Rainbow Bridge

In Loving Memory of Lola

Lola  2006 – July2011

Gone but not forgotten.

Filled with love, filled with life and happiness

Sweetpea, Sweetiepie, Tweetiepie, Lola Gorganzola,
Raiding the trash
Eating the toilet paper rolls
Hiding under the office desk with overwhelming guilt when she did something wrong
Sitting on the stairs waving her paw when I came home from work
Long luxurious stretches when coming out of the crate
Putting her paws on my thighs and looking into my eyes as I put her collar on for our morning walk
Unwilling to go out the door until I went first.
Unwilling to go in the yard unless she was sure I was coming
Rides in the car.  So much to see.  Never sitting still.
Swimming after the beaver
Hunting for chipmunks and frogs

I write this to try to ease the aching in my heart and soul for a girl who stole them both.

There were the mornings when I took all our dogs for their daily walk down to the pond and the beavers would be out swimming.  On more than one occasion Lola went swimming after them and at 5:30 in the morning I’d be out in a canoe trying to herd her back to our shore.

Then there were the new moccasins I bought from LL Bean.  I caught her after eating the top off of one of them.  I tried to buy a single replacement but unfortunately they only sell them in pairs.

I have never had a dog who was so gentle taking food from your hand.   She loved belly rubs, head and ear scratches, and when I came home from work, the other two dogs would be barking madly and she would be sitting at the top of the stairs quiet as a mouse waving her paw at me.  When I came in, she would throw her paws on my shoulders and lick my face.  To me that was heaven.

When I lied down to watch TV she would curl up against me.  When I did my morning exercises, she would try to lick my nose.  Down by the pond, she was my navigator in the canoe when she wasn’t frog hunting.  Frogs and Chipmunks were her passion.  Frogs she caught by the dozen, chipmunks she tried her best.

Her favorite game was tearing around the house while Brady waited for her to race by.  He would jump in her way; she would bounce off him and be off in a new direction a hundred miles an hour.

It’s been a month now and I still feel the aching in my heart.

We have had dogs before, we will have dogs after her, but I don’t think I will ever have a dog who touches my heart the way she did.

I’ll never forget her. Love your Dad and best friend, Mark

In Loving Memory of Caleb

We were contacted for help by a mother who had her sons dog, neither of whom could or would care for this dog. His name was not Caleb, but we did not like his “typical” name so we decided to change it to a much nicer, softer name, Caleb- for a beautiful, active, fun loving pup. Caleb was only about 6 months old but was a big, powerful boy with no manners. We met him and knew he had potential- he had just lacked training and didn’t know how to use that beefy body and giant paws! He was a very loving guy who just needed a chance. We had no open fosters but tried everything to save this boy. It started as trying to help out a dog who needed us and became a determination. Every time we had an option for Caleb, something went wrong for one reason or another (by no fault of his own). Eventually, the “owner” got fed up with our lack of a foster for him (really??) and without notice, dropped Caleb at a shelter. Caleb, like most pit bulls did horribly at the shelter right off the bat. He went stir crazy when kenneled. He had too much energy and needed human interaction (as all do). The shelter gave us the option to take him if we could come up with a solution in a week, but they were not going to put him on the adoption floor as he was going to deteriorate very quickly, as he already had in a few hours in the shelter. Although the shelter did not want to see this fate for the poor guy, no one had any choices here. Shelters were meant to house homeless dogs, NOT owned dogs. Some people seem to see dogs, especially pit bulls as an accessory rather than a family member. One that gets old fast- just the same as a purse or a new baseball hat. Truly despicable. And because of these people, there is no room for dogs who really need shelter help, i.e. when their owner dies or becomes fatally ill.

Pit bulls thrive on human contact and when they are locked behind bars in a kennel, they tend to lose it. Very sad and I wish more people thought of this before dumping their dog in a shelter. Shelters do the very best they can but with pitties being dropped at their door daily, there is not much else they, or anyone, can do.

Noreen and I scrambled for this week trying every possible option we could to save this dog we felt we had a commitment to save. Funny how the “owners” are so easy to give up on the commitment they make and in just a couple weeks we felt an obligation and an attachment to this dog. When I say we tried everything, we tried e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Noreen was down at the shelter one more time with a potential foster that week and again for no fault of Caleb’s it didn’t work out. I think although we didn’t want to admit it, we had nothing else. Not in enough time. We tried up until his last day.

We know we can’t save them all, but we save the ones we can. It is hard though, when you come this close and a happy, healthy pup is put to rest because people are too ignorant to realize what a commitment is. Too many die this same way day in and day out.

Rest in Peace little boy. I still cannot look at your pictures without tears filling my eyes. We tried everything we could to save you.You never knew the care of a good owner or the love of a family, but I know you are happy now at Rainbow Bridge and will never be harmed at the hands of any terrible human.

In Loving Memory of Bailey

Bailey Boy
Friday, September 11, 2009 at 8:20am

“Good morning, sweet Bubby…”, her first words of the day as Megan rolls over to find his big, white, smiling face, only inches from hers, so eager to start the day. She rubs his head and tries, unsuccessfully, to snuggle back under the covers, for just five more minutes. Melanie, slightly more sleepy than Meg, braces herself for the inevitable cold, wet nose that will soon be nudging her out of her slumber as well. She echoes Megs greeting, and this 60 pound bundle of love is satisfied that he has achieved his goal. And another glorious day in Bailey’s world has begun!

Less than ten minutes later, Bailey and Mel are outside; Mel, squinting in the morning sun and shaking off the last remnants of sleep, and Bailey, wide-eyed and filled with wonder at all the magnificent scents he is catching in the soft breeze. He is quite certain that there is a soup bone buried in this very spot beneath the lawn and if Mel would just let him dig it up, he would present it to her and Meg for their breakfast! Oh how delighted and proud they’d be! But alas, Bailey has not yet mastered the art of communication, so the bone will have to stay in its subterranean hiding place for the time being. Just then, he is distracted by a scent he does not recognize… hmmm, who was here last night on MY lawn? Smells like a… Labrador Retriever! Well, I’ll take care of THAT! Satisfied that he’s reclaimed his lawn, Bailey heads back inside ready for his first meal of the day.

Back in the house, Bailey is thrilled to see that Meg is still there! He runs over to where she’s sitting and putting his paw on her lap, lets her know that he is there to protect her and Mel. After a few minutes of mutual affection, he meanders over to Mel for some more. He looks longingly at Gracie the cat, knowing that she will never allow him to be her friend.

Meg starts moving toward the kitchen and Bailey stumbles over his own feet in his haste to follow. It’s BREAKFAST time! Bailey waits (im)patiently while Megan measures out his food, and pours it into the bowl. As he waits for the magic words “go ahead!”, Meg mumbles something and goes into the bathroom. What did she say??? Bailey is not sure. Should he begin eating and risk disappointing Meg and Mel, or worse yet, being called a “bad dog”? No, he decides to wait. More than anything, he wants to please his moms.

As an agonizing five long minutes tick by, and the drool dripping from Bailey’s jaw is beginning to puddle in front of his paws. Finally, Mel shuffles into the kitchen to get some OJ, and quickly recognizes Bailey’s predicament. “Go ahead” she says, with tears in her eyes, alternately feeling sorry that he had to wait so long, and pride in his obedience. Bailey, unaware of his mom’s emotion, enthusiastically consumes his meal.

Mealtime over, Bailey wanders over to his bed and begins to ‘make’ it. He moves the blanket with his left paw, and then with his right. No, no, that’s not quite right. He pushes it forward with his nose until it is all bunched up, and then circles around to the other side, to push it back in the opposite direction. He is utterly unaware of the pleasure his moms are experiencing, watching their delightful, lovable canine diligently doing his part to help with the housework.

Exhausted from several more attempts at making his bed, Bailey is confident that it’s now “just right”, he positions himself over the crumpled blanket, spins three and a half times, and plops down for a well deserved nap. And dreams…

Sparkling spheres of wet color, that pop – and disappear – when you try to smell them! Where do they go? Run, run! You may be able to catch them! But wait, there’s more! Although he can’t count, the dreaming Bailey imagines that there must be hundreds of them! He remembers that it was his pal Dexter’s Dad who introduced him to these magical, transparent floaty things. His moms called them “bubbles!”…

As Melanie and Megan relax over a leisurely breakfast, they glance over from time to time at Bailey, who seems to be running and making little barking noises in his sleep. They marvel at how this full-grown, over-protective bundle of joy has completely stolen their hearts.

Bailey begins to snore, but the moment he detects movement, he is on his feet. His moms are moving through the rooms, getting all wet in the bathroom, and then putting on different clothes. Sometimes they put a cloth around Bailey’s neck and he feels very “handsome.” He doesn’t quite know what that means, but he knows it is a good thing because his moms show their teeth when they say it to him. He has learned that unlike other dogs who show their teeth when they are angry, his moms show their teeth when they are happy! He likes it when his moms show their teeth.

He listens intently to their words, trying to pick up one of the sounds he knows. His ears perk up when he hears Megan say WALK. After a lot more words go by, he hears it again – this time from Mel. Walk. We must be going for a WALK!!! Bailey begins to tremble and he runs around a couple of times to display his pleasure, and let his moms know that he would love to take them for a WALK!

He remembers the first time he walked with them in the woods… Mel and Meg hooked a rope to his collar (they call it a leash) and off they went! It was also the first time he met Sadie and Sam. He LOVES Sadie and Sam – they are his friends!

He never had friends in the old place, when he lived with the bad people. Those people who beat him, and burned his face. They didn’t love him like his moms do. Bailey feels so lucky to live with his moms, away from the bad people. But sometimes he still thinks about them and feels very afraid. He wonders if his moms will turn into ‘bad people’ too. The bad people used to be nice when he was a puppy… this worries Bailey.

Bailey looks up in time to see Sammy dart right past him and he thinks – Look at Sammy GO! How long could Sammy’s rope be? And then he realizes that Sammy is OFF his rope! He starts to chase Sammy, anticipating the rope that will tighten on his throat and yank him backward… but it never comes! As he runs with the wind in his face, it occurs to Bailey – I’M OFF MY ROPE!!! I’M FREER THAN I’VE EVER BEEN!

And so goes a day in the life of Bailey. This beautiful soul, who never deserved to be hurt so profoundly. His first 6 years were spent with a family, with two teenage sons. When Bailey was a puppy, the boys were young and playful, and spent time with him. But as the boys entered puberty, their personalities turned dark and ugly, and it was their dog, Bailey, who suffered at their hands. They hit him and burned him with hot sticks from an open fire. For four long years, Bailey endured not just physical pain, but the emotional loss of these boys who had previously been his friends, and treated him with love and respect. He must have wondered what bad deed he had done, to make them want to punish him so often and severely. He lived most of his life in the basement, alone and unloved.

Then one day, Melanie and Megan came into his life. They talked sweet to him and their voices, to Bailey, must have been like water in the desert. He responded eagerly to their touch and tried very hard to please them and protect them. Mel and Meg took Bailey home for a “trial period”, but from day one, it was clear that Bailey had captured their hearts. Ironically, Bailey would take Melanie’s last name and become “Bailey Bailey”.

Life was good. Mel and Meg showered Bailey with love and affection, and gave him all the toys, treats, and comforts they could find. They wanted to spend the rest of Bailey’s life making up for the years that he’d lost, and were blissfully unaware of how little time they would have to do this. Sadly, circumstances arose for Bailey that would not allow him to continue living a normal life. So it was with deepest despair, and painful agony, that Bailey’s moms had to make the ultimate decision to let him go. Bailey was euthanized, while sleeping, on Thursday afternoon. We hope he was chasing bubbles in his dreams…

As Mel and Meg wept themselves to sleep that night, they each whispered softly, “Goodnight, sweet Bubby.”

- Cathy Bailey

In Loving Memory of Rascal
who went to the Rainbow Bridge 8-30-09

My name is Melanie, and me and my family adopted Rascal in December 2008. He was the cutest little pup ever, he just loved to run around and play with the kids. He would run through the pool, he would just stand there as we filled it, the water slowly getting higher and higher on him, he loved it!!! Rascal was always there to greet me whenever I came home, he was such a loving little pup. He would lie on the back of the sofa, he actually thought he was a lap dog. Rascal loved kids, and played for hours with my two boys, they would just cuddle with each other all the time.

Not long after we had adopted Rascal he became sick, we had no idea what was wrong with him, he would just run away and hide from us, and did not want us to pet him anymore, it was so distressing for us all as our happy go lucky little puppy had turned into a puppy that no longer wanted love and affection from us. We took him to our vet who diagnosed him with CMO (cranio mandibular osteopathy) which is a bone deformity of the jaw and Skull.

As Rascal got older he would have regular flare up of the CMO where he would be put on Steroids to help with his sometimes excruciating pain. In August 2009 Rascal sadly took a turn for the worse, the meds that he was on were sadly no longer helping him, he had lost so much weight also due to the fact that he could not eat as he was in so much pain with his jaw.

August 30th I had to make what has probably been the hardest decision of my life. I decided to have my Rascal laid to rest. There has not been a single day go by that I have not thought about him and miss him. Rascal was too young to die and I was not ready to say goodbye to him, but I know that he is now in a better place and free was his pain and suffering. I love you Rascal, you are gone but NEVER forgotten.

In Loving Memory of Noreen’s Bear aka Bubba,
who went to the Rainbow Bridge 2-23-06

Bear
September 29, 1993 ~ February 23, 2006

In Loving Memory of Lenny

We would like to thank the MSPCA and Chestnut Street Animal Hospital in Needham for all their support and care they provided to Lenny. Everyone put all their hearts and effort into making Lenny’s life comfortable and happy as they could. Even though Lenny had an incredibly difficult life, he was still able to love and trust everyone he met. And everyone he met seemed to fall instantly in love with his big brown eyes and that big head of his.

Lenny will be missed by all. We will always think of him when it rains and snows outside. There were many days and nights spent outside in the pouring rain waiting for him to lick the grass dry, poor guy never did get the whole lawn completely dry, but oh did he try!

There are so many parts of our days that go by and we notice it has changed without you in our lives, and while it makes us sad at that very moment, we feel comforted knowing that you are no longer suffering and that we were able to give you the love and affection you so enormously deserved in the past three months. Lenny, in the short time that you were able to stay with us, you brought us so much affection, compassion, and love. You are incredibly missed and will be in our hearts forever. From the day we met you, you captured our hearts and will always remain with us everywhere we go. You will always be part of our family.

All our love,

Keith, Missy, and Hooch

In Loving Memory of Wyatt
who went to the rainbow bridge

It all started with a search… Rickie (my wife)and I decided to adopt a dog. We weren’t swayed to any particular breed. After hearing a lot of talk, good and bad, about the Pit Bull breed, we decided to see what all the fuss was about. We started our search on Petfinder and saw a picture of a handsome, 7 months old, black, tuxedo printed boy named Lyman. After passing all the interviews we decided to “just meet him”. Who were we kidding, one look at his sad, beautiful eyes and we were overwhelmed. All of a sudden…we had a dog!

We named him Wyatt. He immediately settled in with us and we were overjoyed by our new friend. When we introduced him to our family there were tentative introductions, “A PITBULL!!!” We stayed patient and continued to train and introduce him to as many people as possible. It was only a matter of seconds before hearts melted.

Wyatt loved playing frisbee more than anything else! He was a tremendous athlete. He would play for hours with the family dogs, and boy did he love the water. So much so that on vacation in Maine, as our boat passed the rocks he was playing on, he saw us and jumped right in. He actually swam the entire 300 yards to the boat where Rickie and I lifted him out of the water…He had no fear!!

After just 1 year and 3 months of life with Wyatt we realized that something was wrong. Our boy with the great appetite was suddenly unable to hold down his food. We immediately brought him to the vet to find out he had swallowed a piece of his frisbee. At first it seemed like a routine operation, however, after opening him up we realized that the piece had been in his body far longer than we ever thought. The vets did what they could but there was so much infection. He was so strong, so vibrant, and so full of life that we never could have imagined what happened next. After several days of fighting, Wyatt, just two years old, lost his battle. This innocent puppy had just come into our lives, and now our amazing boy was gone. We had no idea what to do? We were truly devastated and lost without him.

We decided to be positive, and focus on all that Wyatt did accomplish in his short time on this earth. He changed the negative view on Pitbulls in everyone he met. I think my mom’s quote says it all, “If it wasn’t for Wyatt I would never believe it to be true! He did his work on this earth and we need to celebrate that”

We believe that Wyatt was here for a reason and he accomplished his mission! We still miss him with all our hearts! We have since adopted two PitBulls, from PittieLove Rescue. They are both tremendous and we are enjoying them to the fullest extent. We will continue Wyatt’s mission to make sure everyone knows that this is a wonderful breed and with great responsibility comes great rewards.

Wyatt – we miss you so much buddy, we think of you often and smile! We love you…

Love Chris, Rickie, Mayble, and Cooper

In Loving Memory of Tux

Tux passed peacefully last night with us at his side. All the medications, transfusions and treatments did not work by yesterday, Day 5 as the vets had hoped and we didn’t want him to suffer a horrible death. All he ate during the day was a few animal crackers, so it was time to let him go. He is buried in our backyard, with Ralph another of our shelter dogs of 17 yrs. Though Tux was only 9, he touched the hearts of many and loved everyone. Because he was such a wonderful boy, it drew us to rescue primarily pit bulls for the past 10 years. Our hearts are forever broken.

Thanks again to all of you for your kind words, prayers, positive thoughts, compassion and caring which has made this difficult time more bearable.

Love, Terry and Scott

In Loving Memory of Tayzha
who went to the rainbow bridge
1/10/07- 3/27/08

Tayzha lost her battle with health issues and is now at Rainbow Bridge. She leaves behind her loving mom, dad and four legged brother, Beastie Boy. Tayzha was a sweatheart and such an athlete. She loved to run, romp and play with her brother. After long walks and play sessions, she loved to snuggle on the couch.

While Tayzha was only adopted for a few short months, her paw prints have left their marks forever on the hearts of those that she touched. She came her to her forever home not knowing how to sit, and left for the bridge being able to sit, lay down, give paw and heel on a leash.

She will be missed and loved by all.

With much love from Dad, Mom, and your brother.

In Loving Memory of Rocky
who went to the rainbow bridge 9/07/07

This wonderful boy was rescued by Becca and Jimmy from a home in Nashua that kept him chained in the backyard all alone day and night. Just over a year old, he had a rough start, but found love and friendship with his foster family and their pit bull, Justice.

He lived with his foster family for over four months, and they watched him come out of his shell and learn to love and let his guard down. Always up for kisses, snuggling and playing with his friend Justice.

Because of his beginning and the humans who brought it upon him, he learned early to be defensive and on guard. Unfortunately, after working with him diligently, it was discovered that those instincts were too much of a risk to place him in a new forever home.

The world of rescue is a hard one, and we need to accept the fact that we can’t save all of the dogs that we come into contact with. Each one has a place in our heart, however, and they and their stories will be with us forever.

We love you, Rocky, for all the love you gave and smiles you brought in your short time with us. We will never forget you.

In Loving Memory of Mimi

Mimi was one of those puppies that come into your life and in a very short period of time touch you very deeply. Veronica made sure Mimi was with her all her waking hours from the time we began fostering her. We had no idea that Mimi was sick, but still I worried that Mimi wasn’t getting enough rest, she was being carried around by Veronica so much. The vet told us that her being carried so much probably helped prolong her life since she didn’t need to do much walking to get around.

As sick as she must have been, she was quite the little trooper. She ate like a champ and would still be at the food bowl long after her brothers and sisters were done. I always gave her her own bowl of food, but she always went to the big bowl to eat with her everyone else. She wanted to be part of the gang. One time I saw her and she was eating away lying down with the front half of her body in the food bowl and her back end on the floor. She was quite the character. When she got tired she would make little squeaks to be picked up and put in her crate. She loved to sleep in a big puppy pile with her brothers and sisters.

The day before she died Veronica dressed her up in one of her doll’s dresses. Mimi was quite the princess in her little white dress and seemed very proud to be dressed up. A special memory of Veronica’s is taking Mimi for rides in Jeep Power Wheels. Mimi liked to sit right up front on Veronica’s lap while she was driven around.

While the other puppies are in their foster homes Mimi was supposed to stay with us and her absence is felt deeply by us all. She was such a sweet little puppy. I asked Veronica and Ava what they wanted to say about Mimi, Veronica said, “I love Mimi, she was a good girl.” Ava simply said, “I loved Mimi.” We all did.

In loving Memory of
Sheamus Donovan Cunningham
March 2006 – February 2007

One afternoon I got an email from Noreen asking if I could foster a little pup. I saw the picture and said “sure”. He was the cutest darn thing…his ears perched right up on the top of his head…how could I say no. I was picking him up that night in Sterling, Leigh looked to us for help in placing Pit Bulls, with us she knew they would get a good home. I picked Shea up and was instantly hooked. He fit right in with our little family, myself, Joe (daddy), Jada, and Scout (his 4 legged siblings). We went to the park daily, had doggie playdates all the time, and after about 8 months of age Shea’s dog aggression became evident. Then some other issues started to arise. Shea became very nervous and anxious. We took him to some of the best doctors and neurologists. Things were not getting better so we turned to, someone I like to call “my dog whisper” Terrie Christie. Terrie runs a training program called canine magic. We were impressed with her because she prides herself on working with Pit Bulls and other bully breeds, having rescued her own pit bill Daisy Mae and Dobermin, Cobey. After working with Shea we could walk him near other dogs and he wouldn’t react negatively and was really trying! We were so proud of Shea, that he would get a cheeseburger on the way home from class!!

Sadly, one day after training, we pulled into the driveway, opened the car door, and like always said “front door Shea”. Normally he would run for the door, but on February 17th he decided to run after the squirrel instead. Shea was struck by a car,( the man stopped and was very nice). We took Shea immediately to our wonderful vet Dr. Michael Krawshuck at Weston Veterinary Clinic. There wasn’t anything we could do to help Shea with his internal injuries, and sadly had to let him go to the rainbow bridge.

It is almost a year since my little guy has passed and it is still very hard for my husband and me. Sometimes I think that it would have been easier if he were sick, so we couldn’t blame ourselves. In our hearts we know Shea does not blame us, we know he is just waiting for us, especially his daddy.

We put our volunteer work on hold with Pittielove because it has been so hard to even see another Pit Bull. When we are ready, and our son is a little older, we will begin to foster again and save more Pit Bulls like Shea, because we know that is what he would want us to do.

We look at his picture everyday and every night Joe touches his urn and says “night pal”. We show Braeden, our 4 month old son, his picture all the time. We want him to know Shea too.

Shea you are sadly missed. We love you and will see you over the rainbow. Daddy will have a tennis ball and a “chuck It” just for you!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, Braeden, Jada, & Scout

In loving memory of Rudy

March 2003-August 25, 2007

Hi Noreen–

I am sorry to tell you that Rudy passed away on Saturday(8/25/07). He started limping in his back right leg a couple of weeks ago. My vet referred him to the chief Neurologist(Dr. Sisson) at Angell Memorial back then. Dr. Sisson said it seemed to be localized to his back leg and the odds were about 90% that the nerve damage would heel itself and he’d be back to normal in about 6 weeks. Last Friday he took a turn for the worse. I got him in to see Dr. Sisson first thing Sat. and after examining him again he said it was now effecting his whole right side. An MRI was schedule for the next available time(Monday). I took him home late Sat morning and around 1pm he suddenly got a lot worse. They tranquilized him on Sat afternoon and did a spinal tap. He never came out of the tranquilizing. He went into a coma and died at about 11pm. Dr. Sisson said that because of his rapid deterioration he was almost sure it was a brain tumor and he was shocked that he went downhill so fast.

I’m sorry for all the details but I thought you should know. I am very grateful to all of you that helped nurse him back to health and bring him into my life. He was a great, great dog and I loved him to death. He was by my side 24hrs a day and seven days a week. He made dog lovers out of people who didn’t like dogs. There were probably a couple 100 people who were friends of his. He was our company mascot and when I came into work he would always go through the building and say hello to everyone. When I jogged with him around town people frequently stopped there cars to get out and say hello to him. He was a great ambassador for his breed and changed a lot peoples minds about the breed. He had as happy a last 15 months as any dog could possibly have. He experienced very little pain near the end and essentially died in his sleep. He was my best friend and companion and the feeling was mutual. I still can’t beleive he’s gone. He will be sorely missed.

I want you to know that I have the deepest respect for everything you and your group do. Through your efforts you saved my dog from a miserable life he didn’t deserve and gave him 15 months of very high quality living. Both Rudy and myself felt like we won the lottery! For a dog who appreciated every day and never took anything for granted, that was a great gift.

Sincerely,

Mike

In Loving Memory of Merry’s Lakota
who went to the rainbow bridge on 1-16-2007

Our very dear friend and fellow rescuer, Merry of BraveHeart Pit Bull Rescue lost her Lakota on 1-16-07 at the age of 16. A rescued Lab/Samoyed mix who lived the life with Merry, her husband Gary, her Mom Teresa, Apache, Dempsey and Phoenix, her rescued pit bulls. And many rescued foster dogs. We love you and will miss you Lakota!

In Loving Memory of Jackie’s Grover
who went to the rainbow bridge

Grover was rescued at the age of four weeks after he was found abandoned in a vacant building with his mother and littermates. He was the only survivor. Grover was a much loved member of our family for eight years until his death from cancer. Rest in Peace, baby boy.

Love, Jackie

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…

In Memory Of Those We Couldn’t Save

Lola

Lola was at a local animal control. She came in as a stray and quickly stole the heart of her ACO. Noreen and Mary met her while there evaluating dogs. She was a favorite of ours. We sent a plea for a foster home to all our rescue contacts. No responses at all…:(((

Unfortunately, finding foster homes for adult pit bulls is extremely difficult especially if their temperament with other dogs is unknown.

It seems everyone wants a puppy. Lola was a sweetheart with people and would have made someone a wonderful pet. Ellen kept her at animal control as long as she could, but when Lola started to develop kennel stress she knew she had to make the difficult decision to let her go to the rainbow bridge.

We all cried when we heard that Lola was no longer with us, but we know she’s in a better place now. Love you Lola. We will never forget your beautiful smile and your desire to live and love. We will see you at the Rainbow Bridge baby girl.

Pit Bull Adult:  Female.  White with brown brindle.  Very pretty girl.  About 2 or 3 years old.  Stray.  Unaltered.  Has cut on tip of tail from wagging in kennel so much. Appears to have had puppies (large nipples).  Large and well-built.  Strong.  Could use some leash training.  Knows sit and paw (tries to give both paws each time she sits). Very happy to be around people and has great, goofy personality.  No handling, toy, guarding or food aggression.  A little mouthy when taking treats from your hand.  Shelter staff says that she is fine with male and female dogs and will walk away if another dog bothers her.  My gut feeling was that she might be aggressive with cats or show some prey drive, but she just sniffed and wagged her tail when face-to-face with a cat out of its crate being held over the counter.  She was able to be called away from t he cat and even walked away from the cat on her own at one point without being called.  I know we don’t have many open home who are willing to take a Pit Bull and Pittie Love Rescue has taken in a lot of dogs recently, but I am really hoping that somebody can help with this girl.  She is a great dog.

Only one day late for this female pit bull. We had a foster home available, but she was put to sleep prior to us being able to help.

Rocky

Rocky was at a Massachusetts shelter. Rocky was a smiley boy. He was full of energy and spunk. He was sometimes unsure of how to behave, but quickly learned what was expected of him and would then follow the rules. Again, another victim of the shelter not having enough space for all the adandoned dogs and his time ran out.

Cocoa

Cocoa was at a Massachusetts shelter for about 2 months and doing great. She got adopted, but was being returned. However, before the adopter brought her back in he sold her to a man in the shelter parking lot. This man had her for a night before he found out he couldn’t have her at his apartment. He too returned her to the shelter, but just dumped her in a play yard while the shelter was closed. She was found by shelter workers the next day. After that she went downhill. She was a great dog who deserved to be in a stable, loving home, but she never got that chance.

Dezel

Dezel was a pit/lab mix at a Massachusetts shelter. He was shy initially, but warmed up very quickly. He was the typical shelter story, too little time and too little space.