My heart is thumping in my chest. The most amazing thing just happened. I sat down at my computer about ten minutes ago and tried to write a poem about Duke and the love we shared. I wanted to write a happy poem but I couldn't find the words. I was too lost in my grief so I began writing about my pain instead. I wrote the following:

The shards of my soul pierce my heart
As the love flows from my eyes
The salty residue of grief
Unable to bridge the void of your absence

Outside it rains, inside it pours
My heart thunders in my chest

I searched my mind for the next lines and decided on:
There is no sunshine in my life
I am unable to see the rainbow

Before I was able to write those lines, my mother called for me to come upstairs. I was annoyed at the interruption until I found out what she wanted me for. She wanted me to see a gorgeous rainbow that had formed! I ran out to look at it and ran back in to grab the camera. It was a huge rainbow, way too big to be captured in one picture. It was the most beautiful and touching thing I've ever experienced.

I'm sure some people would say it was just a coincidence but I'm unable to believe that. I know it was Duke, I just know it . Thank you, baby. Thank you so much.

I'm going to post a picture of part of the rainbow below. I hope it gives comfort to others on this site.

Tracy
So grateful for my Dukey (September 16, 2002 - June 1, 2005)

Absolutely beautiful, Tracy! I love when our furbabies send us little and big signs. I think it was definitely a sign from Duke!

Tracy, Six years ago, two of my dogs died with a month of each other. One morning on the way to work (just a few weeks after they had gone) I saw a double rainbow. I've never seen one before, and I've never seen one since. On June 14 my Sandy P died. While I have not seen an actual rainbow in the sky, the CEO of my hospital saw one and took a picture of it. He put it on the hospital home page so it was one of the first things I saw when I got to work for my first day "after Sandy P." Also, a framed photograph of Sandy P that I had on the shelf in my closet somehow got folded up in a pair of my pants. I don't remember putting the pants on the shelf (I always put them on hangers) and I certainly don't remember putting the photo in them. One other thing, when I was about 13 years old, we had a ##er spaniel named Mandy who had been very ill. I was at school in the biology lab about 3 pm when the door just opened by itself. The teacher looked surprised and went over and closed it. When I got home later, my mum told me that Mandy had died at 3 o'clock. I think she was just coming by to say "see ya." I have no doubt that their spirits live on and that they come and check on us now and again. I also believe that they know they will be with us again so don't come back as often as we would like them to. They are in a place that is peaceful, loving, and carefree.

Christine

I don't believe in coincidences,; I do believe in signs. And I know Duke was letting you know where he is and how beautiful it is there.

I'm not a religious person but I do consider myself to be spiritual. There are a few things that I've experienced since Duke passed that I wanted to interpret as signs and that I probably should have. However, I eventually found myself dismissing them and thinking that I was just hoping too much. I guess Duke wasn't going to accept that from me . The rainbow right when I was going to write that line in my grief-filled poem was a pretty blunt sign .

Rainbows have always had a special meaning to me and the Rainbow Bridge story has reinforced that. One of my favourite symbolic sayings is that you need both rain and sunshine to have a rainbow. Life is filled with good and bad times (rain and sunshine). Without the bad times, you can't truly appreciate the good times; you can't see the beauty of life (the rainbow).

I'm not sure how common rainbows are in other parts of the world but where I live (Nova Scotia, Canada), I only recall seeing less than 10 in my life. Rainbows are rare and that makes them all the more beautiful and special when they do happen. A few days after Duke left this world, I had a dream that I saw three rainbows in the sky, one from each of the dogs that I have had. Christine's story about the double rainbow really brought that back to me. Rainbows and the other special little signs that animals give to us should be treasured.

From now on, I'm not going to dismiss the signs, subtle or blunt, and I encourage others to do the same. Take comfort in the fact your babies live on, and that you will meet them again. They love us and want us to be happy.

Tracy

Oh my gosh! I cannot believe that happened to you too! My little April was euthanised late evening 14th June. The next morning I was driving to the vet clinic to collect her body and I saw a magnificent rainbow ... I hadn't seen one in many years. Coincidentally, at that precise moment I was waiting in traffic at an intersection adjacent to the cemetery where my parents' graves are. My mother passed away 16th December 1995 and my father passed away 6 months later - on 15th June 1996. My little April died one day before my Dad did 9 years earlier ... she knew and loved them both so much. I was positive I saw my little Girl climbing that rainbow as I waited in traffic. I somehow knew it was a sign for me - so difficult drive thru all those tears. Warmest wishes, Gary