Rainbow Week - Fourth Day

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.....

All the animals in this post shared their lives with me.



Blondie

She was my pal. We roamed thru the fields together and watched Hopalong Cassidy together. She slept beside me and she ate the veggies I didn't like.



Snowball, Dusty and Spot

My three rabbits taught me about the daily routines and responsibilities of taking care of an animal.


Boots died in 1958

Boots was an adult dog when my pleading for a dog paid off and she became mine. She was patient and gentle, a perfect dog for a little girl. She put up with my dressing her up and she went everywhere with me. (no picture of Boots is available, this resembles her)


Cookie died in 1960

Cookie taught me a lot about life with a hound. She chewed everything and never outgrew it. She liked to bark and chase squirrels.

Cherry 1957 to 1965

Cherry was a small blue Budgie. He was the first bird I ever owned and I spent hours watching him and laughing at his antics. He was very tame and went all around the house perched on my shoulder. He loved molasses cookies and I used them to bribe him back into his cage.



Zelda Louise 5/9/1961 to 8/19/1978

Zelda was one of the puppies from my accidental litter. When you breed animals you learn that not all of them survive. Zelda's sister, Penny, didn't make it to her first birthday, but Zelda made up for it living to be 17 years old.

She was the smartest dog I've ever known. Show her something once and she got it. Zelda went swimming every morning in the pond, then spent the rest of the day with me, unless she got the chance to go hunting with her friend Chip. Zelda never barked until she was eight years old, then surprised us all, we didn't think she could bark. It was my privilege to have known her.



Burton 1961 to 1967

Burton grew up with Zelda and was much tougher than the dog. He chased dogs away from the house, caught rabbits and chased squirrels right up the tree. He was a big cat that liked to eat and learned to open the cabinet where we kept the cat food to help himself. I believe he thought he was a dog. (no picture of Burton is available, this resembles him)



Libby 9/12/1972 to 2/28/1988

Her name was Liberation. She was the first dog after I was on my own. I was young and single and living at the beach and she was my dog. She slept on my bed, she went to work with me. We walked on the beach everyday and she chased gulls and dug for crabs. She was happy in a car, a boat or on a train. She adjusted to living in a beach house, on a farm or in a high rise apartment as long as we were together.

She checked out my dates and let me and them know if she approved or not. She loved Rob.

I'm so glad we were able to make your last years comfortable with a house and a yard and a sunny window to sleep in and watch the world around you. You went to the park and chased squirrels that morning before your stroke. We all miss you.



Pylon 9/15/1986 to 12/3/1999

Our wedding dog. We found her the evening before we got our marriage license. She was a stubborn puppy that grew into a wonderful dog. I never heard her growl, though she had nightmares almost every night of her life. She could be trusted with the smallest child or animal. She was gentle and sweet.



Porsche 4/25/1988 to 8/31/1988

She was a mischievous little girl who would do something silly, then lower her head and roll her eyes up to look at me. I called her Mouse and was looking forward to lots of time together.

We didn't have enough time with her. We only had her for two days when she got sick. She had picked up Parvo virus in the shelter where we found her and after being in the hospital for six days she died.

We have A Secret
We have a secret, you and I
that no one else shall know,
for who but I can see you lie
each night in fire glow?


And who but I can reach my hand
before we go to bed
and feel the living warmth of you
and touch your silken head?
And only I walk woodland paths
and see ahead of me.
your small form racing with the wind
so young again and free.


And only I can see you swim
in every brook I pass
ans when I call, no one but I
can see the bending grass.
Author Unknown



Bentley 9/15/1988 to 12/17/2001

My heart. He was known as Boo to those who loved him and everyone who met him loved him. He was dignified, but had a silly streak. He had a sense of humor and liked to play tricks on people and other animals. There was never a more gentle dog. He's the reason I have Portuguese Water Dogs today and why I call my kennel Legacy. When he died I was in despair and I still think of him every day and see him in Samba and her pups. He owned my heart and always will.



Schroeder and Vandal

Schroeder was a gift in 1994. Rob had heard me speak fondly of Cherry and surprised me with a little blue Budgie. He was sweet and fairly tame but seemed lonely so Vandal came to live with him. She was named Vandal for a reason. She tried to destroy everything she came in contact with. I remember the day I gave her a strawberry and left the house for a while. When I came home she was red, the inside of the cage was red and the white wall behind the cage was red. We had to repaint the wall, but I bet she enjoyed that strawberry.


Peri and Broc

We were having so much fun with Schroeder and Vandal that Rob surpried me with a pair of green Budgies. I called them Peridot and Broccoli. They weren't as tame as the other two, but we bought a huge cage and put them all together and they seemed to have a great time together. They were always a pair and died within a few months of each other.



Flirt and Bean

Bean was a joy. He was tiny and he loved to swing. Each morning when I uncovered them he would head for his swing and you could see his little head bobbing as he swung higher and higher. We made the mistake of putting him with Flirt who was homicidal. She had been brought in as a mate for Schroeder after Vandal died, but then Schroeder died mysteriously. Then one night we came home just as she was killing Bean. She lived the rest of her life in solitary. I'm sorry, Bean.


Buckley (the yellow one) died 2005

Buckley and Cloud were brother and sister. They joined our little group of birds and fit right in. Cloud still lives in the dining room.



Holly and Buddy

Buddy's owner gave him up because he had learned to call the cats and he wasn't safe. We took him in and he was a real character. He loved the ladies and any woman who came to visit us would hear, "Hello, pretty baby." He had a funny little voice and he would see the dogs and call, "Here kitty, kitty." He died in 2007 at the age of 25 years.

Holly came to keep Buddy company and they were a strange couple. She was quite fat and wore herself out laying eggs. Buddy loved those eggs and sat on them for hours, but none ever hatched. She was much to young when she died from breaking her neck against the perch.



Lucy 11/20/1994 to 8/12/2008

She was the smallest dog I ever had and taught me to respect small animals. Their life is not easy. Imagine living in a world of giants. Lucy quickly took over the house and bossed everyone around. Nobody messed with Lucy. Boo was her very best friend and they went everywhere together. He protected her from bigger dogs. After Boo died, Monty took over the job of Lucy's guardian.

Lucy let it be known that she was Rob's dog. They bonded the first day on the ride home and nothing ever changed that. She was a very obedient girl who loved to go for rides and to sleep in the sunshine.


Monty 3/5/1999 to 12/23/2008

He had a traumatic puppyhood, suffering disfiguring beatings before he was six weeks old. He never was able to trust people except for his immediate family and a couple of women who earned his trust. He was our self appointed guard dog and taught all the other dogs the rules of the house.

He adored puppies and forgot his fears when he was with a puppy. He would let them crawl all over him and pull his ears and tail. It was wonderful to see him play with Samba's pups. He never was rough with them.

He left us much too soon. It all happened so fast, then he was gone. I think about him every day and I miss him so much. The pain is still too fresh.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

When all the world is a hopeless jumble
And the raindrops tumble all around,
Heaven opens a magic lane
When all the clouds darken up the skyway,
There's a rainbow highway to be found
Leading from your window pane
To a place behind the sun,
Just a step beyond the rain.


Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high.
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.


Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.


Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

Someday I'll wake and rub my eyes
And in that land beyond the skies,
You'll find me.
I'll be a laughing daffodil
And leave the silly cares that fill
My mind behind me.

E. Y. Harburg