Blessings to you my friends! I see the winter cold is still with you! Just think how much you will appreciate the warmer Spring temps that are coming! They are coming!!!! Everyone will delight in the beauty and sunshine, enjoying the outdoors, the renewed energy that will fill your spirits and bodies. As in life, after going through a difficult season, we seem to look at our surroundings in a whole new way, noticing the little things that we missed before, and realizing how special they can be.
      The fresh, new green grass that will soon begin to grow, yes it may even be a joy to start those lawn mowers, to be able to cut the grass, even taking a deep breath to smell the aroma, as we walk in the fresh warm spring air under the rays of the sun! The flowers will soon be showing off their new blooms and colors, what a beautiful and welcome sight that will be. Birds will begin to sing their songs as they feel the cold winter season departing. Get ready to sing your songs! Spring is coming! This cold season will pass, making way for a new season of God’s beauty, ready to unfold.
      It has been a joyous time here over the past weeks. A few of my heavenly pals Remington and Ruger, along with the felines Lucky and Squeeky and I, have been sharing our days with a Labrador named Dutch, who just recently crossed the Rainbow Bridge, entering our heavenly home.
      Yes, it is so exciting, a friend from our earthly home, ... and we have been spending the days catching up on our lost time, renewing the friendships we had to leave behind.
      The memories quickly returned of days passed, as we ran and played, barking and meowing among us, sharing stories of our earthly lives, expressing how much we missed the times together. We may have been separated for a time, but we seem to have picked up right where we left off. I believe that’s what true friends are. Friendship isn’t about who you have known the longest, it’s about who came and never left your side.
      How grateful we are for the friendships we shared on earth, and the reunions here in our heavenly home. Seeing Dutch again makes us all want to howl and remind everyone that true friendships are to be treasured. A friend is someone who knows your favorite biscuit and will let you have theirs. If you’re lonely, they’ll walk beside you. If you are sad, they’ll curl up next to you. If you need to be happy, they’ll run through the creek with you. And anytime you need a friend, just bark and they’ll be there.
      Oops, gotta go, we are heading down to the creek. These labs are water lovers, so we seem to end up playing in the creek quite often. But we are friends, and friends stick together..... our tails are a ‘waggin.
     
      Sometimes in life, you find a special friend. Someone who changes your life just by being part of it. Someone who makes you laugh until you can’t stop. Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world. Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it. This is forever friendship. When you’re down and the world seems dark and empty, your forever friend lifts you up in spirit and makes that dark and empty world suddenly seem bright and full. Your forever friend gets you through the hard times, the sad times an dthe confused times. If you turn and walk away, your forever friend follows. If you lose your way, your forever friend guides you and cheers you on. Your forever friend holds your hand and tells you that everything is going to be okay. And if you find such a friend, you feel happy and complete because you need not worry. You have a forever friend, and forever has no end. -- author unknown
     
      Gretta, a Golden Retriever, spent almost 15 years at
      The Boardman News. She greeted all who entered with a wag of her tail! She died in November of 2012.
      Send your animal tributes/stories to: The Boardman News, 8302 Southern Blvd., S2A, Boardman, OH 44512 or
      email to: gwen@boardmannews.net