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WALKER
I received a candle from a good friend today after having to put down our 15 year old GOLDEN RETRIEVER. What a wonderful product you have to honor those that have served us very well. Walker grew up in Northern MN on 4 acres and a lake to swim in spring, summer and fall. She had such a wonderful spirit. We always knew that the day would come and we would have to say goodbye to her. How would we know??????? Just another normal day in our lives when something changed. The last night of her life she did not sleep all night and every time my husband and I looked at her she was looking at us and she was telling us that it time to say goodbye. 6:16 a.m. our lives were changed. Walker could not even get up and every attempt for her, she would fall down. We called our friend who had been her vet since she was born. Steve came out to the house and we talked and laughed and shared many stories. Walker loved her uncle Steve (her vet) and he loved her. We said goodbye, hugged and kissed her and thanked her for the wonderful 15 years. She passed so peacefully and it was not 10 minutes later that we saw the bald eagle pass over our home. We have an eagle that nests down at the end of our lake and we had not seen it for weeks, what a wonderful sign. Native Americans say that when an eagle appears after a death it comes to take the spirit to a better place. That not only happened with Walker but also with the last Golden that we had, Kinda (child in German). We had to put down Kinda at the age of 14. They both died almost 15 years to the date of one another. We had Walker cremated and she will be with us forever and when we do leave our lake home we will spread some of her ashes over the land that she loved. "Well done my good and faithful servant" Matthew 25:21.
Jackie Morrill |
ROXY
Roxy was our beautiful brindle boxer girl. She was sweet, gentle and loyal. I used to tell her how lucky we were to have her. She died on May 2, 2007 at the age of 13. Not a day goes by that she isn't in my thoughts. I still find myself occasionally still weeping over her loss. If any dog deserved to go to the rainbow bridge, it was Roxy.
Your candles are a wonderful idea. I recently gave one to a friend who has lost many cats over the years and she also thought it was a great way to remember our beloved pets.
Thank you.
Pam
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RYAN
April 1999 to April 6th, 2011
In August of 1999 we attended a volunteer orientation at Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary in Gilbert and when I received a phone call the next day asking if we would foster the "3 feral sisters". We did indeed bring the three very scared sisters to our home. Little did we know that it is an almost universal truth that those that agree to foster almost always end up keeping their first foster. Well, we did indeed end up keeping Chompers our golden girl and Ryan her silly redheaded sister. Giselle found a great home with people who understood the needs of a feral dog.
Ryan came to us with a limp which we soon learned was indeed a fracture and not long after that she was diagnosed with a very strange immune disorder called masticatory myocytis. Over the years she would have a few flare ups but we managed to treat her and keep her eating and happy. About 5 years ago she added the dreaded valley fever to her ailment list and although we treated her for that as well and she seemed to recover the disease can always reoccur and we believe that is what happened last night. We took her immediately to Gilbert Vet and made the painful decision that it was time to let her go. She had a high temp and had lost the use of her right side.
We will miss her sweet silliness. She loved to greet us in the morning at the table by pushing her little body up against us until she had received a proper petting. She loved big toys the bigger the better! Ryan was so sweet and very polite, always careful not to be in your way. One of the many lessons that our animal friends teach us.
It seems that loving animals is a hard road as we know that their lives are far too short but I can honestly say that for me the joy does outweigh the pain. There is nothing quite like that bond with creatures that seem to live and move in a different time and space. Their gifts to us are many from unconditional love and companionship to learning how to live in the present. On a practical level they become service animals, alert us of seizures, do search and rescue, sniff out cancer cells and the list goes on. We will miss you Ryan.
"In the Candle's Glow"
Warm light coming from far below,
Twinkling, sparkling is the candle's glow.
All is well up on the ridge,
The place we know as Rainbow Bridge.
Furbabies sleeping in heaven's light,
Tended by candles in the night.
Peaceful dreams be theirs to keep,
As they slumber in this night so deep.
Hearts on earth that miss them so,
Take comfort in the candle's glow.
Watching for them in skies above,
Bound eternally by a cord of love.
Laura Hickman
Laura Kraft, President, Heaven to Home |
DIZZY
I bought one of your beautiful Angels for Animals candles after losing our beautiful Dalmatian on April 2, 2011. I've always loved candles and whenever I've lost friends or family, I get a candle to burn in their honor. Watching the flame puts me in a lovely meditative space..We adopted Dizzy and his partner, Mingus, in March of 2000. They were rescue dogs from The Rocky Spot Rescue in Newcastle, OK. We had Mingus until 2008 and Dizzy until this year. We originally wanted to adopt one female dog and ended up with two males because they Rocky Spot Rescue really didn't want to separate them. We had not even met these two beautiful boys and we had already fallen in love with them. The deal was sealed from the moment we laid eyes on them. What a pair. They were originally named Laurel and Hardy, but we renamed them Dizzy and Mingus because we are jazz fans. We live in the mountains near Denver and so we had many wonderful hikes and the boys had one full acre to run around on, even though anybody who has ever had a Dalmatian knows they would much rather be with their human!
When it was time to let both of our boys go, we had a vet come to the house. We took their bed outside and said goodbye. Dizzy had a nice big raw T-bone steak and bone before the vet came. Dizzy had suffered for years with epileptic seizures and the seizures started getting worse. The vet thought he might have a brain tumor, and we did not choose to put him through MRI's etc. We made one of the most difficult choices pet owners make and let him go. The most comfort we take now is knowing that he is with his running buddy, Mingus.
Thank you for this wonderful project.
Melody
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BABY BEAR
December 21, 2008 to November 21, 2009. Baby Bear was the daughter of two rescues. Baby Bear was taken away from us a month before her first birthday by a hit and run. She was also unique as all our dogs are. She had a Mohawk that she was born with. She was always full of energy and an attention hog. She had 4 other brothers and sisters that are still with us. She didn't do anything wrong but try to run in the country. She and jumper are buried side by side. There is not a second that goes by that we don't miss her and wish we could have her back. She will always be loved and never forgotten. I wish everyday he was here even our other dogs miss him and no he has left us. We love and miss you Baby Bear with all our hearts you filled the void in our lives when you showed up at our door. Now she can play with our Jumper and my Grandparents. She is now our angel with Jumper.
Pit Bull Mom |
JUMPER
August 1, 2000 to April 4, 2011. Jumper was a rescue although I am not sure now who was rescuing who. We hadn't owned any dog at this time however he showed up at our door abused and neglected. We took him in and got all healed up and gave him all our love and attention. He had found what he was looking for in a family. He went everywhere we did, he loved to ride. He also loved the water we took him to lakes with us. Not only did he find what he was looking for we found a loyal companion that didn't judge and loved each of the family members for whom they were. He loved to sleep in the middle of the bed all spread out and a blanket hog. Since then we have rescued more dogs but he was our first, and even though there is not a second that goes by that we don't miss him and wish we could have him back. He will always be loved and never forgotten. I wish everyday he was here even our other dogs miss him and no he has left us. We love and miss you jumper with all our hearts you filled the void in our lives when you showed up at our door. Now he can play with our Baby Bear and my Grandparents. He is now our angel.
Pit Bull Mom |
JAKE
I received your beautiful candle today from a wonderful friend of mine. Thank you for such a sweet way to honor my Jake's memory. Approximately 11 months ago I am ashamed to admit that I lost interest in one of the most loyal companions of my entire life. Regardless of how busy or annoyed I was Jake was always there, under the table, by the bathroom door, the garage door, the bedroom door, the shower mat. Wherever I was in the house Jake always managed to be within a 50-100 sq ft proximity just waiting for a pet on the head, or a foot to rub his belly...something...anything! Jake was the apple of my eye for the longest time, and 2 nights ago all of the reasons why came flooding back as he passed away in my arms. Jake battled congestive heart failure for a long time, and almost instantaneously those heart problems took him away from our family. The best/worst part of the night is that Jake literally waited for me to bathe my 11 month old son, give my friend the bedtime routine, and no sooner did I wrap Jake in my arms to take him to the vet did he finally let go...almost as if FINALLY I gave him exactly what he wanted for the last 11 months...complete, undivided, love and attention. I know we all feel like we have the best dog, but Jake was truly the best dog ever...he was my irreplaceable little Eyore! He was sweet, gentle, so well behaved, I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful doggy companion than Jake. Jake's love for me was unconditional and I consider it an honor to have been his Mommy.
Letty Martin - September 2011 |
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