Dearest Thor,

You would have ben 20 years old as of yesterday. Wow. You are still such a vital part of lives and happy memories.

By now you and Rudy and TeeJay are having wonderful play times together. And, don't you dare think that we haven't noticed the influences that all three of you have had on Russell and Mick. Those two are just as happy together as you and Rudy were, and as Rudy was with TeeJay after you passed from our lives, but not our hearts.

There was a reason we named the heir to your bulldog throne as TeeJay Heart of Thor. He definitely showed many of the same loving signs that you brought us for those wonderful 11 years. And now Russell is doing the same as he grows up in our lives and hearts.

I proudly wear your name on my arm, and will never forget how wonderful you were in our lives and forever remain in our hearts.

We love you, Sweet Thor

Dad, Mom, Mick and Russell
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November 25, 2013

Dear Sweet Thor,

As you already knew, Rudy is with you at the Bridge. And now, TeeJay has joined the two of you as well. Your's and Rudy's memorial stones are going to be joined by a third one very soon. TeeJay was such a blessing, even for the short 5-1/2 year he was with us. And, for the past year he has had the pleasure of sharing our lives with Mick, a young Cavvie who really loved TeeJay.

Please give TeeJay a big welcome hug from us. We are hurting again, just as we hurt when you went to the bridge, and again when Rudy joined you. The Circle of Life never ends, but it is so very, very hard when we lose our loved ones.

We look forward to meeting all of you again at the bridge some day. And thank you for helping TeeJay get familiar with all the wonders of the bridge.

..............................................................

June 20, 2008

Hello, Thor! How are you and your furbuddies at the bridge doing? It's been a little while since we've written to you here. We've been relying on B-Mail (Bridge Mail) a lot lately. You know, when we walk over to your special area in the garden and sit on the rockery wall next to your urn and chat with you.

Those visits are always nice. And we're so glad that you're helping to influence the new member of our family. Little TeeJay. He'll be 12 weeks old on Sunday, and he's already learning to do some of the things you used to do that we loved so much.

However, remember how your brother Rudy used to take toys and chew bones away from you and keep them for himself? And you'd just let him get away with it? You always said that it was more important to love your brother than to own the toys, and that's one of the most beautiful qualities you showed us.

Now, though, it's little TeeJay who takes things away from Rudy and hogs them. And Rudy just lets him get away with it. For a while. Then Rudy starts to try and sneak things away from TeeJay. They've actually turned it into a game.

It's good to see Rudy come out of his depression. When you left us all that awful day, Rudy started to go into a very quiet mood that lasted quite a while. Even after we brought TeeJay home to live with us, Rudy stayed a little bit standoffish for several days. We think he was still mourning your passing and didn't know what to think of the new furbaby.

But, they're best of friends now, and Rudy's actually acting like a little puppy again sometimes. Just like when you were a year old and Rudy came to live with us for the first time. You were so big and he was so little, but you were extremely gentle with him. (Once you figured out he wasn't just a new squeak toy.) Now Rudy is the giant big brother and TeeJay is the little squeak toy. And it's such fun to watch the roles reversed.

You taught Rudy well. And it appears you're teaching TeeJay well, too. In fact, I think you taught all of us in the family some very important lessons on how to love, how to be true, and how to always stand by loyally with every breath in your being.

You are, and will always be, a precious memory to us. We miss you every day, as deeply as the first day that you left.

All our love,
Dad, Mom, Rudy, and now TeeJay, too.

..............................................................

May 11, 2008

Hello, Baby Boy!

Your limestone urn looks nice in the garden and you'll always be able to look out on the backyard that you loved so much. And isn't the dogwood tree that Sally & Richard gave us a beautiful addition to the spot in the garden where your urn is sitting? They knew you'd like that.

Your dad's lap remains empty except when your brother Rudy decides to sit there instead of on your mom's lap. We'll be bringing home a new bully boy to live with us next week. If he's only half as sweet and loving as you he'll be a wonderful addition to the family.

But no one will ever replace you in our hearts and memory. We wear your pendants every day. And both of us went out and got memorial tattoos with your name on them. Your mom got hers on her left ankle and your dad got his on the inside of his left arm. Right where you used to place your paw when you'd fall asleep in his lap.

Your mom's tattoo is a caricature drawing of a bulldog, with your name spelled out above it. And instead of the letter O in Thor, a puppy paw was used in its place. It looks awesome.

Your dad's tatoo is a puppy paw print with the large part of the print being a heart shape. In the heart your name is spelled out in pretty lettering with the dates 3/97 - 4/08 underneath.

Everyone who has seen them likes them. Even your grandma and grandpa. And they miss you very much as well. Rudy went to visit them last week and it was very empty for us to drive up there with him alone in the back of the Explorer.

We hope you're having fun with your new friends at the bridge. Don't forget that we love you with all our hearts.

Dad and Mom and Rudy

..............................................................

April 16, 2008

Dearest Thor,

We brought you home the first time just about 11 years ago. My how time flies when it's a wonderful journey. Last night, we brought you home for the last time. This trip was from the office of your favorite vet and staff, where you had been cared for during many times in your life, and especially cared for in your final passing.

I hope you were looking the other way at the time we left the vet's office, and playing with all your new friends there in the Meadow and around the bridge. If not, you may have seen your mom and I crying our eyes out again as we drove home. And smiling, too. Thinking of all the funny and wonderful things that were uniquely yours. Like the hysterical look you'd get on your face just as you would sneeze. Or the way you would let your little brother Rudy take toys away from you and not get mad.

It was especially difficult when mom opened up the small bag that had the plaster casts of your paws, and the little baggy with some of your fur in it. That same hysterical look that you used to make is similar to the one that mom makes when she's about to cry. That's not so funny and it makes me do the same thing.

We're both wearing a small piece of jewelry around our necks with a small amount of your ashes in each. I have a cross with paw prints on it, and your mom has a heart pendant with a paw in the center of it. That way you'll always be with us. Both physically and in spirit. Later this week the limestone urn with your placque will arrive and we'll move your ashes from the urn you're in now, to the new one, so you can go back outside and be part of our beautiful back yard again.

Rudy keeps looking for you around the house whenever he gets up from his naps. Although his tail is always wagging, it just doesn't seem to have the same energy as when you'd be standing next to him.

Okay, I better stop now before the tears start flowing again. Maybe mom will log in and add a few words here, too. If she can see beyond the tears.

Loving you and missing you always.

Dad, Mom, and Rudy.

..............................................................

April 4, 2008

Thor,

The picture we put on your headstone is one we took just a few days before you passed away. You were climbing up into your dad's lap, like you always did every night. His lap is empty and his heart is aching. But his love for you, and the love of your mom and Rudy and everyone who ever knew you is what is keeping us all together until we can see you again.

It is so hard being in the house without you. We expect to see you come down the stairs any minute. We know you're in a better place, and we know from your friends at the veterinary hospital that you weren't suffering from any illness. It was just time for God to take you up there and meet some new friends at the bridge until we're all together again.

There are so many caring and loving people who have shared their thoughts and prayers with us, it comforts us and helps so much.

We want so much to take you for one more walk, to hold you one more time, to see that beautiful face and those loving eyes. But that has to wait. For a while. When we see each other again we will pick you up in our arms and smother you with hugs and kisses. Just like we did every day.

Enjoy the sunshine and all your new friends, and sleep well at night. We will always love you and cherish the love and time you gave to us.

Dad, Mom, and Rudy.

..............................................................

April 3, 2008

Today was a special day for me. It was the day that I went to the Rainbow Bridge to wait for my Dad, my Mom, and my brother Rudy to join me. I haven't written any articles for a long time, but that's because Dad has been hogging the computer every evening and wouldn't let me use it during the day. Not after he found me logging onto the Playbull site and checkin' out the hotties.

I had a wonderful 11 years, and on March 29th celebrated my final birthday. And less than a week later, here I am in Bully Heaven. There was no warning, no suffering, and no indications of failing health. This morning when I woke up I was as perky and playful as any other day.

Dad laid on the floor with me this morning, cuddling me and telling me how much he loved me, and I was licking his face, letting him know it was mutual. We always did that in the mornings. And then he would say "kennel up" and I'd trot to my kennel for my morning treat. Just like this morning.

Then, sometime during the day, while Mom and Dad were at their offices, I passed away. Mom got home first and found me. I could see that happening and it made me upset that she had to find me before Dad. She was on the phone with him and when I didn't respond, she started crying so hard that Dad couldn't even understand what she was saying. She couldn't stop crying, and Dad had to try really hard to keep the tears from blocking his ability to see the road and not have an accident.

They're going to take me into the vet tomorrow and have the necropsy done to see if there's anything that they can detect that would have caused it, but I don't remember feeling anything unusual. I just went to sleep and didn't wake up.

Mom and Dad have been doing a lot of crying this afternoon and I wish I could let them know I'm okay and waiting here at the Rainbow Bridge for them. I know Dad is going to have a really hard time with this. He always loved having me on his lap in the evening.

It's going to be tough for him to not have his little baby bully boy on his lap or at his feet. And when he and mom have had enough time to work through this all, I hope he finds another little bully baby to take home and love as much as he loved me.

I just want everyone in the Bulldog Club of Greater Seattle to know how much love I've felt all my life. Not just from my Dad and Mom and Grandma and Grandpa and other family members, but everyone in the club. It's the most specialist club in the world, and people who love and live with bullys are awesome.

Love and farewell,

Thor