Waiting at the Rainbow Bridge

by Smokey's Mom

To all of you with German Shepherds including mixes, count yourselves very fortunate indeed.

I was privileged enough to be "owned" by Smokey, a ten-year-old black lab/German shepherd/chow mix rescued from a city pound. Being a large blackish dog, he was not a good candidate for adoption, and that was part of the reason I took him. But, oh, those eyes (see photo). They could just melt you.

I lost him two days ago to osteosarcoma. He was limping and we stupidly thought he had sprained a muscle from slipping on the icy snow. Being Mr. Stoic, he hid it very well. When we took him in, a rear leg was not only broken, the vet was almost 100 percent positive it was bone cancer. There's no chance of healing a break of bone with cancer, and with osteosarcoma there's already a 90 percent chance of lung involvement already.

It's so very tough to let him go, but he's not suffering now. I'm positive he's happily running around in Heaven playing with Sushi, his Siamese sister. She always stole his bed, even though she had one of her own, gutsy cat. And I'm sure they're sleeping in Heaven together, on one bed, his.