So this is where we part, my Friend
and you'll run on, around the bend
gone from sight, but not from mind
new pleasures there you'll surely find.

I will go on, I'll find the strength
life measures quality, not its length
One long embrace before you leave
one last look, before I grieve.

There are others, that much is true
but they be they, and they aren't you
And I, fair, impartial, or so I thought
will remember well all you've taught

Your place I'll hold, you will be missed
the head I stroked, the nose I kissed
And as you journey to your final rest,
take with you this ... I loved you best!

- Jim Willis

3.7.14. Odie, it has been 4 months now and it feels like an eternity that I have been missing you. Yet I still see you and hear you purr in my dreams. I miss you so much, my buddy.

4.3.14. Hi Odie, as you know, we adopted 2 kitten sisters last month. They are fun and cute, but they do not replace you by any means. I hope you approve of them! I feel a little guilty enjoying them because I do still miss you so much. You were my buddy and my best friend. But Karla and Marla are helping to heal my broken heart. I hope you don't mind!

4.18.14 Happy Easter Odie! Love you very much! Miss ya,

5.7.14 Odie, it has been 6 months since you left me for the Rainbow Bridge, yet I think of you every day and the special love we shared.

6.3.14 Heard a song that reminded me of you:
"If you get there before I do .... don't give up on me!
I'll meet you when my chores are through .... I don't know how long I'll be
I'm not gonna let you down .... just you wait and see
So between now and then ... til I see you again
I'll be loving you
Love, Me"

6.12.14 Hello Odie - your birthday is fast approaching - you would have been 20 years old next Friday 6.20.14. Oh, how I miss you still. My new furbabies keep me busy, and they love me, but they can never replace the bond we shared. Next week I will bake a cake and celebrate the wonderful life you had. I hope you are healthy and happy up at the Rainbow Bridge.

6.20.14 Happy birthday, Odie! We made a cake for you like we always do and will celebrate your life tonight. I bought gifts for the new kitties so they can celebrate with us. I love you and miss you so much!

7.8.14 Still missing you, Odie! Hope you are healthy and happy at the Rainbow Bridge!

8.11.14 Dear Odie, The candle in your room is always on ... sometimes I turn it on, and other times it goes on by itself!? I know you are watching over my new babies Karla and Marla. Please remember that, although they bring me so much joy, they are not YOU and can never replace YOU. I love you and I still miss you so very much!

8.29.14 Hi Odie, Yesterday was my new kitties' first birthday! We celebrated with cake and new toys, but oh how I was missing you! The girls are fun to watch - so active and so curious. They make me smile, and they fill a part of the hole in my heart that I've had since you left my side. Thinking of you, and placing a birthday cake at your residency here so you know that I am celebrating your life along with theirs.

9.18.14 Hello again, Odie! Summer is ending, and autumn is in the air. I miss snuggling up with you at this time of year, and celebrating the fall holidays. I can't believe it has been almost a year since you left us. Yet I think of you often and hope you are looking down on me and watching over me (and the two kitties I welcomed into our home).

10.24.14 Hi Odie, We are nearing the one year anniversary of when you left my side and crossed over to the Bridge. I have been thinking of you so much lately, and hoping you are okay. I hear the following song on the radio quite often, and these lyrics remind me of something you may be saying to my new kitties Karla and Marla:

I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first

11.7.14 Odie, it has been a year since you left my side. I am thinking of you so much today, and missing you! I can't believe I have not seen your face or stroked your warm fur in an entire year. I shed a few tears today thinking about you, and hoping you are safe and warm and happy in the arms of the angels. My two kitty girls keep my heart open to love again, but they do not replace what we have shared. I love you and miss you so much Odie! Peace from Mom!

11.13.14 Adding a teddy bear to keep you warm since I am not there to curl up with you.

11.17.14. Here's a piece of pumpkin pie for you, my sweet baby!

11.28.14 It's the day after Thanksgiving, and while I am thankful for all of life's blessings, I miss you so much. I remember how much you loved the warmth of the fireplace, and sleeping under the Christmas tree. I hope you are cozy and comfortable up at the Rainbow Bridge under the Angel's Christmas Tree. Know that mommy still misses you so much!

12.10.14 Hello my dear Odie! Christmas is fast approaching. The kitty girls are keeping me busy, but I still stop to think of you every day. I miss you and hope you are healthy and active up at the Rainbow Bridge. I know you're spending Christmas with Jesus again this year, but I hope you will look down at me and remember how much fun our 19 Christmases together were. Love you!

12.23.14 Hello Odie! I just want to wish you a Merry Christmas up at the Bridge. I miss you, and I thought I saw you on our bed in the middle of the night last night! I hope you are near and watching over me. Love you!

1.6.15 Well, it is another New Year, and another year missing you! The holidays are over, and things are quieting down, but I am missing you. Everytime we have a fire in our wood burner, I picture you laying alongside it, warming your soft fur. I miss you, my Odie!

2.3.15 Thinking warm thoughts of you during these cold winter days! I hope you are safe and warm in the arms of the angels up at the Rainbow Bridge, watching over us.

3.10.15 Well, Odie, Spring is finally in the air after a long cold winter. And I am sad today. Little Marla was just diagnosed with a heart murmur! It is much too soon to go through this again, after all I went through with you. Please watch over Marla (and her sister Karla) and guide me to be strong like I tried to be for you. And please be near me and hold me when I am not so strong. Love you always, Mom

5.13.15 Happy almost-summer, Odie! Marla is doing well now (on medication) ... but oh, now Karla has a growth on her face that may be cancer! We are treating her with antibiotics right now and PRAYING that they work. Please watch over us! I've been through so much, caring for you, and now trying to care for them. I hope you can see me and feel my love.

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, ODIE! I still miss you so very much!

8.28.15 Thinking of you today, Odie, as we celebrate Karla and Marla's 2nd birthday. We celebrated alot of your birthdays together, didn't we? Hope you are having fun up at the Bridge. I know I will see you again! Love and X0X0, Mom

10.23.15 Hi there, Odie! I haven't posted here in awhile, but I still think of you every day. I miss you, and wish you were here to cuddle with as the days get shorter and colder. Love you, and I hope you are staying warm with the angels up in Heaven.

11.30.15 It is the start of the Christmas season again, my dear Odie, and I am thinking of you as I decorate the tree and listen to Christmas carols. Missing you so much!

1.26.16 Hello there, my precious Odie. Hope you are staying warm up there at the Bridge. I think of you so often on these cold winter nights, holding you close to my heart.

3.10.16. Hi there, my sweet baby boy. I am a volunteer with this Rainbow Bridge group, and the grief I read and the Pet parents I console bring back the pain I experienced when I lost you. But I am glad I am helping others to heal. I feel the strength that you gave me by teaching me so many things - unconditional love, especially.

5.15.16 Hello Odie, I posted some more photos of you today, and added some music. Thinking of you often, and missing you always!

1.18.22 Miss you so very much, my sweet boy Odie. I hope that, by now, you have met your 'half-sister' Marla and are showing her around the Bridge. I also hope that you both are keeping each other company, and watching over me and Karla all the time.

2.22.23 Hi Odie! I have been thinking of you so much lately, as I am retired and settling in to our new home. Wish you were here with me, although I know that you always are! Love you and miss you, my sweet boy!

Please also visit Marla.