The
little dog arrived at the Rainbow Bridge, and a pack of dogs rushed
up to greet him. He braced himself, expecting a fight, but this
was the first pack that wagged their tails and kissed him instead
of attacking him.
It was beautiful here, and everyone was nice to him. None of them
had been born in a puppy mill, like he had, and used for dog-bait
fighting and left to die in a shelter because he was a mixed-breed
battle-scarred cur and wasn't cute. They explained why they were
waiting for their humans who loved them.
"What is love?"
he asked, and God let him go back to earth and find out.
Warm, and dark, he squeezed
in with the others and waited for the day to be born. Scared,
he held back as long as he could, but finally got dragged out
by his hind feet.
Hands without fur held him
gently and rubbed him dry and opened his mouth and guided him
to a warm nipple with milk. He didn't get a good hold on it, because
one of his big, fat brothers pushed him aside. The human hand
moved the other puppy to another nipple and held his body, so
he could drink.
"Ahhh, that's better,"
he thought, and drank until his jaws got tired and he curled up
to sleep next to his warm hairy mother.
"I remember this,"
he mused. "Too bad I'll have to grow up to be hit, left out
in the cold and rain, and used for dog-bait fighting, and die
as an unclaimed rescue dog. I remember what it's like, being a
dog," he thought sadly.
That night, he crawled up
to his mother and tried to nurse, but he kept getting pushed off
to the side. When they were full, the big brothers and sisters
got their bottoms cleaned and he finally latched on to a nipple,
but the human hands weren't there to hold him up, and there wasn't
any milk in any of the nipples, anyway. He was weak and so tiny.
It was even hard to stay upright, and he fell over on his back
and couldn't right himself.
So he began to cry, and
suddenly the human hands were there, holding him up and putting
a rubber thing in his mouth. It didn't taste or feel like his
mother, but it was warm and made the ache in his tummy go away.
He was having trouble breathing.
His lungs weren't fully developed because he had waited too long
to join the others in the womb. He had taken that one last romp
at the Rainbow Bridge.
He could feel the heartbeat
of the human, who had laid him on her chest and covered him with
a soft cloth, keeping him warm, and soothing his bony body with
gentle, circling touches.
He kept thinking of his
new friends who had been so nice to him at the Bridge and asked
God if he could go back. God said, "Yes, but not just yet.
You wanted to experience Love."
So for several hours (it
seemed like days, but it was dark and he couldn't tell what time
it was), the human supplemented his feeding and let him experience
the warmth of his mother's body and tongue, and the pile of warm,
soft littermates. He got weaker, and the human held him more often,
leaving the littermates to sleep in a pile while he got caressed,
kissed, and got to listen to the heartbeat, which was strong and
loving.
Finally God came back and
asked, "Are you ready to come back to the Rainbow Bridge?"
"Yes, he responded,"
with a little sorrow, because the human didn't want to let him
go, and was crying.
He pushed the air out of
his lungs and floated back to the Rainbow Bridge and looked back
at the human, who was still crying and holding the limp body that
he had borrowed for his trip.
"Thank you, God,"
he said. "Love is beautiful, and I will wait near the Bridge
and let the human know, when she arrives, that I loved her, too."
After playing in the fields
of flowers with all the other dogs, He kept looking back down
at earth. He saw many humans holding fragile little newborns that
were only to stay on earth for a few hours or days, to learn about
love. He asked God, "Must I wait for her? Now that I know
what love is, I want to share it with other humans ... for there
are many who are down there, crying."
"Yes," God answered
warmly. "You are learning about love, and I will send you
back where you are needed and wanted." So the little dog
-- who had once been born in a puppy-mill, only known cruelty,
abuse, being used as bait for dog-fighting, and left to die at
a rescue shelter -- now knew the meaning of love and was given
another chance to give as well as receive.
This time, he was born strong
and quickly became everyone's "pick" because of his
gentleness and outgoing temperament. He gave everyone puppy-breath
kisses and bounded out to greet all the prospective puppy-buyers
with his whole body wagging his tail. He was looking for the special
human, who had taught him the meaning of love, but she was not
this breeder nor any of the buyers who came to look at the litter.
"Where is my human?"
the big, strong puppy asked God.
"Be patient, God replied.
"She has many other dogs right now, and doesn't need you
as much as someone else."
This breeder could have
gotten a lot of money for him; but instead, she called the national
service-dog group and told them of her special puppy. He was now
a big dog, and spent his first year in a special home, learning
how to be a service-dog. This family trained him to sit, down,
stay, fetch, and learn patience -- oh, that was the hardest trick
to learn!
There was a special little
boy who couldn't walk or coordinate his hand-movements. He had
only weighed 5 ounces in his previous life as a "fading puppy."
He was now over 50 pounds and capable of pulling a wheelchair
and picking up keys, pencils, etc., and giving them to the trainer.
He loved his trainer, but the day he met the little boy, he knew
God was answering his prayers by giving him a little human who
couldn't play like the other children.
He spent many years with
the child, helping him grow. He learned that love comes in different
forms ... as a breeder who spends the extra time and love with
a fading puppy ... as a trainer who must give up her dog (after
many months of close bonding) to the person who couldn't train
the dog himself from puppy-hood ... as a child or adult who once
was alone and helpless and often rejected by those who made fun
of him, because he couldn't run and play and fit in, but could
live independently, with the help of his canine companion.
He got old, and a little
stiff, and was having trouble pulling the wheelchair and fetching
things for his beloved companion. The service-dog organization
had trained another dog for his human. It was time to retire to
a senior foster home, where he learned another lesson of love
-- from a family that knew he wouldn't live long. The family knew
he deserved the special care of finishing out his golden years
with people who could care for him as he had cared for the human
for so many years.
He closed his eyes and dreamed
of his friends at the Rainbow Bridge ... the ones who had rushed
up to greet him, the first time, and wagged their tails and kissed
him instead of attacking. Suddenly, he was surrounded by his old
friends, and he looked back at earth at the foster humans who
were crying and holding the limp body that he had borrowed for
this trip.
"Don't cry," he
barked. "I'll be back. You may not recognize the body I borrow,
for it may be bigger or smaller -- it may have wrinkled skin or
long silky hair or curly wiry hair, or no hair at all. It may
be beautiful and win championship titles, or it may be "ugly"
in the eyes of many. Look behind the eyes of trust, and you will
find my unconditional love.
Train me, and help me learn
how to be the loyal companion that you think you want, when you
pick up that cute little puppy that may grow up to be huge and
loud and destructive -- unless guided to be a good dog.
Author:
©Joy
LaCaille
German
Pinschers Around the World One of the most complete and informative
German Pinscher sites on the web, devoted to preserving the health,
temperament and genetic integrity of the German Pinscher.
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