One day at the Rainbow Bridge

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?

Nessie: 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.

Dog (very scared): You mean humans are here too?

Nessie (with a yip of understanding): Oh! You never had a special human who loved you, did you?

Nessie: Human? Love?

Nessie looks around, and calls to a black Doberman running laps in the field.

Nessie: Tia! Do you have some time?

Tia comes running up.

Tia: Hi, Nessie! Who's this?

Nessie: 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.

Tia: 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.
Dog (wistfully): That sounds so nice. What will happen with me?

Tia: 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.

Nessie: How?

Tia: 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?

Nessie: Are you sure she won't hurt me?

Tia: 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?

Nessie: 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.

Tia: 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?

Nessie: 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.

Pat: 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.

Pat: 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.

Nessie: That sounds wonderful. Do you know what will happen to me?

Pat: 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.

Nessie: I can?

Pat: 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.

Dog: That sounds wonderful.

Pat: 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.

(Laurel Kristick, 1995)

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I would like to thank Laurel Kristick for the kind permission to publish the writing on my blog.