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On July 22nd 2000 about 3:00am I was working in Urbandale, Iowa. As I looked in the parking lot of a drug store, I saw a little Eskie, I went to go meet him and found a woman sitting on her car. I told her that I was involved with Eskie rescue and asked if I could pet her Eskie. She said its at your own risk, so I went and petted him. After talking to her for a while she told me of her dilemma and how she is going to loose Bart because she needed to go to rehabilitation. I told her that Bart would be welcome to stay with me until she got back on her feet. I could see how much Bart meant to her. So my thought was Bart would be safe with me and when she got out, he would be able to help her hold her new life together. I told her that there would be a condition, which was she had to visit him regularly. She did visit him when she had weekend passes and took him to spend the night with her. Even after living with us for a year, he was completely elated every time he saw her. 

Bart was quite the character and loved to wrestle and play with the coveted stuffed pepper/banana looking thing. He would run the whole property with Jazmyn leaping obstructions with precision and grace. He would get a treat and hold it under the chair and when the other Eskies tried to get it, he would make sounds reminiscent of the cowardly lion. Bart also loved his privacy and his secret little hiding places. Bart's job was to give me a daily pounce when I got home from work. What a pounce consisted of was, he would wait until I sat down and he would run across the room at full speed, jump in my lap with both of his paws wrapped around my neck and lick my whole face with gusto. All the Eskies have special jobs that they are responsible for, his was to help me mow the lawn and to help me do the mail route sometimes. In the winter he would stand guard between my legs as I loaded up the wood burner.

In August of 2001 his owner came and picked him up for a visit, this time it was different because she never brought him back. She called us on the phone and said that he would be staying with her for good now and offered to let us visit him. I knew what street she lived on and would drive by it when I was doing the mail route. Every time I would wonder how Bart was doing. I was at work the last time she picked him up and never had a chance to say goodbye.

Last Saturday 10/06/2001 I was informed that Bart was dead. The person who found him got our name and phone number from Bart's rabies tags. He had gone into the street and almost got hit by a car, he got scared and ran away in the direction of  I235 the main artery through the city of Des Moines. The people who found him told us that he made it though 2 of the 3 lanes but was ran over in the 3rd lane by a welding truck. I picked him up from the house of the people that found him and brought him back here to the  Iowa Eskie Resort and buried him in his favorite corner. I cleaned him up and put him in a container. He has a new pillow to lay on and a blanket. I also put some food and treats in before I sealed it. I know we will meet again and want him to be comfortable till then. We will be making that area in the yard a flower garden. Every year we will look up there and we will be reminded of Bart and how like the beautiful flowers had too short of a season.

Bart had gone through a lot in his 3 short years we will miss him. Bart's bowl and the coveted pepper/banana looking thing along with his collar has been retired. 

A final thought: Emptiness

As Bart came into our life he instantly brought us a wellspring of warmth. His antics and contagious smile is irreplaceable.  As I sit and look at the mound of dirt that now covers him, I tend to tell myself that I am feeling empty. On further meditation I realize that emptiness is the absence of matter, a void, the term used to describe nothing. With all the great times, laughter and now the emotions of his loss I realize that on the contrary, he left me quite full.

Peace to Bart and all of you

Perry

Stacie’s Memorial for Bart

Bart was a very special surprise on my birthday last year.  One day when I came home from work I was futzing around the house.  I had to go into Perry’s office and when I opened the door, I started to tell Perry that he had locked Codie in his office, then I said, ‘Wait a minute, your not Codie, Who are you???’ 

It was Bart.  He was a little skinny raggedy looking eskie with the saddest big brown eyes you ever saw.  My heart went out to him instantly.  He proceeded to glue himself to my side.  Where I went, he went, where I sat, he sat, when I went outside, he went outside.  I was in heaven.  That lasted for about two days. 

Then he realized that that big red dog sure was fun to play with.  I lost my new best buddy to Jazmyn.  He still made it quite clear that he loved me, but he really loved Perry.  They developed this very special bond, as Perry does with all the Reskies that come through here.  I remember the first time Perry was mowing the lawn on his new riding lawnmower.  Bart was having none of that!!!  He ran and jumped up into Perry’s lap and sat there the whole 3 hours that Perry was mowing, (we have a very big yard).  From then on that was Bart’s job.  He helped Perry mow the lawn. 

Bart also helped Jazmyn grow into a fine young lady.  She was still a baby when we got him and he just spent hours wrestling with her and chasing her around the yard.  It was so funny watching him chase Jazmyn.  He would wipe her out each time and then he would get her to chase him.  He was as fast as lightning.  He just flowed across the yard.  It was beautiful to watch.  Jazmyn never could catch him.

When Bart went back home to his mom, it was very hard on all of us.  We never really got to say Goodbye to him.  Jazmyn missed him something fierce.  We would often talk about him and wonder how he was doing.

We were just speaking of him that morning.  Then that afternoon, I got the worst phone call of my life.  At first I had to think about which dog they were talking about.  We have adopted several to families in Des Moines, but when they told me where he was hit, I knew it was him.  Then they told me what his collar looked like and I lost it.  My baby boy was gone.  I will never see him again.  I was devastated.  I just cried and cried.  I didn’t know if I should call Perry or not, but I knew that he would want to know, so I did. 

That was the hardest phone call I have ever had to make in my life.  I know how much Perry loves these dogs and how much of his heart and soul he pours into them, letting them know that ‘Hey maybe these humans aren’t that bad after all’.  He and Bart had a very special relationship.  I could hear his voice as he tried to maintain control.  He is the strongest person I know.  He finished his mail route that day, while I made arrangements to get Bart back here.  He stayed strong that next day while he completed his morning route and then went to get Bart.  He stayed strong for the whole drive home.  Then when he got home, he let his grief out.  My heart broke again.  Our baby Bart was gone; we will never see him again. 

Then next day I was review some e-mails and came across this message.  I can only hope and pray that this will come to be for Perry and I and that we will be reunited with Bart at the Rainbow Bridge.

“Unlike most days at the Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray, damp as a swamp and as dismal as could be imagined.  All of the recent arrivals had no idea what to think, as they had never experienced a day like this before.  But the animals who had been waiting for their beloved people know exactly what was going on and started to gather at the pathway leading to The Bridge to watch.

It wasn’t long before an elderly animal came into view; head hung low and tail dragging.  The other animals, the ones who had been there for a while, knew what his story was right away, for they had seen this happen far too often. 

He approached slowly, obviously in great emotional pain, but with no sign of injury or illness.  Unlike all of the other animals waiting at The Bridge, this animal had not been restored to youth and made healthy and vigorous again.  As he walked toward The Bridge, he watched all of the other animals watching him.  He knew he was out of place here and the sooner he could cross over, the happier he would be.  But, alas, as he approached The Bridge, his way was barred by the appearance of an Angel who apologized, but told him that he would not be able to pass.  Only those animals who were with their people could pass over Rainbow Bridge.

With now place else to turn to, the elderly animal turned towards the fields before The Bridge and saw a group of other animals like himself, also elderly and infirm.  They weren’t playing, but rather simply lying on the green grass, forlornly staring out at the pathway leading to The Bridge.  And so, he took his place among them watching the pathway and waiting. 

One of the newest arrivals at The Bridge didn’t understand what he had just witnessed and asked one of the other animals that had been there for a while to explain it to him.

“You see, that poor animal was a rescue.  He was turned in to rescue just as you see him now, and older animal with his fur graying and his eyes clouding.  He never made it out of rescue and passed on with only the love of his rescuer to comfort him as he left his earthly existence.  Because he had no family to give his love to, he has no one to escort him across The Bridge.”

The first animal thought about this for a minute and then asked, “So what will happen now?”  As he was about to receive his answer, the clouds suddenly parted and the gloom lifted.  Approaching The Bridge could be seen a single person and among the older animals, a whole group was suddenly bathed in a golden light and they were all young and healthy again, just as they were in the prime of life.

“Watch and see.” Said the second animal.  A second group of animals from those waiting came to the pathway and bowed low as the person neared.  At each bowed head, the person offered a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ears.  The newly restored animals fell into line and followed him towards The Bridge. 

They all crossed The Bridge together.

“What happened?”

“That was a rescuer.  The animals you saw bowing in respect were those who found new homes because of his work.  They will cross when their new families arrive. 

Those you saw restored were those who never found homes.  When a rescuer arrives, they are allowed to perform one, final act of rescue.  They are allowed to escort those poor animals that they couldn’t place on earth across The Rainbow Bridge.”

-         Author Unknown

We will always love you Bart!!!  I can’t wait to see you again at the Rainbow Bridge.

Stacie

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