Our beloved and adored writer Redhead, suffered a loss this afternoon. It was 2.30 pm when her loyal and devoted Jack Russell terrier departed this realm for the Rainbow Bridge.
I have just spoken with Mum, and she, like me is relieved that he has finally gone. It has been a tough 5 days for Redhead and her darling fur baby. I am sure that you will feel, as I do, that her loss is Heaven's gain.
But the tears are falling and we are so sad to lose such a wonderful little lad who has been her companion for 17 and a half years.
The little tenacious Jack Russell - who could scoot across the beach and fly through the air in his youth is no more.
He comforted her when her husband passed away and he has been her steadfast companion.
I have often lamented that he was allowed to have his toys strewn all over the house... when I. as a child would never have been allowed to do so!
But it was only ever in teasing. I loved that little chap and, when I saw him this morning, I knew it would be the last time.
I remember when I lost my darling cat and it was with enormous grief that I bade her farewell.
But she died, under the lemon tree at Redhead's home, not too far from where our boy left this world a few short hours ago.
I wrote at the time
When she leaves me, I will miss our quiet moments at night, long after I have stopped writing articles for patriotrealm or bitching and moaning with Redhead about the state of the world; it was Bridget who sat beside me, kissed my ears, purred and listened to me talking about Mr Beaconsfield, my Trump crush or the fact that the world has gone to shit.
Who else would do that?
This morning, I took Bridget down to Redhead's home. We wanted her to have her moment in the sun and feel the grass on her toes and breathe in the fresh air and feel the breeze on her little face.
She can barely walk, is so thin and so frail, but she is still sitting quietly in the garden and having a nice day at Granma's place.
I know that it will only be a matter of hours but at least I know that she has loved and been loved.
She is sitting under the lemon tree, a place well regarded in our family as a place of quiet retreat. We did not place her there. She staggered there and lay down. She chose her place to leave us.
Well, when Redhead's Jack Russell passed away it was within metres of where my darling Bridget left me.
Perhaps she will hold his paw and help him into the love that waits there?
I do hope so.
Anyway, I cannot write anymore for the moment, but I felt that excerpts from this article from our dear friend Flysa could tell the story. So many of us cannot tell it when our hearts are broken.
As one gets older, it is sad to reflect on the many much-loved pets who have gone before. My mother used to say their faces would flash before her in a passing parade. It is now the same for me as I advance in age. Certainly after reading Shaydee's post.
As I write this, my laptop display image is that of my ginger Burmese cat Bo, long since departed.
There was mum's little budgie, whose name I forget, who would tweet "You know Debbie!" from a television commercial of the early 1960s.
There was one of Mum's chooks named Griselda, who would follow Mum around the Hills Hoist clucking and try to come inside with her.
There was a remarkable female cat named Horace, which I found as an abandoned kitten in Adelaide. Horace lived her full span of 17 years and seemed human. Once, when my misbehaving young son walked past her while she was sitting on the refrigerator, Horace gave him a clip across the ear.
There was a beautiful white boxer named Kelly who had the soul of an angel. When I lay on the floor, she would lie beside me and place her front leg around my neck.
There is an entire montage of the faithful creatures in my mind's eye as I write this, too numerous to mention here, but all remembered and mourned. I wish now that I had spent more time with each during their short lives.
I like to imagine both of us flying off together into the sunset, to find those pets who have gone before waiting at Rainbow Bridge.
Thank you Flysa.
I will leave it at that and merely say, I thank that little Jack Russell for his devotion to my Mum.
I truly hope he is flying at the moment and is ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge. Perhaps into the arms of Dad who loved him as much as Redhead did.
PS. Did I tell you his name was Monty?
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