This page is dedicated to the memory of those who were lost on September 11, 2001. God keep.

by Alexander Theodore, Bouvier, Fourth Year Resident

On the morning of September 11, 2001, there was an unprecedented amount of activity at the Rainbow Bridge. Decisions had to be made. They had to be made quickly. And, they were.

An issue, not often addressed here, is the fact that many residents really have no loved one for whom to wait. Think of the pups who lived and died in hideous puppy mills. No one on earth loved or protected them. What about the many who spent unhappy lives tied in backyards? And, the ones who were abused. Who are they to wait for?

We don't talk about that much up here. We share our loved ones as they arrive, happy to do so. But we all know there is nothing like having your very own person who thinks you are the most special pup in the Heavens.

Last Tuesday morning a request rang out for pups not waiting for specific persons to volunteer for special assignment... An eager, curious crowd surged excitedly forward, each pup wondering what the assignment would be.

They were told by a solemn voice that unexpectedly, all at once, thousands of loving people had left Earth long before they were ready.

All the pups, as all pups do, felt the humans' pain deep in their own hearts. Without hearing more, there was a clamoring among them - "May I have one to comfort?" "I'll take two, I have a big heart." "I have been saving kisses forever."

One after another they came forward begging for assignment. One cozy-looking fluffy pup hesitantly asked, "Are there any children coming? I would be very comforting for a child 'cause I'm soft and squishy and I always wanted to be hugged."

A group of Dalmatians came forward asking to meet the FireFighters and be their friends. The larger working breeds offered to greet the Police Officers and make them feel at home.

Little dogs volunteered to do what they do best, cuddle and kiss. Dogs who on Earth had never had a kind word or a pat on the head, stepped forward and said, "I will love any human who needs love."

Then all the dogs, wherever on Earth they originally came from, rushed to the Rainbow Bridge and stood waiting, overflowing with love to share - each tail wagging an American Flag.

All night the cats had been restless. And, unlike the feeling of peace and joy normally found, there was an eerie blanket of discontent and a prevalent restlessness in the Peaceful Kingdom beyond the Rainbow Bridge.

Cats have long been recognized for their ability to sense impending disaster; and many cats, while here on Earth, have saved their humans from fires, floods, and earthquakes.

But, as dawn awakened, the feeling that blanketed the Peaceful Kingdom that early September morning was different, stronger.

Strangely, the cats most upset that morning were not the cats who patiently waited for a human loved one to join them, but were, instead, the cats that had never known the love of a human.

These were the many cats and kittens of questionable ancestry that had been abandoned to roam the lonely city streets and country lanes in search of food and shelter.

They had become toughened from unwanted pregnancy; the never ending struggle for survival; and had died of terrible illnesses, like Feline Leukemia.

Some had no ears, no tails – for many, in their earthly life, had been abused by a human.

Few had ever heard a kind word.

But, on the morning of September 11, 2001, as dawn crept into the land beyond the Rainbow Bridge, the cats noticed that there was a flurry of activity and an almost frantic rush to lay down the golden carpet across the bridge – which was done each time a cat's loved one was expected.

Tigger, a tough old marmalade tiger and the unquestionable leader of the group of unloved and unwanted cats, set off in search of answers about why this unprecedented amount of activity and preparation.

Tigger was told that there had been a horrible disaster on Earth, in a place called America; and that thousands of humans, from New York City, Washington, D.C. and rural Pennsylvania, would soon be expected and that many of them had no loving pet waiting to welcome them.

When Tigger reported this sad story to the other cats – the very ones people would expect to have fear, or hatred, for a human – came forward to volunteer their love, comfort, and hearts (which in the Peaceful Kingdom are pure, loving, and untouched by fear).

One little black cat, named Pippin, asked, "is there to be a little girl? I've always wanted to be cuddled and loved by a little girl." Pippin, of course was assured that, indeed. There were two little girls expected.

Another, a British Blue, said that he had always wanted to give his love to someone from the land of his ancestors, and he wondered if there might be someone from Great Britain among those expected. He, named Mickeymousekat, was promised that 78 British citizens were expected and that surely one, or more, of them would happily welcome his affection.

One of the more startling things that the cats were told was that there would even be a little cat expected that morning – a little cat, moving to California to start a new life but who, instead, had perished in a building called "The Pentagon" along with its loved one.

This saddened all the cats.

And, so it was on the morning of September 11th, as the sound of the first arrivals across the Rainbow Bridge echoed in the Peaceful Kingdom, old Tigger, with a rallying all of "Let's Roll," to all the cats who had never known love, but vowed to love and comfort any new arrival who might welcome the sound of a purr or the warmth of a soft, furry body.

Now, it is said, when the stars dot the darkened night sky and the sound of silence fills the earthly air, if you listen you will hear the soft rumbling sound from the heavens of nearly 3,000 purring cats – which is a sound to comfort and tell the Earth that, in the Peaceful Kingdom beyond the Rainbow Bridge, there is no hatred, no terror and that no one is ever sad, or alone.

© Judith Warren Feltz, Hancock, Md.