RIP Sweet Annie 10/17/08  The boys are lost without you.

We know this 12 yo black lab probably isn’t what you expect a seeing eye dog to look like.  This is Annie. 

Annie was LOLIN’s very first dog.  Her owners were moving and couldn’t keep her?  YEP, seems people relocate and FORGET they have dogs!  Strangest thing I’ve ever seen!  We’ve had many, many dogs that were ‘forgotten’ when time for their owners to relocate.  LOLIN has taken many of them in and found forever homes that will never forget again. 

Annie is Shamus & Buck’s eyes.  Shamus & Buck both have Progressive Retinal Atrophy, a disease that is promoted by back-yard breeders trying to make a fast buck and not reseraching thier dogs before breeding them for money. 

Shamus Acup - 10 yo blind Yellow Lab with Congestive Heart Failure that found outside when it was below zero.  Luckily his nose still worked, and it directed him to a home that heard his scratching and crying.  Shamus also had to have his chain collar cut out, it was embedded in his neck, he still have no fur for the entire length of his neck for about 3 inches.  You can see it somewhat in the picture, if we were to pull up his fur, it is easily seen.  Shamus is on 3 strong human heart medications given every 12 hours.

and Buck, the other blind boy.

Annie goes outside with each of the boys.  Annie guides them by running along side them or by barking, which gives them a reference point…..she’s even sent an alerting bark if one of the boys gets too close to the house or  fence.  It’s really quite amazing.  She KNOWS they can’t see and will not come inside until each of the boys are in. 

Annie also helps care for the human babies in the family, too. 

At the age of 12, Annie is has a few cataracts herself, but luckily, her eyesight is still good enough to be the Seeing Eye Dog for the boys.

SWEET, SWEET Annie, the perfect example of the intelligence, gentleness, loyalty and love that Labrador Retrievers are known for.  She’s like a good wine, ‘Getting better with age’.

I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying, You found it hard to sleep.

I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
“It’s me, I haven’t left you, I’m well, I’m fine, I’m here.”

I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.

I was with you at the shops today, Your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.

I was with you at my grave today, You tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I’m not lying there.

I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said “It’s me.”

You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.

It’s possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, “I never went away.”

You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew …
in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.

The day is over… I smile and watch you yawning
and say “Goodnight, God bless, I’ll see you in the morning.”

And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I’ll rush across to greet you and we’ll stand, side by side.

I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out … then come home to be with me.

Author Unknown

If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember … The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend.
You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder.
Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter - simply because something in its eyes reached your heart.
But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front room - and when you feel it brush against you for the first time - it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later.
It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional.
But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your longtime friend
and see age where you once saw youth.
You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy.
And you will see sleep where you once saw activity.
So you will begin to adjust your friend’s diet - and you may add a pill or two to her food.
And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness.
And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.

There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth.
It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors.
Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge, there is a land of meadows,
hills and valleys with lush green grass. 

When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place.
There is always food and water and warm Spring weather.
Those old and frail animals are young again.
Those who have been maimed are made whole again.
They play all day with each other.

Some of them here by the Bridge are different.
These pets were beaten, starved, tortured, and unloved.
They watch wistfully as their friends leave one by one,
to cross the bridge with their special person.
For them there is no one, no special one.
Their time on earth did not give them one.

But one day, as they run and play,
they notice someone standing by the road to the bridge.
This person wistfully watches the reunions of friends,
for during life, this person had no pet.
This person was beaten, starved, tortured, and unloved.

Standing there alone, one of the unloved pets approaches,
curious as to why this one is alone.
And as the unloved pet and the unloved person get nearer to each other,
a miracle occurs, for these are the ones who were meant to be together,
the special person and the beloved pet who never had the chance to meet while on Earth.

Finally, now, at the edge of the Rainbow Bridge, their souls meet,
the pain and the sorrow disappears, and two friends are together. They cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.