Rainbow Bridge - Saying Goodbye to Stormie

This is really hard to write, harder than I thought it would be. If you’ve ever loved a pet, you will understand…

Our precious Boxer, Stormie, now 12 years old, has been experiencing a lot of rough issues for quite a time now. Things have escalated very quickly, I’ll spare the details, but it has gotten to the point where she (even while on pain meds) is in obvious pain. She has episodes of falling over, spasms and labored breathing, and she looks to us as if to say… “Let me go Mom, help me run over the rainbow bridge, I don’t wanna do this anymore”.

Stormie is not a human, she does not have a soul in need of redemption, but she is so very loved by us, and we are hurting deeply at having to “make a decision” in regards to her life.

"Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;…” Genesis 1:26a

“…and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28

We feel that we’ve been holding onto her, and that feels selfish now. She’s alive, but not living. Her eyes are void of the happiness that a dog should hold, her body struggles with every move, she hasn’t touched a toy in months, she seems to forget what she is doing and where she is, and her body is extremely weak.

If her purpose on this earth was to bring us laughter, joy and companionship, she has far exceeded that purpose! For most of her 12 years she has greeted us with such excitement and unconditional love, HUGE kisses, jumps for joy and an eagerness to please. If there ever was one, she has been the perfect dog. Adorable, friendly to everyone she meets, protective when she felt the need, sleek, active, hilariously funny and quite fashionable. ;)

Our hearts are breaking, and it has been with much prayer, discussion and so many tears that we’ve come to the decision that it’s time to help her move on. This Sunday, June 12, we will say our goodbye to the sweetest, most beautiful dog I’ve ever known. Her personality was so much like a little human, she has loved with everything she has, and was the best daily companion, always ready to hand out those huge kisses!

This is a precious and hopeful story I found online:

An elderly widow whose beloved little dog died after fifteen faithful years. Distraught, she went to her pastor.

"Parson," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks, "the vicar said animals have no souls. My darling little dog Fluffy has died. Does that mean I won’t see her again in heaven?"

"Madam," said the old priest, "God, in his great love and wisdom has created heaven to be a place of perfect happiness. I am sure that if you need your little dog to complete your happiness, you will find her there."

We will miss you beautiful Stormie, so much more than we can even express, our hearts are breaking... we love you.