Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge

Please send us your rememberance and a digital photo (if you have one).

We would be honored to display the memorial for your loved one.

Information can be sent to Patty at patty.comerford@gmail.com

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Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.

There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor;

those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again,

just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing;

they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.

His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers.

Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet,

you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again.

The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head,

and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown

These Greyhounds have crossed the Rainbow Bridge and will be remembered fondly by their families...

Shannon Hope Young

Shannon Hope Young 1/7/1997 - 2/13/2008

Shannon came into our lives March 3, 2001 as a bounce-back through Greyhound Friends of New Jersey. She was anxious to be with us from the first moment we walked her from the kennel. When we arrived home she took up a position on the floor outside the kitchen where she could watch us. This was always her place at meal times. Fittingly, this is where she passed away with a shudder.

In June, 2006 Shannon was diagnosed with chronic valve disease (CVD) or endocardiosis. The efforts of the cardiology team at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital helped us give Shannon 20 more months of quality life. We are eternally grateful to them. Unfortunately you can never be fully prepared for the magnitude of loss you feel when the final time comes. The longer Shannon lived the longer we expected her to live.

Fortunately, we have our memories ... memories of daily walks in our neighborhood, in Ocean City, Cape May and Stone Harbor, on the beach and boardwalk, meet-and-greets, trips to the store, bank, or anywhere just so she could stretch out in the back seat and be with us.

Since we never had a pet before, Shannon was more than a pet, she was a family member ... the daughter we never had. While the feeling of loss is tremendous, it is the balance of life for the joy that she brought to us and, hopefully, we to her. While Shannon is gone physically, her goodness, her soul permeates our home and will remain a part of us forever.

Harry and Paula Young Beesleys Point, NJ

Cee Julia

Cee Julia February 11, 2001- January 11, 2008

When Julia came into our lives, we watched her blossom from a not-so-sure of herself dog (I remember her climbing into my lap at least 4 times on Route 287 on the way home from Hay Hill Kennels) into the most loving, outgoing dog I have ever met.

Julia loved life and lived with a zest that was second to none. She was regal, yet silly, intense, yet feminine. And, did I mention entertaining? She was always picking up a toy, running with it through the house and then picking a spot, spinning herself around in one direction and then the other until we got dizzy just watching her. She came into our lives and captured our hearts.

She loved all of us, but quickly formed a special bond with her Ricky. As far as she was concerned, he belonged to her. Each night, at bedtime, Ricky would say, "Come on Julia, let's go to bed," and she would rise from her favorite spot on the sofa and follow him dutifully upstairs to his room, where she slept with him on his bed.

A year after Julia, came Moon, a painfully shy grey who Julia helped immensely. He adored her along with the rest of us. She was a graduate of obedience school and a registered Therapy Dog who touched everyone she came in contact with.

A friend of Ricky's dreamt that Julia went with her to Philadelphia, sitting in the front seat of her car, wearing a pink baseball cap and sunglasses. That dream described our Julia perfectly; she was truly a glamour girl, beautiful, very smart, and always in the spotlight, running the show. Julia was the Queen of our hearts and our home, ruling all with her velvet paw.

She was with us only 4 short years before she was taken from us so tragically, yet we can't remember a time without her. In the short time she has been gone, our home has fallen so dreadfully silent.

We look forward to the day when we will all meet again on the Rainbow Bridge. Until that day, run free with the wind, Julia.

We will love you and miss you forever.
Mom, Dad, Jimmy, Your Ricky, Theresa and Moon

Chance

Chance 1/23/99 - 1/24/08

What do you say about the perfect dog? The dog who could cleanly snatch a single slice of pizza out of the pie on the counter in the blink of an eye; the dog who would greet me at the door just as joyfully if I'd taken out the garbage as he would if I'd been gone a week; the dog who would do his 'Crazy Boy' spinning and jumping after dinner every night. The perfect dog who could destroy a stuffie in record time and had to inspect every shopping bag that came into the house just in case Mommy had brought him a treat.

Well, his name was Chance and he was a beloved member of my family for seven wonderful years. A few weeks ago I noticed a limp. To make a long and tragic story short, we ended up getting the dreaded Osteosarcoma diagnosis. Chance knew something was wrong - no more spinning and jumping, no more interest in food, the greeting at the door was done from his bed with a tail-wag. Even on our short walks he whimpered and seemed confused.

We really had no choice but to let our boy go last night. He was not in terrible pain, but was uncomfortable and not himself. As I said, he wasn't interested in eating which was his passion, and couldn't move around much without whining or moaning, so there wasn't much quality there. We had to let him know we loved him enough to set him free. The passing was easy for him…not so much for us.

We buried him in the backyard, in a place we can see from the windows; a place that will be sunny and warm come Spring. Hopefully by then, our hearts will have begun to heal.

Godspeed my sweet Chancey-boy. We love you always.

Nancy, Matt and Chris in Oakland, NJ

Big Daddy

Big Daddy 10/1995-10/2007

My handsome boy. When I first adopted him he was everything a Greyhound is not supposed to be. He was aggressive, he barked, he was protective, he was downright scary at times. I never knew what he would do. But he was also very smart and mischevious, playful, funny and sweet. Once he met his daddy, his alpha, he grew to become the best dog I have ever known. Loyal, strong and brave. He was my protector, my confidant and my best friend. He was loved by many, feared by some. He was one of a kind. A very special boy who we miss very much. I just hope that he is with his sister, CindiSue again. We will forever love and miss them both. Our home will never be the same without him. When he died he took a piece of me with him and I will always carry of piece of him with me.

Chundo

Chundo, you were the dog of my heart. You came to me after my mother died and I so desperately needed someone to love, someone to hold and to give me love and comfort. You needed that too and we found each other. You got you CGC and TDI in record time and went to nursing homes and schools for handicapped kids and everyone loved that giant, gum exposing silly grin of yours. I loved how you used to hang your lip on your crate. The first time I saw that I ran to you, terrified that your lip was caught in some scary way only to find that you LIKED to hang your upper lip on a crate bar, you silly boy. You had a way of making me laugh all the time. You never raced very well yet they kept you on the track much longer than they should have. When I spoke to the track people they told me that they loved your big goofy boy personality. Everyone loved you. You wiggled and smiled and loved every person, dog and creature you ever met. You touched so many people. After you died from your brave struggle with laryngeal paralysis at twelve and a half we got so many, many calls, cards and flowers from people. I knew you were loved but I had no idea how many people you touched until then. I thought only I loved you that deeply, but I guess you really had an impact on the rest of the world. I know you made others adopt after meeting you and I am so proud of that. There are stories published about you and artwork done by greyhound artists using you as their model, you magnificent big white and brindle boy. Chun, you stood athletic and powerful with rippling muscles that looked ready to run. You were a clutz in reality, hurting yourself much more OFF the track than on the track. In truth you ran like you had CP, legs all akimbo. But you ran with a sense of fun, like everything else you did. Your life was always about fun, wasn't it? You were the original party animal. You loved to dress up and show off. No day-long Meet and Greet was too much for you. No kid-hugging, stranger petting, Dewey Beach day long shopping trip was too much. Each time you met a stranger was a chance meet a new friend. You gave so much and I hope you knew that you were, and are, the dog of my heart. Your dying left a cavern so vast in my life that it will be hard to ever fill that void no matter how many dogs I have in the future. In your honor I will foster and give others a chance to know what we had. I knew I couldn't keep you forever, so go to G-d Chundo and make the Angels laugh at the Rainbow Bridge.