A Letter To My Dad
April 9, 2010

To: My Dad
In North Carolina
In The United States of America
On The Earth

From: Smiley (The Boy)
At Rainbow Bridge
Next Door to Heaven

Dear Dad,

I’m writing a letter to you to let you know how much I have loved you and to thank you for your good care of me. A guy could not have had a better Master than you and I want you to hear that from me… “Your Boy.” You gave me the opportunity to have the best of life. For a guy who was found on an interstate in North Carolina, all alone and nowhere to call home, I think I must have won the North Carolina lottery.

As you already know, I have traveled over to “The Bridge” today. And guess what? The most wonderful thing has happened to me! I am healthy and whole again. I now have a brand new hip joint. My pain is gone. My appetite is back and for the first time in a long time, I am young and full of energy. Dad, this Rainbow Bridge is one beautiful place. Did you know the weather is always sunny here, there is no rain and not a thunderstorm ever? You know how I hated those thunderstorms on earth. Just think…….I don’t have to be afraid of the storms anymore. What a relief!

All I can say is…….It’s a miracle!!!

I have already been given a job here. I’ll bet you can’t guess what it is. You already know, I was very good at patrolling the backyard fence at night. Well, my new job is patrolling the perimeter of The Rainbow Bridge. Every night, I will check to make sure everything is in tiptop shape. It always will be, because as you know…. “The Big Guy” looks after us.

And I have another surprise! I saw Ellen today. She is having the time of her life. They have this huge pond of fresh water here at the Bridge. You know what a water dog she is. Well, she was right in the middle of that pond swimming away. Would you believe she stays in that pond most of the day and swims? And another thing….she don’t have those mean old seizures anymore. Don’t you think that’s the best news ever? And, just as a side note…..I’ll have to say… she’s still stunning to look at.

Dad, I’ve been thinking about something else I wanted to say in my letter to you. I have made a long list of things I want to thank you for. So here goes….

Thank you for adopting me.

Thank you for all of the many treats, the good food and fresh water over the years. Also the cherrios. I really loved them.

Thank you for letting me sleep on your big bed.

Thank you for letting me make my den in your closet.

Thank you for making sure I was well taken care of when you had to be away from home.

Thank you for all the walks around the park.

Thank you for knowing when I was too tired to walk around the park.

Thank you for comforting me when thunderstorms came.

Thank you for the good times we had working on cars in our garage.

Thank you for my nice backyard where I was protected and could lay and snooze in the sun and watch the people at the park.

Thank you for letting me be friends with Romney.

Thank you for my dog doors. I could go outside whenever I took a notion to go.

Thank you for letting me patrol at night to my heart’s content.

Thank you for putting paper in a trash can for me to take out and chew up just so I wouldn’t be bored when you were away.

Thank you for the many beautiful soft toys you bought for me over the years, hoping I would take to one and not chew it up. For the life of me, I just could not keep those toys in one piece.

Thank you for all the nylabones and butcher bones. They were my favorite toys.

Thank you for forgiving me when I did something mischievous and explaining to me why it was wrong.

Thank you for making sure I had the best in health care. I know you couldn’t always afford the high price of my care, but it didn’t matter to you. You took care of “Your Boy” no matter what it cost.

Thank you for your compassion and concern for me.

Thank you for the many hours you worried about me.

Thank you for the Chicken and Rice when my appetite was gone.

Thank you for taking me to a Veterinarian where everyone loved me.

Thank you for trying so hard to find out what my problem was at the end.

Thank you for asking for an autopsy. Now you know the answer and you know now why I had to leave you.

Thank you most of all, for loving me. I was the luckiest guy in the world. Yes…I did win that North Carolina Lottery!

Now Dad, in ending my letter, I want to ask a favor of you. Please do not grieve too long for me. You know, I will always live with you in your heart. It is true however… there will probably never be another “Smiley” in your life. I had that one-of-a-kind smile and personality. But, when the time is right, I ask you to honor me by choosing to “Love Again.” You have so much love and compassion to give to some lucky guy or gal. You’re going to need someone to take care of you. I’ll be watching and waiting for that special dog to come along and when you make that decision to take him into your life, I will be celebrating with you.

Dad, I will love you always. Thank you for the wonderful memories. They will live on in my heart too! Until we meet again………

Love from your boy, Smiley
At Rainbow Bridge
Next Door to Heaven

by j swann