At the end of the Rainbow Bridge there is a Peaceful Valley
where our beloved pets who have gone before wait for us.

Someday we will be together again.

I believe that our God never takes anything away from us but that he gives us back something else at least as good.  Such was the case when my furchild, Gigi, died in June, 2001.  The huge hole she left in my heart was unbearable.  She had been my soulmate & her death could not be eased by all the tears that I cried.  I will always believe that Gigi asked God to send me a gentle heart to ease my pain.

Bubba's story is really one of those "the REST of the story" stories that started with the death of Gigi.  One day about 2 weeks after her death, the picture of a young dog in a local kill-shelter was posted on our rescue group forum.  He was just one of many that day with a sad story & a short timeline before he would be euthanized.  I started to click on to the next message when something caught my eye.  Nothing about the dog was familiar except the eyes .. those were the same warm, liquid brown eyes that I had looked into for so many years.  Those were Gigi's eyes staring out at me!!  She was begging me to help him, knowing that it was I who needed the help that he would provide with his love.

I had no intention of getting another dog.  We still had Duke & no other dog in the world could ever replace my Gigi but this one needed help so I volunteered to foster him for a few days while our rescue group found a place for him.  There were a lot of details to work out but he was finally dropped off at our house & took up residence in a large crate in the middle of the den.  For most of the next 2 days, Duke walked stiff-legged around the crate ..  growling & grumbling in low tones as if to tell this stranger that he didn't belong here.  Never once did the new dog answer back with a growl or any kind of aggressive response.  This big gentle giant just laid in his crate & watched .. the only sound was an occasional soft whine & the gentle thump, thump of his wagging tail.  Late on the second day, Duke approached the crate with a tennis ball, which he dropped in front of the crate door, as if to say .. "Well .. if you are gonna stay here, then let's go play!"  From that day on, they were best friends & inseparable until Duke's passing in October, 2006.

With Duke's stamp of approval the new dog was no longer a foster but a full-fledged family member with house privileges & a bed of his own.  The crate went outside, never to be used again.  Bubba had a home.

Bubba came with a lot of medical issues that took a while to clear up but thru it all, he was always the most gentle, sweet-natured dog there ever was.  He would lean into you & beg to be petted, never getting tired of being close to his humans.  He never once growled at any other animal or person in the over 6 years he was with us.   He was a true gentle giant - all 165 lbs of him as he eventually grew to be.  He was our PR man .. greeting visitors with a big wet grin & loving the attention they showered on him.  And, somehow without me even realizing it .. this wonderful big furball mended the hole in my heart & tucked himself securely in to his own place there.  He was everyone's friend but he was "Mama's Baby Boy".

As he grew older, some of the ailments of badly-bred large dogs began to show up.  He started having genetic seizures .. the bane of badly-bred dogs when no one cares that there might be a problem in the bloodline that would transfer to the young.  He had a mild stroke in January, 2007, that left him weak in the rear quarters & although he regained much of his mobility -- he could still get up & walk without help -- you could tell that he didn't have the strength anymore.

As the lazy days of this summer had begun to cool down in the early mornings, I had been leaving the backdoor propped open so he & M'Lady (she is another story) could go in & out to the patio at will.  After their breakfast of boiled chicken, rice, pureed veggies, fruit & a vitamin supplement, we were all on the patio, enjoying the cool morning.  Bubba got up & walked in to the kitchen & crashed .. by the time I got inside to him, he was in full Grand Mal seizure.  After a few minutes, he recovered & got up as he had before when this had happened .. not seeming any the worse for wear except tired.  However, it soon became obvious that this time was different - that something neurologically had happened & it wasn't good.

He began walking in circles for no reason ...  just turning around 4 or 5 times before walking off in a straight line.  Later in the day, we noticed that if he turned his head very far to one side, he would begin to have "head-jerk" spasms.  He lost the ability to get up by himself .. try as hard as he did, he didn't have the motor skill necessary to get his backside up any longer.

Years ago when Bubba was having so many medical problems & was making so many trips to the vet's office which he hated, I promised him that once he was well, he wouldn't have to go back to that cool, impersonal place with the antiseptic smells.  We were lucky enough to find a compassionate vet close by who makes "house calls" & Bubba has not been in a "hospital" since.  I stroked his head & promised him that when his time came to cross over that Rainbow Bridge, he wouldn't have to go to that cool, impersonal place to do it .. that he could depart from the security & comfort of his own bed with his family & the things he was familiar with around him.

I made the arrangements with our vet & with the crematory service that would come to pick up his body afterward.

As the fluid that would bring him release entered his vein & his big, gentle heart beat it's last,  Bubba made a sound that I had not heard in years.  It wasn't a cry of pain or fear or anguish .. it was the happy "yip-yip-yip .. yip-yip" of a healthy young dog who had just spied his best friend & was running to greet him!!!

I know this was God's way of letting me know that Bubba was HOME .. that he & Duke were together again & that all was right in his Kingdom. 

Our pack -- Butterball, Sammy the cat, Gigi, Duke & Bubba -- is safe in God's care.  One day, M'Lady will join them & they will all be waiting for us until we can all be together again.  For now, they are ....