Over the Rainbow Bridge

Wookie came to us as a clumsy and mischievous puppy between Christmas and New Year, just a few short months after our beloved, 15 year old German Shepherd, Chuck, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. Wookie burst into our lives with unbridled enthusiasm, and his passion for life’s simple pleasures proved wonderfully contagious. With joy, he healed our hearts, he lifted our spirits, and renewed our other old dog’s interest in life. He was such a wacky character; he did absolutely crazy things; nutty even by wolfhound puppy standards, but he was full of fun, love, and enchantment. He seemed to weave a special magic over every adult, child, and dog he met. It’s hard to describe, but even our breeder had never seen anything like it. He’d come into our lives for a very special purpose.

Our daughter, a toddler then, had been devastated at the loss of Chuck, often standing over his backyard grave, calling out for him to come back and play with her. At first she was not interested in the new puppy, especially one so big and clumsy, but Wookie pranced around her daily, taking a lively interest in everything she did, and the day we heard her giggle, we knew she’d found a new playmate. Then, when Guinny arrived, a thin, withdrawn and unhappy rescue wolfhound who didn’t even know how to play, Wookie worked his magic again. It was fascinating to watch. Wookie never left Guinny’s side, and I’m sure there were many times he drove her crazy with his antics. But we were overjoyed the very first time we saw her playing with Wookie, copying his moves and leaping around the backyard like some overgrown spring lamb. From a hound who we were warned might die, Guinny blossomed; Wookie wouldn’t let her do anything else.

But life was not easy for our Wookie. He seemed very clumsy. He fractured his leg twice, running into the play equipment. We suspected, but we weren’t sure until later, that he was almost blind. He seemed to be in pain and was in and out of the vet’s having test after test. Then he went to the breeder’s own vet, and that’s when we learned our beautiful and special boy was dying of a brain tumour and that the kindest thing we could do for him would be to put him to sleep immediately. Wookie was only one and a half years old when he crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

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