Rescue is our April 8, 2018 Pup of the Week

A week from Monday will be a special holiday in Massachusetts:  Patriot’s Day which commemorates the first battle of the Revolutionary War.    It is also Marathon Day and the Red Sox play baseball in the morning for no known reason.  I loved Patriot’s Day because my parents didn’t have to work, but the last one I spent in the mortal world was a horrific day.

Two men placed bombs near the marathon finish line killing three people and injuring several more.  For the next three days, until the killers were caught, the fear that the terrorists could strike again, and the sorrow felt for those who lost life and limb, was overbearing.

Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, newlyweds, were both severely injured in the attack.  Jessica lost two legs and Patrick one. They faced several operations and a lengthy rehabilitation. They could not work, they did not know how they would live, and as much as their friends and family tried to comfort the couple connecting with them was difficult.

Then they heard the sound of four paws on the floor.  That is when Jessica met her service dog, Rescue. And from that moment things became easier.  Patrick said “I can still go back to that moment and remember the feeling throughout my body as I laughed and saw my wife laugh. I just could not have imagined that sort of day would be possible again after the stretch that we had been through. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the first of many times that Rescue would bring that kind of lightness to our family.”

Rescue brought the couple what they had not had since before the bombing:  Laughter It may not cure everything but laughter certainly helps people get through the hard times.

Now the couple is telling their story in a children’s book called “Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship.” While both the fictional Jessica and the author lost their lower legs, it is never revealed in the book how the injury occurred because the author did not want to make the book about the terrorist attack.

Jessica has gone to classrooms to read the book to the children and honestly answer their questions about her struggle after the bombing.  The best part of her reading is that Rescue is sitting with her while she reads.

The reason she wrote a children’s book was that she noticed when she traveled with Rescue, either wearing prosthetic or not, boys and girls would stare at her.  She wanted the children to know that she was still the person she was before the bombing, but she faces unique challenges, which Rescue helps her overcome.

Jessica, Patrick, and Rescue are currently on a book tour so watch your local listings, and you may be able to greet these three heroes.  

And if you do kiss Rescue for me.

Foley Saves a Street Dog with Smoochy, Leo and Rocky

There are big human cities at Rainbow Bridge.  They are to the west of our newly christened Doggyspace.  Sometimes dogs, who lived their lives on the streets, prefer to go to the city after they cross over the Bridge.  It is a grimy life, but it is what they know. I always wished I could show one homeless dog that life is better at DS.

One day Leo, Smoochy and I were walking through one of the cities when we came upon a meek chihuahua named Cortez.  We told him he should return to Doggyspace with us. “No, I don’t think so,” Cortez said. “I don’t want to live in a house.”  Leo and Smoochy told him about their comfortable lives in homes filled with love, but Cortez said he doubted anyone would love him.  When we pressed him, he ran away. I wanted to go after him, but Leo told me we wouldn’t catch him. Smoochy said he had a better idea.

We went back to DS and talked to Rocky, our brave German Shepard friend.  Smoochy said that Rocky could be a convincing street dog, get close to Cortez and convince him to be adopted by one of the many loving parents who prefer to live at DS.


We took Rocky to the river to get wet him and covered with mud.  Then we walked to the city. Every few miles Rocky would roll around in the dirt until he was filthy.  We left him on the corner where we found Cortez. Leo, Smoochy and I rented a small garden apartment near the corner so Rocky wouldn’t be abandoned if he was in danger. 

 The apartment was dirty, with cockroaches running around (even they go to the Bridge, by the billions). We had to put several blankets on the floor to keep clean. Then we waited for Rocky to do his magic.


It took an hour for Cortez to appear.  He made fast friends with Rocky. They slept together behind a dumpster. They ate whatever food was thrown away. It was quite a change for Rocky who lived a pampered life with a loving family, but he was committed to saving Cortez.  As they sat in the rain Rocky told Cortez about the home he lost, the great food, being warm all the time, sleeping on a bed, and most of all the unconditional love. When Cortez told him that he could never be loved Rocky promised him any mom would take one look at him and adore him.

He convinced Rocky to come to our apartment.  Smoothy, Leo and I toweled both our friends off.  Then we all told stories of our wonderful home and the glory of love.  It took until dawn, but we persuaded him to come back to DS with us

Smoochy ran ahead and talked to one of the DS Moms.  When we got back to DS Leo, Rocky and I lead Cortez to his new home.  He didn’t get a chance to step inside because Sage and Saffron’s Mom Jackie Pool ran out of the house, picked Cortez up as he released a squeal of joy, and ran into her house where Cortez became the newest member of her pack.

A few days later Smoochy, Rocky, Leo and I saw Cortez playing with Sage and Saffron.  He stopped and gave us a thankful smile then went back to chasing Sage and Saffron.

Smoochy, Rocky, Leo and I all lay down in the sun very satisfied with saving a dog.

The job continues, even here at the Bridge.

River's Snowed Out Garden Days Leads to a Special Second Bed

We have been looking forward to the first Monday in April for months.  That is when garden work begins. Some crocuses have already burst through the soil to greet us.  There are many other pretty flowers bubbling under the soil waiting to say hello. It was time for us to clean all the refuse winter dumped on our happy spots and prepare the yard for unprecedented beauty.

I woke up with a big smile on my face.  Daddy picked Pocket and me up and carried us on to the porch.  I couldn’t wait to see what new flowers had peeked through to see me.  I planned to give them all a welcoming sniff. Daddy opened the door.

Everything was covered with three inches of snow!  How long had I slept? Did I miss the entire summer?  Then I saw my brave crocus friends shivering under the snow, just their buds poking through the white and I knew it was still April, but winter would not let us out of its cold grasp.

I was so angry at this terrible snow that I went outside and peed then pooped right on top of it.  The snow didn’t learn its lesson because it came down harder. Huge flakes, the size of Pocket’s ears, landed on my back.  We slunk back inside and shook off the offending snow then had to endure being roughly toweled off.

There was only one thing dogs who had waited all year for garden day only to have it ruined by Mother Nature could do.  We went back to bed

I love second bed.  First bed is great when we all go to sleep as a pack.  But second bed is heaven. That is when we think we are going to start a long boring day, but instead, we get back in the warm bed.  Pocket, after barking excitedly for a minute making sure that no one could go back to sleep slipped under the covers. As long as Pocket has a hand on her, she is content.  

I am more demanding about second bed.  I sit between my parent’s pillows. My Mom scratches my back while Dad rubs my belly like I am a deity.  They are allowed to talk, and even move, as long as I am scratched and rubbed. Since they are lying down and I am sitting up the scratches and rubs are much more satisfying.  I am sure people who watched us go into the bedroom would say we were sleeping together but believe me there was little sleeping and it was much more satisfying. The best part is that no one needed to clean the sheets.

After I was sated, it was time for breakfast.  The snow had already started to melt. By early afternoon when my tummy was full the snow had melted, and I went to visit my brave crocus friends and promises them this was only a momentary delay, and we would surely be outside next week.


Weather permitting.

Wordless Wednesday

Beat This Caption

I don't care what Maury says you are not my baby!

Monday Question

Are you a walking dog., a run around the yard dog, or a couch dog?

Pocket and I aren't allowed to run around the yard.  We try to go on walks, for about 20 minutes a day weather permitting..  We do love being couch dogs 

April 1, 2018 Pups of the Week: Linky, Dylan and the Best Birthday Gift Ever

You have to be patient to be a dog, even at Rainbow Bridge.  We have to wait for our parents, and sometimes we have to wait for the right dog.

Linky came to Rainbow Bridge during the Christmas season of 2015.  He is Lily’s big brother. Lily was the face of her pack. She was the one to bark while Linky stayed in the background.  But in their mom’s heart, they were equal, and it broke when Linky crossed the River of Life.

As soon as he arrived Linky was sure what his mother needed was a new male pup to live with his two sisters Lily and Lalia.  For more than two years Linky interviewed replacements, but he could never find the right one. At times he would become discouraged, and we gave him a pep talk.  He got right back to work. No matter how long it took, he swore he would make sure there was a little boy in his mom’s life.

Let me divert by telling you a quick story.  When Daddy married Mommy, she had two daughters and a son.  Daddy found out in a hurry it takes a special kind of male to move into a house with three females. So Linky didn’t just have to find a boy, he had to find a very special boy, and doing that can take more than two years.

Linky came running down a hill last week loudly barking his head off.  “I found him, I finally found him!” he shouted. He showed us a picture of the cutest little Maltese I have ever seen.  “He is perfect,” Linky said. “He is kind and patient, and I know my Mom will love him, and my sister will at least tolerate him.  Now I have to slip into my mommy’s dreams and tell her about him.

The timing could not have been better.  It was his Mom’s birthday. That was the day the little Dylan came into her life, the new man of the house.  We have all wanted to give the perfect birthday gift to our Mom, but Linky was able to do it. A little, fluffy, white ball of love.

Linky may not have had a loud voice on the mortal side of the Bridge, but he does on the immortal side where his bark was loud enough to find a puppy a wonderful home.


Congratulations to  Dylan, you could not have a better home, and congratulations to Linky for the best across the River birthday gift ever.