Tails From Rianbow Bridge: My Dinner With Ladybug

A little birdie landed on my window sill with a message from my good friend Angel Ladybug.  She invited me to lunch at the La Bridge Cafe.  I knew  I would have to get a makeover since Ladybug is the most stylish dog at the Bridge.

I made an appointment at Angel Lovey’s spa.  She did my hair, my tail, buffed my nails, and put a beautiful bow in my hair.  I know, despite Lovey’s Herculean efforts, I could not hold a candle to Ladybug.  My suspicions were confirmed when I saw my friend sitting in her corner table.  Her hair was beautifully done, bright colors sparkled throughout her body, her wings were illuminant, and her halo glowed.

Ladybug had already ordered a lovely buffet.   There was bruschetta with bacon, Canapes over kibble, Deviled eggs filled with sausage, and freshly cooked pigs wrapped in bison.  I grabbed a canape and watched Ladybug delicately eating a pig wrap.  She did everything with significant grace.

“Foley, darling,” she said lightly damping her mouth with a clean napkin.  “We must do something about this wicked weather.  Our friend Enzo hurt his leg slipping on ice, and his parents are buried under seven feet of snow.  Someone placed a broken ice machine on a cloud over Enzo’s house, and they are getting buried.”

I wholeheartedly agreed without her but left out the part where I had moved the ice machine to create more room on the dance floor which caused the water line to come loose and begin to pour water over Enzo’s mountain which quickly turned to snow.  Now the water line was frozen in place.

Our Foleytinis arrived, and I took a long drink.  I tried to explain to Ladybug that I could not get the minions to remove the ice machine on Sunday (no work on Sunday, Blue Laws still apply), Monday (holiday), Tuesday (recover from holiday), Wednesday (training day), Thursday (Sleep day), and Friday (Inauguration prayer day).   And then it was the weekend again.

Ladybug took her angel phone from her purse and reached the head minion.  She laughed, and cooed, barked and giggled, then said thank you.  She told me the ice machine would be removed forthwith.  “You just have to know how to talk to the minions Foley.”

We both took another sip and ate another sandwich.  I had so much to learn from Ladybug.  She is the wisest Angel I know.  

And I have a lot to learn from the lowly minions too.  Mostly about how to move an ice machine without causing a blizzard.

So Enzo and family.  I promise I will do better next winter.  

Max is our March 22 2015 Pup of the week

Some long time readers may have heard me tell tale of Daddy’s Aunt Bev.  When Mommy and Daddy were first married Daddy wanted a dog.  Mommy was reluctant.  One Saturday afternoon Mommy mentioned she might like a small dog.  Daddy knew his Aunt Bev had small dogs her whole life, and knew Mommy respected Aunt Bev’s opinion a great deal, so he hurried Mommy over to the house Aunt Bev shared with Uncle Bob.  Aunt Bev explained to Mom how wonderful a little dog could be, and that they were virtually no work.  Yes, she lied.  But she did so because she knew her nephew wanted a dog and that Mommy would be a great dog lover, and she was right.Aunt Bev and Uncle Bob    no longer had a dog.  They were at an age when they knew the dog would outlive them, and they were right.  But we will always owe our lives and happiness to Aunt Bev and Uncle Bob and they have a special spot here on the immortal side of the River of Life.

Angel Ladybug, and our newest angel Max have parents who remind me of our Aunt Bev and Uncle Bob very much:  They are kind, generous people in their golden years who have always had a place in their hearts for wonderful dogs.

Because of this profound faith Ladybug, after crossing the River of Life, was awarded with the job of fitting the new angels with their wings and teaching them how to fly.  Meanwhile her parents were not looking for a new dog, but a series of unfortunate events caused their daughter to move in with them, and when she moved in her dog Max came with her.

Max’s grandparents fell in love with this sweet, caring, low key, little gentleman.  Their home was filled with a dog’s heartbeat once again, and that sound made their home come alive.  When their daughter was ready to move out but had to leave Max behind she knew that Max was in the best of hands.

Max didn’t just bring a calm demeanor and deep loving eyes, he brought a sense of joy and comfort.  No matter how many times the bad news rolled in there was Max, telling his grandparents it would be all right.  While the scars of Ladybug’s passing were still there Max eased their pain as all new dogs do.

But what happens when the dog who healed the scars crosses the River of Life too?   That happened this week.  Sweet Max quickly took ill, and before the thought of losing him could be properly digested by his grandparents he was gone.

When he arrived Max was treated like a prince.  I did my duties, and passed him off to Ladybug who took him into her loving wings  She told him he could have anything he wanted.  He was at the place where all wishes come true.  But all Max wanted was a place in the sun to be warm and at peace.  And so many young pups, who never knew calm, peace, and love, joined him each day, snuggling with him and enjoying his greatest gift, the gift of love.

On Sunday morning Max joined Ladybug at the Cathedral and sat dutifully at her right paw as she told young pups and old how faith, love and belief had brought us all here, and how it will sustain us until the day that we are with our human families again.

As for Max’s grandparents who are once again going through one of life’s most painful losses, they know they are lucky, even if they don’t feel it right now, because they can hear Ladybug’s preaching, and feel Max’s presence through their strong faith, and when that presence reaches across the River of Life to touch the souls on the other side it eases the wicked pain..

I do hope that faith helps Max and Ladybug’s parents.  And if it does I hope more of our parents find it.  

Erin and Max are our February 26, 2012 pups of the week

We recognize two pups this week.  Two pups who will probably never read this.  Two pups whose Moms won’t be able to read this either.  If a pup of week is recognized in a forest and they aren’t there for the ceremony do they know it?  Doesn’t matter.  When it comes to pups of the week I go by my heart.  

One of these pups you have never (excepting one.)  The other you know well but haven’t seen in a long time.  And I owe tracking them down to the intrepid Hobo Hudson.  If you are unfamiliar with his wonderful writings you can read them here, and his Mom’s columns here.  Both are very informative.

While Hobo is as good a dog who has ever barked a tree we are here to thank him, not to honor him.

The first is the dog we have never met.  His name is Max.  He doesn’t have a computer profile anywhere.  He is Interneterlly homeless.  But when it comes to real homes he is very lucky.  His name is Max and he is the brother of one of our most beloved Bridge friends:  Ladybug.  Since Ladybug went to the Bridge we haven’t heard much from her.  But sometimes these sites are too painful to come to for our Moms after we go to the Bridge.



But Max’s Mom hasn’t been able to get on the computer.  She has had family problems, and she has had bad arthritis.  The kind that keeps are Mom’s off the computer.  The kind that keeps her from all the friends she has made in the social dog world.   I can’t imagine how sad that would make both my Mom and me.  To know that all our friends are just on the other side of that keyboard but not being able to get to them.  My Mommy has bad arthritis in her legs and back.  It hasn’t reached her hands yet.  Sometimes the Bridge separates us from our friends.  Sometimes it’s the pain of Earth that does.  If Max ever reads this I want him to know that I was Ladybug’s friend and even though we haven’t barked, I am his.

Our second Pup we recognize is well known on The Tanner Brigade, in the blogging world, and for those long time members of DS.  She is a German Shepard called Erin and her mother’s named is Donna.  Together they taught many of the older members of DS, and many other dog  bloggers, the ability to design their own pages.  She showed an enormous amount of patience with us bloggers, who weren’t very smart.


It seems to many of us that there wouldn’t be any dog blogging if it wasn’t for Erin.  It’s like she created the entire medium.  She certainly did a lot to improve our blog pages.  Her Freedom to Bark blog is still up here.

She too, because of physical problems has not been able to be on the computer.  Erin not being on the computer is like Michael Jordan not being able to play basketball.  Like Max’s Mom we miss her friendship and her humor.  And I know it is hell for her not to be able to bark at her good friends.

So this is for Max and Erin and their Mom’s.  You are in our heart always and hopefully you will be on our pages soon.  Until then we will keep praying. 

February 6 2010 Pup of the Week

Another Pup of the Week with wings. I was talking with Tanner last night. He has a big party lined up for Ladybug today, just as he did for Morgan last week. But he's concerned he's going over budget for Pup of the Week parties and has asked us if we could slow down the March to the Bridge. I assured him we would like nothing more, and hopefully won't have another Pup of the Week that can only be celebrated by our Bridge contingent.


Ladybug would be our Pup of the Week if she were at the Rainbow Bridge or the Golden Gate Bridge. Her perfect puppy parents loved her more than anyone else could, they cared for her, and held her in her last minutes, and she knew she was the most loved dog on Earth.


When I think of Ladybug, even while I have tears in my eyes, I smile, because so often she made me smile, with her witty comments, her humorous blogs, her positive outlook on the bleakest forecast. When I perused my Inbox and saw that Ladybug had made a comment I always anxiously clicked on it. I vividly remember her stories of her summer vacation, in a camper with no water, her Daddy desperately trying to fix it. The majority of dogs and parents would be snarling and biting at one another, but from her blogs, you could picture Mom, Dad and Ladybug laughing and smiling about their misfortune.


The Brigade is a family, and like all family we face devastating losses, like Morgan and Ladybug, and we mourn. Then slowly, as painful as it is, we begin to pull ourselves from the quicksand of sorrow and move onward, sharing in triumphs: Kady being welcomed into her new family, Holly establishing the first mouse kitchen for homeless kitties, Ruger and Daddy becoming foster brothers, Dulce and Barge organizing a scavenger hunt, and in sorrow: the Pack being unable to go with their Mom to Germany and being split up.


Life has quite a few ups and down, mostly downs lately. But like sky scrapers, rising up, floor by floor, we will climb to great heights of happiness, and fall into pits of sorrow again. And in the end?


At the end there's the bridge, where Morgan, Ladybug, and so many others await for us. Where there is no death, no illness, where no one leaves or gets hurt, where there is only peace and love. That's the reward for the ride.


And now, for, Ladybug, our Pup of the Week, I will sing one of my favorite songs: Company, accompanied by Pocket peeing on the piano:




I'll remember you too clearly
But I'll survive another day
No one to keep me awake
Begging for long walks to take
I'll imagine how we'd play

I'll see you in another life now, baby
I'll be with you in my dreams
But when I reach across the galaxy
I will miss your company

Company
I'll be looking for company
Look and listen
Through the years
Someday you may hear me
Still crying for company

So now you're going off to the Rainbow Bridge
And maybe I will open my doors to another young pup
But we'll never be the same
And I know I'll never have this chance again
No, not like you

I'll see you in another life now, baby
I'll be with you in my dreams
But when I reach across the galaxy
I will miss your company

Company
I'll be looking for company
Look and listen
Through the years
Someday you may hear me
Still crying for company


Goodnight, Miss Ladybug, wherever you are

Too much to lose

I remember being on the floor playing with Blake and Daddy. I don't know what we were doing. Just fooling around. Then Blake stopped playing.

We knew she was sick. She had something wrong in the brain. We knew her song was ending. She looked at Daddy. His voice broke. "Blake?" he asked. She walked over to him, a resigned look in her eyes. She got into pee position, and something came out. It wasn't pee. It kept coming out all night. Daddy kept taking her out. He ended the night sleeping on her like she was a pillow. That morning was the last time I saw her. She went to the Bridge that night. I miss her.

Then there was Jax. A dogtor misdiagnosed him. And Copper, died in her sleep. Finally Skye, sweet Skye, only five months old. I miss them all.

Then we got Pocket. These were my friends. Pretty much my only friends. But I was a happy dog. I laid in the sun all day, slept all night, never had many adventures. Then I learned how to use the computer.

And oh the friends I found. Tanner, Sophie, Teddie Earnest, Ladybug, Morgan the Miracle Maltese, We would run and play and laugh, and, even though many will tell you doggies can't, we even sang.

It was wonderful, I had never been such a happy dog. Then Tanner got sick and went to the bridge, then Teddie, and Morgan. As I write this Ladybug seems ready to go. And I hate it.

I know us dogs have short lives, and I think that's for the best. The longer you hang around the more people expect of you. If we lived 30 or 40 years they'd be wanting us to get jobs, teaching us how to drive, offering us low interest adjustable mortgages, making us vote and think. They start making kids do these things when they get to their late teens, why wouldn't they do the same with us?

But when we go to the bridge, when we have to leave our friends, it's just so unbearably hard. And lately it's just been one hard swat on the nose after another. I'd just like to stop, just for a little bit, so we can play without the pain.

See here's a secret about dogs: it's the rule of seven. We age seven times faster than you do, we enjoy walks seven times more, we play seven times harder, we have seven times more babies, and we love seven times more.

You see, that's why we have to go first. Because you will mourn, will cry, will be heartbroken when we go to the bridge, but if you left us? We would be seven times more heartbroken, miss you seven times more, cry seven times harder. In time, you will go get another puppy, from a breeder, or from a rescue. We don't get to go to the jail and rescue a human, or take a loan on some kibble and buy one. We have to wait until someone finds us a home. And it's never the same.

So that's why we need to leave you, sorry, but it's too painful to lose you. And to lose one another. I love my pack, and my heartbreaks with each loss. But it explodes with happiness at each new addition.

So, for you poor parents who have lost a pup, I know how hard it is to "replace" us. But you are a Brigade parent, which means you have more love to give pups then any other parents anywhere. And if you can find the courage, if you are willing to take the chance on getting your heart broken to pieces again, could you please consider a new pup, because there are lots more dogs in need of loving, special parents like you, then there are loving parents looking for dogs.

And remember, before we go, we give your our heart, so you're never alone, and never forget that love, so you can pay it forward to a new dog.

Love to all my dog parents. Sorry we cause you such pain. But I'm guessing you know how much we're worth it.