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 . . .

. . . SYDNEY, missed by Anne & Ken Hall

LITTLE DOG ANGEL

High up in the courts of heaven today
    The little dog angel waits.
With the other angels he will not play
    But he sits alone at the gates.
For I know that my master will come, says he.
    And when he comes, he will call for me.

And his master, far in the world below
    As he sits in his easy chair,
Forgets himself and whistles low
    For the dog -- that is not there.
And the little dog angel cocks his ears
    And dreams that his master's voice he hears.

And I know, some day, when his master waits
    Outside in the dark and cold
For the hand of death to open the gates
    That lead to those courts of gold,
The little dog angel's bark
    Will comfort his soul while he's still in the dark.

-- Norah M. Holland, ca1870

. . . REX, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on October 9, 2000 at the tender age of 8-1/2, and is missed by Fred & Pam Hummelsheim

FETCH

The marrow of it's this:
that night after night I dream
you alive, dream you clawing
up and through the snarl
of spade-lopped roots and loam,
through the cairn beneath the pine
in a bower of pines, a wildwood
of pines, beneath a wheeling moon --
shaking from your body
the tattered blanket, shaking
from your throat the collar
of blood -- the ball
in your moth where I left it,
your coat wet where I kissed it --
breaking through underbrush
onto the trail, tracking it back
to the tired-rutted road --
loping now, running now --
your nostrils flared
and full of the world --
ignoring the squirrel,
ignoring the jay, ignoring
the freeway's litter of bones - -
night nearly dead as you
bolt for the lane,
up the drive, into the yard --
panting now, breathing now --
racing from door to window to door,
scratching at the screen,
whining at the glass, the ball
in your mouth -- Lo,
wouldn't I shake from this
sweet gnawed dream to rise
and fetch you in
with the light that returns
me day after day,
takes you again and again.

-- Jim Simmerman, ca1989

. . . LANCE, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in February 2001 and is greatly missed by Lana & Cam, Lester & Annie MacInnes. Lana writes:

We were so lucky to have loved this sweet angel for ten months. I hope that wherever he is, his little heart is beating strongly, his legs are carrying him across a field where he can finally run, and he can see.

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, In The Candle's Glow

. . . TEDDY, June 3, 1993 - March 3, 2001, greatly missed by Geri Lowe, who writes:

Teddy died today at home in bed with his mommy by his side. I had taken him for a last ride in the truck to smell the smells he so loved. Teddy loved life and always had a smile on his face. He always made me smile; such a great dog. I am at peace knowing that Teddy is running and playing bitey face with all the other great ADTs that have gone before him.

This gentle beast
   This golden beast
     laid her long chin
       along my wrist

and my wrist
   is branded
     with her love
       and trust

and the slab of my cheek
   is hers to lick
     so long as I
       or she shall last

-- Adrian Mitchell, To My Dog

. . . HOLLY, beloved companion of Monica Dixon, who writes:

Holly, my sweet companion through life's sunshine and shade, crossed the Bridge on Thursday 10 May 2001 and now waits on the other side with Poppy & Daisy.

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AIREDALES IN MEMORIAM, PAGE 7