SushI Arives at Rainbow Bridge

 

Today was another lesson for Pocket.  This one was going to be a difficult assignment.  She was accompanying me to welcome a friend to the Bridge.

    Pocket had been to one swearing-in ceremony before, her own.  You can’t judge how emotional they can be when you are the new angel.  It is like a bride who has never been to another wedding describing what it's like to watch someone get married.

    I told Pocket that our old friend Sushi was arriving, and my sister would be next to me at the swearing-in ceremony. I stressed that it was a solemn occasion, and Pocket needed to be on her best behavior.

    We saw Sushi emerge from the water after swimming across the River of Life.  She ran over the Bridge and stopped at the bottom step, looking up at us.  

    I looked at Sushi as I told Pocket that this was the most critical moment in the crossing-over process.  Sushi had to come to terms with her own passing and make a choice to climb.  We should not interfere.  Then I saw Pocket running down the stairs, taking Sushi by the paw and practically pulling her towards us.  Oh, man!  She attends one swearing-in ceremony, and the whole system breaks down.

    But, to my surprise, Sushi was happy that Pocket interfered, and when the duo reached us, she said she was unsure what to do until Pocket used sweet persuasion and saved the newest angel from an immortal life of walking like a ghost between the two worlds.  

Maybe Sushi did need some Angel encouragement to climb the stairs. After all, it was Angel's advice that allowed her to have a remarkable life. 

Sushi had been living a very unrewarding existence tied to a tree in the hot Arizona sun. One day she was visited by an Angel named Scrappy, who had recently gone to the Bridge. He told Sushi to pull on her chain until it broke and then make a break for it. Most of all, no matter what happened, she couldn’t go home. When all seemed lost, she should trust the angels. 

Sushi ran through the broiling hot Arizona summer heat until exhausted.  Then she was found and brought to a shelter.   Once Sushi recovered, it was determined that she was a sweet-tempered pup, and they placed her in foster care, where the parents aggressively tried to get her a new home. 

Meanwhile, Scrappy used all the dream persuasion he could muster to get his parents to find Sushi. It took a phone conversation with Scrappy’s rescue workers and an email to bring Sushi and his parents together. 

It took a lot of love to keep them together. Sushi proved to be a rambunctious pup from the day they met.  That did not stop her parents from adopting and providing Sushi a forever home. But it would take a lot of training and patience before she stopped eating the remote or anything else she found on a flat surface. 

But no amount of bad behavior would put asunder what Scrappy had brought together. It took many weeks, but Sushi learned to curb her enthusiasm and became her parents’  perfect pup. 

While the love Sushi and her parents had for one another will never end, the dark angels from the Bridge did temporarily part them physically. When she and Pocket reached Hobo’s landing, Sushi ran to Scrappy, and they thanked one another for Scrappy giving Sushi a great family and she for taking care of their parents. 

I had put Pocket in charge of the welcoming party, and she did a great job. The food was the first rate, and the video tributes to Sushi from dogs on both sides of the River were a classic touch. Having recently crossed the Bridge, Pocket helps her understand what a dog needs on their first night:  love, laughter, and bacon. 

Both Scrappy and I would agree. Having a sibling to share the Bridge experience does make or go faster.