kalalynn

Thank you so much for adding Phat Girl to the list (brought tears to my eyes to see her remembered with the others). She was knot a GH, but did belong to the WFUBC. She was honored to be accepted as a member. For those who do not read the "club", Phat Girl was a Bull Mastiff who learned to roach from her GH friends :-) and we tried hard to bring smiles to families going through hard times, Phat Girl in her glory. sue the lurker, and admirer of all your wonderful hounds

I did once with another breed. I won't say that it was easy, or fast. What I did was make thunder storms a fun time. I would use high value treats, only used for noise events, and when the first sign of the storm I would start talking in an excited voice and dolling out the treats. As long as I could make the event a non issue and as fun as possible it worked. I'll admit that if anyone would have seen me dancing around the house, acting all excited and using baby talk they would have committed me. But after one season of thunder I had two dogs that would not try to break out of the house with fear. Were they ever completely comfortable? No, they would still pant and pace a little, but they would lay on their beds and expect treats. One of the dogs was a 97# Rottie who jumped a 6" fence to get away from fireworks at one time. She would check the windows for an escape route before we had "storm parties". This might not work for all dogs but it worked wonders for mine. sue

Waiting and watching for updates. Keeping you, your family and 00-Dude in my thoughts and prayers. and a for 00-Dude when he gets home. sue the lurker

I have a hard time reading this forum as most of us do. I have had some very good friends lose their pets this week, and found this to share with all who are now, or have gone through the grief of losing a special friend. A Place for Us (A message from the Rainbow Bridge) By Terri Onorato I know what you’re thinking. You think because you cannot see me with your human eyes, cannot feel me with your hands or hold me in your arms that I am gone forever. You recall how I looked when I left this earth and you cannot remotely imagine that I am alive in another place. You are racked and torn by the pain of our separation and it blinds you to that which is right in front of you…..me. How many times since I journeyed to Rainbow Bridge have you been told that I’m dead and you should “get over it� How many times have you cried yourself to sleep in excruciating emotional pain because aren’t willing to consider that I am not, by any means, dead? I want you to do me a favor and go back in time with me. Remember the glorious day you brought me home-was I not the most intriguing creature you’d ever met? Did I not make you laugh and giggle? Did I not look at you with such adoration that you wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of your life with me? I wanted this too. Remember the days when I was in my prime and we did many things together. I was a good friend and I took care of you when you cried, were angry or felt down. When you didn’t have a lot of time for me because of your obligations, I waited patiently for you. I was always there when you needed me. Did I not look at you with such acceptance and patience that perhaps at times you felt a bit unworthy? You were never unworthy in my eyes. Remember when age crept up on me, my bones became stiff and my movements slower. Still I met you when you came home and followed you around. We’d been together for so long, I was your best friend regardless of what you were doing, saying and thinking. Did I not look at you with such kindness and understanding that you felt overwhelmed? I couldn’t get enough of you. Remember the last time we saw each other with earthly eyes. You tried to be brave but I knew you were crying. Did I not look at you with such pure trust and love that you yearned only to hold me close and keep me with you always? Did you not promise that you would love me forever? I believed you. If this is so then why have you let me go by thinking I no longer exist? Remember the depth of love in my eyes when I looked at you. Who created this love? Would the Creator diminish the song of our laughter that grew and flourished in this love? I am no longer an earthly figure, this is true. My body was only a part of who I really am and it would have been but a mere shell if it were not filled to overflowing with my soul, my spirit and my loving light. When we met you thought I was cute, pretty and adorable. What kind of relationship would have had if this were all I’d been? We are all made up of energy that resides far deep down inside of us, it is our core and our soul, spirit and loving light. It is the energy that is all of life…it has no beginning, it has no end. It simply is and always will be and without it there is no life. There are those who demand you get over me, insisting that I’m dead and you’ll never see me again because animals don’t go to Heaven. Oh really? I’m here to tell you different. Was I not a living, breathing creation with personality? How could I have been so if I didn’t possess the energy of soul, spirit and loving light? If this energy never ends then how can it be that I am dead? I came to Rainbow Bridge to continue on in a new life, not because I stopped loving you or because I wanted something better. I came here because it was time for me to go to the next phase of my existence, something all living creatures must do eventually. It is the normal progression of life. I was not taken away from you because you cannot take away that which was never owned. My presence in your life was and is a gift to be cherished and honored just as I cherish and honor you. You say that all you have left are memories but this is not so. You see, when I took leave of my earthly body I left a little something behind for you. You can’t touch it, hold it or examine it, for what I left behind is far to uninhibited for confinement. I left in your tender care a piece of my soul. I placed it right next your own which is quite fitting as were always side by side in our earthly life together. I love you too much to have left you with nothing but memories that tend to fade and grow cloudy as the years go by. I love you too much to have vanished without a trace. I understand your tears, each one you shed is testament to your love for me and I am honored and humbled. But don’t forget the good things we shared-remember and smile. This is an honor for me as well. When you need me I will be with you. Close your eyes, relax, take slow, deep breaths and picture me in your mind. Shut off the world and your notions of what think death is and give me a chance. Look for the subtle signs I send you. Don’t memorialize the death of my body but instead honor and celebrate my life for it is eternal and forever as is my love for you. Until we meet again… Copyright @ Terri Onorato sue