Beanie Baby
January 20, '99 - January 29, '99
Micro
"Beanie Baby" was one of seven puppies born January 20, 1999 --
4 girls and three boys. This girl was a little-twerp-- a "runt"
who fought bravely for 9 days to survive.
"Beanie" didn't make it, but she knew love, warmth and tenderness
in her short stay on earth. She was a cuddler, and except for the
first relapse and final slip, she was a spirited little angel!
She tried, her momma tried, and I tried. It wasn't meant to be.
Beanie's valient little spirit moved me to write a tribute poem for her
Love only lasts forever, if...
by Joy LaCaille
Being a breeder means more than smelling puppy breath.
Sometimes a "runt" is born and has an early death.
Just 'cause it draws a breath doesn't mean that it will stay,
God may have plans for it tho' we don't understand His way.
I've held these frail and precious babes, in trembling hands and cry
When they join God's other angels, at the Bridge that spans the sky.
To say good-by to puppies, is the hardest thing to do.
It means giving up dreams, you thought were meant for you.
Yesterday is but a memory~Tomorrow is only a dream
To live in the past or future is to miss the Creator's scheme
Today is A Gift From God~That's why we call it the Present
To cherish each moment of eternity is for us what God has meant.
For Love only lasts forever, if we hold it in our hearts.
It doesn't die because the body stays and the soul just departs.
Our memories keep those precious loves alive forever in our mind,
If we live and love each moment, and share it with all mankind.
When a pet-owner loses a dog, he/she loses a companion. When a
breeder loses a puppy, he/she not only loses a dog, but the dreams of
a breeding program, a potential show career, and a companion either
for him/herself or a buyer waiting for that litter to be born and grow
up. Each precious and fragile life deserves love and tenderness,
regardless of how long it is on earth. The following is fiction,
inspired by "Micro," a little runt that died after 3 days ... but,
who knows what lies ahead at the Rainbow Bridge -- for us all?
Rainbow Bridge Return
by Joy LaCaille
The little dog arrived at the Rainbow Bridge, and a pack of dogs
rushed up to greet him. He braced himself, expecting a fight, but
this was the first pack that wagged their tails and kissed him instead
of attacking him.
It was beautiful here, and everyone was nice to him. None of them had
been born in a puppy mill, like he had, and used for dog-bait fighting
and left to die in a shelter because he was a mix-breed battle-scarred
cur and wasn't cute. They explained why they were waiting... for
their humans who loved them.
"What is love?" he asked, and God let him go back to earth, and find
out.
Warm, and dark, and he squeezed in with the others and waited for the
day to be born. Scared, he held back as long as he could, but finally
got dragged out, by his hind feet. Hands without fur held him gently
and rubbed him dry and opened his mouth then guided him to a warm
nipple with milk. He didn't get a good hold on it, because one of his
big fat brothers pushed him aside. The human hand moved the other
puppy to another nipple and held his body, so he could drink.
"Ahhh, that's better, " he thought, and drank until his jaws got tired
and he curled up to sleep next to his warm hairy mother. "I remember
this," he mused... "Too bad I'll have to grow up to be hit, left out
in the cold and rain, and used for dog-bait fighting. I remember what
it's like, being a dog." he thought sadly.
That night, he crawled up to his mother and tried to nurse, but kept
getting pushed off to the side. When they were full, the big brothers
and sisters got their bottoms cleaned and he finally latched on to a
nipple, but the human hands weren't there to hold him up, and there
wasn't any milk in any of the nipples, anyway. He was weak and so
tiny. It was even hard to stay upright, and he fell over on his back
and couldn't right himself. So he began to cry, and suddenly the
human hands were there, holding him up and puting a rubber thing in
his mouth. It didn't taste like mother, but it was warm and made the
ache in his tummy go away.
He was having trouble breathing ... His lungs weren't fully
developed, because he had waited too long to join the others in the
womb, as he took one last romp at the Rainbow Bridge. He could feel
the heartbeat of the human, who had laid him on her chest and covered
him with a soft cloth, keeping him warm, and soothing his boney body
with gentle circling touches. He kept thinking of his new friends who
had been so nice to him at the bridge and asked God if he could go
back. God said "yes, but not just yet. You wanted to experience
Love."
So for several hours (seemed like days but it was dark and he couldn't
tell what time it was), the human supplemented his feeding and let him
experience the warmth of his mother's body and tongue, and the pile of
warm soft littermates. He got weaker, and the human held him more
often, leaving the littermates to sleep in a pile while he got
carressed, kissed, and got to listen to the heartbeat which was strong
and loving.
Finally God came back and asked, "are you ready to come back to the
Rainbow Bridge?"
"Yes, he responded," with a little sorrow, because the human didn't
want to let him go, and was crying.
He pushed the air out of his lungs and floated back to the Rainbow
Bridge and looked back at the human, who was still crying and holding
the limp body that he had borrowed for his trip.
"Thank you, God," he said. "Love is beautiful, and I will wait near
the Bridge and let the human know, when she arrives, that I loved her,
too."
Beanie Baby & Micro ran off to play with Black Velvet
and Tiny who are shining at DogStar