Dear Bandit,

You were my best friend for almost twenty years. When I got you, you were so small, I could hold you in the palm of one hand. You were the runt of the litter and we never fiqured out what breed you were, but you were the best compainon I could have ever asked for. Even six years later, there isn't a day that I don't think of you. I used to say that in a past life, you must have been an Old Jewish Banker. You had that hack when you coughed and when I would pour my piggy bank on the floor, you would kick it around and stare intently at it till some one made it jingle again. When I came home from work at night, you were always so excited to see me. I would get hugs and kisses for ten minutes after I sat down. I remember how you used to do your rounds ever night before bed and check the kids in bed, only after that were you ready to come and snuggle in bed with me. You made sure all was well in the world before we went to sleep. the day I had to put you to sleep was as hard as the day I buried Tony. That is a heartache I will always carry with me. To me the loss was just as deep as losing Tony. I pray at night that God has you and Tony in heaven together again.

Missing You,

Pat

Dear Baby Louie,

When I got back from the vet that night, I only made it up the stairs because I was on the phone with Grandma. It was a distraction, otherwise I think I would have gone anywhere else. The pain of not having you here was overwhelming. In your almost 18 years with me, you provided more love, companionship and comfort than you can possibly know, or than I can possibly express. A few days after you left us, the vet sent a poem about the Rainbow Bridge. Below the poem are your very own paw prints. I touched them and realized it was the last bit of you I had..the last part of your life. You had touched this paper, and the grief consumed me once again. But the truth is Louie, you touched everything. You provided security when I was scared, when I had a panic attack, when I cried over the many changes I've faced. You were my constant, my star. Everyone was devastated that you had to leave us, and I wondered if I did the right thing. I still do. But I know you were suffering. You fought your illness and took your medicine for 7 years, like a champ. Your body seemed to be giving out, and that last day you looked so tired, so defeated. But Louie your soul was and is so strong. I love you with everything that I am and I will never, ever forget you. I was 18 when I first saw you and held you and every single day with you was a blessing from God. I miss you Louie, we all miss you, and I will cherish our memories always. Thank you for everything you gave to us all. Thank you so much my precious friend.

Love,

Mom

Dear Nina,

Not a day goes by when i dont think about you. You were such a sweet doggie and I miss you so much. I wish you were still here with me baby girl. you always made me so happy with the funny things you did. i loved the way you always chased after the balls you found every where we went. I loved the way you would sneak upstairs at night and wait for your treat and fall asleep like a baby on the bed. I miss your piggy-like grunts and your cute fat little body. Nina, I miss every thing about you. I wish I did things differently for you near the end. I think about your labored breathing and how very skinny you got and i feel so bad to think that you were suffering. I remember the day you came over to me while i was sitting at the computer and I picked you up on my lap and you just cuddled there with me for a half hour and for once you didnt worry about Kendal getting jealous. Nina, what other dog becomes a teddy bear when sitting on mommy's lap? What other dog eats just about anything at all or lies on her side for hours when she thinks she sees a goody waiting underneath a peice of furniture? Or runs up to complete strangers for a quick hello and a hug? Nina i miss you so much. When i think that I'll never see you again i just want to cry. i can only hope that someday we will see each other again. When its my turn to go i hope i see you there waiting for me..I love you Nina girl...

Love,

mommy

Dear Meatball, Lennox, Romeo, Judge,

You were a foursome to recon with. My fearless kitty Mr. Meatball who would wrestle with lennox and snuggle with Romeo. My gentle patient protective Judgie who never left my side. When your hip started hurting so badly that you couldnt get up the stairs to protect me I could feel your heart break. I would have slept on the couch for the rest of my life to keep you with me. My dearest Romeo, you lived up to your name and then some... you were the sweetest most loving bulldog I could have ever wanted. Watching your ears perk up whenever I entered the kitchen and knowing you were right on my heels was a great joy for me. Mr Ox.. my beloved Lennox. You were the embodiement of beauty and grace. You were as goofy as Marmaduke and as commanding as a soldier. I miss you all and there isnt a day that has passed that I havent thought of you. I love you all.

Love,

Meredith aka Momma

Dear Cherry,

Love of my life, I'm sorry I couldn't save you... I think about you every day and wish you were with us. I love you so much and miss you terribly ! You are my precious angel and I love you with all my heart !!! My sweet, unforgettable, beloved baby...my priceless miracle... !!! ???...

Wait for me !

Love,

Always ???

Dear Brandi,

On June 12th 2011, it will be 6 years you have left me. I think of you every day still and even though the pain in my heart isn't as painful, it still hurts when I see your photo or watch a video of you.

Remember when you came back to me in my flower garden and spoke to me and told me to go to the nearest shelter & I will find them there?. Well, as you know, I found Rootbeer & Mandi there like you said. Rootbeer is the male version of you. Sadly we had Mandi his sister for 5 & 1/2 years and she was put down on March 10th 2011.

You were right on those two goldens keeping me so busy I wouldn't have time to think of you as much, and yes it got me out of bed after you passed away. I think a month in bed crying and taking sleeping pills was my way of coping with your loss during that month.

Because of you Brandi, I wrote a story of my loss of you and how you lead me to the Corona animal shelter in Corona CA and how I found Rootbeer & Mandi there. That story is now published in a book by a well known author named Joan W Anderson and the book just released is called "Angelic Tails", true stories of heavenly canine companions. Your on page 103 and she titled it "Beautiful Brandi".

I was so honored to have my story of you in this book. This author is the New York times best seller of the book called "Where Angels Walk". I want everyone to know how much I love you. My story of you is on our family website http://theblackmonfamily.sylera.com . Just click on the top tab called "angel Brandi" and its there with all of your pictures through the years we spent together.

I never believed in Rainbow bridge. Kind of thought of it like Santa Claus, but when you spoke to me that day in my flower garden and whispered in my ear about rainbow bridge and how happy you were there, I wrote a poem about it, and I'm happy to say is all over the internet on rainbow bridge sites and pet loss sites. I leave you with the poem I wrote that you put in my head to write. I miss you so much sweet Brandi and you will always be in my heart forever.

Love Lanie

Soft whisper

By Lanie Blackmon 12/12/06

My best friend spoke to me last night

a soft whisper in my ear.

I woke up and looked around the room,

I was startled, yet I had no fear.

My best friend said that all is fine

Rainbow bridge is so much more.

That there was so much love up there,

even a beautiful ocean shore.

There is fields and fields of green green grass

and the sky has different shades of blue.

There are flowers, mountains, trees and clouds,

everything they said it was, is true.

My best friend whispered in my ear last night

saying "Please don't cry or be sad.

That what was done, had to be done,

for me to live my life now, so be glad".

My best friend said that I did the right thing

an unselfish act on my part.

And that this pain & sadness I feel

will be gone soon from my heart.

I asked my best friend "How could this be

I miss you so much everyday.

That my heart hurts so much for you,

I wish there could of been another way".

My best friend whispered in my ear last night

"You will always be in my heart.

Go on & live and love another,

because we will never really be apart".

I carry your unconditional love with me

I have done this from the very start".

I whispered back to my best friend last night,

"I'll always love you with all my heart."

My best friend whispered in my ear last night

"it's time for me to go towards the light.

I just wanted to stop & say to you

go on my best friend, I'll be alright.

So good-bye my best friend as I looked up at the sky

a shooting star I see in a straight line.

Moving fast across the sky & out of sight,

I whispered,

"Good -bye my best friend, now, I'll be fine".

Peace,

mommy

Dear smokey,

it wass 18 days before u turned 5 yrs old wen your soul was released into gods hands.... november 4, 2011!! :( i miss you more than anything in the world because of the love we shared together.... the day you died i remember wispering in your ear.. i love you! i love you! i love u!... and then telling mom that your ear twitched wen i whispered into it!!!! i wish that i would have never went to go outside or else you would still be here..... door dashing was a problem that we should have fixed a long time ago but u were such a free spirit!!! going on long walks together, and doing ur wonderful tricks at the mrs.colemans dog walk/ talent show, are only some of my favorite things that we did together!!! when you passed away i new that you would be in my heart forever!!! everyday i think about you and everyday i miss you more... but things are to happen for a reason and i still havent wrapped my hand around why that cop car was there at that moment and why you had to turn around and run into the path of your death but i do no that you are in a happier place and that you are looking down on me and waiting for my time to go so that i can be with you once again!!!!... farrah misses you and we r goin to win the talent show for you this year soo that we can say proudly that we won it together!!! i miss you and i cant wait to see it again... have fun up there with bruizer and grandpa and pepper and princess!!!!!! tell them all that i miss them and that i hope they are all happier than can be!!! good bye but not for long

Love,

jaida, farrah, and mom<3

Dear Harley,

When you came to me we both needed something. We were both missing love in our life. I had just lost a beloved pet, and you were neglected by your previous family. You are so sweet, thus you looked right into my heart and opened a door that was closed. I miss the sound of your pitter patter feet following me everywhere. Your sweet eyes could light up a room. I have had many pets in my life time, but never had one that touched my soul like you did. You were a angel sent from above.I miss you. I wish I could hold your warm fuzzy body just one more time. I love you Harley, thank you for your love

Missing You,

Harley

Dear nubes,

Originally Written: 03 January 2009

You sleep so deeply... you sleep so often... gentle flowing breath... inhale... exhale... inhale... slow deep breath.

i think you run/dance in your night-time(s) or are you frolicking in the moon light?

i wonder what you dream? what you see as your eyes are blinking in your darkness?

little squeaks, i hope they are happy ones...

are you dancing in the warm waters and sands of your birthplace?

you do love the water... to swim... to splash... to stick your nose deep into the glassy wetness... and blow bubbles...

when i get nervous that your sleepy-time squeaks might not be squeals of joy, i wake you up... and in your hazy 'not-yet awake~ness' you look at me as i tell you i'm here... i tell you i luv you... so, YOU know... i know YOU know... (i know you know, because without failure you give me a gentle kiss EVERY TIME before drifting back to dreamland).

i know that i've been BLESSED with you in my life... my furry companion... you came to me at a time when i really needed unconditional companionship... unconditional luvin'... my mom had just passed on... you came to me and you were just present... you just WERE... you were MY love... these amazing, almost 13 years...

now they tell me your little heart is weak... i ask how could a little heart, so strong, be so weak... it scares me... i feel helpLESS... almost SELF-fish... i don't want you to leave... i do NOT want to consider that possibility... that inevitable reality... life is so fragile... such an unknown... i don't want you to leave me... i'm not ready... i get that, it's not up to me... i get that, it's not ABOUT me... but i don't want you to leave ME.. not yet...

so now i will love you even more (if that is possible)... love you like it was my last breath with you... your last breath with me... i'll go right up to your ear, i'll whisper that i luv you (so you hear me... feel my breath... through your old dog deafness)... so, YOU know... i know YOU know.

you sleep so deeply... i love you so deeply... you're 'just' a dog?...NOT!... you're MY dog... my four legged SOUL-MATE.

yes, when it's your time i'll let you go... so you can dance on the sands of your birthplace... so you can frolic in the (warm) waters of the place(s) we called home ... so you can curl up in front of YOUR fireplace(s)... so you can sit by my moms' feet at the eternal Sunday tea party.

STAY with me just a bit longer sweet girl... i'm not ready for you to leave... not yet.

and then...

you showed me the true meaning of LOVE... you taught me the ultimate freedom in SURRENDER!!... you shared with me the magic of deep beautiful PEACE, blissful inner CALM and bless~ed glorious COMPASSION!

nubes (the Nubian QUEEN: June 15, 1996 - June 30, 2010)

on your last day WE knew... YOU knew... I knew... we (with your bratty baby brother, cHoncHo) had a wonderful day of quiet-activity, after which we went home. we lay in bed curled up as a family, then you were gone... 14 + years of PURE LOVE!

August 2010: six weeks after my little girl took her final journey i saw this note again, for the first time... she did what she promised... she stayed a little longer... i did what i promised... i let her go... good bye sweet, sweet angel girl.. i miss you and love you so much... till our paths cross again... know that you were the BEST EVER!!!

May 1, 2011: I GET IT!!! LOVE! SURRENDER! COMPASSION! PEACE! I just realized that i am NOT SAD that you are gone... NO, rather your LIGHT(ness) exists withIN me! YOU were (a part of) ME! Memories of YOU and the LOVE, support, dedication, loyalty, integrity, pride, honour, truth, joy, playfulness, fun and BEING that YOU were... THAT spirit IS ME! Any 'grief' is out weighed by the BLESSING of having YOU share YOUR journey with ME... GIFTING me with so much... your journey of ease, grace, dignity, warrior spirit... for this i shall be forever grateful and thankful! It was an honour... indeed it was MY pleasure!

PS. cHoncHo's a big, happy, healthy, confident pup b/c of your consistent positive, loving and strong influence. He misses his big sis!

Love,

cHoncHonMe

Dear Mica,

It's only been a week since you went to heaven but it still feels like it was only yesterday, or only moments ago. The pain is still so raw.

I wake up and go to bed still expecting you to be there, and wishing you would be. Cuddling with you, and rocking you to sleep everynight is just one of the many things that I miss about our life together, there are so many things.

You brought so much love, joy and laughter to my life.

When you put your paws around my neck, your nose under my chin hugging me I felt so happy.

I was so proud of you when you learned all of the tricks I taught you. To sit, to give five, to catch your treats in the air and all of the other ones.

I miss you coming into the bathroom and playing with the bubbles when I had baths.

Nothing will ever be the same without you and thinking about you still hurts. I'm really sad and miss you terribly.

You were and always will be my little girl,

Love,

Mommi xo