ABSTRACT: If you have ever owned a pet, many owners think of their pets as family members, and we grieve at their passing. There is no better way to give homage and tribute to past pet members than by creating either a Rainbow Bridge book, a website or blog about them.
CONTENT: For anyone who has ever had pets, it's never easy to lose them, whether by old age, or especially through illness in which the pet owner may have to make the terrible decision to "let go" and euthanize their pet. If you've been a pet owner like me, you may have had pets nearly all your life, and like many pet owners, they may not be just mere "pets" but become a part of one's life and are thought of as family members. And like family members, when they die, we go through the same grief and depression period we experience when a human loved one passes and is no longer in our lives.
I've had cats since I was five years old. My mother had gotten me, as an early Christmas present, on December 7, 1962, Babette, an adorable black and white kitten, that was live and see me through all my elementary school years and died several months after I graduated college in 1977. She wasn't to be the only cat in my life, for not long after getting her, we got our second cat, Friskey, and yes, had more during the years. At this time in my life, I now have only two cats, Pyewacket, an all black cat and is the attention getter, and Kissy, a grey tiger-striped cat. With the passing of my mother in 2006, they are now my only family and I treasure them beyond belief.
While I loved all the cats I was to have throughout my life, some obviously stuck in my memory more than others. Each and every cat had their own distinct personalities and quirks, just like humans do. Some cats were quiet, some were comical, and some were downright mischievous, but all had a place in my heart. Over the years, I've taken photographs of my beloved pets and have quite a collection of memories, every time I by chance go through their photos. I can remember each and every personality trait of each cat I've ever had.
The idea struck me one day, that I wanted some way to pay tribute and homage to my beloved pets, especially those from my past. All along, I had written out a listing of every pet I've had, from the day I got them, where I got them, and of course the day they passed away from my life. However, I wanted to do more than just have a listing of my pets, I wanted to create a memorial homage to them, but had no idea of just how to do it. Then, one day, I came across a beautiful journal kind of book I had gotten several years ago. It was such a beautiful journal, that I had never used it, as I didn't want to use it for just any purpose. When I came across it one day, the idea struck me, this would be the perfect book to use to fill my memories of my former pets...and I was to call it my Rainbow Bridge book.
I think it's a rare instance where a pet owner hasn't at one time come across this delightful poem, called Rainbow Bridge, which is unfortunately anonymous. It's one of those poems, that in all honesty every time I read it, I literally need a box of tissues. The idea behind the poem, is that when it is our turn to pass from this life's existence and we go to the other side in the spirit world that we come across Rainbow Bridge, which is the resting place where all former pets reside. When we die we go there and are greeted by our former beloved pets. If they were ill, they are ill no longer in this place, but instead greet us with love and enthusiasm and are as vitally alive as we remember them when they were in the prime of their lives. I would like to share this poem with you, in it's entirety, oh, and be sure to have the tissues ready.
RAINBOW BRIDGE
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...
(SOURCE: http://www.rainbowbridge.com/Poem.htm )
I can't think of a better way to remember past pets than by creating a Rainbow Bridge book. I began my own book last year and am still working on it, for this is a project that will take quite awhile for me to do. What I have done was to copy the Rainbow Bridge poem onto my word processor, and I used the Lucinda Calligraphy font to make it extra special...I used a fairly small font size so I could place the poem on the very first page of my book. Then, start gathering any pictures you might have of your former pet or pets. You may not have photos of all your pets, but that is still all right, as one way to remember pets where a photo isn't available is to simply write on the top of the page the name of your pet, the date you got him/her, then of course, the date of the pet's passing. Underneath this entry, write any and all memories of your pet, his/her habits, quirks, favorite food he/she liked, favorite toys to play with...anything and everything you can think of. Then naturally, if you do have a photo, place the photo (or photos) on the next few pages. The last several pages of my Rainbow Bridge book, I copied my listing of all the pets I've ever had, once again listing the date I got them, estimated birth-date and the date of their passing. You might actually find this hard to do, I know I did...as each memory poured through my mind of each pet I was writing about, the tears flowed freely as I remembered each one of them.
Another way to pay tribute to former pets, and even ones that are still in your life, is to create either separate websites for them, or even a blog. Again, this is a project I'm still working on, but I have a few websites at the one great pet website for cats, Catster.com ( http://www.catster.com/ )and there is one for dogs as well at dogster.com (http://www.dogster.com/ ). At Catster I have paid tribute to Taffy, Tommy, Mickey and Tippy. To get an idea what my tribute website looks like for Taffy, here's the link Taffy's Tribute Website. There are several other websites as well devoted to pets, whether living or not, and not only devoted to cats and dogs, but all pets from birds, fish, horses and so forth, and I give a partial listing at the end of this article.
And of course, being the pet lover I am, I've also embarked and started doing a blog for my pets, and this can be considered a virtual version of the concept of the Rainbow Bridge book, and yes I begin it with a slight history of how I began with having pets, including a photo of me with Babette a few years after I got her in 1962. This too, is a continuous work in progress and to give you an idea of how my blog journal remembrance of my pets looks like, you may view it at this link My Pet World Blog
However which way you decide to remember your pets, all would be true loving tributes to them. You have photos and remembrances of human family members, why not one for your former pets?
Websites to honor pets, past and present:
http://www.catster.com/
http://www.dogster.com/
http://petster.com/
http://www.petsplaces.com/
http://www.catchow.com/youandyourcat_1.aspx
1 comment:
<3 Hi Melanie, thank you so much for including me. This is absolutely wonderful.
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