Nora is our June 11, 2017 Pup of the Week

“At least she didn’t suffer.”  That is something humans say when one of their own crosses the Bridge.  How and where one crosses means a lot to humans as if, by not suffering, it makes the event less traumatic.  On Friday, I recognized but did not celebrate, my fourth anniversary here at Rainbow Bridge.  I have learned many lessons here as I have watched thousands of dogs cross over the River of Life.  The most important one is how a dog passes over does not lessen the pain of those they left behind.

This week my good friend Nora joined her sister Lady and brother Fritzchen at Rainbow Bridge.  She suffered a double stroke and could not recover.  There was no lengthy illness, no multiple trips to the vets, no series of operations, but regardless, Nora is here with her siblings, and the woman who loved all three of them, Ingrid Schwabe, our friend from Alsdorf Germany, is missing them.

We were very lucky to meet Lady, Nora, and Fritz when they were on the mortal side.  Their mom was brave enough to join DS which was mostly populated by American parents.  She had a better command of English than many people born in America, and her love for her dogs shined through with every post.

Luckily all dogs bark the same language.  During those unwatched moments, when we dog played without our parents knowing, we had no problem understanding our German friends, and we were fascinated to learn about pups living in another country.

I don’t know why humans developed languages according to the imaginary boundaries the mapmakers drew, but here at the Bridge, all humans speak the same language, like we all have one of those translators the Doctor uses on Doctor Who.  I think it made the Immortal world a more peaceful place than the mortal one.  

Usually, when a pup passes, the clouds filled with tears come from one direction, but when Nora passed, because she was so loved across the world, clouds poured in and soaked us in all directions.

When Nora went to the Bridge her mom wished that she, Lady and Fritz would run through the hills and the fields together like they were puppies.  After an initial biting and wrestling reunion of the three siblings, they agreed to fulfill their mom’s wish as they took off for the hills, chasing one another and nipping at each other’s heels.  But there was also something their mom could not have imagined.  Halfway up the mountain, they began to fly, nipping at each other, wearing huge smiles, and then they howled at the moon in joy.

I wish their mom could have seen it, and I hope she can remember just a second of their many future dream visits, or she realizes that, when something falls in another room, or she hears an owl, that it is Nora, or one of her siblings, stop by to say I love you.

After four years I am still surprised that a mother’s love can reach across the Earth, and across the Bridge too, it is undying and undeniable.