September 23, 2018: Muffin in our Pup of the Week and Madi is our Cat of the Week

My Blogville friends, Lily and Muffin, are perfect examples of heart dogs.  They are their parent's children, best friends, nurses (helping their mom recover from several life-threatening surgeries) and constant companions.  Muffin has bravely battled congestive heart failure for more than a year. Last December, while their parents were nervously waiting at the vets as Muffin was being treated for breathing issues, Lily went into respiratory distress and slipped away to the Bridge with little warning, ripping away half their parents’ hearts.

Lily has worn a half-heart charm on her collar since she arrived at the Bridge.   Muffin has the other half. Lily worked very hard to make sure Muffin was with her parents for every available heartbeat, but this week Muffin succumbed to CHF and joined her sister at the Bridge.  

Of course, losing the two dogs who they shared their lives with for more than a dozen years devastated their parents.  They are now dogless, in a house full of silenced sounds and duties which no longer need performing. They have been trying to keep themselves busy, which started when they lost Lily, and have intensified their efforts with their latest loss. They need lots of prayers for comfort, acceptance, and love.  I know I can count on my friends to perform this important duty.

Lily and Muffin are going to spend lots of time visiting their parents and trying to heal them.  Every night the duo will be in their parents’ dreams. Their mom and dad won’t remember them in their minds but they will in their hearts which will help comfort them.  Also, they are going to encourage their parents to use their third eye to see them when they are visiting as ghosts. It is a tall order for two little dogs, but I know Lily and Muffin have a strong bond with their parents and can do it.

I hope it will help their parents to know that Lily and Muffin were delighted to be together again.  The first thing they did was to put their two half hearts together to make a whole one. If they can mend this broken charm, they can restore their parent's hearts.  The Doxie twins are inseparable again, playing, laughing and running. They bring joy wherever they go, as they did on the mortal side. Crossing the Bridge cannot change that.

Cats cross the Bridge at a different point not very far from us and live in their villages, but if dogs and cats want to live together, they can do so wherever they like.  When Madi, the diva queen cat from North Carolina crossed the Bridge the day before Florence hit, all her dog Blogville friends, including myself, the Doxie duo, Easy, Whitley, Lexi, Bilbo, Bailey, Greta, Mabel, Thunder, Dakota and many more hurried to see Cotton swearing in Madi.


Madi ran to her dog friends and got one thousand kisses from everyone and then we all played together.  When we were done Madi hosted a large feast where the dogs and cats could come together as one. After we were done eating she rallied us all to pray for her mom and the rest of the people affected by the terrible storm.  Even at the Bridge Madi is taking care of her mom.

Madi is another fighter.  She has battled kidney disease for more than a year.  She took her medicine without complaint. She knew it would keep her with her mom.  As the disease took its toll, Madi slept more, and deeper. Little by little she was fading.  Madi’s mom took her to the vet the day before the storm to make she sure would not have a medical emergency during the hurricane.  The vet tech told her that Madi was known as “Madi, the Miracle Cat of the Clinic.” Sometimes, miracles expire. During the examination, the vet found a heart murmur.  She had fluid in her lungs. Her mom knew it was time and sent Madi to us.

Madi, more than any other angel, will bridge the gap between dogs and cats because both species love this special girl.  She may end the feud that has gone on for eternity. Dogs and cats could be best friends a decade from now.

And she will be visiting her mom often.  They had an unbreakable bond that even crossing the River of Life can’t sever, as do the Doxie duo.  Rainbow Bridge is a better place with them here.


Sadly, the mortal world is worse.  May there be dogs and cats somewhere in need of homes who are special like Muffin, Lily, and Madi to make up for the hole they have created by passing over the River.