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________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Subject:
For Joel
Dear
Joel,
I
too join the others in extending my most sincere and warm condolences
on
the loss of Belle to the playground of angels.
When
I was a child, and about to lose my first animal friend to the
playground of angels, a very wise
woman by the name of
a
story, about dogs and heaven. As I think about you and
Belle,
her words awaken and they serve to warm my heart that is filled
in
warm prayer for you.
A
Story
As
I look back to my childhood, I have decided that my fifth year was
one of
the most significant ones. When I was born, a wonderful woman, by
the
name of
was
always a constant presence,
animal friend, a rooster, and a very mischievous
five year old for
walks and
endless laughter.
>
One
fine afternoon, this five year old, learned about a river, a red
river,
as
by
making me promise that I would always love animals,
and dogs ever so
much.
She
said that for dogs, we
would not be able to cross the river that
separates Earth from Heaven. Our dogs would be waiting for us to guide
us,
as they do in life in things of the
spirit, to the "other side."
She
spoke
of blinding
light, of a distant shore, of a place that defies
description,
and of the magic of the crossing. I promised to love dogs from the
bottom
of my heart, as well as harbor warm feelings
for all other animals on
this
Earth.
>
Years
passed and the story forever held my heart in a state of happy
understanding. When my brother's dog Mai Ling died, after a
very short
life
on this Earth, he was so very saddened. I remember sharing my story
with
him and can still envision his half hearted
smile. Nothing else was
said,
fall came, winter arrived, spring descended and
summer once again made
its
appearance.
>
One
evening, as I was in my room reading, I heard a cry from my
brother,
urging me to come to his room. As I went inside, he asked that I sit
down,.
quietly, and listen to a story being told by an
elderly gentleman.
This
gentleman recounts a day in the hospital, where
nurses, doctors and a
priest
were surrounding his bed, as sentinels, for you
see, he was so very
ill
that it was not expected for him to live but
hours.
>
As
the narration continues, he recalls "looking down" on this hospital
scene
as he was being absorbed by a white, blinding
light. Next thing he
knows,
he continues saying, is that he finds himself,
at the edge of a river.
As
he stood there he recognized that heaven was on
the other side-- for
nature
had exploded into a million whimsical
colors. The gentleman, with a
quiver
in his voice, was awed, not only with the
visual sensations, but also
with
what could be grasped from within. A feeling of serenity, with
intermingled threads of endless joy encircled him as he stood
motionless.
For
you see, he had no place to go.
>
All
of a sudden, he noticed what seemed to be a very big ball coming
from
the river bank on the other side. As this ball approached, he gasped
for
air and could not believe his eyes, for it was
his soulmate, his best
friend
--his white dog. White Dog, for lack of a better name by me,
had been
lost
to him fourteen years prior to this
reunion. The gentleman then
continues
to say that as his beloved friend was nearing
the edge, he stopped as
if on
command. He
then turned, but before he did their spirits touched or so
it
would seem, and then he was gone.
>
For
the millionth time, I so very fondly thought of my
ancient
soul, who has never spoken anything but the
truth. The five year
old
child
in me, smiled and quietly nodded for she
realized, but once again, how
very
blessed she is.
For many, it takes a lifetime to discover what this
child
of the
magical
weapon and I
wield it, whenever I have to bid farewell to one of my
little
ones, for I know one day, we will all meet again
at the river bank.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Subject:
Re: Remembering Belle...
dear joel, i am very very very sorry to hear that belle left for the
angels' playground.
pls take comfort in
that she is free of pain,
prodding, and in xcellent
co.--some of it so very recent.
our sincerest condolences to y, yr wife and
gisella/zani
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Subject:
Re: Remembering Belle...
Joel,
I want to say how very sorry I am to hear
about Belle...My
thoughts and prayers
are with you...Take care...
Debbie & Cleo & Tasha
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message:
8
Date:
From: [email protected]
Subject:
Belle
I
am so sorry to hear of your loss of Belle.
She is no longer
suffering and
is joined by all of ours in the group that have
passed on.
God Bless angel Belle.
Laura
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message:
11
Date:
From: "Cindy Gilffredi"
<[email protected]>
Subject:
Re: Remembering Belle...
Joel
-
I
am so sorry you had to say goodbye to Belle.
I'm know about that
quietness you speak of, but you are right - she is in
the playground of
angels now - young and healthy again - with no
pain. I hope your
good
memories will soon outweight
the pain of your loss.
Cindy
& Chocolate (Forever Friend)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Subject:
Re: Remembering Belle...
Joel,
My
heart goes out to you and your wife and
your
Belle. Belle was a brave and wonderful girl and I'm
so glad that you
shared
her life with us. She'll always be remembered.
Please post if you need
to
talk. Heather's right, that too many of us have
gone through this so
we'll
help in any way we can. Please give
the
wonderful memories of Belle will be with you always.
Laurie
and (Sam)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
From:
joanne grant
Subject:
Re: Remembering Belle...
So sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved pet Belle. Remember the
good times with her, as in spirit she will always
be with you. take
care.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Subject:
Re: Remembering Belle...JOEL
joel,
i
am so very sorry you lost belle. As was
said so well by i
think
heather, we all feel your pain. With every loss it brings it all
back. I
thought your site honoring belle was beautiful. You have so many
wonderful
memories of her.
How lucky you all were to have found one another. I
hope
you find comfort in your memories & the fact
she is no longer in pain.
Remember...she
will be with you always!
sincerely,
joni & anggel sharpy
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Subject:
RE: Remembering Belle...
You
are in my thoughts and prayers and I can just see Belle running and
playing and jumping and painfree! That's what keeps me going, knowing
they
are finally painfree!
Marcia
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Subject:
For Belles family
My heartfelt condolences. Belle is still
there with you in spirit,
watching over you all. I know it is painful right
now, and time will
help a little, but believe that you will see her
again. To you, it
will seem like an eternity, but to Belle, it will
only be like a few
moments. She will be whole,painfree and happy.
As
others have said, she would have been greeted by all our babies
that have left before her.
Big hugs to you all at this difficult time.
Please stay with us, and
lean on the group as you work on healing. We need
lots of experienced
people to help with all the newbies!!!
Angela and eternity girl, Megan.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Subject:
To Joel, in Tribute to Belle
Joel,
I am terribly sorry to learn of Belle's death, however you had
cautioned us her condition was declining. Your case
is, to me, one of
the
more memorable ones here. You truly pulled out
all the stops, did
everything
you could to help her fight her disease. We all
followed your efforts
with
admiration and hoped for the best
along with you. Then, when Belle was
no
longer able to continue, you precluded her
suffering by allowing her to
go.
Like
all that you did on her behalf, you were always thinking of her
best
interests, even though obviously you feel alone now. I
know from
personal
experience that it is a difficult
transition to go from fighting with
all
your heart to letting her go. I am guessing it
will take a while for
you to
begin to process all this. In the meantime, you
have my admiration and
heartfelt sympathy for your loss.
Last
night I went to your website and listened to Belle's "Beagleing."
When
her voice came on, my cat Gabe,
who was sleeping soundly next to my
computer
desk on a soft chair, sat up at attention with
"helicopter" ears for
the
longest time, wondering where that howling was
coming from!! Here at my
house
we have the same fondness for Beagles and their
baying that you do,
since our
Beagle
mix Raisin is a dear member of our family.
Bob
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message:
9
Date:
From: [email protected]
Subject:
Re: For Joel
Joel-
Please
accept my sympathies as well. We lost our 8 yr. old Golden
Retriever
(Golda) this past summer from OS.
It is a horrible disease that moves
quickly.
I
am so sorry about your Belle...
Roberta
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
|
Date: Wed |
|
I'm so sorry to hear about Belle. I know the eerie
feeling you speak of. All you can do is know that you have done
everything for her and she is a painfree spirit
now. |
family
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Thu,
Subject:
Re: Remembering Belle...
My condolences to you and your family. Belle had a wonderful life
at your home and you should try to remember
that. I love that
expression...the playground of
angels. It conjures up such happy and
warm thoughts.
God
Bless and lots of hugs,
Jane
Marie
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Top of Form
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In
a message dated
[email protected] writes:
<<
She still has life in her eyes, though her energy level has dropped
off. She seems ... old. No longer the spoiled princess, now she's
the wise yet pampered
queen. Content to just lie around
instead of
checking all the
windows. She seems fine with just
standing outside
letting the wind blow
the smells to her rather than tracking last
night's rabbit
traffic through the yard.
Each day is a gift. Thanks again for the encouragement!
Joel & Belle >>
Joel,
you have already received my condolences on Belle's passing, but
I
just
read this message from you prior to her death. It
is a beautiful
message,
conveying the courage and wisdom that Belle obviously
possessed. A
truly
touching memorial to her spirit, and to your own
sensitivity, wisdom
and
love. God bless you, as well as the memory of
that wonderful Beagle.
Bob