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....
It's been a difficult month for me and my family. We lost someone very, very close to us. He had four legs, but he was very much a someone, and I wouldn't have that any other way. He was my father, my brother and my son, and taught me things that only people with those kind of relationships in your life can teach you. We grew up with each other, loved each other and sometimes probably hated each other, but that was okay, and at the end of the day, he was still my dog, and I was still one of his pack leaders.
My Rolo passed away on the 25th of April 2016. He'd have been sixteen in November.
It was an awful experience. Three weeks on, and I'm still haunted by the way the light left his eyes. I keep thinking "Oh gods, I'm the last thing he saw. My ugly mug, screwed up, red faced and snotty from sobbing, and the last thing he heard was me and my mother wailing. I'd never felt so sick in my life. My gut had been stabbed and was constantly being twisted, even now thinking on it.
At the time, it was the idea of loosing my dog. My best friend. Then it shifted to what if we'd made the wrong decision? What if he'd lived for another year with chemo and pain meds? What if this was fixable? Did we make the decision with too much haste?
...And now, it's forgetting he's no longer here.
I got home a week after he was cremated from work. I'd had a shit day, and I kept thinking to myself "He's not going to be at the door to greet you. Don't allow yourself to be disappointed." I got through the door okay. Noticing he wasn't in the hall, I went straight into the living room to seek him out there, because that's what I would've normally done. No one else was home to help my grief. I sat there, right next to the cushion he used to snuggle up against, and felt my heart break for the millionth time that week.
My mum, just as he came back from the next room after having his line fitted, told me to go and wait in the car. She told me.
In some ways, it was perfect. There's no "good" way to loose anyone. But he wasn't struggling to walk into the vet. He wasn't limp in our arms on the journey there. Besides the blood oozing from his groin now and then, physically he was fit and energetic. He was himself. We said goodbye to him as he's ALWAYS been.
We had a special bond. Everyone has some form of a secret handshake. What I'd do it gently lower my face to his, so that our noses were merely millimetres apart, and say "Kiss on the the nose?" And he'd ever so gently lick the tip of my nose. Sometimes, he'd turn his face away to tease, or because he wasn't in the mood. He never did it with anyone else. Anyone else who'd try it got a face (or mouth, if they were lucky 
) full of tongue. It was the last thing he did for me. I didn't even ask like I'd usually do.
I miss Rolo. Every day, and I will do until we meet again, wherever that is. At least I hope we do. See you later, buddy.
I intend this thread to be for all the pet lovers out there who've lost a member of the family. Be it dogs, cats, lizards, gerbils, hamsters, spiders, birds, horses, - it doesn't matter.
If anyone has stories or pictures they'd like to share about their pets, both here and in the great beyond, those are welcome too. Maybe it'll help get through a loss. Make us laugh. Make us cry.
I'd post a picture of Rolo here, but for some reason, can't. I'll do it later.
Originally Posted by Bleachfangirl
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