so funny. The vet and food bills grows larger, you owe BIG money.

Your folks never visit, few friends come to stay, except other “dog folks” who live the same way. Your lawn has now died, and your shrubs are dead too, but your weekends are busy, you’re off with your crew.

There’s dog food and vitamins, training and shots. And entries and travel and motels which cost lots. Is it worth it you wonder? Are you caught in a trap? Then that favorite one comes and climbs in your lap.

His look says you’re special and you know that you will keep all of the critters in spite of the bill. Some just for snuggling and some just to play and some just for loving, they fill up the day.

Gosh, winter’s a hassle, the dogs hate it too. But they must have their walks though they’re numb and your blue. Late evening is awful, you scream and you shout at the dogs on the sofa who refuse to go out.

Home visits and rescue, applications, the thrills, the work and the worry, the pressure, the bills. The whole thing seems worth it, the dogs are your life. They’re charming and funny and offset the strife.

Your life-style has changed. Things won’t be the same. Yes, those dogs are addictive and so is the dog game.

— Author Unknown