Ask Aunt Foley: Do Trees Go to Heaven

Dear Aunt Foley:  We had a wonderful weeping willow tree in our backyard for years.  All us dogs all the way back to Angel Apollo dug holes under it, lay under it on hot days, treed squirrels in it, and watched our grandparents reaffirm their vows under it.  But it became too large and it’s roots spread out so far that it squashed the sewer line and needed to come down.  Do trees go to Rainbow Bridge?  - Napa Michael

Dear Napa Michael:  Is that the beautiful tree that just popped up by Apollo’s cloud yours?  My gosh what a wonderful tree.  I was sitting with a bunch of my friends under that tree today.  Apollo said he thought it was his favorite tree Weeping Walter and gosh darnit he was right.

The rules of the Bridge are very simple.  If you are loved you come to the Bridge.  And anything can be loved which is why we have so many beautiful flowers and trees here.  Nothing ever dies Napa Michael.  They just come here and wait.

One of the most amazing things to see is when a tree comes to the Bridge.  The land on the immortal side of the Bridge is always growing, because more and more beloved come every day.  But a tree is about the biggest beloved that just appears.  When Weeping Walter arrived Apollo and were lying snuggled up together in the sun when suddenly we were split apart, Apollo travelling east while I went west.  We didn’t know what was happening.  Then there was a big rumbling beneath us and we ran away until the ground started shaking.  Then Weeping Walter just sprung up from the ground fully formed.

All us dogs gathered underneath it, marvelling at it’s beauty.  That’s when Apollo said he thought it was Weeping Walter but I thought it was way too beautiful to be in an ordinary yard.  I figured it came from a palace.  But I should have known it came from a back yard because, the way it stood, I could tell it was a well taken care of family tree.

So Napa Michael Weeping Walter is waiting here for you, and for all your family members, waiting until some day you can all gather underneath it like you did for your grandparents vows, and be a family together again.

Until then Apollo and I will keep that tree good company

Apollo is Pup of the week December 13th

There are several customs that humans observe that make little sense to me. One of them is to wait until a loved one passes to Rainbow Bridge before they tell pay tribute to them.

We dogs prefer to let our feelings known before the bus to the bridge comew calling. So that is why we have chosen the wonderful, smart, powerful and loyal Apollo Shultz as our Pup of the Week.

Poor Apollo got some very bad news this week: Pancreatic cancer. It’s a one-way ticket to the Bridge, and we can hope, and pray, but there’s not much we can do about it.

As always Apollo took the news bravely and stoically. His concern was with his Mom and family. He knows he will be fine. Our friends at the Bridge at waiting for him, ready to run free, to play, and to live without interference from any mean humans.

Apollo’s main concern is, of course, his family. He hasn’t asked for us to worry about him, but only to take care of his Mom, Shakira and Ace.

This summer, when his crazy neighbors tried to poison him, Apollo managed to fight back, to surprise the doctors and his family and rally to good health again. Cruel that cancer now strikes him down, but our Apollo takes it all in stride. He is our rock, our
King of the mountain.

So here it to you, Apollo Schultz, friend, companion, bodyguard, confidant, love bug, snuggle baby, big brother, little boy, role model, brave, strong, indomitable of spirit, and pack leader. Long may you run my friend, long may you run.