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 that they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. -Author unknown |
I love little animals, and I've become intrigued with the Legend of the Rainbow Bridge. The idea of a place where our pets can wait to join us in Heaven is wonderful. I've read a few stories set in the Rainbow Bridge milieu, and I wanted to explore some of the details of life in that special place. So I've decided to write a few Rainbow Bridge stories of my own. TUFFY'S STORY This is the first Rainbow Bridge story I've written. It's about a little orphan who comes to the Bridge and how he finds a special friendship, and how he learns to love. I also wanted to show that in the course of a lifetime, someone that loves animals will have adopted a lot of pets. If anything, I may have underestimated the size of a typical Bridge reunion. I like how this story turned out, and I've gotten positive feedback from the newsgroup alt.pets.ferrets and from the Ferret Mailing List about it. Thanks to all of you! NOTE: I make NO apologies about my admittedly one-dimensional depiction of the Fundamentalist. In my opinion, any Heaven which separates us from those that we love, especially including our beloved animals, is no Heaven at all. If this attitude makes you uncomfortable, well, Theology can be complicated sometimes; dealing with that fact is one sign of maturity. Click here to go to "Tuffy's Story". SAYING GOODBYE I see the Rainbow Bridge as a complex society, close to Utopian in nature. The furry folks there would delight in interacting with one another, and many good, strong friendships would be made over the course of time. However, I soon realized something about these friendships, and it's that when a furry kid's Mommy or Daddy came to pick them up at the Rainbow Bridge, they would have to say goodbye to many of their furry friends and leave them behind. How would you handle it - possibly the way Sammy does at first? I decided to write a story that explored the question a little bit. NOTE: My Sweetheart has a Rottweiler named Titan - who is in the peak of health, so don't worry. Try and spot the connection with the Rotty named Olympic in this story. (One hint: sister ships.) Click here to go to "Saying Goodbye". TINKER I was inspired to write this story when I came across the Friends of Fuzzies Ferret Shelter's webpage, which is here, and read the story of Big Bear, a guy who doesn't let a little inconvenience get in the way of having a happy life. The best word I can use to describe my feelings after reading about him is "joy". I was impressed at how generous and caring Doggon' Wheels (Their site is here and here; both pages are the same.) was with fitting Bear with his wheels; they are fine folks. There must be many humans, who devote so much of their time, their hearts and their tears to the welfare of the animals, that the residents at the Rainbow Bridge would love just as much as the Mommies and Daddies that they wait for. It stands to reason that the furpeople will want to thank those caring humans for all the help that they have given. After I figured that out, the story practically wrote itself. This story focuses on someone who makes mobility devices for needy creatures, but it could just as well be about a caring veterinarian, or a shelter operator, or even about the pharmacist who works to figure out the correct dosages of medicines for a tiny body. They all should get this kind of welcome at the Bridge. Click here to go to "Tinker". COOKIE I got hold of the silly idea that somebody would be designated Official Cook at the Rainbow Bridge (Yes, I realize that nobody would starve in Heaven, but animals, just like people, enjoy eating, so what kind of Afterlife is it that would deprive them of this pleasure?), and I couldn't resist writing a story that featured him. I had a lot of fun writing this one, and I enjoyed putting in lots of little touches here and there. The main characters of "Saying Goodbye", Murphy and Sammy, make appearances in this story, and Kodo's Hill is revisited, this time as a nursery. (Ain't Murphy a nice guy? I like his character a lot. Rest assured that we'll be seeing more of him, as well as Sammy and Weezie, in the future.) Click here to go to "Cookie". SPECIAL DELIVERY This story is an homage (That's French for "blatant ripoff".) to my all-time favorite Western hero, the Lone Ranger. I realize that the idea behind this one - ferrets riding around on horses and acting like heroes in an old-time Western - is very silly, but I'd like to think that there's something being said in there somewhere about heroism. And besides, what's wrong with silly? Oh, yes, if anyone knows whether or not this one violates any copyrights, please let me know. NOTE: See if you can spot the "in-jokes" that I've included for two of my favorite cartoon series, Rocky & Bullwinkle and Dangermouse. (The latter cartoon is from Great Britain, for you culturally deprived souls out there, you poor things. There's more about Dangermouse on my links page.) Click here to go to "Special Delivery". LIGHTING THE TREE It stands to reason that Christmas, a time of love and joy, would be special to those furfolks under the Rainbow Bridge. The idea for this story came to me rather suddenly one day, and it didn't take long to work it out. The actual writing did take a while - this is my longest story so far. I enjoy working with my characters, and I liked the idea of bringing several of them together for one big adventure. It was a challenge to use them all fairly, but I think I did pretty good. This story is a gift to all my online friends who have given me praise and encouragement in my writing. A special thanks and Happy Holidays to all of you. Click here to go to "Lighting the Tree". MOUNTIE AT THE THRESHOLD When I discovered the joys of "due South" recently, I was especially interested in the fanfiction; maybe writing these stories has conditioned me to think in auctorial terms (look it up). At any rate, what with the mystical element of "due South", I became intrigued with the idea of bringing Constable Benton Fraser to the Rainbow Bridge and having him interact with some of the characters from my stories (especially good old Murphy). With this in mind, I wrote "Mountie at the Threshold". Quite honestly, I'm not completely happy with the results. There are always limitations involved in writing about someone else's characters, and some authors don't like being constrained in that way. Me, I'm worried that I didn't get Fraser or the two Rays right. I tried my best. I don't know if this warrants a warning or not, but this story is a little darker than anything I've previously written; there is some overt gunplay involved at one point. However, I believe that the Light shines through at the end. I rate this PG. For those who keep track of such things, this takes place some time after the end of the original TV show. Click here to go to "Mountie at The Threshold". MOUNTIE CROSSES THE THRESHOLD A direct sequel to "Mountie at The Threshold". In this story I bring Constable Benton Fraser back to the Rainbow Bridge for a second and final time. Given the situation, this journey is inevitable. Ray Vecchio, another character from "due South" and Fraser's best friend, comes along with him and has a Rainbow Bridge story of his own. Murphy and Sammy again figure in the story, and there are cameos from some of my other Rainbow Bridge characters. This is not as dark as the previous story - the bad stuff actually happens before this story begins - so I see no problem with rating this one G. And, no, I have no intention to kill Fraser and Ray off for good. Go here if you don't believe me. Click here to go to "Mountie Crosses The Threshold". RUN FOREVER One of the many things I enjoy about "due South" is the music. I don't normally go for soundtrack albums, especially for television shows, but I had to make an exception for "due South". Both albums are well worth it. One of my favorite songs from the show was an original, "Ride Forever", from an episode entitled "All the Queen's Horses" - an all-around excellent episode. "Ride Forever" is about a horseman, near the end of a long life, giving some backtalk to a world that wants to put him out to pasture. I thought about it and decided to write a song of my own, about a ferret, old, handicapped and still a youngster at heart, expressing the joy that has been his life and lamenting that other ferrets haven't been so fortunate. I think I did a pretty good job. Following the online community of ferret lovers can be heartbreaking at times. Two recent horror stories come to mind: |
1) Around Christmastime, 2000, a backyard breeder in New Jersy died suddenly and his stock was turned over to some local rescue shelters. When it became known what kind of condition these furkids were in, ferret folks were shocked - malnutrition, dehydration, infections, tumors, filth, and just plain neglect. The ferret community rallied to help these poor kids get proper medical care and loving homes. I believe that a few have decided to cross the Rainbow Bridge; but but most are still here, and thanks to some caring folks, the New Jersey rescues are learning what it's like to be happy. |
"Run Forever" is dedicated to these two groups of unfortunate fuzzies. |
For those in the ferret community who are familiar with the name, yes, I named Kodo's Hill in tribute to a special little ferret boy from Michigan. In May of '97, while at a pet exhibition, a stranger received a small puncture wound from Kodo's teeth (I don't think it could have been dignified by the term "bite"). Kodo was impounded because of the threat of rabies, and after 43 days of being quarantined - during which ferret lovers all over the country fought heroically to save his life - the poor little guy was put to death and tested for rabies. Which he did NOT have! |
All characters in these stories, either two- or four-legged, are fictional. Any resemblance between these and actual individuals, either living or dead, is unintentional and a marvelous coincidence. |
Skeeter passed over to the Rainbow Bridge some time ago, but he still had Internet access (I wish my ISP was that good!), and was able to post to the FML. He provided a means of communication between this world and the Rainbow Bridge and passed messages between bereaved Mommies and Daddies and the little fur-kids that wait for them. Recently he was given a special assignment under the Bridge and has been too busy to post to his friends on the FML. Another furkid at the Bridge, named Sandee, has taken over Skeeter's former job of posting to the FML and passing on messages. Not everybody agrees (Poo on 'em!), but I think that what Skeeter and Sandee do is very important; it means a lot to the humans left behind to hear that their kids are well and happy, and that they love their Mommies and Daddies very much. (Quite honestly, I enjoy reading these posts because it sounds like those critters at the Bridge are having loads of fun!) Skeeter has had very good things to say about my Rainbow Bridge stories, especially "Tuffy's Story", so that I like to think of him as my little buddy. Another friend of his maintains a Memorial page in his name for some fur-types that have crossed over to the Bridge. Here is a link to Skeeter's Friends at the Rainbow Bridge. Dooks to ya, Skeeter and Sandee! The Rainbow Bridge Page, which you can go to by clicking here, is a place where grieving human parents can post obituaries and memorials for their departed fur-children. There are all sorts of animals honored here: dogs, cats, various rodents, some reptiles ... and, of course, ferrets. WARNING: Reading through these tributes will set the hardest of hearts to crying like a baby. The Home of the New Rainbow Bridge, which you can go to by clicking here, is not to be confused with The Rainbow Bridge Page listed above. The New Rainbow Bridge is actually the home of the Last Chance Ferret Rescue Shelter, located in Pennsylvania. They have a few products for sale, including a very nice Rainbow Bridge art print and a sympathy card for the loss of a pet (plus a nifty transparent "dryer tube" for little fuzzbutts to run through and play in; transparency is important in a ferret tunnel because half the fun is being able to watch). And, of course, they have fuzzies for adoption. Not as Rainbow Bridge-oriented as other links on this page, but this is my website and I can include whatever links I want to! If you have never shared your life with any of the little furry creatures on this Earth, then you probably don't understand the special bond that can exist between human and animal. Never underestimate the strength of that bond, and never let anyone tell you that animals can't feel love. (Then again, you probably wouldn't be accessing this page in the first place if you didn't love animals, so I'm probably preaching to the converted.) There are many resources to help someone to cope with the loss of a close relative or a human loved one, so why not something similar to help with the loss of a beloved pet? That's what The Pet Loss Grief Support Website is all about. This is a place of tribute to those furry children that have gone on ahead, and of support and advice for those humans who were left behind. There is information about the Monday Candle Ceremony, in which people all across the World light candles to honor the memory of the pets that they miss so much. There is also a poetry page, access to a chat room and a number of links to other pet-loss resources on the 'Net. A very special place, indeed. Go to the Pet Loss site by clicking here. |
| MORE STORIES TO BE ADDED LATER, so check back |
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