Welcome to A Forever Home Rescue Foundation’s Memory Page. On this page we honor all of the wonderful dogs who have shared their lives with us. Although they are gone from our lives, they are never far from our hearts. Please email your tribute and photo to in**@af**********.org.
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in a joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together…
Author unknown…
Image credit: Image by Graham Lowe from Pixabay
Beloved Ben
Dear Forever Home, This is such a hard note to write and I have put it off for months as my heart is absolutely broken. Last summer my beloved Ben who I adopted from you in June 2008, when he was 4 month old, had his spleen rupture. He underwent emergency surgery and I received the devastating news that he had Hemangiosarcoma. He underwent two months of chemo to no avail and I had to make the most awful decision to let him go. This is not how I ever imagined our journey together would end. Ben was the light of my life for 12 and a half years from the minute I met him at an adoption event. He captured my heart and held it in his paw every day since. He was wicked smart in addition to being so very handsome and big personality that captivated anyone who met him. He was my constant companion, my confidante, the one who I treasured to walk, wag, bark, and run thru life with. He is missed every minute of every day. I know it saddens you to hear news like this, but also let it be known that Ben had a wonderful full life full of love and adventures that would not have been possible with out your organization from the start with Patricia McIntyre fostering him and letting me become his forever mommy. Barb
Missed Deeply – Hercules
Good Afternoon, I am writing to notify you that our pet, Hercules Gwin, has passed away. We adopted him from you while living in Springfield VA in 2007. About 5 years ago he developed diabetes and quickly went blind, but he remained an active, loving part of our family with the help of another rescue dog we added to the family, until this past Sunday. His mobility was severely limited and the diabetes finally took its’ toll on our sweet boy. Thank you for the chance to add this precious dog to our family. He will be missed deeply, and will be in our hearts forever.
Sincerely, Kelly
One of a Kind: Miles
June 1st would have been our dear, sweet, goofy Miles’s 15th birthday. He crossed the rainbow bridge on August 31, 2020 after a valiant battle with heart disease. It has taken us a long time to process his passing which explains the delay in writing this memorial.
We adopted Miles from A Forever Home on August 4, 2006 when he was only 8 weeks old. He was the smallest of the “Millie” litter (we decided to keep the name from his foster family) and looked microscopic next to his siblings. I still remember my parents skeptically asking me, “Are you sure that’s the one you want?” But as soon as I picked him up, I knew he was destined to be a member of our family.
Miles brought life to our household amid difficult times. Even if we had nothing to say to each other, we could talk about him for hours. The sounds of his paws click-clacking on the hardwood floors, his disproportionately booming bark from a 20-pound body, and the nonsensical conversations between him and us echoed throughout our house all day long (except during nap time, of course!)
From day one, we could tell that Miles was highly intelligent, but also extremely stubborn. This trait showed the most when we received his congestive heart failure diagnosis. The cardiologist prognosed that he had about six months left but our headstrong boy made it through a full one and a half years. Even the day before we put him to sleep he was galloping around refusing to give up the croissant he snatched from our grocery bag.
The past nine months have been incredibly tough. The house seems empty now without Miles’s “tippy-taps” or “kurkures” (the sound of him digging furiously on our furniture), especially during the pandemic. He truly was my best friend and companion who grew up and stayed by my side from coast-to-coast. We will be forever grateful to Miles for the 14 years he spent on Earth with us and will cherish every single memory he gifted to our family. Thank you, Miles, especially for giving me a reason to get out of bed each morning.
Marley, a Wonderful Gift
We adopted her as Carla on 2/29/2008 and named her Marley. Her estimated date of birth was given to us as 1/1/2008. She was a labrador/boxer mix born with brothers and sisters but we chose her because we loved her shiny black coat and kind eyes. We had her when we were a year married and then had 2 kids so Marley has been with us from the beginning. She always loved to eat and run around and always had her tail wagging. The last few days were hard to see because she could not walk as well due to her battle with arthritic legs and sarcoma. It made us so sad seeing her not being able to eat when she was the best eater with her tail down between her legs which was nothing we ever saw her do. We had to put her to sleep on 4/25/2021 with such heavy hearts. Our whole family misses her very much. We are so thankful for A Forever Home for giving us the wonderful gift of having Marley.
Goodbye Isis (Gumdrop) – Constant Companion
To A Forever Home –
In 2007, I adopted a puppy that I named Isis (her original name was Gumdrop). For 14 wonderful years, Isis was my constant companion. We walked for two hours or more per day!
Isis was part beagle, part whippet, so she loved to sniff and loved to sprint. She obsessively chased squirrels and frequently asked for snacks. She provided our family with lots of love and cuddles.
Isis was sweet and gentle to the end. We said goodbye to her on April 2, 2021, but she will remain in our hearts forever. Thank you for giving us this wonderful gift!
Kathy