Outstanding!!
Don't buy this book unless you really, truly want to be 'moved' in a major way. It took me three days to get through it because I couldn't keep my eyes clear. It will be a wonderful addition to help some of our customers through the grief of losing their 'best friends'.
What a wonderful story!! ....and simple enough for anyone of all ages.
-K.Q. Bill at Rainbow Bridge (paperback) review 2-19-2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Gun Dogs Hunters are Animal Lovers too!
I know it sounds contradictory, but hunters are animal lovers, and the bonds they form with their gun dogs are as strong as the bonds formed between the blind and their guide dogs.
Now, I will admit that I don’t hunt. I just couldn’t shoot—and then gut—a wild animal. But, unless you are a vegan, you cannot have moral objections to hunting. The animals hunted are subject to over-population, and consequent starvation, were it not for the hunter and their gun dogs. And the hunted animals shot die instantly in the wild, as opposed to domesticated animals, which must endure hours of confusion and panic as they are slowly herded through the slaughterhouse, echoing with cries of fear.
So if you buy your meat in the grocery store, nicely cut and wrapped up in cellophane, you cannot look down at the hunter; you are simply delegating the task to others, who make use of a much crueler process.
As I say hunters are animal lovers.
-Dan Carrison, Author - Bill at Rainbow Bridge
- Hunting Dogs (Photo credit: RenoTahoe)
So if you buy your meat in the grocery store, nicely cut and wrapped up in cellophane, you cannot look down at the hunter; you are simply delegating the task to others, who make use of a much crueler process.
As I say hunters are animal lovers.
- They spend countless hours training their bird dogs, for example, so that the silent commands, through hand signals, are almost telepathic.
- The gun dogs are trained to not only flush the quarry—but to then go out and retrieve the killed bird.
- How do you think the Golden Retriever got its name?
- These hunter's gun dogs are as intelligent, and as eager to serve, as guide dogs for the blind—and many breeds are chosen for either function.
- And the bonds formed between the hunter and his gun dog are eternal.
- Many a “macho” hunter has shed tears at the passing of his beloved gun dog, which has served him faithfully in the fields for years.
-Dan Carrison, Author - Bill at Rainbow Bridge
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Super Bowl Sunday & Puppy Bowl Sunday
Mark your calendar: a major annual sporting event is coming on Feb 5th.
The Super Bowl?
No, the Puppy Bowl!
The Puppy Bowl is an annual television program on Animal Planet that mimics an American football bowl game similar to the Super Bowl, using puppies. It is absolutely adorable. The puppies have that sleepy expression that makes all puppies so delightful. Being puppies, they are uncoordinated, and so they flop all over each other as they “compete” in the Puppy Bowl. Adding to the humor is the quasi-serious “sports commentary,” which sounds just like sportscasters commenting on a real football game.
Fresh puppies are continuously inserted into the game, so chances are that you will see your favorite breed, as well as the cutest mutts ever. The event lasts for hours, and it is the most wonderful thing you’ll ever see.
The purpose of the first Puppy Bowl, first shown on February 6, 2005, is a little more serious: all the puppies featured in the Puppy Bowl are from shelters; and the show contains information on how viewers can adopt rescued puppies and help their local shelter.
If you have Animal Planet, please tune in—at least during those endless Super Bowl commercials!
Don't miss Puppy Bowl VIII February 5, 2012 3P.M. on Animal Planet.
Videos of Puppy Bowl VII - The biggest event on all fours is back! Puppy Bowl returns for its seventh consecutive year with an all-star, all-adorable cast that's ready to mix it up on the grand gridiron of Animal Planet Stadium. Puppy Bowl VII brings viewers a loveable lineup that's itching to play in a winning combination of terrier tackles, touchdowns, puppy penalties, fumbles and Fido first downs.
The Super Bowl?
No, the Puppy Bowl!
The Puppy Bowl is an annual television program on Animal Planet that mimics an American football bowl game similar to the Super Bowl, using puppies. It is absolutely adorable. The puppies have that sleepy expression that makes all puppies so delightful. Being puppies, they are uncoordinated, and so they flop all over each other as they “compete” in the Puppy Bowl. Adding to the humor is the quasi-serious “sports commentary,” which sounds just like sportscasters commenting on a real football game.
Fresh puppies are continuously inserted into the game, so chances are that you will see your favorite breed, as well as the cutest mutts ever. The event lasts for hours, and it is the most wonderful thing you’ll ever see.
The purpose of the first Puppy Bowl, first shown on February 6, 2005, is a little more serious: all the puppies featured in the Puppy Bowl are from shelters; and the show contains information on how viewers can adopt rescued puppies and help their local shelter.
If you have Animal Planet, please tune in—at least during those endless Super Bowl commercials!
Don't miss Puppy Bowl VIII February 5, 2012 3P.M. on Animal Planet.
Videos of Puppy Bowl VII - The biggest event on all fours is back! Puppy Bowl returns for its seventh consecutive year with an all-star, all-adorable cast that's ready to mix it up on the grand gridiron of Animal Planet Stadium. Puppy Bowl VII brings viewers a loveable lineup that's itching to play in a winning combination of terrier tackles, touchdowns, puppy penalties, fumbles and Fido first downs.
Related articles
- 'Puppy Bowl VIII' Premieres Sunday, February 5 (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
Puppy Bowl Yearbook
Puppy Bowl DVD's
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
I don’t think the idea of Rainbow Bridge is far fetched at all…
The book is written from the heart
“The owners of departed pets want to know:
· That their pets are happy
· That their own grief is normal
· That they will be reunited with their pets one day,
· and that it’s OK to love again.
Bill at Rainbow Bridge fulfils these wishes.”
So reads the promotion on the back of this remarkable little book – and it is right; Bill at Rainbow Bridge does all this, and more.
This unusual bereavement resource is written in the form of a story, taking us through the arrival of Bill, a much-loved British Bulldog, at Rainbow Bridge, and the journey through grief of David, the man he left behind. Enhanced by beautiful illustrations by Peg DuVal, Dan Carrison’s book touches upon difficult topics, such as David’s feelings of shame and embarrassment at being unable to control his emotions and his wife’s concern for him, alongside her thinking David’s suffering is misplaced “and very nearly an affront to her own grief at the loss of her mother”. These and other issues are raised and worked through in a gentle, positive manner.
The chapters describing how Bill and his animal friends spend their days at Rainbow Bridge – and what happens when a human is suddenly spotted at the Bridge - are interspersed with the steps David takes, supported by his wife, Susan, to try and come to terms with his terrible grief. He books an appointment with a pet bereavement counsellor who understands to the core his pain as he himself has endured the loss of a beloved cat. He joins a support group of people who shares reminiscences of their departed friends and find this therapeutic. David also decides, although this at first seems strange to him, to
write a letter to Bill. Eventually he is able to contemplate helping others through their grief and even investing love in another dog, while acknowledging that he is not “replacing” Bill and that the relationship with the new dog is entirely different.
The book is written from the heart and certainly engages the emotions as well as the mind, but it is not sentimental or sugary. The sixty four thousand dollar question of survival after death is assumed, from a scientific point of view. As a member of the bereavement support group says:
“I’m an engineer. I deal in facts and figures, and I appreciate Einstein’s theory of the conservation of energy. Basically he showed us that energy cannot be destroyed. The energy that made up our loved ones … doesn’t simply vanish when they die, because energy cannot be destroyed. …. That’s why I don’t think the idea of Rainbow Bridge is far fetched at all…”
The book has been selling well in the USA and has now becomes available, in an affordable digital e-book version, on Amazon.co.uk.
The book was featured in the January 2012 issue of Dogs Monthly magazine .
One of the editors of Dogs Monthly, noted British author and pet specialist Caroline Davis, was so impressed that she is now the distributor of the paperback edition of the book for the UK. She can be reached at caroline.davis544@btinternet.com.
As a companion animal bereavement counsellor, I unreservedly recommend this wonderful book, which I am certain will bring comfort and solace to people going through the pain of losing a beloved animal friend, giving them the reassurance they so badly need that their grief is normal and that there are people out there who truly understand.
Debby
Debby Wakeham AMACC MSBP
Departed Friend Companion Animal Bereavement Services
Blog: http://departedfriend.wordpress.com
“The owners of departed pets want to know:
· That their pets are happy
· That their own grief is normal
· That they will be reunited with their pets one day,
· and that it’s OK to love again.
Bill at Rainbow Bridge fulfils these wishes.”
So reads the promotion on the back of this remarkable little book – and it is right; Bill at Rainbow Bridge does all this, and more.
This unusual bereavement resource is written in the form of a story, taking us through the arrival of Bill, a much-loved British Bulldog, at Rainbow Bridge, and the journey through grief of David, the man he left behind. Enhanced by beautiful illustrations by Peg DuVal, Dan Carrison’s book touches upon difficult topics, such as David’s feelings of shame and embarrassment at being unable to control his emotions and his wife’s concern for him, alongside her thinking David’s suffering is misplaced “and very nearly an affront to her own grief at the loss of her mother”. These and other issues are raised and worked through in a gentle, positive manner.
The chapters describing how Bill and his animal friends spend their days at Rainbow Bridge – and what happens when a human is suddenly spotted at the Bridge - are interspersed with the steps David takes, supported by his wife, Susan, to try and come to terms with his terrible grief. He books an appointment with a pet bereavement counsellor who understands to the core his pain as he himself has endured the loss of a beloved cat. He joins a support group of people who shares reminiscences of their departed friends and find this therapeutic. David also decides, although this at first seems strange to him, to
write a letter to Bill. Eventually he is able to contemplate helping others through their grief and even investing love in another dog, while acknowledging that he is not “replacing” Bill and that the relationship with the new dog is entirely different.
The book is written from the heart and certainly engages the emotions as well as the mind, but it is not sentimental or sugary. The sixty four thousand dollar question of survival after death is assumed, from a scientific point of view. As a member of the bereavement support group says:
“I’m an engineer. I deal in facts and figures, and I appreciate Einstein’s theory of the conservation of energy. Basically he showed us that energy cannot be destroyed. The energy that made up our loved ones … doesn’t simply vanish when they die, because energy cannot be destroyed. …. That’s why I don’t think the idea of Rainbow Bridge is far fetched at all…”
The book has been selling well in the USA and has now becomes available, in an affordable digital e-book version, on Amazon.co.uk.
The book was featured in the January 2012 issue of Dogs Monthly magazine .
One of the editors of Dogs Monthly, noted British author and pet specialist Caroline Davis, was so impressed that she is now the distributor of the paperback edition of the book for the UK. She can be reached at caroline.davis544@btinternet.com.
As a companion animal bereavement counsellor, I unreservedly recommend this wonderful book, which I am certain will bring comfort and solace to people going through the pain of losing a beloved animal friend, giving them the reassurance they so badly need that their grief is normal and that there are people out there who truly understand.
Debby
Debby Wakeham AMACC MSBP
Departed Friend Companion Animal Bereavement Services
Blog: http://departedfriend.wordpress.com
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