Rainbow Bridge

A Dog’s Last Will and Testament  - Author Anonymous

Included in a recently published book in Germany Der Verlust eines Hundes The Loss of a Dog by Elli Radinger and translated by Janet Beasley

When humans die they prepare a will in order to leave their home and everything they own to all those they love.

If I were able to write I would also make out such a will.

To a poor, lonely, full of longing stray I would leave my happy home, my food bowl, my cozy bed, my soft pillow, my toys and the beloved lap.  The gently stroking hand, the loving voice, the place I had in someone’s heart and the love which, at the end, will help me towards a peaceful, painless end while being held in loving arms.

And when I die, then please don’t say:

“Never again will I have a dog, the loss is much too painful.”

Find yourself a lonely, unloved dog and give it my place in your heart.

That is my bequest.  The love I leave behind is all that I have to give.

Gracie

We lost our sweet Gracie unexpectedly and our hearts have ached ever since. She was a perfect companion for our other Weim and taught Coco many of the pleasures of just having fun - running through the dog door at the sound of the other dogs barking next door, tracking lizards and "possums," sneaking treats from the cabinet, and even opening doors that we thought were closed. She had such a kind soul, never met a stranger, and gave us unconditional love from the minute she joined our family. We never tired of watching Gracie stalk lizards around the pond or chase squirrels up the trees. She loved the freedom of being in the yard when she chose or when she tired of hunting, settling into her favorite couch. She always loved having her tummy rubbed and when she sat up and looked at us, her huge beautiful eyes seemed to look into our souls.

Cancer stole her from us but the blessing was everything happened so quickly, she did not have to suffer. She had her evening meal, even ran in the yard with Coco shortly before she became sick and we took her to the doctor. We never dreamed she would not come back home with us. We are forever grateful to Rosi Adams and Dr. Rita McGinnis for giving this girl the chance she deserved and giving us the opportunity to love her. She will never be forgotten.  

Pete and Melissa

Missy

First, we need to thank Mary Dobbins for helping us to find Missy. Our much-loved friend died March 13. Cindy and I were blessed to have known her for the short five years she lived in our home. She added nothing but love and light during her short stay. Missy never once was a problem of any sort; always a true lady .... even to the end. She got on well with everybody even our Jack Russell who often nagged her. I know somebody must have taken care of her early in her life and I would like to think that her "golden years" were just as kind to her. Where ever we went around the house or yard, our dark blue shadow was not far behind, she even had her special bed in our bedroom. I must say, however, that even though she loved a car ride, she hated the water and only took a bath under protest. Such a lovely lady, she is sorely missed.

Icey

Sweet Icey's death was a total shock.   She had been fine and in fact had her well check up about 6 weeks prior with no indication of any problems. She played as usual with Colin, took her nap with him and took her ride to pick Landon up at school. She always starts about 5pm doing her dance wanting her supper and she ate good. After the kids went home, we took our usual place in our big chair, Icey always trying to take up more than her share of space, then about 9:30 she had a massive heart attack. She died immediately. She has a final resting place in a very special place in our yard. It will be so hard fill this void. Icey loved children and got along with cats. There are very few pictures that we have taken since Icey has been with us that do not include her.

Betsy

The wonderful folks from Brother Wolf Rescue once again intervened on behalf of a Weimaraner  in need and contacted Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue. As plans were being made for Betsy to be transported and fostered in the Charlotte area, Brother Wolf Rescue pulled her from a kill shelter and arranged for a vet check and spay. Unfortunately, in addition to being emaciated and in all around poor condition, Betsy was diagnosed with Parvo.  Dr. Craig Hill and his staff provided around-the-clock care, treating and watching over this sweet girl with a kindness perhaps she had never known thus far in her life. For a while it looked like she might recover; but in the end, Betsy just did not have the stamina to pull through. We do not know sweet Betsy’s past, but we deeply mourn the loss of her future. At least she left this world surrounded by warmth and kindness.

Peace

Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue found out about a female Weimaraner from Brother Wolf Rescue in Asheville North Carolina. This nameless girl was dropped off at the kill shelter as she was unwanted and very obviously unloved. She had been used as "breeding stock" and had the sad body of a female dog that was used up and worn out at a very young age. She had recently delivered her very last litter.

We agreed to take this poor girl into Weimaraner Rescue get her spayed and much needed health care and with the help of Brother Wolf Rescue adopted her from the shelter and took her to a Veterinarian. Unfortunately this girl never had a chance to find the loving home she deserved as the Vet found an advanced malignant mammary gland cancer with a very dire outlook.

With the advice of the treating Veterinarian we felt the kindest decision was to send her to the "Rainbow Bridge" in a caring and loving way - telling her (possibly for the first time) that she indeed was a good girl.... We named her Peace as now she has peace, no more abuse, no more being exploited and used. This was a very sad day for Weimaraner Rescue .... it hurts.

Bonnie, aka "The Big Nonnie"

We lost our girl, Bonnie, to heart failure after seven wonderful years. We adopted her from Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue in July of 2000 to be a companion to Rommel. They had a great time and enjoyed each other immensely - he is really grieving her loss. It was really hard going back down to the house in North Carolina without her and watching Rommel search every room to look for her. I especially miss her vocal greetings at the door after coming home from work and her "talking", she'd tell you all about it! I never realized how quiet Rommel is until she was gone - they would howl (sing) together. I really miss having her lay on my feet sucking on her baby (a big fuzzy stuffed dog or Easter bunny - she never chewed toys). She added so much life to the house and she was just a real sweetie. Everyone loved the The Big Nonnie! She had a hard first three years, but I feel we gave her a wonderful seven with us. She traveled and played, and she was loved more than she will ever know.

Murphy

We had Murphy for 13 months having gotten him from Suzan Fontaine at Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue. We all agreed that he was about one year old when we got him. When we met Suzan and Murphy (then called Jethro), we were enroute from Florida to Virginia Beach and then home to Ohio in a motorhome. Murphy joined our troupe which included Vickie and I, Jack, our ten year old male Weim and Whitt, Vickie's three year old male Jack Russell Terrier. It was sudden and complete immersion in our "pack". Murphy bonded with us quickly and everybody got along very well.

When we arrived home, Murphy began to have "episodes" of separation anxiety. He would open cabinets and drawers and remove the contents only occasionally chewing something that was too good to resist. I had to resort to child safety locks for some kitchen cabinets which he figured out in no time. I then got the super duty child safety locks which he also figured out. He figured out how to open the back gate and the door at work. There was not much that he couldn't figure out.

Murphy loved to go with me to work which he did almost every day. He was very well behaved and wanted to please. Murphy died unexpectedly of heart failure while we were leaving for work recently. He was a very special guy.

Gatsby

Bred and born as ‘King Wrigley Rio’ on October 7, 1997 in the Southwest of the country, our wonderful companion spent the first year of his life searching for the right caretaker. And with a little help from the Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue, he finally ended up with us on October 21, 1998. Since we could not handle that much royalty, he was renamed ‘Gatsby’ and had ever since tried to live up to his name.

We have a personal Training studio, and Gatsby was an integral part of it. He was ever willing to provide assistance. He firmly believed that hand and finger exercises are essential and provided ample opportunity on his own body for any amount of kneading, rubbing, petting and stroking. In return, he was very willing to provide ‘towel service’ if requested (or rather: tolerated).

He was also a willing model for the annual Christmas card, and we have it on good faith that his picture still has a permanent place on many refrigerators.

He continually demonstrated that dog training is a two-way street. The question of who was training whom will forever remain open. Gatsby has been our lucky charm. For all his mischief, we love him very much. And, as is quite normal for any dog, Gatsby encompassed that what is best in humanity.

Dominic

I wanted to inform you that our weim, Dominic, passed Memorial Day weekend. We adopted him as Mozart in 1998, I think. I'll never forget this story. We contacted your organization with our desired criteria for our adopted family member: under one year old, male, intact. You called us with the story of Mozart. As typical of most rescues, he was in a divorced family but he was about 4 years old, neutered and very overweight. We decided to visit him anyway to consider adoption. Once we saw this boy, we were hooked. Yes, he was extremely overweight, 145 lbs, but he was sweet, affectionate and already protective of our kids. Not to mention, a handsome specimen. Dominic turned out to be the most wonderful, loving and important addition to our family. Over the spam of two years, we reduced his weight to around 90 lbs.  He was happy.

During the month of May of this year, his 14th year, we started to notice that he was losing control of his bowels and his rear legs. Having accidents in the house really bothered Dominic as he was always trying to please us.  How could we be upset with him, he didn’t know what was happening? He was already nearly deaf and had cataracts but nothing changed his spirit and nature. My husband, who enjoyed a weim as a child, was worried that he was one slip away from a disaster.  We could not bear the thought of Dominic being in pain, so we enlisted the help of our dear vet surgeon friend. He came to our house when we were ready and sent Dominic to the great milkbone in the sky from his favorite spot – his bed.  We were with him through it all and never cried so much in our lives!  What a wonderful gift from a friend.

Thank you for allowing us to share in the life of this amazing boy.  We will miss him terribly, but he will be in our hearts forever.  I have attached a photo of our guy.

With tears of Loss,

Jennifer Hardman

Lucky

We contacted Tarheel Weimaraner Rescue about an adoption, we looked at all the different dogs which were available. There was no picture of Lucky only her sad story of her life, so we decided to set up a home visit.

 Lucky, who was estimated to be 7-8 years old, arrived on a Saturday morning. We saw the car turn into the driveway and we went to the door which opens into the garage, as soon as Lucky hit the ground, she ran up the driveway into the garage and into the house, right past us and began to inspect every room in the house. Once satisfied, she came back to us and sat down, as to say, "This will do." Little did we realize then, we were not adopting her but she was adopting us.

For more than six years she gave us her unconditional love. It was in the last six months of her life that we began to see her health begin to deteriorate quickly, and we had to begin to look at was best for Lucky. This was not an easy task, when we looked into her eyes they were full of love and life. My wife summed it up the best, she was a young soul in an old body. On August 27th our veterinarian came to the house and brought a quiet and gentle end to her life. She will always have a special spot in our hearts.

Sincerely,

Rick and Lisa Cleveringa