Rainbow Bridge

Teddy
A Parting Prayer

Dear Lord, please open your gatesBr> and call St. Francis
to come escort this beloved companion
across the Rainbow Bridge.
Assign him to a place of honor,
for he has been a faithful servant
and has always done his best to please me.
Bless the hands that send him to you,
for they are doing so in love and compassion,
freeing him from pain and suffering.
Grant me the strength not to dwell on my loss.
Help me remember the details of his life
with the love he has shown me.
And grant me the courage to honor him
by sharing those memories with others.
Let him remember me as well
and let him know that I will always love him.
And when it's my time to pass over into your paradise,
please allow him to accompany those
who will bring me home.
Thank you, Lord,
for the gift of his companionship
and for the time we've had together.
And thank you, Lord,
for granting me the strength
to give him to you now.

- written by Kim Crenshaw, March 1998 for Brandy, beloved companion

I loving memory of Teddy, The Bennett Pack

Teddy Singstock
*** Teddy was born in January 1999 and purchased from a breeder as a puppy. He grew too big too fast and the owners dumped him at the animal shelter. Seeing what a treasure he was, the shelter staff immediately called Akita Rescue who came and picked him up straight away. Teddy bounced around from foster home to foster home for a while before he was adopted by Pat Singstock in 2000. He was fully grown but still very awkward looking because he had not yet filled out. He was a nervous goofball. If left unattended, he would grab the cushions from the couch in the front of the house and move them to the back of the house; then grab the cushions from the couch in the back of the house and carry them to the front of the house. He would get into the trash, steal food off the counter, eat toothpaste and then return the contents of his stomach onto the carpet. But he was full of love and loyalty. Nana would frequently comment on what a wonderful dog he was and how sad she would be when he passed. Life is strange. When she contracted cancer he came to live with us temporarily. Temporary turned into permanent. As early as 2007, he was showing signs of aging. As a big dog, he began to have a hard time getting up and moving around. We were sad to see that he was starting to go at the age of eight but that was understandable considering he was such a large dog (120lbs). But Teddy had different plans. We switched his diet to an all natural food and he rebounded 100%. Teddy lived the next four years bounding with energy, happiness and love. As he aged, he became the grand daddy in our household. He fit this role well as he was always concerned about the family and kept an eye on us. He continued to age and slow down but still showed such incredible fortitude and a strong will to live. He loved his family. In October of 2011, Teddy became very ill. He was in pain but too sick to hold down his pain medication. We concluded it was time and tearfully made arrangements to have him put down at the house the next evening. But Teddy still wasn’t done yet. To our amazement, he rebounded again. We switched his medication and added some supplements to his diet. Every trip to the vet and blood test showed a dog in perfect health. January rolled around and he turned 13. This was more than I could have asked for. He pressed on. Teddy was happy, bright eyed and alert all the way through to the end. But his bad days started to outnumber his good days. We put into place every measure imaginable to accommodate his hips and back legs. But eventually, age caught up with him. We had been thinking we would need to make arrangements in a week or so. But with Teddy having no function left in his back legs whatsoever, we scheduled to have a doctor come and euthanize him in our home. On the evening of April 20th, 2012, almost two years after Nana’s passing, Teddy Singstock lay down and peacefully drifted away in our living room. God speed Grand Daddy. We will see you at the rainbow bridge. You were an incredible friend. You showed us strength, loyalty, patience, happiness, and commitment. Thank you for every single day you spent with us. See his pictorial tribute at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIRMybhzhRc&feature=youtu.be