Lucky's Story starts with the rainbow bridge poem

I’ll never forget when I met Lucky for the first time. I was a 37 year old man, newly sober and seeking the love and companionship I failed to find in my previous relationship. He was a newborn boxer puppy around 8 weeks old, so small I could hold him in one hand. When I held him I could feel something resonating deep inside me that let me know without a doubt that he was the one. Little did I know the deeply profound impact this little guy was going to have on my life. For everyone who has ever had a puppy, you really don’t sleep much the first month and Lucky was no exception. I remember every morning I would look at him and it was like he was growing 2 inches every night! As the months passed and he grew so did our bond. We were best friends and were inseparable.  I took him everywhere with me, often going to the dog park multiple times per day. What absolute joy he brought to my life, lighting up my soul every time I walked in the door after work.  We experienced all of life’s ups and downs together and he was always there for me when I needed him. Whether it was the end of an 8 year relationship with my girlfriend or the loss of both of my parents, Lucky always seemed to provide a deep source of comfort that helped me through life’s challenging times. He taught me so much. He was the definition of unconditional love, something I never fully grasped until he came into my life. He also taught me what it meant to be completely present and to honor the moment. He was definitely my Zen master. As the months turned into years and we both grew older, the idea that one day he would no longer be by my side began to haunt me. It was inconceivable that he could ever pass away and I found myself continuously pushing the inevitable into the back of my mind. Every routine vet visit grew more excruciating as I played scary movies in my head about discovering something life-threatening in his annual blood panel or other work-up.  I was familiar with The Rainbow Bridge poem, which beautifully says we are reunited with our pet companions once we pass away. This idea always seemed to temporarily calm the storm.  As time passed and Lucky approached 13 years old, his fur had turned almost completely white, he had acquired a heart condition and a neurological condition that impacted the coordination of his back legs. However I noticed his spirit had remained unchanged. One morning he decided that he didn’t want to eat and then I noticed that he was having difficulty with balance on our walk and actually fell down. A wave of panic slammed into my body.  I knew something was really wrong and I needed to get him to the ER! The diagnosis was a vestibular condition but he was approved for discharge the next day as “a watch” since he was stable. The next 24 hours were heartbreaking. When I got him home he could no longer stand on his own and I could tell that his spirit had changed, like part of him had left. I was an absolute train wreck because I knew his time was very near. Barely able to form as sentence I called a dear friend of mine to come and help as he transitioned. There were so many emotions, tears pouring out like Niagara Falls, gut wrenching pain in the core of my being…I’m even welling up as I write this.  I remember how peaceful he was as he lay in my arms and slowly transitioned to the Rainbow Bridge. My mind couldn’t grasp what had just happened. My greatest fear had just come true on this rainy and dreadful 2023 New-Years day. How was I going to get through this? It was then that I walked outside and saw the sun streaming out from behind the clouds and then couldn’t believe what I saw…It was the largest full rainbow I had ever seen in my 50 years of being on the planet! This Rainbow Bridge was so close it was literally in my back yard! What a gift! A warm feeling of deep peace and presence filled my entire body that lasted several weeks. But I knew that to love is also to grieve, and that there was work for me to do to process my own grief as well as bring the gift of Lucky’s Rainbow to help others as they grieve the loss of their beloved pet companions.  And that's how Lucky's Rainbow pet loss grief coaching was born!