Taz
I love my fur babies, I really do. They bring me joy, frustration and eat me out of house and home and I wouldn't have it any other way. But there is a downside to having them.
In November, the 21st to be exact, I lost my beloved Australian Shepherd, Draco. He had arthritis all up and down his spine with the exception of about four inches of clear spine. The arthritis was so bad that it was literally twisting the spurs of the spine itself into the spinal cord, which caused paralysis. There was nothing that we could do to save him and on his 11th birthday, he crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. That had to be one of the toughest days that we have had as a family in a very long time.
Since then there have been days that I have told him to come on so we could go "night-night", wanted to stick my head out of the back door to tell him to be quiet because it was too early/late to bark. In the grocery store more than once I have gone to the dog food isle specifically to pick up food for him. I hear him breathe at night, I hear him bark during the day and I always wait for a shoe to be missing and his butt to be in the air as if to say, "come get it, slowpoke!". It has been a difficult three months to be sure.
Now, our fifteen year old cat Tazmo is preparing for his journey. His has been a lingering process as opposed to Draco's. He had minimized his eating, but was drinking and playing for a while. Then he stopped eating, but he was still wandering around the house, drinking water and inquiring why there wasn't enough water in his fountain. Now we are at the point where he can't even walk and can't stay warm. He is not in pain, he hasn't been sick a day in his life, he's just old and tired. Each of the other cats have come to sniff him, to come nose to nose with him as if to say goodbye, a couple have even cleaned his ears and eyes. And we're heartbroken. All of this has happened within the week and while it really has been a quick process it seems to have been a lifetime.
Its been hours now since I wrote the last paragraph. Tazmo has crossed that Rainbow Bridge to be with our pets that have gone before him. I was holding him when he took his last breath, and he knew that he was loved in his last moments. He was a sweet cat, a fairly scrawny kitten when we got him who soon took over our hearts. He was never really an outgoing sort, but he did love to play in his early years, and I think took distinct pleasure as Draco was growing up and into his adulthood at letting him know that he was out gunned, even though Draco could have taken him out in one or two bites if he so desired. He saw many animals come and go throughout his fifteen years and usually had an eye roll or two to go with them. He was good natured and sweet and as I said before, he will be missed.
If you've never read the Rainbow Bridge, I'm inserting it here, and taking comfort that he's playing with Draco and Pawkets and Punky and Bear on the other side of that Bridge and waiting for us to come Home.
In November, the 21st to be exact, I lost my beloved Australian Shepherd, Draco. He had arthritis all up and down his spine with the exception of about four inches of clear spine. The arthritis was so bad that it was literally twisting the spurs of the spine itself into the spinal cord, which caused paralysis. There was nothing that we could do to save him and on his 11th birthday, he crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. That had to be one of the toughest days that we have had as a family in a very long time.
Since then there have been days that I have told him to come on so we could go "night-night", wanted to stick my head out of the back door to tell him to be quiet because it was too early/late to bark. In the grocery store more than once I have gone to the dog food isle specifically to pick up food for him. I hear him breathe at night, I hear him bark during the day and I always wait for a shoe to be missing and his butt to be in the air as if to say, "come get it, slowpoke!". It has been a difficult three months to be sure.
Now, our fifteen year old cat Tazmo is preparing for his journey. His has been a lingering process as opposed to Draco's. He had minimized his eating, but was drinking and playing for a while. Then he stopped eating, but he was still wandering around the house, drinking water and inquiring why there wasn't enough water in his fountain. Now we are at the point where he can't even walk and can't stay warm. He is not in pain, he hasn't been sick a day in his life, he's just old and tired. Each of the other cats have come to sniff him, to come nose to nose with him as if to say goodbye, a couple have even cleaned his ears and eyes. And we're heartbroken. All of this has happened within the week and while it really has been a quick process it seems to have been a lifetime.
Its been hours now since I wrote the last paragraph. Tazmo has crossed that Rainbow Bridge to be with our pets that have gone before him. I was holding him when he took his last breath, and he knew that he was loved in his last moments. He was a sweet cat, a fairly scrawny kitten when we got him who soon took over our hearts. He was never really an outgoing sort, but he did love to play in his early years, and I think took distinct pleasure as Draco was growing up and into his adulthood at letting him know that he was out gunned, even though Draco could have taken him out in one or two bites if he so desired. He saw many animals come and go throughout his fifteen years and usually had an eye roll or two to go with them. He was good natured and sweet and as I said before, he will be missed.
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.
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