One Day At the Rainbow Bridge
by Laurel L. Kristick (1995)
The scene is the fields at the Rainbow Bridge. A dog appears;
looking confused.
A black cocker/poodle mix comes up to the dog.
Nessie: Hi! Welcome to the Rainbow Bridge! My name is
Nessie. What's yours?
Dog: I don't know. Where am I?
N: You're at the Rainbow Bridge. When we leave Earth,
we come here. We are young and healthy again, and we can run
and play and have fun until our humans come.
D (very scared): You mean humans are here too?
N (with a yip of understanding): Oh! You never had a special
human who loved you, did you?
D: Human? Love?
Nessie looks around, and calls to a black Doberman running laps
in the field.
N: Tia! Do you have some time?
Tia comes running up.
T: Hi, Nessie! Who's this?
N: He's a new arrival to the Bridge. He never had a special
human as we did. I thought maybe you could explain it better
than I could.
T: I can try. I think you may have been like me, friend. When
I was young, the human I was with hurt me and scared me. My
memories are of hurting hands and loud angry voices. Fortunately,
I was very lucky. I was rescued by two wonderful people. They
took me into their home. For over ten years I had good food, fresh
water, a comfortable place to sleep, room to run, and lots of
love and attention.
Eventually, though, I became old and tired. I came here, where
I have more energy than I had even as a puppy. I can run for
hours and hours and hours. Someday, my two special humans will
come here; we will have a wonderful reunion and then we will cross
that beautiful Bridge there. We will never again be separated.
D (wistfully): That sounds so nice. What will happen with me?
T: Well, you can run and play here for as long as you want. You
can learn about fun and love. If you want, you can learn about
special humans.
D: How?
T: We dogs don't live as long as most humans on Earth. So, usually
we arrive here first and have fun while we wait for our special
humans. Sometimes, however, the human gets here first. They wait
here for their special dogs. Those waiting often welcome a chance
to pet and spend time with dogs while they are waiting. I saw one
of them sitting on the other side of this field a while ago. Would
you like to meet her?
D: Are you sure she won't hurt me?
T: I can guarantee it. No human who comes here would deliberately
hurt a dog. I don't know where the people who do hurt and abuse
dogs go, but they are never seen here. Do you want to go?
D: Okay.
Tia, Nessie and the dog cross the field. On the edge of the field
a woman is sitting and looking off in the distance. Tia calls out
to the woman.
T: Hi Pat! How are you today?
Pat: Hello, Tia. I'm fine today. Hello, Nessie. It's good to see
you. Who's your friend?
N: He's a new arrival to the Bridge, Pat. He doesn't have a name.
Nobody cared enough to give him a name while he was on Earth. We
brought him over to meet you.
P: I'm glad you brought him here. I'm glad to meet you, boy.
Would you like to sit next to me?
The dog gingerly sits next to Pat. She starts petting him gently.
P: Would you like to see what I was doing? (The dog nods). I was
looking at Earth, looking at my two special dogs. Can you see them
down there? It's the two Shi Tzus, there with those big dogs. Their
names are Sparkle and Angel. When I came here, I was so worried
about them. They now have a good home with a wonderful person who
loves them. I don't worry about them now, but I do like to sit here
and watch their antics. See, Angel is now looking up at us.
We miss each other, but know that the day will come when their time
on Earth is finished and they will come here and we will cross
the Bridge together.
D: That sounds wonderful. Do you know what will happen to me?
P: Well, first you are going to stay here, and learn about fun and
love and peace.
When you feel ready, you have several options. You can stay here
at the Bridge, helping dogs, other dogs that were neglected or
abused or tortured, helping them learn about love. Another option
is that you can find a special human.
D: I can?
P: Yes. There are two types of special humans who come here that
you can connect with. The first are those with incredibly large
hearts. They loved dogs so much when they were on Earth, that when
they get here, they rescue a few more. Then they all cross the
Bridge together. The other type are those who loved dogs, but who
couldn't have one when they were on Earth, for some reason. Maybe
they were allergic to dogs, or maybe the humans they lived with
were allergic, or for some reason there was never a right time
on Earth for them to have a dog. When they get here, they can
finally find the right dog for them. They spend some time here,
playing with and meeting dogs, and then cross the Bridge with the
ones that are right for them.
D: That sounds wonderful.
P: I'm so glad you think so. Don't worry, you can take as much
time as you need here before you make a decision on when you are
ready to find the right human.
Pat starts scratching behind the dog's ear. He relaxes against her.
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