One of my customers emailed me a note that helped me so much after I lost my blue jay, she allowed me to put it on my angel page.... "I believe that our pets are really angels that God sends to us to righten our lives here.  God picks animal people special because He knows that our hearts feel more than average and we will care for his angels until He calls them back to Heaven for a special duty there.   I believe that when our animals pass it is because God needs them to ease the anxiety and sadness of the children that died early in life.  Somewhere in heaven there is a small child who perhaps died of cancer or leukemia and they are giggling their heart out to be playing with my Yogi and your blue jay.   Don't cry because he is gone.  You were given a really special gift to have him in your life and you were touched by an angel because you had him. " The hardest part of being a pet owner is saying goodbye.  This is a photograph of four of my angels.  Gone but not forgotten, never far from my thoughts Dutchess/Border Collie Shepherd Mix - Top left 1985 - 2000 Chelsea/Border Collie Lab Mix - Top right 1991 - 2005 Ashley/Seal Point Siamese - Lower left 1984 - 1997 Brandon/Seal Point Siamese - Lower right 1984 - 1995 Ashley and Brandon were my first pets.  I purchased them from a breeder when I lived in England.  They were litter mates and inseparable.  One year later I adopted Dutchess.  I brought all three back to the United States with me in 1987.  Being raised by cats led Dutchess to believe she was a cat in a dog outfit. Chelsea was a rescue, she was found in a trash dumpster.  Someone had thrown a whole litter of puppies away and she was the only survivor. Brandon was the first to step over the Rainbow Bridge.  His sister was lost without him but was adopted by Chelsea.  I'd often find them sleeping curled up together.  I lost Ashley 1-1/2 years after Brandon. Dutchess waited until I relocated to Florida and one year after my arrival left me.  Chelsea passed over the bridge January 2005.

Alice was one of my new baby chicks that arrived on March 24, 2006.  She was struggling from the day I got her.  Only one eye was open, she wouldn’t eat or drink on her own.  I spent lots of extra time working with her to encourage her to eat and I thought she had turned a corner when she was finally eating and drinking on her own.  Unfortunately her little body just wasn’t up to it and I lost her on March 30, 2006.  She became very used to being handled by me and was really gentle.  I took her passing hard, feeling as if I’d failed her.

Henrietta arrived on March 24, 2006.  She was so recognizable she had the exact coloring of a chipmunk.  She was very friendly and always the first at feeding time.  Several weeks after she arrived I noticed her beak was no longer aligned.  It’s a hereditary problem and most of the chicken websites recommended killing her.  I put out a request on a message board for chicken lovers and got three positive responses.  They had chickens with similar alignment issues that had survived.  I took her to my vet and she felt she was getting some food down but not enough.  She was 1/3 the weight of the others.  I started feeding her parrot baby formula.  She hopped out of the cage every time I came to feed her and would take a nap on me afterwards.  Unfortunately on Tuesday, April 18, 2006 her little body just gave up.  I am thankful that the day before I spent a great deal of time with her.  She loved to perch on my shoulder and sleep and peep in my ear.  I buried her next to Alice.

Emutt was my angel on earth and I made the very tough decision to put him to sleep on May 16, 2006.  His struggle with his bone disease just became too much for him to manage.  He was a champion from the day I adopted him until the day I set him free.  I couldn’t have had a more rewarding experience.  I will miss his giant presence from his big heart to his very massive paws.  He truly was the kindest dog I've ever known.        I know one day we will all meet again at the Rainbow Bridge. http://www.petexpectations.citymax.com/page/page/2728838.htm

If you or your loved ones have recently lost a pet, follow this link, where you can purchase dog or cat angel pins.  They have given me great comfort when I'm struggling with a pet loss.  http://www.petexpectations.citymax.com/page/page/4342247.htm   I also offer Lupine Keychains with engraved remembrance tags.  Follow this link to see samples.  http://www.petexpectations.com/catalog/item/4310369/4421132.htm   I recently had a rock engraved as a memorial for my parents who lost a yellow lab named Katie. She was a very special dog and is still missed terribly. I’ve included a link to the Remember Rocks website.  http://rememberrocks.com/pet_memorials.html

In 2007, I lost my love bird, Meeko.  He/she was a blue masked love bird.  It's personality was so awesome.  It contracted pneumonia and I tried everything to save it.  I hadn't lost a parrot before and it was a hard thing to go through.  I didn't even have a photograph of him, before he became ill.

On Sunday, June 10th, I lost a very special chicken named Daisy.  She was a loner, a drifter never quite fit in anywhere.  I'd saved her life twice, once from our dogs, and once from two other chickens that were attacking her.  Unfortunately this time I wasn't there to save her.  She will be missed, she was always helping feed the goats and pony and always popped out when you least expected her.

On Friday, September 7, 2007 I made the tough decision to put my one year old black frizzle to sleep.  He had a cancerous tumor on his neck and the prognosis was inoperable.  Breezy was the larger of my two frizzles, I bought he and Stormy from the same clutch.  He would always kick box any strangers who dared enter into his area.  I'd always pick him up and hug him when he made the moves on me.  He'd just look at me and sigh.  I actually took him to a local vet who works on chickens, Parrish Creek Veterinary Hospital.  Losing any of my pets is difficult for me.  My heart physically aches over the loss.  Coming home to all the others helped tremendously.

Jay arrived September 11, 2002 – and left me on December 10, 2007.  There are friends in our lives that touch us in ways that are hard to describe. Jay was one of those friends.  He landed on my heart on the one year anniversary of September 11th. He actually crashed into our door at work and knocked himself out. When he came to, he jumped on my shoulder, on my hand and into my life. He was not something I talked about. People might not understand. He wasn’t something I'd made a decision about, someone else had. They’d rescued him and then tried to set him free. What’s done can’t be undone. Something tamed can’t be returned to the wild, they won’t survive.  He was awesome, he learned the first couple notes of the Mickey Mouse song, you had to use your imagination but he had it. Even if you woke him out of a sound sleep it was the first song he’d sing. He loved to hunt for anything and hide it all over his cage. I know when I go through his cage for a final time I'll find all his little gems that he had put away for a later time. He made me feel like Cinderella, putting my hand out and having something wild land on me, a gift from heaven, only heaven wanted him back I just wasn’t ready for him to go.   Thank you to my very special friend Vickie for the flowers with the bird in them in loving memory of Jay.

This winter has been very tough, on Sunday, March 2, 2008 I lost my 2nd and last Frizzle, Stormy.  I went out to feed the chickens a bread treat and it was dark and I realized he was missing.  I found him under the perches outside near my food containers.  He probably died from the same thing his brother did earlier this year, some type of cancer.  I will miss him terribly I loved to pet him and have his feathers curl around my fingers.  They were the most stunning roosters because of their black feathers and red combs.  They had such short lives, but held such very special places in my heart.  I hope they're together in heaven with all of the hens that I've lost like Daisy, Gloria, Henrietta, Alice and Prissy.  Farewell my very feisty friend.   On July 10, 2008 Picasso my peach faced lovebird lost his battle with cancer.  Picasso was the second love bird I'd lost and also a special little character.  He loved to sit on my shoulder and claim me as his friend.  I noticed he wasn't using one of his legs and then he quickly lost the use of his other leg.  Dr. Falland at Parrish Creek Veterinary recognized a large mass on his left hip.  It progressed extremely rapidly.  At one point he actually started using both of his legs again and then on the last day he waited for me to come and feed him and he passed away in my hands.  It was very peaceful I was so unprepared.  The last days I had with him were amazing he would make every attempt to spend every waking moment snuggling with me.