A good dog never dies
she always stays
she walks beside you
on crisp autumn days
when frost is on the fields
and winter's drawing near
her head is within our hand
in her old way.

-- Mary Carolyn Davies

Donations have been made to
Airedale Rescue in memory of . . .

. . . PHILLIP, sadly missed by Bonnie & Ed Peterson

Hear our humble prayer, O God,
for our friends, the animals,
especially for those who are suffering;
for any that are lost or deserted
or frightened or hungry.

We entreat for them all
Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them,
we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.

Make us, ourselves,
to be true friends to animals
and so to share
the blessings
of the merciful.

-- Albert Schweitzer, A Prayer for Animals

. . . O'CLANCY, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on November 26, 1999; sadly missed by Mary, Milt & Dolly Gade

And, beloved mistress, should the great Master see fit to deprive me of my health or sight, do not turn me away from you. Rather hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest - and I will leave you knowing with the last breath I drew, my fate was ever safest in your hands.

-- Unknown; from "A Dog's Prayer"

. . . SADIE, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on December 13, 1999 and will be greatly missed by Abbe & Saul Stashower

Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog.

-- Sidney Jeanne Seward

. . . DR J, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on April 5, 1993 and is still greatly missed by Joey Warren

THE SILHOUETTE

The silhouette stands boldly
at the end of the hallway
ears erect, eyes like jewels
the tail, it softly sways.

This wouldn't be the first time
I've seen her stand nearby
her image clear as crystal
from the corner of my eye.

Her visits I don't share with some
who think I've gone over and beyond
the grieving time they deem I need,
they say I should move on.

I sometimes pity people who
have never felt just cause
to share the bond between two souls,
one with hands and one with paws.

The silhouette reminds me
what the others say is wrong
for as long as breath goes through me
there exists our mighty bond.

When the Keeper calls me home
and the Bridge gates open wide
our bond will deepen ten fold
as we walk through side by side.

You see, I am the lucky one
as I've been truly blessed
for someday we'll walk together
as eternal silhouettes.

-- Terri Onorato

. . . MAGIC JOHNSON, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on December 15, 1993 and is still greatly missed by Joey Warren

HER LONG SLEEP

She wagged her tail to the very last
And she smiles in her last, long sleep;
The troubles of life, for her, are past!
    A shrine in my heart I'll keep.
Her soul - for I feel that she had a soul
And she thought real thoughts, I know -
Has found the ultimate end, life's goal,
    In the heaven where good dogs go.

She has lived with me and suffered with me
Shed tears, in her dog-like way;
She has placed her paw at times on my knee,
    In a vain attempt to say;
"God never gave us that wondrous power,
To tell all the things we feel,
But, I want to say, in my canine way,
    That my sympathy is real."

So I loved my dog to the very end,
And she in our daily walk,
Was never just dog, but a constant friend
    And we had no need to talk.
And I hope, when the summons comes, for me
To embark on the unknown tide,
I shall find her eyes in the Paradise
    They say is the other side.

-- James Clarence Harvey

. . . ALEXANDRA, the first beloved Airedale of Bart & Debbie Bates, and who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on July 9, 1997.

Grieve not,
nor think of me with tears
But laugh
and talk to me as if I were beside you.
I loved you so . . .
'Twas Heaven here with you

-- Isla Paschal Richardson

. . . HENRY, greatly missed by Carolyn Finlayson.

It is not enough to be compassionate.
You must act.

-- Tenzin Gyatso, Fourteenth Dalai Lama

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AIREDALES IN MEMORIAM, PAGE 4