Forever In Our Hearts

We visit lots of dog sites on line.  I especially like 3 Million Dogs and Dog Everywhere on Facebook because we get to meet dogs from all over the world and see what they and their families are doing.  We may live in very different places (our bestest friends live in India and Canada) but we are all very much alike.

We all like treats and walks and spending time with our humans.  Mom reads me the posts all the time and sometimes we find a post about a dog that has crossed over to Rainbow Bridge.  It never fails, Mom cries.

It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t know the dog or the humans, she still cries.  I asked her why and she said that some dogs are extra special (like me and DixieLee) and that when they cross over Rainbow Bridge, their humans are very sad.

Special dogs make their humans so happy that when they cross, they make their humans extra sad.  I think that’s right because when our neighbor Ranger crossed over a few weeks ago her humans were very sad.  Even though she was 15 years old and not feeling good it still hurt them a lot.  It hurt her doggy sister too.  I know because we talked.

Mom said when she lost her first dog the vet said to go and get another right away.  I know, that doesn’t work for most people.  Everyone grieves in their own way, but Dr. Nancy knew Mom forever and getting another dog right away was good for Mom.

Dr. Nancy said the best way to honor the loss of a pet is to give another animal the chance for a good life.  Humans never forget their special pets and another pet is not a replacement.  A new pet is the chance to fill their heart and home with the love of another special pet.

Just yesterday, I noticed that there is a new puppy at our neighbor’s house!  Dad said she is a rescue from the local shelter.  I can’t wait to meet her.

Wishing you all a long life filled with treats and walks and fun times with your humans,

Your friend,

Zeva

P.D.  Blatant self promotion.  Visit our website at pawpalsboutique.com for the best selection of pet gift baskets in the Universe.

Paw Prints On Our Hearts

Mom starts her day by checking her emails and then FaceBook and Twitter.  Then she helps me log onto my Twitter and DogBook accounts and we read the messages together.  I have dog friends who live in places like India and Australia.  I like hearing about what everyone is doing and telling them about my life as a blogging lab border collie mix who works with my human running a gift basket service.

We share our adventures, share information about lost pets and keep up to date on legislation to help animals.

Some of the messages are sad.  Like the one this morning from Gretchen's Dad.  When you have lots and lots of friends like I do, some times bad things happen.   Some times we find out a friend had to go to Rainbow Bridge.

When my Mom reads me about someone who has gone to be with St Francis she is very sad.  She even cries because she knows how much it hurts when a dog or cat leaves their family especially when the humans have to do what is best for the pet.

Mom knows that pets are so much a part of the family that the humans and other pets feel the pain of the loss.  Even though it was before my time, I know that when Mom and Dad had to help one of the dogs who lived here before me go to Rainbow Bridge they were very, very sad.  His name was Fox.  His litter mate was so sad that she followed him to Rainbow Bridge a couple of week later.  Even with all the extra love and attention, Mom said Dana was so sad that her heart got broken and even though Mom and our vet tried, they couldn't fix it.

Most people don't think it's a good idea to get another pet right away but since Mom was already looking for a new friend for Dana, she kept right on looking.  Lucky her!  She found me right away.  My six litter mates and I had just been rescued from a South Carolina shelter and were on our way Up North. It took a whole week to make arrangements for Mom and Dad to pick me up but I got to go home with them right away.

I love my life and love having so many friends for real and on line.  If you want to be my friend, follow me on Twitter @zevathedog.  You can find me on DogBook under the name Zeva too.

I would like to be your friend and learn all about your life and your humans even if sometimes we are sad together.

Your friend,
Zeva

P.S. Shameless self promotion.  Because pet people understand how the loss of a pet hurts, we have designed gift baskets especially for such an occasion.  We call them Paw Prints on the Heart Gift Basket and we have a Paw Prints for dogs and a Paw Prints for cats.  In addition to lots of comfort foods we include a copy of the poem Rainbow Bridge in each.