Molly Arrives at Rainbow Bridge

 

Sometimes I wonder where the time went.  I swear it was yesterday when I first found Doggyspace and began to make friends throughout the world. Our lives lay before us like an endless highway.  At that time, we didn’t know that there was an abundance of exit ramps ahead and that we would be pulled into one, leaving the road and our mortal lives behind.

    There aren’t many of us original members still on the road.  They are all in their teens, an age when their off-ramps become more numerous and their pull greater.

    The longer we travel on the road, the more we begin to break down.  Molly had been on it for close to a decade and a half, and her vehicle was becoming weary.  She had dementia, which made it harder to stay in her lane and accelerate past the off-ramps.  She also lost the use of her back legs, making it nearly impossible to steer. In addition, her engine grew weaker when she was afflicted with congestive heart failure, but still, Molly, against all odds, kept ongoing.

    This week, Molly could not stay on the road any longer. She had used every reserve in her tank to get that far.  What kept her going was her parents, always just ahead of her.  Traveling the road is easier when you have something to travel towards.

    Last Friday, on her parents’ sixteenth anniversary, and her packmate Pepper’s third Gotcha Day, Molly finally lost control and was pulled onto a nearby offramp that took her immediately to Rainbow Bridge.  Her mortal form passed in her loving dad’s arms, making her final experience a loving touch. 

    All her friends, both in real life, and the virtual world, along with the pack mates who preceded her, watched Molly cross the Bridge and become the energetic puppy her parents first fell in love with while retaining the wisdom and determination she acquired during her senior years.

    She climbed the steps to Hobo’s Landing, and I gave her the oath of angel office.  Tommy Tunes had recently thought of a unique gift he could give a new angel; a framed picture of Molly with her loving family.   I know people think there are no tears at the Bridge, but Molly shed a few happy and grateful ones when she saw the gift.

    More tears fell from clouds composed of the residue of weeping adults saddened when they learned of Molly’s loss.  Some of my parents’ own  were included, and I gathered them up to keep in my home.  

    Molly immediately attended classes to learn how to visit her parents’ dreams.  Unfortunately, we can only communicate to them when they are in REM sleep. For the first few days after a loved one's  passing, parents don’t sleep well, so it is hard to gain access to their thoughts, but it will happen soon, and even if her parents don’t remember, the sweet words spoken during the visit will buoy their subconscious. 

    It will be a hard road for Molly to comfort her parents after her passing, but she has proved that she can navigate a tough passage as well as any angel, and I am sure she will guide her parents past the grief into the world of acceptance.