Just this side of Heaven is a place called the Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. YOU have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together. . .

Today, May 28, 2010 we had to say goodbye to Quincy. We rescued Quincy (Wesley) on October 22, 2005. As soon as we walked through the door at his foster home, he choose us. He wrapped his arms around Rick and gave him a huge hug. We knew. He was ours and we were his. We have spent the last 4.5 years, loving each and every moment with him.

Rick and I cannot put into proper words just how much of a void losing Quincy will make in our lives. Quincy was diagnosed with Sinus cancer in early September 2009. We were told that he might make it 2-4 months. Almost 9 months later Quincy was going strong. This past week, however, he began to slow down and struggled to breathe. Eating became secondary to him. We made the difficult decision to put him to rest. He is now crossing over that Rainbow Bridge, healthy, happy and young. We cannot wait to be with him again.

Quincy was such a special boy. A simple touch of love was enough for him. We were blessed with 4.5 (short) years of the best companion ever. We wouldn't trade one second of our time with him. It seems so unfair that he is now gone. Our family is left with a huge hole. Our other dog, Sophie, misses her big brother tremendously. There will never be another Quincy. Ever.

We love you, sweet boy. We can't wait to be with you again!

Love,
Momma and Daddy
(Kerri and Rick McConnell)

Our Trudi Grace left us on April 30, 2010, after being ill for some time.  Her special way of dealing with life on life's terms made her such a wonderful girl to have for the three short years that she lived with us in Orange Park.

Trudi gave us such joy and happiness all the time we had with her.  Our love for her was enormous and she gave us all her love and affection from the day she came home with us.  Her spirit still lives in our hearts and we miss her more than words could ever express.  Her 2 cocker spaniel brothers miss her, too. 

Trudi Grace will never be forgotten and all of us will meet at the Rainbow Bridge sometime in the future to be together forever.


--
Lynda

Angie passed over the Rainbow Bridge on Friday, April 23, 2010. She died with dignity and grace after battling caner for 5 1/2 years. She was 11 1/2 years old and I was fortunate and honored to have spent 7 years of her life with her.

Angie is a shining example of a GRRMF golden that lived her life to the fullest and overcame many obstacles. The initial trauma of abuse and neglect would have surely broken her spirit. When GRRMF stepped in, she was given a wholde new life and after finding her forever home with me, she overcame issues of fear aggression, separation anxiety and mistrust.

A true Diva! Her beautiful shining spirit will forever remain.

Respectufly Yours,

Melissa Knowles

We had two golden retrievers:  Sydney who we got as a puppy and Heidi (Ginger) who we adopted from Golden Retriever Rescue.  Sydney died in October 2008 by surprise from cancer we didn't know she had prior. She was only four and went very fast, within 6 hours of diagnosis.  Having Heidi (Ginger) eased some of the pain. We lost Heidi just last week to nodular granuloma lung disease, from which she started showing symptoms in February.  She was only 6.  I have attached a photo of the two of them posing by our fireplace, as only sister would.  We will miss our golden girls very much.

Sarah, Dennis, and Carrie Hoffman

This is sad news to inform you of the death of Pooka Bond whom I adopted from you several years ago as a pair with Lucky. Pooka was found to have fluid all through her lungs and heart with a probable tumor in her heart. The whole thing was very quick with symptoms appearing just this weekend. I put her to sleep after the ultrasound today revealed what was wrong. Lucky is doing good, not looking around for her like I expected.
--
Cliff, Nancy and David Bond

Sandy (formerly Lyric) went to the Rainbow Bridge on March 26th.  A small memorial was placed by her grave and she was laid to rest with the ashes of her good friend, Bear.  She is missed by her canine and human family.

RIP our gentle giant Charlie (formerly Travis). He passed away suddenly on Sunday, March 7, of cancer. He was so stoic, we didn't know he was ill, and even after his annual check up at the vet the previous week, we had no idea we would lose him so quickly. We had six good years with our wonderful lad who was loved by all, especially the children of the neighborhood. 
Charlie has left a huge hole in our hearts and we will miss him terribly.
Now he can play with his "sister" Janie, who passed away in November under the rainbow bridge. We love you our big boy!
 
Margie
  & Patrick

We adopted Chuck in August 2007 when he was 8 years old. I fell in love with his picture on the web page and knew he was the right addition to our family. Just as his story said “Chuck was one of the best behaved, well mannered & sweetest dog I have ever seen.” He loved to play; greeting all who came to our door with a toy & a “let’s play !” look. He was so good with our 2 granddaughters, so patient & gentle.

On Monday morning January 25, 2010 he collapsed on the floor unable to get up. I rushed him in to the vets but he was bleeding internally and there was nothing they could do to help him. So I stroked his head and told him over & over how much I loved him while he was put to sleep. It was a terrible shock since he had been just fine. . He was my faithful companion. I remember all the times I would gaze into his beautiful big brown eyes and tell him I loved him so very much. Chuck was near & dear to my heart and always will be. I am so thankful for the 2 ½ years he was with us. His love of toys still makes us smile. Pat

I adopted Babe in 2000. She was 5 ½ years old.    She was a wonderful Velcro dog and my BFF. I had to put her to sleep Thursday 2/4/10, at the young age of 15, her mind said I want to run and play but the body just wouldn’t let her.  She was a mentor to our puppy Dodger, she was so gentle and patient with him she had a heart of gold, and was the BEST dog ever.

I loved her very much and shall miss her terribly.  She was a wonderful companion, always by my side, such a gently soul. Thank you for letting me adopt Babe and have such a great dog for the last 10 years.  I will miss her and always remember how she made me smile all the time.
Sincerely,
Gail Trezza Campbell

We lost our cherished Merry in November due to cancer. Merry joined us 4 years ago to join Suzy, also a rescue Golden.

Doug Melzard

We adopted Dana in November 2004.  We were living in Port Orange, FL at the time and drove to St. Petersburg to Char's house to get her.  She was a wonderful dog, a little scared, but friendly and eager to come with us.

We moved to Tucson, AZ 2 years ago and she and I drove in my car.  It took 3 days, and she was so good.  After several months here, her skin problems were not as bad.  she had a little hard time adjusting to the rocks in the yard instead of grass, but soon she was having a great time.  She loved to walk in the neighborhood and everyone loved her.

We had to put her to sleep this morning.  She has been sick for several months and all the medicine she had just did not take care of the problem.
Dana was tested twice for Valley Fever, both times came back negative.  She developed a breathing problem and would not eat.  She was in terrible pain last night, so this morning my husband and I decided it was time to put her to rest and out of pain.  The vet said she might have had lung cancer, but he didn't really know.

We loved her very much and shall miss her terribly.  She was a wonderful companion, always by my side, such a gently soul.

Dana's ID No.  on her chip is: 45500142E35.  When we got her, they estimated her age as 6.  We had her for 5 years.  she was 11 when she died. 

I was wondering if you could let Char know that Dana has died.  I emailed her when we moved to Tucson, AZ, but did not hear from her.  I hope that all is well with her.

Thank you for letting us adopt Dana for  what seemed to be such a short time.  We will miss her and always remember how happy she made both of us.

Sincerely,

Ray and Jill Lust

Five years ago my wife Nancy ( carrol) Mogavero and  I  adopted a golden from you (our 5th)! Perhaps you recall that Dakota had such painful ear problems (among other ailments) he actually wore a bucket on his head due to his intense pain. We nursed him to relative health and happiness until October 2, 2009 when we had to say good bye. My message to him follows.

MY BELOVED DAKOTA, MY SPECIAL ONE

O DEAREST DAKOTA, MY MOST SPECIAL ONE, NOW LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE GONE AND DONE. I HAD TO RELIEVE YOUR PAIN AND SUFFERING BY HAVING YOUR LIFE TAKEN AWAY.

THIS LEFT ME WITH SORROW AND GRIEF EACH DAY  -  YOU HAD TO LEAVE MUCH TOO SOON WITHOUT A DOUBT. MY DAKOTA IS NO LONGER HERE TO HELP ME OUT  AS YOU GAVE YOUR HEART TO ME. NOW MY DEAREST FRIEND I MUST PRAY TO YOU ON BENDED KNEE  -  MY HEART IS BROKEN AND MY SOUL IS SORE. I FEEL SO GUILTY I WISH I COULD HAVE DONE MORE.

IT IS SAID THAT TIME HEALS ALL PAIN AND HURT  -  THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO WORK. I FIGHT TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT I HAD TO SEND YOU AWAY  -  BUT I COULD NOT LET YOU SUFFER ANOTHER DAY. NOW MY BELOVED FRIEND I FEEL SO ALONE BUT THERE IS A LIGHT AND POWER GREATER THAN ME WHO WILL PUT US TOGETHER AGAIN, YES THIS WILL BE. THE THOUGHT WILL KEEP ME GOING, THIS VERY HOPE. MY DEAREST DAKOTA YOU WILL ALWAYS BE WITH ME IN YOUR VERY SPECIAL WAY.

GOOD BYE FOR NOW MY PRECIOUS ONE  -  MY MEMORY OF YOU WILL LIGHT THE DARK CORNERS OF MY HEART.

THANK YOU DAKOTA OH THANK YOU  -  KNOW THIS, WE WILL BE TOGETHER AGAIN.

I LOVE YOU MY PRECIOUS ONE, UNTIL THEN

Oct 1997 - Sept 2009
We are sad to inform GRRMF about the death of Gracie (Heidi) to cancer this past September.

We adopted her in 2005 and came to know quickly how amazing she was and how lucky were were to have her.   We're so thankful that Char matched us with Gracie - it was a perfect fit. She came to us with only one request - to be loved, which was easy.

We still miss her greeting us at the door with a toy or sock and sometimes even the remote when nothing else was close by!  The neighbors and our extended families enjoyed spoiling her as much as we did.  She also shared her gentleness with the community thru Project Pup bringing smiles to the elderly and to many children.  She made a special friend at the library who was afraid of dogs......the little girl would read to Gracie from a distance and inch closer and closer and would finally be petting her at the end of her reading session each time they had the opportunity to be together.

She brought so much joy to our lives and others even if for a short time.
Needless to say.....we really miss our amazing Grace!

Lorraine, Michael, Amber & Allie Melone

On September 15th 2009 at about 1:30 a.m. my precious Ranger took his last breath on this earth and crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. He leaves many people who loved him most of all myself.  I miss that precious boy so much.  He was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma on July 25th  2009.  I could tell he was not seeing well and that is what brought us to the vet that day. He had became almost totally blind in just a few weeks. Ranger was 10 and a half years old but the vet said the blindness was not from normal aging and sent us to the Vet Specialists where a series of tests and procedures brought the final verdict of cancer. The word “LOVE” totally describes Ranger as anyone whoever met him would know. He was my first “foster” rescued by one of our beloved volunteers, Penny. The first thing  Ranger did when he came into my house was get right in my lap for a big hug and from there he entered my heart where he will stay and never leave.  He was the most lovable and sweet boy and was always by my side just about everywhere I went.  He didn’t know much about playing at first but with a little coaxing he learned how to play with his sister Cheyenne, my yellow lab. I know Cheyenne misses Ranger too. Ranger was a great representative for GRRMF at all the events he and I assisted with.  Ranger, Teddy (also at the Bridge), and Barkley, were big hits at the Saturday education events at the South Tampa Petsmart. One thing that we always got so many comments about was his very soft fur. Ranger spent the first five years of his life mostly in a crate but when he came here he was free forever and was a very happy boy as you can see in this most recent picture.  It was taken only shortly before his diagnosis. I wish I could have had spent more than 5 and a half years with Ranger but I am so thankful for those years. I only hope that I returned as much love to him as he gave to me. But I know I did, he let me know that.  Thank you GRRMF for rescuing Ranger and giving me the chance to be his mommy.  And to my boy I say “LOVE LOVE Mr. Ranger”.

Kathy Russell

It is with much sadness I write to let you know that Lexi (formerly Skylar) our 8yr. old girl passed away yesterday 11/9/09.  She lost her battle with cancer.  She was the best dog ever!  We moved to Colorado a year ago and she adapted to the dramatic change from the Florida climate wonderfully.  She was such a loving girl.  She loved people so much.  Moving to Colorado gave her a whole new opportunity to meet new animals.  No longer was she catching lizards, she now chased bunnies and an occasional deer.  She loved her daily walks.  She had beautiful curls and waves that always made the vet assistants at the Dr.'s office comment on how beautiful she was.  We will miss her so much, but will never forget what a joy these past 5 1/2 years with her have been.  I enclosed the latest pic of her along with the pic we received from GRRMF when we adopted her.   Thank you for bringing her into our lives, we were blessed!

Sincerely,
Dennis and Linda Finn

I wanted you to know that our dear Rocky passed away this morning. This is so hard, but I'm trying to remember Rainbow Bridge. He had been his goofy self all day yesterday...snuggling on the couch during the magic game, wrestling with his beloved Dad. Late last night he seemed to have a seizure. Dr. Simmons met us at Sand Lake Animal Clinic and Rock's gums were very pale and he didn't seem to be coming out of the seizure as normal. So Dr. Simmons had us go to the emergency clinic. They managed to stabilize him, gave him meds to slow down his racing heart and also oxygen. We went to pick him up around 6 and they were ready to brief us when his heart suddenly gave out. It was like he had held on until we could get there to say goodbye. We were with him as he passed. The doctor and techs had been with him all night and they believe it was some kind of electrical problem with the heart. They said there was really nothing we could have done. It was just his time. We are heartbroken but are at least thankful that Rocky gave so much to our lives.

Here is a photo of our dear, sweet Rock. Always with a happy face. I am comforted in knowing he is having fun at Rainbow Bridge and I will see him again some day. Thank you for bringing the Rock Star into our lives. Some day, I hope I may learn to live each day with joy, fun, love and peace -- as he did.
Wendy

“Friday, October 30th, 2009, I lost part of my heart. His name was Parker and he was my Golden Retriever. You see the reason part of my heart was lost because he had wrapped himself around it the first day I met him.  That was only the start.

The first day I met Parker was when Andrea, his foster Mom, brought him over to meet us to see if we wanted to adopt him. He pranced in the door and immediately placed his head on my lap. His big brown eyes melted my heart and his wagging tail made me smile. That was the beginning of many smiles and much laughter.  I looked at Andrea and told he that this dog was not leaving my house. He had adopted me and my son.
Parker wasn’t always the best behaved Golden. He was the ultimate counter surfer. One day I caught him leaving the kitchen with a two (2) pound sirloin steak in his mouth, which he reluctantly dropped after being scolded.  There was another time when he surreptitiously snatched a halt loaf of French bread from the middle of my dinner table.  He was so good he didn’t disrupt the table setting which surrounded the bread.

He loved our walks and more so he loved jumping in the pool to cool off after wards. He would always greet neighbors when on our walks. Usually, if close enough, he would give them a friendly sniff in the crotch, much to my dismay. He would pass other dogs without much notice. However if the other dog was a Golden, he would sit his butt down until I asked permission for him to say hello. Once given the okay he would bound towards his brethren to greet and sniff. 

About one month ago, Parker wasn’t eating which was clearly out of character.  I brought him to the vet and it was determined he had an infection which was treated with antibiotics.  He was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism and received a medication for that. He never really returned to the perky Golden that I knew so well.  He tried to be the trooper but I knew something was not right.  Another trip to the vet changed our course of treatment. While he seemed somewhat better, there was still something wrong that I could not put my finger on.
 Friday morning we had a short walk and he had some steak, which was carefully cut in very small pieces for breakfast.  I went to work and at 1:00p.m., my son called crying that something was very wrong and he thought Parker was dead.  I told him to leave for work and I would take care of Parker when I got home. Upon arrival, there was no tail wagging greeting and I knew his spirit had left us. I carefully loaded him into my SUV, kissed his head and sobbed all the way to the vets.

I know I will never replace Parker because he is irreplaceable.  He will always live with me and my son in our hearts. One thing I do know is that I have loved and been loved by a Golden and I will always want one, maybe two, in my life.”
Edna Clifton

Hi, I just wanted to let you know the sad news of my "son" Robert, he passed away comfortably this morning at 9:30am, he has been fighting cancer (in his ear) for as long as I have had him (October 1, 2007) after two failed surguries to try and remove it there was nothing left to do but let it be, it had slowly progressed, and then within the past 4 months had rapidly grown, protruding out of his ear, along with that his failing back legs, I had a blood test done around March and the vet said that his liver wasnt doing well, probably due to all the medication (steroids specifically for his legs) and she would not renew his perscription. After seeing his decline and knowing that he was suffering (although he would never tell me, he never barked or cried...ever) I couldnt bare to see him struggle anymore, this morning he passed away silently to doggie heaven, I have enclosed 2 pictures, his first and his last...I am thankful for the time I had with him and the people who loved him before me (GRR and his foster family).

His forever mom,
Melissa King