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A
Tribute to Rescuers
Unlike
most days at the Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and
gray.
All the recent arrivals at the Bridge did not know what to
think, as they had never seen such a day. But the animals
who had been waiting longer for their beloved people to
accompany them across the Bridge knew what
was happening, and they began to gather at the pathway
leading to the Bridge.
Soon an elderly dog came into view, head hung low and tail
dragging. He approached slowly, and though he showed no sign
of injury or illness, he was in great emotional pain. Unlike
the animals gathered along the pathway, he had not been
restored to youth and vigor upon arriving at the Bridge. He
felt out of place, and wanted only to cross over and find
happiness.
But as he approached the Bridge, his way was barred by an
angel, who apologized and explained that the tired and
broken-spirited old dog could not cross over. Only those
animals accompanied by their people were allowed to cross
the Bridge.
Having nobody, and with nowhere else to turn, the dog
trudged into the field in front of the Bridge.
There he found others like himself, elderly or infirm, sad
and discouraged. Unlike the other animals waiting to cross
the Bridge, these animals were not running or playing. They
simply were lying in the grass, staring forlornly at the
pathway across the Rainbow Bridge.
The old dog took his place among them, watching the pathway
and waiting, yet not knowing exactly what he
was waiting for.
One of the newer dogs at the Bridge asked a cat who had been
there longer to explain what was happening.
The cat replied, "Those poor animals were abandoned, turned
away, or left at rescue places, but never found a home on
earth. They all passed on with only the love of a rescuer to
comfort them. Because they had no people to love them, they
have nobody to escort them across the Rainbow Bridge."
"So what will happen to those animals?", the dog asked the
cat. Before the cat could answer, the clouds began to part
and the cold turned to bright sunshine. The cat replied,
"Watch, and you will see."
In the distance was a single person and as she approached
the Bridge, the old, infirm and sad animals in the field
were bathed in a golden light. They were all at once made
young and healthy, and stood to see what their fate would
be. The animals who had previously gathered at the pathway
bowed their heads as the person approached.
At each bowed head, the person offered a scratch or hug. One
by one, the now youthful and healthy animals from the field
fell into line behind the person. Together, they walked
across the Rainbow Bridge to a future of happiness and
unconditional love.
The dog asked the cat, "What just happened? Who was
that?"
"That was a rescuer", the cat responded.
"The animals gathered along the pathway bowing their heads
in respect", explained the cat, "they were those who had
found their forever homes because of rescuers. They will
cross over when their people arrive at the
Bridge.
The
arrival here of a rescuer is a great and solemn event, and
as a tribute they are permitted to perform one final act of
rescue. They are allowed to escort all those poor animals
they couldn't place on earth across the Rainbow Bridge and
into Heaven."
The dog thought for a moment, then said, "I like
rescuers."
The cat smiled and replied, "So does heaven, my friend. So
does heaven."
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