Rainbow Bridge Memorial

 Dearly missed by Anne Sanders

Cindy,

My heart is breaking, and is grateful, as I remember all the times we spent together and remembering how very much you brought to my life. You came to me when I needed something to bring me out of the shadows of life. Having bought a house, I knew I wanted a dog. I thought I had my heart set on a golden retriever. However, one Saturday morning, with nothing to do, I saw an ad in the local paper for a greyhound meet and greet. Always fascinated by greyhounds, I thought, what the heck, I’ll just go look at them.

I got to the meet and greet, and yes, I first passed you by, seeing the gray on your muzzle, thinking, “Oh, she must be so old, I don’t want to adopt a dog and lose it in a few years.” Being the natural human I was, my eyes were drawn to the brighter colored dogs. But, as soon as I headed for one, another person was there before me. Finally, in a cosmic “musical dogs” game it seemed, you and I were left standing in front of each other. I finally asked the handler how old you were, and he said you were only 5, barely middle-aged, and before I could say another word, he thrust the leash in my hand and said “Go take her for a walk.” Um okay… I said… Our bond wasn’t instant. I still didn’t know whether I wanted a greyhound. But, as we walked, I thought, “Huh, well maybe… okay…” I proceeded to fill out the paperwork and passed the home visit with flying colors. When I went to pick you up, the handler brought you into the waiting room of the kennel which was filled with people. But, my sweet girl, you knew.

.. You knew where you belonged. Without me calling you or saying a word, when the handler dropped the leash on the floor, you came straight to me, out of all the people in the room, and buried your head in my legs and stood there. Even after I got you home, as your presence seemed to fill my small living room, I thought “Oh dear God, what have I done?? Can I handle this?” So, for the next couple of weeks, we bumbled along, you never having been in a house or having a person all to yourself, and I with this dog I knew very little about aside from what I had studied in books before you came home. I remember vividly the moment a few weeks later that we became forever bonded. It was a warm sunny day, I went out to lie on the grass in the back yard, relishing the fact that I had a home of my own, and a dog, my ultimate dream. You came and stretched out beside me, reached your paw over and laid it on my hand and let out the most contented sigh I had ever heard. That was the moment we had each other’s hearts for the rest of our lives.

Ever since then, we were there for each other through thick and thin. In the two most difficult times of my life, you were the one who made me get up each morning and get through, get out for walks, licked my tears, and made me laugh at your silly antics. It was like you seemed to love to make me laugh.

When we walked the beach and met people (yes, silly girl, you thought everyone was there just to meet you and become your friend, and you soon had them convinced of that too…). They would hear that you were an adopted racing grey and would tell me how lucky you were that you had me. But, the reality was, my love… I was blessed to have you. I am forever grateful for the six and a half beautiful years we had together. I will miss you every day for the rest of my life, and I can’t wait for the time that we will be together again.