Tails From Rainbow Bridge: Odie's First Bridge Birthday

Birthday parties are very hard at Rainbow Bridge because, unless you have moved on to the land of Happily Ever After where all loved ones are reunited, there is always someone missing from the party, and for we dogs that someone is our parents.

And first birthdays at the Bridge are even harder because, for your entire existence, birthdays have meant celebrating with your parents, and now it means something else entirely.

That is why we try to make first birthdays at the Bridge so exciting for our friends.  I know there are more immortal dogs than mortal dogs, and you must think that means we have a lot of birthday parties.  We do.  But don’t judge us.  We have an eternity to kill.

This week was Odie’s first birthday at the Bridge.  He celebrated 14 with his family and his mom always put her heart into each of her babies’ parties.  To keep Odie from thinking about her we needed something special.

I put my minions to work.  We set up a table with a seat for Odie at the head.  The table started at a crook in the river and it extended for miles over hills and down in deep valleys.  Then we had deliveries of what all Angels want on their first birthdays: What they could not consume on the mortal said:  Kegs of beer, garlic, onion, many different kinds of chocolate, baked bread, pizza, and lots of cake.

We also asked lots of his mortal friends to attend in their dreams.  My sisters Pocket and River, Odie’s brothers Baron and Max, Reese and Kole, and many more friends sat at the table surrounded by angels.

Scooby kept Odie busy while the party was being assembled.   When it was time he put a blindfold on Odie, and, with the help of his brother Rusty, Odie was flown to the table, where everyone stood for miles along the white table and howled happy birthday then applauded.   When everyone quieted Scooby swallowed the cake and sheepishly grinned at his brother.

Then came the plates and plates of food, both the forbidden and the bidden, steaks, pizzas, chicken, turkey, fish, ever some kibble just for the old days.  We ate, drank, toasted our friend, talked about our mortal lives and laughed long and hard.  Odie was given another cake and despite being sorely tempted Scooby didn’t eat it.

Then came the dancing.  Pocket took Odie by the paw and, despite there being three feet difference is size while standing on their back legs, they danced beautifully.  Then we all danced, romped, ran and sang songs together until we became tired and snuggled under the silent fireworks.  

We know Odie was very happy with his party, and we do hope it helped him forget that he missed his parents for a short amount of time.  It helps us forget our parents too.

I hope the large amount of ice we had shipped in did not cause snow anywhere, and the raucous party did not set off waves of thunder, but when this happens know it is a sign of how hard your Angels are working to forget how much they miss you.