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The Rainbow Bridge - Hugs and Prayers for Backhoe
FreeDominion.ca ^ | February 1, 2007

Posted on 02/01/2007 1:37:18 PM PST by Calpernia


Prayers to Backhoe for the Loss of Taffy

Saint Francis


Blessing  all creatures, great & small.

"We who choose to surround
ourselves with lives even more 
temporary than our own,
live within a fragile circle, 


easily and often breached. 
Unable to accept its awful gaps, 
we still would live no other way. 
We cherish memory as the only 
certain immortality never fully understanding the necessary plan. "
from The Once Again Prince
by Irving Townsend

">click


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: backhoe; prayers; rainbowbridge; taffy
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Prayers up for Backhoe. He had to put his dog Taffy down due to a stroke.


1 posted on 02/01/2007 1:37:20 PM PST by Calpernia
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To: KylaStarr; Cindy; StillProud2BeFree; nw_arizona_granny; Velveeta; Dolphy; appalachian_dweller; ...

ping


2 posted on 02/01/2007 1:39:28 PM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: backhoe

I never seem to have the words when I hear about the death of a pet friend. I'm so sorry.


3 posted on 02/01/2007 1:41:24 PM PST by lysie
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To: Calpernia

That's rough. We have a dog who looks just like Taffy. Anyone know the breed?


4 posted on 02/01/2007 1:43:36 PM PST by wolfcreek (Please Lord, May I be, one who sees what's in front of me.)
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To: Calpernia

Dog Quotes

Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery, if inscribed over human ashes, is but a Just Tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a Dog. – Hobhouse - Epitaph, on Lord Byron's dog, Boatswain, at Newstead Abbey

So I laugh when I hear them make it plain
That dogs and men never meet again.
For all their talk who'd listen to them,
With the soul in the shining eyes of him?
Would God be wasting a dog like Tim?
– W M Letts, Songs of Leinster


At the dog-show held at our local hospital fete, there were many handsome dogs with equally handsome owners. But my attention was drawn to a small mongrel and his owner, a boy of about eleven. For nearly an hour, the boy had been gently grooming and hugging his pet in turn.

When his name was called the boy tenderly took the dog's head into his cupped hands and looked at him with all the love a small boy could show. "Now you mustn't be upset if you don't win a prize," he said, "you see, they don't know you as well as I do." – source unknown

The dog was created especially for children. He is the god of frolic. – Henry Ward Beecher

I would rather see a portrait of a dog that I know, than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world. – Samuel Johnson

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That's almost $7.00 in dog money. – Joe Weinstein

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace. – Milan Kundera

If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience. – Woodrow Wilson

Did you hear about the dyslexic agnostic insomniac who stays up all night wondering if there really is a Dog? – source unknown

When the Man waked up he said,
'What is Wild Dog doing here?'
And the Woman said,
'His name is not Wild Dog any more,
but the First Friend,
because he will be our friend
for always and always and always.' – Rudyard Kipling

My dog is usually pleased with what I do, because she is not infected with the concept of what I 'should' be doing. – Lonzo Idolswine

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog."
– Dwight D. Eisenhower

I am not a cat man, but a dog man, and all felines can tell this at a glance - a sharp, vindictive glance. – James Thurber

There is an Indian legend which says when a human dies there is a bridge they must cross to enter into heaven. At the head of that bridge waits every animal that human encountered during their lifetime. The animals, based upon what they know of this person, decide which humans may cross the bridge.... and which are turned away..." – Unknown



Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery, if inscribed over human ashes, is but a Just Tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a Dog. – Hobhouse - Epitaph, on Lord Byron's dog, Boatswain, at Newstead Abbey


5 posted on 02/01/2007 1:45:14 PM PST by Lexington Green (Medical Marijuana - - When ''Compassionate Conservative'' is an oxymoron.)
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To: Calpernia

Dog Quotes

Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery, if inscribed over human ashes, is but a Just Tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a Dog. – Hobhouse - Epitaph, on Lord Byron's dog, Boatswain, at Newstead Abbey

So I laugh when I hear them make it plain
That dogs and men never meet again.
For all their talk who'd listen to them,
With the soul in the shining eyes of him?
Would God be wasting a dog like Tim?
– W M Letts, Songs of Leinster


At the dog-show held at our local hospital fete, there were many handsome dogs with equally handsome owners. But my attention was drawn to a small mongrel and his owner, a boy of about eleven. For nearly an hour, the boy had been gently grooming and hugging his pet in turn.

When his name was called the boy tenderly took the dog's head into his cupped hands and looked at him with all the love a small boy could show. "Now you mustn't be upset if you don't win a prize," he said, "you see, they don't know you as well as I do." – source unknown

The dog was created especially for children. He is the god of frolic. – Henry Ward Beecher

I would rather see a portrait of a dog that I know, than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world. – Samuel Johnson

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That's almost $7.00 in dog money. – Joe Weinstein

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace. – Milan Kundera

If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience. – Woodrow Wilson

Did you hear about the dyslexic agnostic insomniac who stays up all night wondering if there really is a Dog? – source unknown

When the Man waked up he said,
'What is Wild Dog doing here?'
And the Woman said,
'His name is not Wild Dog any more,
but the First Friend,
because he will be our friend
for always and always and always.' – Rudyard Kipling

My dog is usually pleased with what I do, because she is not infected with the concept of what I 'should' be doing. – Lonzo Idolswine

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog."
– Dwight D. Eisenhower

I am not a cat man, but a dog man, and all felines can tell this at a glance - a sharp, vindictive glance. – James Thurber

There is an Indian legend which says when a human dies there is a bridge they must cross to enter into heaven. At the head of that bridge waits every animal that human encountered during their lifetime. The animals, based upon what they know of this person, decide which humans may cross the bridge.... and which are turned away..." – Unknown


6 posted on 02/01/2007 1:45:37 PM PST by Lexington Green (Medical Marijuana - - When ''Compassionate Conservative'' is an oxymoron.)
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To: backhoe

Sorry about your pup.


7 posted on 02/01/2007 1:46:56 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: wolfcreek

I don't know. Maybe when Backhoe is feeling up to it, he will come by and tell us.


8 posted on 02/01/2007 1:48:01 PM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: backhoe
As soon as you feel a little better, get yourself a new puppy. Sorry about your doggie.


9 posted on 02/01/2007 1:51:29 PM PST by word_warrior_bob (You can now see my amazing doggie and new puppy on my homepage!! Come say hello to Jake & Sonny)
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To: backhoe

It's always sad and we'll forever miss them... but it's our responsibility.


10 posted on 02/01/2007 1:52:34 PM PST by johnny7 ("We took a hell of a beating." -'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell)
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To: backhoe
I often took her with me, to reassure the frequently alone women I encountered that "if my dog loves and trusts me, I'm probably not an axe murderer..."

How true that is. There's something about a person a dog trusts that is reassuring to those around them. Dogs just always seem to know.

I know how what your loss feels like, Backhoe. My sincere condolences.

11 posted on 02/01/2007 1:56:52 PM PST by Cagey
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To: backhoe
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your dog.

This poem helped me cope when I had to be my kitty down.

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...


12 posted on 02/01/2007 2:12:16 PM PST by MotleyGirl70
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To: Calpernia

I am so very sorry for this loss. Losing a pet is very hard. My dogs are very important to me, and I understand how much pain this can cause.


13 posted on 02/01/2007 2:13:11 PM PST by USMCWife6869
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To: Calpernia

I'm sorry, backhoe.


14 posted on 02/01/2007 2:14:59 PM PST by processing please hold (ROP and Open Borders-a terrorist marriage and hell's coming with them)
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To: Calpernia
This is a good one I like...

Where To Bury A Dog

There are various places within which a dog may be buried. We are thinking now of a setter, whose coat was flame in the sunshine, and who, so far as we are aware, never entertained a mean or an unworthy thought. This setter is buried beneath a cherry tree, under four feet of garden loam, and at its proper season the cherry strews petals on the green lawn of his grave. Beneath a cherry tree, or an apple, or any flowering shrub of the garden, is an excellent place to bury a good dog. Beneath such trees, such shrubs, he slept in the drowsy summer, or gnawed at a flavorous bone, or lifted head to challenge some strange intruder. These are good places, in life or in death. Yet it is a small matter, and it touches sentiment more than anything else.

For if the dog be well remembered, if sometimes he leaps through your dreams actual as in life, eyes kindling, questing, asking, laughing, begging, it matters not at all where that dog sleeps at long and at last. On a hill where the wind is unrebuked and the trees are roaring, or beside a stream he knew in puppyhood, or somewhere in the flatness of a pasture land, where most exhilarating cattle graze. It is all one to the dog, and all one to you, and nothing is gained, and nothing lost -- if memory lives. But there is one best place to bury a dog. One place that is best of all.

If you bury him in this spot, the secret of which you must already have, he will come to you when you call -- come to you over the grim, dim frontiers of death, and down the well-remembered path, and to your side again. And though you call a dozen living dogs to heel they should not growl at him, nor resent his coming, for he is yours and he belongs there.

People may scoff at you, who see no lightest blade of grass bent by his footfall, who hear no whimper pitched too fine for mere audition, people who may never really have had a dog. Smile at them then, for you shall know something that is hidden from them, and which is well worth the knowing.

The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.

by Ben Hur Lampman

15 posted on 02/01/2007 2:22:32 PM PST by chimera
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To: Calpernia; backhoe
Prayers Friend. It never easy.


16 posted on 02/01/2007 2:55:59 PM PST by darkwing104 (Let's get dangerous)
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To: Calpernia; backhoe
BTDT backhoe,

It's rough.

Prayer sent.

17 posted on 02/01/2007 3:00:36 PM PST by Doomonyou (Let them eat lead.)
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To: word_warrior_bob

He's cute; what kind of dog is that?


18 posted on 02/01/2007 3:04:35 PM PST by MotleyGirl70
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To: backhoe

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of Taffy. Prayers to comfort you.


19 posted on 02/01/2007 3:05:25 PM PST by Lillee
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To: wolfcreek; Lexington Green; Tijeras_Slim; word_warrior_bob; Calpernia; lysie; johnny7; Cagey; ...

"We have a dog who looks just like Taffy. Anyone know the breed?"




wolfcreek, we called her "The Albemarle Squirrel Hound" in jest, because she was found by animal control running wild on Albemarle Street nearby, and she hunted squirrels.

As best we could determine, she was Spitz and Chow, with some German Shepard tossed in to the mix. We still see her siblings in the neighborhood.

If you click the Free Dominion link Calpernia provided, there's more there.

Wife Emily and I thank you, one and all.

I did not write the following- it's the way I remember a certain story being told:

Heaven’s Gate

A man and his dog died together, and finding themselves on the other side life, they came upon a long and gentle road through the country.

They journeyed on until they came upon a fork in the road- to one side it rambled onwards, but to the other side were the most magnificent gates he had ever seen.

Just like the storied Gates of Heaven, wrought of the rarest metals, studded with precious jewels, and hung from vast marble columns.

Seen through them was a green and verdant land, awash with light and life and color, and inside these gates stood a dignified gentleman wearing the most elegant suit the man had ever seen.

"Welcome to Heaven," he exclaimed.

Not believing his luck ( having lived a Godly life insofar as it was consistent with a life of sin ) he started to pass inside with his old dog following, but the suited gent stopped him with a hand-

"Hold it! We don’t allow the lower orders in here. He stays outside."

Looking wistfully at the gorgeous lands beyond, the man turned around, saying, "I can’t leave my best friend behind."

And so they traveled on, until they came across another fork somewhat like the last one, except here the gates were simple oak, hung on plain brick columns, although the land beyond seemed identical to what he’d seen before.

In the gateway was a somewhat scruffy-looking older fellow, rocking in a chair and whittling on a stick of wood- so they approached him.

"Howdy, Son."

"Umm- hello. I guess you don’t let dogs in here, either, do you?"

The old gent waved the stick in front of the dog, yelled "Fetch!” and flicked it through the gates, which the dog then bounded through...

"Why sure we do, Son- all God’s children are welcome here- that first gate was just a test."

"You don’t think we’d want anybody in here who’d abandon his best friend, do you?"


20 posted on 02/01/2007 3:06:13 PM PST by backhoe (Just a Merry-Hearted Keyboard PirateBoy, plunderin’ his way across the WWW…)
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