and four in the past two years. Have you seen the Rainbow Bridge poem?

http://www.petloss.com/

You may not be able to understand this right now: It gets easier. I now see myself as someone who has dogs, who will always have dogs, and when I die there's going to be one heck of a pack waiting for me. I didn't realize until Misty died that Grover and Oliver wouldn't know each other without me--Grover was Oliver's replacement and they never met here. Misty introduced them on that side.

There's also a great book called Dog Heaven:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...glance&n=507846

That a friend sent me. I'll probably send it to my brother or sister, whoever's next, because they both have Very Old Dogs. I imagine this copy may travel around the world comforting dog owners.

I didn't understand pet death several years ago, and I let Guenivere go too long. She was trying to tell me she was ready and I didn't understand. Grover died of a heart attack and now I wish I had taken him in earlier; heart attacks are painful and euthanasia is very peaceful. When it was clear Misty's medication was no longer controlling her congestive heart failure, I didn't linger. CHF is an ugly way to go and she deserved better.

So you cry, and cry, and cry, and think you're done and then you find the collar or the brush or an old cookie and you cry again. And eventually you come to some resolution and then someone who doesn't know asks, and they cry, and you start all over again. And maybe one day, sometimes sooner, you get another dog. The new dog will not be like the old dog, but it will be a dog and you start again to marvel at all the things dogs do that make us love them.