They will not go quietly,
the pets who've shared our lives.
In subtle ways they let us know
their spirit still survives.

Old habits still can make us think
we hear them at the door
Or step back when we drop
a tasty morsel on the floor.

Our feet still go around the place
the food dish used to be,
And, sometimes, coming home at night,
we miss them terribly.

And although time may bring new friends
and a new food dish to fill,
That one place in our hearts
belongs to them...
and always will.

Four Feet in Heaven

Your favorite chair is vacant now...

No eager purrs to greet me.

No softly padded paws to run

Ecstatically to meet me.

No coaxing rubs, no plaintive cry

Will say it's time for feeding.

I've put away your bowl, and all

The things you won't be needing;

But I will miss you little friend,

For I could never measure

The happiness you brought me,

The comfort and the pleasure.

And since God put you here to share

In earthly joy and sorrow;

I'm sure there'll be a place for you

In Heaven's bright tomorrow...

An Owner's Plea

Please, God, if You should hear a scratch on Eden's Gate tonight,
A gentle whine, a muffled bark; have Peter take a light
And open up the Pearly Gates and call his Spirit in,
For I think he lived in Heaven once; please take him back again.

He may have been a mongrel, without a pedigree,
Yet he was noble, kind and good; I think You will agree:
That he'll be very useful where the souls of children play.
He'll romp with them, and see; Dear God; they do not go astray.

Just tell him that we're sorry that we could not pat his head,
And whisper how we loved him 'ere his Spirit fled.
I pray that when death beckons, and my soul surmounts life's fog,
I'll rate a place in Heaven, Dear God, right beside our dog...

The Time Has Come

If it should be that I grow frail and weak,

And pain should keep me from my sleep,

Then, will you do what must be done,

For this, the last battle cannot be won,

You will be sad, I understand,

But don't let grief then stay your hand,

For on this day, more than the rest,

Your love and friendship must stand the test.

We have had so many happy years,

What is to come, can hold no fears,

You would not want me to suffer so,

When the time comes, please let me go.

Take me to where my needs they'll tend,

Only, stay with me until the end.

And hold me firm and speak to me

Until my eyes no longer can see.

It is a kindness you do for me.

Although my tail its last has waved,

From pain and suffering I have been saved.

Don't grieve that it must be you

Who has decided this thing to do,

We've been so close, we two, these years,

Don't let your heart hold any more tears.

Tribute to a Best Friend

Sunlight streams through window pane

unto a spot on the floor...

then I remember,

it's where you used to lie,

but now you are no more.

Our feet walk down a hall of carpet,

and muted echoes sound...

then I remember,

it's were your paws

would joyously abound.

A voice is heard along the road,

and up beyond the hill,

then I remember it can't be yours...

your golden voice is still.

But I'll take that vacant spot of floor

and empty muted hall

and lay them with the absent voice

and unused dish along the wall.

I'll wrap these treasured memorials

in a blanket of my love

and keep them for my best friend

until we meet above.

When God had made the earth and sky
the flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals
the fish ,the birds and bees.

And when at last He'd finished
not one was quite the same .
He said ,"I'll walk this world of mine
and give each one a name".

And so he traveled far and wide
and everywhere he went ,
a little creature followed him
until it's strength was spent.

When all were named upon the earth
and in the sky and sea,
the little creature said "Dear Lord,
there's not one left for me ."

Kindly the Father said to him
"I've left you to the end .
I've turned my own name back to front
and called you DOG , My friend ."

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...

Anonymous

With Angels They Play


They haven't really been taken away.
They have only gone with the Angels to play.
They have been given wings with which to fly.
All their troubles have passed them by.

Their life in heaven now must start.
But we'll hold their memory in our hearts.
Nothing about them will be forgotten.
But now they sleep on billowy clouds of cotton.

It Wouldn't Be Heaven

I got to the gate of Heaven today, after we said goodbye.
I began to miss you terribly, because I heard you cry.

Suddenly there was an angel, and she asked me to enter Heaven's gate.
I asked her if I could stay outside for someone who would be late.
I wouldn't make much noise, you see, I wouldn't bark or howl.
I'll only wait here patiently and play with my tennis ball.

The angel said I could stay right here and wait for you to come.
Because Heaven just wouldn't be Heaven if I went in alone.
So I'll wait right here, you take your time, but keep me in your heart.
Because Heaven just wouldn't be Heaven without you to warm my heart.

"Our animals shepherd us through certain eras of our lives. When we are ready to turn the corner and make it on our own...they let us go."

Poem For Cats

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, I am most able
To decide anything for myself

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly.
For my human friends are troubled.
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don't they understand? asked God
That you'll never leave them?
That you souls are intertwined for all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is...forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat.
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them
I just am...forever and ever and ever.

Golden Memories

They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.

A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.

If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I'd walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.

Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.

When some proud son of man returns to earth,
Unknown to glory, but upheld by birth,
The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below;
When all is done, upon the tomb is seen,
Not what he was, but what he should have been.
But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, the foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his master's own,
Who labors, lives, fights, breathes for him alone,
Unhonored falls, unnoticed all his worth,
Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth.
While man, vain insect, hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole, exclusive heaven.
Ye! Who behold, perchance, this simple urn,
Pass on; it honors none you wish to mourn.
To mark a friend's remains these stones rise,
I have never known but one - and here he lies.

-- Lord Byron

"Do not weep for me when I am gone,
For I have friends in the great beyond.
All the little ones, I used to feed,
Will come to me in my time of need.
They will purr and bark in delight,
And I will hold and hug them tight.
Oh what a great day that will be,
When my furry friends all welcome me."

GOOD NIGHT DEAR FRIEND

The time has come for you to take
a journey of your own,
And I must see through all my tears
that God has called you home.
Through sadness fills my heart today
and many days to come,
I know that you are now at rest
in God's eternal love.
You were to me much more than
friend of any human kind,
The joy and happiness we shared
was more than most will find.
A special place within my heart
for you will always be,
A place of joy and love for you,
in sweet fond memory,
Perhaps that place within my heart
that is for you today,
Will one day grow to fill my heart
and take my grief away.
author unknown.

Oh what unhappy twist of fate
Has brought you homeless to my gate,
The gate where once another stood
To beg for shelter warmth and food?

For from that day I ceased to be
The master of my destiny,
While she, with purr and velvet paw
Became within my house the law.

She scratched the furniture and shed
And claimed the middle of my bed,
She ruled in arrogance and pride
And broke my heart the day she died.

So if you really think, oh cat
I'd willingly relive all that,
Because you come forlorn and thin
Well don't just stand there - come on in!

I'm Still Here

Friend, please don't mourn for me
I'm still here, though you don't see.
I'm right by your side each night and day
and within your heart I long to stay.

My body is gone but I'm always near.
I'm everything you feel, see or hear.
My spirit is free, but I'll never depart
as long as you keep me alive in your heart.

I'll never wander out of your sight
I'm the brightest star on a summer night.
I'll never be beyond your reach
I'm the warm moist sand when you're at the beach.

I'm the colorful leaves when fall comes around
and the pure white snow that blankets the ground.
I'm the beautiful flowers of which you're so fond,
The clear cool water in a quiet pond.

I'm the first bright blossom you'll see in the spring,
The first warm raindrop that April will bring.
I'm the first ray of light when the sun starts to shine,
and you'll see that the face in the moon is mine.

When you start thinking there's no one to love you,
you can talk to me through the Lord above you.
I'll whisper my answer through the leaves on the trees,
and you'll feel my presence in the soft summer breeze.

I'm the hot salty tears that flow when you weep
and the beautiful dreams that come while you sleep.
I'm the smile you see on a baby's face.
Just look for me, friend, I'm everyplace!

I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying, You found it hard to sleep.

I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
"It's me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."

I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times your hands reached out to me.

I was with you at the shops today, your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.

I was with you at my grave today, you tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you that I'm not lying there.

I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said "It's me."

You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know that I was standing there.

It's possible for me to be so near you every day.
To say to you with certainty, "I never went away."

You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew...
In the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.

The day is almost over... I smile and watch you yawning
And say, "Goodnight, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."

And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand, side by side.

I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out... then come home to be with me.