In Memory of Allie

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our beloved Border Collie, Allie. She would have been sixteen in March.
But she lived a good life, traveled between Bermuda and Canada for the past five summers, and enjoyed every day spent at the lake in Northern Ontario, and the rest of the year in the gardens and on the beaches of Bermuda.
She was my children's first dog, and she will live in our hearts forever.

If you've ever had to make the decision of when to put your precious pet to sleep, you know what we went through.
But today, although still sad, I know we did the right thing. She is not in pain anymore, no longer suffering, and free to run like she used to.

I first heard this poem at a funeral I attended for someone who loved dogs probably more than she loved people, and I mean that in the kindest way, but it stuck with me, and I'd like to share it here today. For all pet lovers, I think we have no choice but to believe it.
RIP Allie!

The Rainbow Bridge
inspired by a Norse legend

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.
© 1998 Steve and Diane Bodofsky.