Dear Mugsy, Annie and Mickey,

I am Gretta and Rufus's mom. Your mom is one of the BEST friends I have had in my whole life. Would you help me thank her for all she's done for Trevor's mom and for me these past two years? They have been those two years in a person's life when many terrible things happen. I think doggies must have a year like this, too. I hope not.

I'm going to ask Gretta and Rufus to get their cousins together and send down a whole big basketful of thank you rays to you mom for staying so close to my heart and comforting me. You were some lucky dogs to have had her for a mom.

When we all get to heaven, we'll put on our musketeer suits and you doggies can laugh yourselves silly, OK?

Hey, you guys are our cousins, too. Welcome to the family, you precious girls.

Gretta and Rufus's mpm

Hi Mugsy, Annie, Mickey

Just stopping by to say hi to the cutest little doggies of one of my best friends on earth - your mom. Ask Trevor's mom about the Four Musketeers. You mom is one of the members. I try to write here every day once, so that my best doggies always have their names showing for people to remember and think about them.

I love you.
I love you.
I love you.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi Beautiful trio,

Thank you for being friends with Bobbie and Trevor and me and Gretta and Trevor and all the bunnies and doggies and kitties and other precious animals your mom met here on Lightning Strike. I know your mom and dad miss you terribly, and will meet you someday in the Perfect World. Thank you to your mom for being the Fourth Musketeer, too. we have one Musketeer in heaven already and the other three miss her very much. Someday when we're all together we can hve a big Musketeer party, OK.

Love
Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hey guys,

The message i sent you yesterday has disappeared. I copied it to you mom's page so I hope she gets it there. My mistake.

I love you three little puffballs.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi Auntie Jeanne,

Thank you for the nice letter in the other forum. We three doggies get together with Trevor, Gretta, Rufus, and many others and try to be good. But isn't everybody good in the Perfect World? I send mommy and daddy butterflies every day, especially little white ones. Pretty soon it will be too cold for butterflies in Ky. But mommy and daddy know that I love them. I love you too Auntie Jeanne and Auntie Bobbie. You all really helped mommy when she was in deep grief. She still cries sometimes and has other problems, so I try to comfort her. She saw a little white butterfly this morning and she thanked me and said she needed that today.

Mommy and Daddy talk to me every night, looking at one of my pictures. Then mommy and I have our private time and talk. She always tells me to get my Guardian Angels and the Good Lord to watch over you and Trevor's daddy. She has always been proud to be the fourth Musketeer. May God Bless you, Auntie Jeanne. I love you!

Love and kisses,

Mickey

Hi Little Mugsy

Thank you for the beautiful letter. You know you doggies are the most special being in the whole wide universe.
Even when you are here on earth you can talk to us - with your eyes mostly, and then with your mouths.
You share your souls with us, too and that's why we miss you so much when you go on before us to the Perfect World.
This week and next week are going to be some special days for me and Trevor's dad. My birthday is on
Monday, only 3 days from now. Then 6 days later, on the next Sunday, is the day 24 years ago when Trevor's
mom and dad got married and 2 days after that is Trevor's mom's birthday. I know Trevor's dad (and me) will
be very sad on those days because we don't have Trevor's mom with us on earth (although we are EVER so
happy that she and her dad are now in the Perfect World with all her doggies and friends). I am going to ask
Gretta and Rufus to organize big celebrations on the 12th and 14th. Would you mind helping them? Just run
all over the Perfect Word and round up everybody who had anything to do with her - and everybody else who
wants to come - and invite them to the celebrations. In the Perfect World the special delicious food must be
provided automatically! At the celebrations, just romp around and thank the Good Shepherd that you have all
made it to the Perfect World and bark REAL loud so we can hear you down here on earth. When we do, the tears
that we will be crying will be turned into drops of silver and gold and will remind us (as if we needed it) how
special Trevor's mommie is and how much she lit up our lives.

Thank you, you three little balls of happiness.

Rufus and Gretta's mom

(Errrr..Cough, Cough) That was I, Little Mickey, that wrote to you. Auntie Jeanne.

Lots of happenings in Oct. My mommy's birtthday is the 29th. She was almost a Halloweener. We can party all month and we have some heavenly good ones in this Perfect World.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to you Auntie Jeanne!

Love,

Little Mickey

Oh oops. Of course it was Mickey. As in "Love My Mickey" (duh! people can be SO dumb sometimes)

So your mom is another October baby? Well, certainly let's celebrate all months long. After all, three of the four musketeers are October babies.

I love you, too, Mickey.

Hello,, hello, hello Mugsy, Annie and Mickey,

It's one of the Four Musketeer writing to you to tell you that you are remembered and loved and will always be in our hearts. I can't wait to see you and pet you and romp around with your three fur-balls. Thank you for bringing such joy and happiness to you mom and dad and to the people who have met you here on Lightning Strike.

I Love you MUGSY, ANNIE and MICKEY!

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Woooo Woooo Woooo..... "BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY" Auntie Jeanne!

We wuv you too!

Mugsy, Annie, and Mickey

Hello My Sweet Angel Babies, Mugsy, Annie, and Mickey!

I hope you all have met up with each other in heaven and are having fun. I think of the fun times we had over the many years here on earth. I still have all three little rock stones I made for you all with your names and dates on them.

Your daddy and I think of funny things you all did and we share them and smile. We smile more now when we think of you all, but once in a while a tear falls.

Have a good night, my loves, and say hello to all the doggie friends I made here.


XOXO Mommy XOXO

Hello you three bundles of fun and joy!

All of the Musketeers are thinking of you and thanking you for bringing so much happiness into this world.

They say that every dog has his day, but it really is "every dog has his person" and you three are blessed with one of the best.

Have as much fun as you can today in the Perfect World.

I love you, too.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Dear Mugsy

This letter is especially for you. It is an apology (that's human for "I'm sorry!"). Here all this time I've been writing to your mom her three doggies, I've been calling you guys things like "three precious balls of white fur" and stuff like that and all along you have been what you've always been - a BASSETT HOUND!

My dad had a neighbor who had a Bassett named Winston. I know he's up there with you in the Perfect World. Go on over to the Bassett section and ask around. Tell him that the crazy lady who used to bring labs to visit "the Dad" - first a chocolate on and then a huge black one and take them . and the Chessie named Ben (say HI to him when you find him, OK) for walks sent you. I even took you for a couple of walks. That must have been pretty embarrassing for you.

Bassetts are SO darling. Your great long ears drag on the ground and even though you waddle when you walk and look like if you hurried, you'd do a forward roll, when Winston got away and we had to chase him and bring him home, I found out that Bassetts can run - FAST. And I promise I won't tell anybody ( your mom already knows it) that Bassetts are great cuddly lap dogs, too - if you can get them up there.

Mugsy, please let out a great big howl of protest for my calling you a white ball of fur for so long. You're SO not! You are a majestic BASSETT HOUND - and I'll never forget that again.

Have a fun day in the Perfect World - but then every day is perfect in the Perfect World. (Another dumb human thing to say, right?)

I love you, you HOUND you!

Gretta and Rufus's mpm

Hello My Babies, Mugsy, Annie, and Mickey,

I remember the Christmas times I had with you all, covered lots of years, with lots of fun and love. As I said in Mickey's thread in the Pet Loss Forum, all I have now is "Precious Memories". As the old song goes,

"Precious Memories, how they linger,
How they ever flood my soul............"

I love you babies and I will never forget you!

"Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to Jesus."


XOXO MOMMY XOXO

Hello Mugsy (the bassett hound) and Annie and Mickey (the two precious balls of loving fur),

Although I never met you in person, I know your spirits because Gretta and Rufus bring them around to see me. You are so beautiful - to me, to your mom and dad and to everyone who knows you.

Thank you for brightening our spirits while you were here on earth and continuing to do so from your new home in the Perfect World.

Merry Christmas to you and your mom and dad.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hello to my favorite Bassett Hound and the two sweet balls of white delight!

Thank you for coming to earth to delight your mom's heart. She loves you and misses you so much. Your mom is a wonderful person - I know, I don't have to tell you that. But she was great in my life, too, and in the life of my little sister, Trevor's mom. When Trevor's mom got sick (and in her heart of hearts knew she wasn't going to get well), your mom was right there with her, supporting her all the way, writing to he here on LS, sending her pictures and stories about you to make Trevor's mom smile and forget about being so sick for just a moment.

She's in heaven now, with Trevor and with you and with all the animals she knew and loved and who all love her even more now that all of you are in heaven. When you see Trevor's mom, tell her that Gretta and Rufus's mom misses her and loves her so much it fills all of the sky.
And tell Gretta and Rufus that I love them and miss them, too. And that someday I will be with all of you and we will never have to part.

I love you Mugsy, Annie and Love My Mickey!

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hello my favorite Trio,

I have been trying to write this letter to you for three days and the ghosts in the Lightning Strike system keep eating it up. I hope today is different.

How are things in the Perfect World? (Don't humans ask some really stupid questions sometimes?) Of course, the answer is right in the name.

Thank you for sending love rays to your mom and dad. They loved you so much and miss you as much as winter misses spring.

And thank you for loving Trevor and his mom, who are now up there with you in the Perfect World. And "The Dad" too.

Although not being able to see or hear or touch or smell you any more, we KNOW you are still somewhere and that place is perfect. (And now the head of one of the largest religions on earth here has said the same thing - to child no less. And surely he must know that it's a HUGE sin to lie to a child.)

We feel you spirits around us and sometimes we call on you for help when we have an especially lonely day or when we need your help with something.

Thank you for taking such good care of the pieces of our heart that you took with you. We are doing our best to take care of the pieces of your hearts that you left here with us to take care of and to remind us that there WILL come a day when we will meet and exchange these pieces, both hearts will again be whole and we will live in peace and joy forever in the Perfect World, under the loving care of the Good Shepherd.

I love you, My Trio,

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Good morning Mugsy, Annie and Mickey - the dog-musketeers!

I'm sure you know that there are people-musketeers, too. Your mom is one of them. There is a big long story about the first Three Musketeers and really there were four - one was sort of an assistant but he actually did most of the work. So there are really four in your mom's musketeers, too: your mom, me, Trevor's dad and we all formed around Trevor's mom who is with you in the Perfect World.

While Trevor's mom was still on earth and very sick, we all four held hands (yup, people can do that too, even if they aren't physically together) and prayed and helped each other bear so much pain and suffering. Your mom was like the strength for the rest of us. She loves us just like we love her, and we love you three wonderful dogs just like we love all of our souldogs, some in heaven with you and a couple on earth here - Dreamer and Kelly.

We are all so thankful that you dogs came to be our soulmates and taught us SOOOOOO much about how love works, especially how it works when we are in different worlds. If we didn't know that, we would be in despair all the time. But you taught us that love can span worlds of all kinds.

Thank you, you three precious creatures. I love you ..... always.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hello my Sweet Babies!

The last three days have been sad because of your all's angel-versaries, but happy that you all were in our life.

Mugsy, today the 24th of March, your 25th year angel-versary. (1990)

Annie, yesterday the 23rd of March, your 14th year angel-versary. (2001)

And Mickey, day before yesterday, the 22nd of March, your 4 year and 1 month angel-versary. (2011)

We were very blessed to have you sweet babies in our life. We thank you all and the Good Lord. We will never stop loving and missing you all, our little Angels.


XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Oh Mugsy, Annie and Mickey,

Surely you were brothers and sisters in another life. Leaving earth so close together must be a continuing heartbreak fr you mom and dad. But it speaks of a love you had for each other that nothing on earth could break. Your mommie has been such a tremendous help in the loss of my sister and dad last year. ai know they are in the Perfect World where they are perfectly happy and where you are all still one your jobs watching over us, overseeing our paths, and most important, loving us just the same as they did while they were on earth. Your mommie is one of our Three Musketeers - the other two are Trevor's mom and dad and me, Auntie Jeannie. I know that makes four but the circle of love has room for as many as needed.

Please send your mommie and daddy some special love rays as they celebrate your birthdays in Heaven. Soon and very soon, we will all be reunited there - forever!

I love you, Mugsy, Annie and Mickey.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi Mugsy, Annie and Mickey

Please forgive me for not writing for so long. As you know, I have been very sad lately and haven't had the heart-energy to write to my precious animals here on LS. I don't now either, but I realize that you animals have given me and your humans have given me so much joy and have helped me so much during my time of sadness, that I know I need to at least greet you and thank you for being in my life and loving me.
I love, love, love you, you precious three.

Signed with a tear,

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Dear Gretta's and Rufus's Mom,

We know you have had a lot of sadness and losses recently, more than your share. This Fourth of July we are sending you lots of fireworks of courage and love. Most of all we are saying lots of prayers for you.

Thank you for always thinking of us and loving us. Thank you for writing.

Lots of love and doggie kisses from,

Mugsy, Annie, and Mickey

Good morning Mugsy, Annie and Mickey,

It's a beautiful but hot day here in Baltimore. I live on the third floor of an old red brick rowhouse, just across the street from a very old church, built in the 1700s. Every morning when the sun comes up, I can see it shining on the old stones of the church and the shadow of my building moving down its walls,

All of you are in the Perfect world now and more and more of the people and animals that I love have gone there. It's the age I am and that's what happens. Thank the Good Shepherd that He made a Perfect World for all of us to go to when we leave this earth. And we will be perfectly happy, young again, have warm sunshine to romp in and cool shade to rest in. We will find each other and talk together and be able to understand each other. And we will have forever to do it.

I love you, little trio. And you know that your mom is in an earthly trio with me and Trevor's mom. And when our hearts are sad and we shed a tear because we miss you so much, if we stop and listen VERY carefully, we can feel your spirits around us and that makes us feel so much better.

Have as much fun as possible today in the Perfect World.

XOXOXO

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi you beautiful trio

Like the song says, I just called to say I love you. And your mom, too, the Fourth Musketeer. All for one and one for all. All of us people and even more "all" of the animals we've loved and who have loved us even more.

It's not an accident that when GOD created dogs He gave them His own name DOG.

You have saved our lives when we thought we would never make it.

You have loved us no matter how tightly we curled up in a ball with our tears.

You have licked our faces and said, Mommy you can make it. You have me (or us).

Dog - you are truly God's best gift to us. Even your life span is a blessing to us. It teaches us that there IS a life to come and that you are there and that we will be together forever.

Thank you to all dogs - especially to my favorite trio.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Gretta and Rufus's Mom

Good morning Mugsy, Annie and Mickey - my all-time favorite trio,

I have an important task for you and I know with your wonderful hearts you will gladly take it on. It is this:

Yesterday a young man who lives close to me went to the top of his very high building and jumped off. He landed on the cement sidewalk and died. He must have arrived at the gate of the Perfect World yesterday about this time. This is a very sad thing for many reasons. A man as young as this (about 22 human years old) is just getting out of the puppy stage in dog years. You remember when you were puppies, right? You didn't have a care in the world. You probably lived with your beautiful mom, our Fourth Musketeer, and were having the time of your lives, playing, learning things, taking naps, sleeping soundly at night, dreaming of the fun you'd have tomorrow. Your bones were young, so were your brains. The aches and pains and worries of life were still far ahead of you. Well, that is the stage of life that this young man was at. Instead of being carefree, looking forward to his long life ahead, he was carrying a huge, heavy burden of worry, sadness, probably anger and loneliness. A burden so big that he thought there was no way to lessen it. (And you remember from your wonderful lives, that, unless you are very sick and on your way to the Perfect World, although your burden of troubles seems hopeless one day, someday soon it will lighten and you will be happy again.) This young man's burden was so heavy it blinded him. So he jumped to his death.

Another sadness is that we live in a very big city and don't know the people who live even in the same building as we do. For one thing, this means that in the dark of night you have no one to go to to talk with about your sadness, no one to help you be strong until the burden lightens. And the worst thing is that after the tragedy, after the little group of neighbors leaves and the police take down their yellow tape and wipe up the blood on the sidewalk, everyone goes their separate ways and it is as if nothing had ever happened even though a precious life has been lost. I come from a smaller city where when someone gets hit by a car or somehow otherwise loses his or her life on the street, most of the time people put flowers or other mementos at the scene. But nobody was doing that for this young man or, worse yet, his roommate who had tried to stop him but couldn't and who will live with this experience and image every day for the rest of his life. So I went to the store and bought a small bouquet of flowers and tapes it to the bottom of a street sign. I wanted to show that a life had been lost at this place. Every life should be recognized. Every life should be respected. Every life should be remembered, even if only for an instant. This, of course, is not for the person who is gone from the earth but for the people close or him or her, especially in this case the roommate. In a big city like this one, nobody else did anything. Later in the evening the girlfriend of the roommate took a piece of pink sidewalk chalk and drew a big heart with the words, "I Love You" by it.

This is a long story and now here is your task: Would you please round up all the animals you know, including those Trevor knows and those that Gretta and Rufus know (don't forget Hermie the Bunny and all the Doxies and Maruis the Giraffe and the new lion with the black mane) and go and find the young man who arrived at the Perfect World yesterday morning and give him all kinds of hugs and kisses and tell him that you love him and so do many people on earth. Telll him that we are sad he is gone and will miss him but are comforted to know that he is in the Perfect World with the Good Shepherd and all of you guys and will never be sad or sick or hungry or in pain again, FOREVER!

Thank you my magical Trio.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Dear Gretta and Rufus's Mom,

We are so sorry about the young man's death. It is a loving task to welcome him to the Perfect World. We will gather up all our animal friends to welcome him...........Mama and daddy were very close to someone years ago who couldn't take the physical pain any more, so they know how it is.

Big cities can be cold and unwelcoming. Mama and daddy know about that too. They went to a big city for a new job years ago, but moved back home in a few weeks. People just weren't the same. That was nice of you to get the flowers.

We will give the young man plenty kisses and play with him. We know by now he already knows what a wonderfil place the Perfect World is and our Good Shepherd is the best of all. We will all say prayers for the ones left behind to cope with this earthly journey.

Thank you Auntie Jeanne for loving us.

XOXO Mugsy, Annie, and Mickey XOXO

Dear Mugsy, Annie and Mickey,

Thank you so much for understanding and giving that young man a wonderful welcome to the Perfect World two days ago. Just like you, even though his life may have been hard and painful of earth (I hope yours weren't, though), now he is and always will be happy, healthy, with friends (including animals, who are the best friends of all). fed exactly the food he likes, in soul-warming sunshine and cool shade, sleeping soundly, dreaming sweet dreams, playing happily and most of all loving and being loved. Stick close to him and welcome him into your families and someday we will all join you in the ever-Perfect World.

I love you, my doggie trio.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi you three mini-Musketeers!

Thank you for helping me celebrate my birthday by remembering each and every dog who had been a part of my life - and you three are right in the middle of all of them. Would you please help me carry a message to the Good Shepherd thanking Him for putting all you wonderful animals and your people into my life. You are all surely saving it now.

God bless you all.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Happy Thanksgiving my three little love bugs - Mugsy, Annie and Mickey - the three doggie Muskerteers!
I'm so thankful for you and your mom.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Dear Sweet Babies, Mugsy, Annie, and Mickey,

Another New Year is here. I know you all will have another happy and healthy year in that perfect place called Heaven.

Mugsy, you have been gone 26 yrs this March, Annie, you have been gone 15 yrs this March, and Mickey, you have been gone 5 years this Feb. I will always love you and miss you. I remember the funny things you did and get a smile through the tears.

Loads of LOVE!

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Oh beautiful Mugsy, Annie and Mickey!

What a wonderful mom and dad you have! I wnet back and read one of her first posts about you three and was in tears by the second line! Isn't it funny that when people love something soooooooooo much, they cry. They don't cry because they love it, they cry because they miss their loved one - like your mommy misses you and I miss Trevor's mom and grandpa and Uncle Stan misses Trevor and Bernie and Kelly ...... and the circle enlarges until every creature in the world is a part of a love chain.

May the Good Shepherd bring your mom and dad the best year so far.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Thank you, Gretta and Rufus's Mom.