The Reunion

                 As with most days at Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned bright and clear,
                 without a cloud in the sky to mar the perfection of the day. But, the sun
                 seemed just a little bit brighter, the sky just a touch bluer. The grass even
                 looked just a little bit greener. All of the animals at the Bridge knew what
                 a day like this meant. REUNION!

                 Who would be the lucky animal whose person would arrive to escort him or
                 her across the Bridge?

                 One of the newer arrivals came bounding across the fields, jumping and
                 playing the whole way until he reached the side of one of the animals who
                 had been there a while.

                 "Have you ever seen such a glorious day?", he asked. "Come on! Let's
                 romp and play! We can't let a day like this go to waste just waiting!"

                 But the other animal knew that today was going to be special. "Be
                 patient", he told his little friend. "Today will be even more glorious than
                 you can imagine. Today, there is going to be a reunion. Some lucky
                 animals' wait for their person is over. Today, someone is going to cross
                 over that Bridge."

                 Before long, all of the animals waiting at the Bridge were lined up along
                 the path that led to it. Soon, the pathway itself began to glow and someone
                 could be seen approaching in the distance. The new arrival and his friend
                 looked up the path to see who the lucky animal was.

                 "Oh, my!", exclaimed the older animal. "Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!." His
                 body began to quiver and his eyes lit with a fire that the newer arrival
                 didn't know how to interpret. His ears perked up and he got to his feet and,
                 as he started running down the path, he yelled back to his new friend,
                 "Wait here! This is MY person coming! Wait here for us! I'll be right
                 back! Wait here!"

                 When he finally reached his person, his eyes and his heart finally were
                 able to speak in plain language of the love he had nurtured for his person
                 all during his long wait. His person reached down and scratched his head
                 and gazed lovingly into the eyes that had been so long gone, but never
                 forgotten. And he spoke to his beloved pet of how much he had been
                 missed and how his love had never faded for him either.

                 When they returned to where the newer pup was waiting, the older animal
                 gazed up at his person and said "This is the animal that you and your
                 friends asked me to watch over. I've done my best for him and he's
                 learned well." Then he turned to his little friend and told him "You've been
                 a good friend. When you arrived, lonely and scared, you couldn't have
                 known that this person and his friends had been asking for me to look for
                 you and take care of you and show you around. Now, I ask you to listen
                 carefully for your persons voice and do for those new arrivals as I was
                 asked to do for you."

                 "You're leaving?" asked the new pup. "I must", came the reply. "But
                 when your time comes to finally cross over the Bridge, I will see you again.
                 I'll miss you greatly, but my time has come and my place is with him, he
                 said, looking up at his person once again."

                 With that, they turned and started to cross the Bridge. The new pup was
                 happy for his friend, although he would miss him too. As he watched, he
                 heard a familiar voice calling his name and saw a new arrival walking up
                 the pathway. He knew what he had to do.

                 "Hi, you're new here, aren't you? "