In Remembrance of and Dedicated to Taylor!

In Memory of, and fondly dedicated to Lord "Taylor" Of  McLean. 9-22-1988 to 2-18-2004  A dear, loyal, sweet family member. Words cannot convey how much he will be missed!   TAYLOR

In enthusiastic anticipation of crossing "Rainbow Bridge" and forever to suffer our loss of  Taylor; commensurate words pale;  however, these thoughts of others offer a good start.  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"- Dickens

There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors.

Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge, there is a land of meadows, hills and valleys with lush green grass.

When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place. There is always food and water, and warm spring weather. Those old and frail animals are young again. Those who have been maimed are made whole again. They play all day with each other.

But, there is one thing missing. They are not with their special person who loved them on earth. So, each day they run and play until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up. The nose twitches, the ears are up, the eyes are staring, and this one suddenly runs from the group.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. Your face is kissed again and again and again; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.

 I can't think of anything that brings me closer to tears than when my old dog -- completely exhausted after a hard day in the field -- limps away from her nice spot in front of the fire and comes over to where I'm sitting and puts her head in my lap, a paw over my knee, and closes her eyes and goes back to sleep. I don't know what I've done to deserve that kind of friend.  Gene Hill, The Dog Man 

 Not Carnegie, Vanderbilt and Astor together could have raised money enough to buy a quarter share in my little dog.--Ernest Thompson Seton, American writer and naturalist.

 He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion –Unknown

 A good dog never dies he always stays he walks besides you on crisp autumn days when frost is on the fields and winter's drawing near, his head is within our hand in his old way.  --Mary Carolyn Davies

 Stories:   An Old Man and His Dog

An old man and his dog were walking along a country road, enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to the man that he had died. He remembered dying, and realized, too, that the dog had been dead for many years. He wondered where the road would lead them, and continued onward.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall, white arch that gleamed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother of pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He was pleased that he had finally arrived at heaven, and the man and his dog walked toward the gate. As he got closer, he saw someone sitting at a beautifully carved desk off to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, but is this heaven?"
"Yes, it is, sir," the man answered." Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The gatekeeper gestured to his rear, and the huge gate began to open.
"I assume my friend can come in..." the man said, gesturing toward his dog. But the reply was, "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought about it, then thanked the gatekeeper, turned back toward the road, and continued in the direction he had been going. After another long walk, he reached the top of another long hill, and he came to a dirt road which led through a farm gate. There was no fence, and it looked as if the gate had never been closed, as grass had grown up around it. As he approached the gate, he saw a man just inside, sitting in the shade of a tree in a rickety old chair, reading a book. "Excuse me!" he called to the reader. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there," the man said, pointing to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in and make yourself at home."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"He's welcome too, and there's a bowl by the pump," he said. They walked through the gate and, sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a dipper hanging on it and a bowl next to it on the ground. The man filled the bowl for his dog, and then took a long drink himself.
When both were satisfied, he and the dog walked back toward the man, who was sitting under the tree waiting for them, and asked, "What do you call this place?" the traveler asked. "This is heaven," was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "It certainly doesn't look like heaven, and there's another man down the road who said that place was heaven." "Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates?"
"Yes, it was beautiful." "Nope. That's hell." "Doesn't it offend you for them to use the name of heaven like that?"
"No. I can see how you might think so, but it actually saves us a lot of time. They screen out the people who are willing to leave their best friends behind."  

 My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.  ~Author Unknown

 Dogs' lives are too short.  Their only fault, really.  ~Agnes Sligh Turnbull

 Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery, if inscribed over human ashes, is but a Just Tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a Dog. – Hobhouse - Epitaph, on Lord Byron's dog, Boatswain, at Newstead Abbey

 The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's.  ~Mark Twain, letter to W.D. Howells, 2 April 1899 

 Senator Vest's "Tribute to the Dog"

It is strange how tenaciously popular memory clings to the bits of eloquence men have uttered, long after their deeds and most of their recorded thoughts are forgotten, or but indifferently remembered. However, whenever and as long as the name of the late Senator George Graham Vest of Missouri is mentioned it will always be associated with his love for a dog.

Many years ago, in 1869, Senator Vest represented in a lawsuit, a plaintiff whose dog "Old Drum" had been willfully and wantonly shot by a neighbor. The defendant virtually admitted the shooting, but questioned to the jury the $150 value plaintiff attributed to this mere animal. To give his closing argument, George Vest rose from his chair, scowling, mute, his eyes burning from under the slash of brow tangled as a grape vine. Then he stepped sideways, hooked his thumbs in his vest pockets, his gold watch fob hanging motionless, it was that heavy. He looked, someone remembered afterwards, taller than his actual 5 feet 6 inches, and began in a quiet voice to deliver an extemporaneous oration. It was quite brief, less than 400 words:

"Gentlemen of the jury: the best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his worst enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous... is his dog.

Gentlemen of the Jury: a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death."

The jury deliberated less than two minutes then erupted in joint pathos and triumph. The record becomes quite sketchy here, but some in attendance say the plaintiff who had been asking $150, was awarded $500 by the jury. Little does that matter. The case was eventually appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court, which refused to hear it.

A statue of "Old Drum" was erected on the Johnson County Courthouse Square in Warrensbug, Missouri, where the trial occurred. The statue still stands there today.

 We derive immeasurable good, uncounted pleasures, enormous security, and many critical lessons about life by owning dogs.
Roger Caras, A Celebration of Dogs 

 No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich.
Louis Sabin, All About Dogs As Pets 

 Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.  – Milan Kundera 

 Dogs are miracles with paws.  ~Author Unknown 

 The more I see of man, the more I like dogs.  ~Mme. de Staël 

 Dogs have given us their absolute all.  We are the center of their universe.  We are the focus of their love and faith and trust.  They serve us in return for scraps.  It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.  ~Roger Caras 

 The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.  ~Andy Rooney 

 If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.  ~Woodrow Wilson 

 I love a dog.  He does nothing for political reasons.  ~Will Rogers  

 There are three faithful friends--an old wife, an old dog and ready money. --Ben Franklin. 

 The more I see of the depressing stature of people, the more I admire my dogs. --Alphonse de Lamartine 1790-1869 French Poet. 

 Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. --Mark Twain.  

 A dog is like an eternal Peter Pan, a child who never grows old and who therefore is always available to love and be loved.--Aaron Katcher,    American Educator and Psychiatrist 

 Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative. --Mordecai Siegal, Contemporary Writer 

 His name is not wild dog anymore, but the first friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always.-Rudyard Kipling  

 If you don't own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life.-Roger Caras

 I have sometimes thought of the final cause of dogs having short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a dog after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time?  Sir Walter Scott

 But of thee  it shall be said, This dog watched beside a bed Day and night unweary, Watched within a curtained room Where no sunbeam brake the gloom    Round the sick and dreary. - Unknown 

 He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.  Immanuel Kant

 The earth trembled and a great rift appeared, separating the first man and woman from the rest of the animal kingdom. As the chasm grew deeper and wider, all the other creatures, afraid for their lives, returned to the forest -- except for the dog, who after much consideration leapt the perilous rift to stay with the humans on the other side. His love for humanity was greater than his bond to other creatures, he explained, and he willingly forfeited his place in paradise to prove it. Native American folktale...an Ojibway tale.

 The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift demanding no less binding moral responsibilities than the friendship of a human being. The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be. Konrad Lorenz, Man Meets Dog

 Dogs . . . do not ruin their sleep worrying about how to keep the objects they have, and to obtain the objects they have not. There is nothing of value they have to bequeath except their love and their faith. Eugene O'Neill

 "Take a lesson from the dog, man's best friend. He accepts us for what we are. He does not gossip about us behind our backs. His life is a perfect sermon on affection and devotion. He will run his legs off for you. He will submit to almost any hardship to make you happy. He will risk his life for you if necessary. If you are moody or unkind at times, he will forgive you. He will not complain if his food is scant. He will bear burdens without complaint. He is thankful for small favors. He does not sulk or nurse a grudge against you. His additional friends do not lessen his love for you. He does not question your dress or looks. He is not temperamental like we humans. His purpose is to please on all occasions. He does not bore us with his troubles. His thanks and appreciation are genuine... He does not pry into your private affairs. He never double crosses you. His is not to question why, but to do and perchance to die for you. He trusts you implicitly. He is a living symbol of faith, hope, and love. Yes, brother, he is a builder, for such a friend does something constructive to our character."  ---James Nankivell

 You think dogs will not be in Heaven?   I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.  --Robert Louis Stevenson  

Rites of Passage
(a story by Robin Downing, D.V.M.)

Some of the most poignant moments I spend as a veterinarian are those spent with my clients assisting the transition of my animal patients from this world to the next. When living becomes a burden, whether from pain or loss of normal functions, I can help a family by ensuring that their beloved pet has an easy passing. Making this final decision is painful, and I have often felt powerless to comfort the grieving owners.

That was before I met Shane.

I had been called to examine a ten-year-old blue heeler named Belker who had developed a serious health problem. The dog's owners; Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt Shane could learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.
Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me - I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

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