A True Story Of Hope, Faith, Love And A Bridge. Options

[mario8]

For starters I just wanted to thank all of the wonderful people on this site for sharing there stories, heartbreaks and words of wisdom. My story is a unique one in some ways and in no way am I looking to persuade or offend anyone. The following is what happened to me and is my personal beliefs. Its also good that I am writing this instead of having to speak because I am full of tears just thinking of it.

Hope: My story begins with my baby Max. He was a 2 1/2 year old Boxer who came into my life in July of 2003. I was looking to rescue a dog because I had just lost another dog ( not to death but due to a breakup with an ex girlfriend and it was her baby). When I met Max he was timid, was born with deformed legs, and looked lost. He was not abused but he was attacked by his father and had staples in his arms from the attacks. His father and 2 sisters were all rescued together with Max but he was the only one who hadn't been adopted. I fell madly in love with him immediately but I had to earn HIS trust. My HOPE was that I could give him a great life and make him forget about his previous 2 1/2 years.

Faith: My faith in GOD has always been strong but many times in my life as most of us do I concentrated more on some of the material things in this world and on the things that in the grand scheme just werent important. Max came into my life when I was seeing someone but knew in my heart that it wasn't going to be long term and I desperately needed a companion. After a couple of months I no longer was seeing that person and it was just Max and I. I did everything with him. I was fortunate enough that I could take him to work with me everyday (I drive a truck for a living), and he loved every minute of it. I would take him every day for a few hours and drop him off at home until I finished for the day. Night time and especially weekends I would get lonely because I wanted to share my Max with a mommy. I would pray every night for GOD to send me someone who would fit the bill of a soulmate and mommy to him. Every time I went out on a date I would tell Max on my way out that I was hoping to find her tonight. On Dec 12, 2008 I found her. My FAITH and the will of GOD sent her to Max and I.

love: My now wife was a little hesitant to get attached to Max because she had lost her baby who fittingly was named Max also a couple of years ago and he was her heart and she didn't think she could ever get attached that way again. Well, my Max proved her wrong. Not only did she love him but she was the best mommy ever. We were a family and although I was over the top with my Max and many times put him first, she totally understood and was phenominal to me and him. We married on June 12, 2010 and everything was great. Everything changed on Dec 10, 2011. I had noticed a few weeks prior to that date that Max would sometimes stumble when he would jump on his chair or on our bed but he would always get right back up so I didn't think too much of it. On Dec 10 it got worse. He started falling down when he got up and I noticed something wasn't right with his eyes. He had a confused and dizzy look to him and I knew my Max VERY well. I took him to the vet and they thought it was Dementia. I had hoped the vet was right because I knew that there was hope with the medication Anipryl and googled it until my fingers were tired and saw many great results and was hoping for the best. In my mind though I just knew it was more than Dementia. I gave him his pills daily for 8 days but on the 9th day everything changed again. I had to carry Max 3 or 4 times a day outside to do his duties because I knew he couldn't do steps anymore. He had a doggie door and a fenced in backyard so I never had to take him out before any of this happened. On that 9th day Dec 28, 2011 he could get up but struggled to walk and didn't want to move. My wife and I decided to take him to the vet immediately but the earliest I could get him in was 2:15 that afternoon. We stayed home from work and spent the day loving and holding him. The clock seemed to go SO fast but also SO slow waiting to take him to the vet. We both knew it wasn't good but we also didn't want to wait to have him looked at. Being everything that we had known about Boxers and there history of cancer and tumors our fears became reality. Max had a brain tumor and it was progressing quickly. To say that I made the hardest decision in my life is an understatement. We wanted Max to leave this world with his dignity. He loved to run outside, play with his toys, run to greet us at the door and many other things. We had already agreed that we would never let him suffer and our LOVE for him would always trump our selfishness of wanting to never let him go. I knew that I couldn't watch him take his last breath but I grabbed him, kissed him and said to him "I'll see you on the other side" crying uncontrollably. My phenominal wife stayed with him and comforted him and he died in peace.

The bridge: When we got home that day I just knew that I couldn't stay there for long. Like many other stories I read on here everything reminded me of him. I felt lost, dead, empty and beyond heartbroken. We were fortunate enough to be able to go away for a couple of days and try and keep our sanity. For no particular reason we ended up at Lancaster, PA where the Amish live. There wasn't any intention of fun or freedom, in fact quite the opposite. When we were finally able to fall asleep after the help of some pills and crying ourselves to sleep, OUR personal miracle happened. After about an hour of sleep I woke up to my wife talking and moving very restlessly in her sleep. I shook her and asked her if she was ok. Her response was that she just had the most wonderful dream. She said that in her dream she was looking at a bridge and in the middle of it was her Max. He looked great, healthy and full of energy. At the bottom of the bridge was my Max. Her Max had come to get my Max and take him over the bridge. Right before I woke her up she looked up and saw the words written above the bridge. It said "Rainbow Bridge". As I write this story to any of you who believe in God and a higher power I promise you that my wife NEVER even heard of that bridge. I had heard of it but didn't know a whole lot about it. Believe me when I tell you I must have asked her 20 times that night if she had ever heard of it and maybe forgot about it. We had to google it immediately and when she saw it she was in awe to say the least. Actually words cant describe how we both felt. Like I said from the beginning, this my personal story but I hope I can touch someone and give them hope. I know that my Max is part of me now and I know I will see him again someday if I can get through the gates of heaven. There are pets and then there are living things that are part of our souls. See you on the other side Max. GOD bless all of you who have taken the time to read my story and always remember "with GOD anything is possible".

[Otis_Baby]

For starters I just wanted to thank all of the wonderful people on this site for sharing there stories, heartbreaks and words of wisdom. My story is a unique one in some ways and in no way am I looking to persuade or offend anyone. The following is what happened to me and is my personal beliefs. Its also good that I am writing this instead of having to speak because I am full of tears just thinking of it.

Hope: My story begins with my baby Max. He was a 2 1/2 year old Boxer who came into my life in July of 2003. I was looking to rescue a dog because I had just lost another dog ( not to death but due to a breakup with an ex girlfriend and it was her baby). When I met Max he was timid, was born with deformed legs, and looked lost. He was not abused but he was attacked by his father and had staples in his arms from the attacks. His father and 2 sisters were all rescued together with Max but he was the only one who hadn't been adopted. I fell madly in love with him immediately but I had to earn HIS trust. My HOPE was that I could give him a great life and make him forget about his previous 2 1/2 years.

Faith: My faith in GOD has always been strong but many times in my life as most of us do I concentrated more on some of the material things in this world and on the things that in the grand scheme just werent important. Max came into my life when I was seeing someone but knew in my heart that it wasn't going to be long term and I desperately needed a companion. After a couple of months I no longer was seeing that person and it was just Max and I. I did everything with him. I was fortunate enough that I could take him to work with me everyday (I drive a truck for a living), and he loved every minute of it. I would take him every day for a few hours and drop him off at home until I finished for the day. Night time and especially weekends I would get lonely because I wanted to share my Max with a mommy. I would pray every night for GOD to send me someone who would fit the bill of a soulmate and mommy to him. Every time I went out on a date I would tell Max on my way out that I was hoping to find her tonight. On Dec 12, 2008 I found her. My FAITH and the will of GOD sent her to Max and I.

love: My now wife was a little hesitant to get attached to Max because she had lost her baby who fittingly was named Max also a couple of years ago and he was her heart and she didn't think she could ever get attached that way again. Well, my Max proved her wrong. Not only did she love him but she was the best mommy ever. We were a family and although I was over the top with my Max and many times put him first, she totally understood and was phenominal to me and him. We married on June 12, 2010 and everything was great. Everything changed on Dec 10, 2011. I had noticed a few weeks prior to that date that Max would sometimes stumble when he would jump on his chair or on our bed but he would always get right back up so I didn't think too much of it. On Dec 10 it got worse. He started falling down when he got up and I noticed something wasn't right with his eyes. He had a confused and dizzy look to him and I knew my Max VERY well. I took him to the vet and they thought it was Dementia. I had hoped the vet was right because I knew that there was hope with the medication Anipryl and googled it until my fingers were tired and saw many great results and was hoping for the best. In my mind though I just knew it was more than Dementia. I gave him his pills daily for 8 days but on the 9th day everything changed again. I had to carry Max 3 or 4 times a day outside to do his duties because I knew he couldn't do steps anymore. He had a doggie door and a fenced in backyard so I never had to take him out before any of this happened. On that 9th day Dec 28, 2011 he could get up but struggled to walk and didn't want to move. My wife and I decided to take him to the vet immediately but the earliest I could get him in was 2:15 that afternoon. We stayed home from work and spent the day loving and holding him. The clock seemed to go SO fast but also SO slow waiting to take him to the vet. We both knew it wasn't good but we also didn't want to wait to have him looked at. Being everything that we had known about Boxers and there history of cancer and tumors our fears became reality. Max had a brain tumor and it was progressing quickly. To say that I made the hardest decision in my life is an understatement. We wanted Max to leave this world with his dignity. He loved to run outside, play with his toys, run to greet us at the door and many other things. We had already agreed that we would never let him suffer and our LOVE for him would always trump our selfishness of wanting to never let him go. I knew that I couldn't watch him take his last breath but I grabbed him, kissed him and said to him "I'll see you on the other side" crying uncontrollably. My phenominal wife stayed with him and comforted him and he died in peace.

The bridge: When we got home that day I just knew that I couldn't stay there for long. Like many other stories I read on here everything reminded me of him. I felt lost, dead, empty and beyond heartbroken. We were fortunate enough to be able to go away for a couple of days and try and keep our sanity. For no particular reason we ended up at Lancaster, PA where the Amish live. There wasn't any intention of fun or freedom, in fact quite the opposite. When we were finally able to fall asleep after the help of some pills and crying ourselves to sleep, OUR personal miracle happened. After about an hour of sleep I woke up to my wife talking and moving very restlessly in her sleep. I shook her and asked her if she was ok. Her response was that she just had the most wonderful dream. She said that in her dream she was looking at a bridge and in the middle of it was her Max. He looked great, healthy and full of energy. At the bottom of the bridge was my Max. Her Max had come to get my Max and take him over the bridge. Right before I woke her up she looked up and saw the words written above the bridge. It said "Rainbow Bridge". As I write this story to any of you who believe in God and a higher power I promise you that my wife NEVER even heard of that bridge. I had heard of it but didn't know a whole lot about it. Believe me when I tell you I must have asked her 20 times that night if she had ever heard of it and maybe forgot about it. We had to google it immediately and when she saw it she was in awe to say the least. Actually words cant describe how we both felt. Like I said from the beginning, this my personal story but I hope I can touch someone and give them hope. I know that my Max is part of me now and I know I will see him again someday if I can get through the gates of heaven. There are pets and then there are living things that are part of our souls. See you on the other side Max. GOD bless all of you who have taken the time to read my story and always remember "with GOD anything is possible".

This story made me cry as my dog Otis had to be put down as well but through different circumstances (he got run over) Just know he is in a better place and one day you will meet again. Rainbow bridge is a beautiful poem/story and it really makes you think. Remember goodbye is never forever. All my sympathies and condolences. God bless xx