Beyond the Bridge
When the old Rottweiler woke up, the first thing that she noticed was her eyesight. The eyes that had given her so much trouble all of her life were clear and bright. There was no irritation. The blind eye could see, again, and the cataract in the other eye was gone.
Confused, she pushed herself up and looked around. Where was she? Where was her owner? She remembered going to sleep at the vet's office with her owner by her side. But now she was here. She could still smell her owner, but she couldn't be seen anywhere.
A sweet breeze ruffled her black fur and she took a step forward to sniff the fragrant air. Only then did she realize that she was walking for the first time in weeks. The pain and swelling in her shoulder was gone. Even her knees no longer felt stiff with age. She felt, well, young.
With a burst of puppyish exuberance, she bolted forward, feeling the muscles rippling beneath her skin. Within two strides, the mists around her parted and tall grass whipped past her side. She galloped on, over rolling hills with a bright blue sky overhead.
On and on the Rottie ran, for the sheer joy of running. She realized other dogs were around her, also bounding and playing in the grass. But she ignored them as she loped on with unlimited energy. Then she caught the scent of a dog she hadn't seen in years. She skidded to a halt and stared in amazement at the dog running toward her.
It was Dixie, her playmate years before. The Dalmatian/greyhound mix exubratantly greeted her. Soon other dogs came forward, a German Shorthaired pointer that she remembered from her youth, littermates, even her mother. Some of the dogs she'd never seen before, but for some reason they also carried the scent of her owner. The Rottweiler even howled for joy when she recognized a golden retriever that she's always had a crush on.
Happily, she sniffed and greeted the dogs. Within minutes she was wrestling with her old friends and flirting shamelessly with the retriever. But then she saw one of her favorite sights in the world: a lake.
A towering waterfall churned the waters of the large, green lake. And beyond the lake stood a bridge that seemed to be made of light. In the mists of the waterfall, the bridge reflected in a rainbow of different colors. A tall figure stood at the end of the bridge, watching over the dogs playing in the lake. The Rottweiler sniffed the air just quick enough to realize that she did not know the figure, and then continued toward the lake.
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