Until We Meet Again at the Rainbow Bridge

（I’m a volunteer at the Abbott Road Animal Clinic; Dr. Missy and her assistants Jeanne and Amanda are very kind and helpful. Everyday they work with full of emotion and energy， which can affect me. I really enjoy every second I am there.）

At nearly noon， a lady came in with a big boxer. Several weeks ago， the 7yearold boxer had suddenly become ill. He had to be taken to the vetvet：A vet is someone who is qualified to treat sick or injured animals. (mainly BRIT; in AM， usually use veterinarian) emergency room. There， veterinarians found blood inside his distended abdomendistended abdomen：If a part of your body is distended， or if it distends， it becomes swollen and unnaturally large. (MEDICAL or FORMAL)；abdomen：腹部。， his body ravaged withravaged：A town， country， or economy that has been ravaged is one that has been damaged so much that it is almost completely destroyed. cancer. But the owner still hoped to spend several days with him before having to put him to sleep. Today was their last day. I was working in the back， but since the door was open， I could see into the consulting room. There， the owner was consolingconsole：=comfort her anxious dog over and over again: “You are okay. Everything will be fine.” Jeanne looked so upset when she came out from the consulting room， I could even see tears in her eyes. “Dr. Missy， I’m not going get in later， it will remind me of my baby.” Her voice was choking. Dr. Missy nodded and Jeanne went into the surgery room to prepare the injection they need. Jeanne told me that one of her favorite dogs was put to sleep just two weeks ago that Dr. Missy did it in Jeanne’s home. It was a really hard time for her.

If you are passionate about something， pursue it， no matter what anyone else thinks. That’s how dreams are achieved. 如果你熱愛一樣?xùn)|西，就拼命去追逐它，不管別人怎么看，只有這樣夢想才能實現(xiàn)。

If you’re lucky enough to have something that makes you different from everybody else， don’t change. Uniqueness is priceless. 如果你足夠幸運，擁有別人身上沒有的東西，千萬不要改變。獨一無二的，才是最珍貴的。

Dr. Missy is a quiet woman and she was typing something on the computer silently as usual， but I heard her sigh. She didn’t say a word until she entered the consulting room and closed the door. About 10 to 15 minutes later， she came out， once again closing the door behind her. Our next appointment was a 1monthold kitty， who was coming in for a basic physical examination. The owner had gotten her just several days earlier. The little tiny kitty brought us lots of laughter， which helped temporarily distract me and ease my heavy heart.

The consulting room door opened， and the owner walked out solemnlysolemnly：solemn=serious， leaving behind her dog， which lay on the floor silently， and a box of paper tissues. I knew that the tissues had prepared for that poor lady by Dr. Missy and Jeanne. Before we put the dog into a big plastic bag， Amanda kissed his head. His body was still warm. On the table， I saw a clay name and paw print in a pretty transparent pocket with black paw printed and a delicate cinerary casket. His name was Sam. A sentence on the top of cinerary casketcinerary casket：骨灰盒。 attracted me， “…Until we meet again at the rainbow bridge”. It is said that there is a place called Rainbow Bridge beside heaven. When an animal dies， the pet goes to this place， where has plenty of food， water， sunshine， where it can play together with other pets; where there are no leashes， no diseases. Those who were hurt or maimed will be healthy and strong again. But there is still someone in the pet’s heart， someday， when their distance is shorten， the pet will run to the Rainbow Bridge to meet the person， kisses his or her face， and they will never be apart.

The strength of the humananimal bond has proven to enhance the lives of both people and pets. We have started to understand and nurture this bond， which goes far beyond companionship.

I used to have a great cat， he was intelligent， good with other cats， and was my mom’s pal. Unfortunately， he got intense immune system disease at 6yearold age and got sicker and sicker day by day. The vet told us that there was nothing to do but prepare for the cat death. My cat’s favorite task was to watch the world go by. He would perch himself on a shelf， look outside and enjoy the sunshine. However， he was too sick to get on the shelf gradually. To let him do what he liked， we lifted him into the shelf every morning and he would stay there until the dinnertime. At last， we decided to put him to sleep since we wanted to stop his suffering. It is the regret for my life that I didn’t accompany him at the moment he died. I thought it would be too painful for me at that time. My mom said he was too frightened to come out from the carrier until she talked to him and appeased him.

We all wish our pets could die when they are in sleep， but that seldom happens. Many of us will have to face with the euthanasia at last. The final decision is always hard but there is still something we can do to prolong our pets’ lives. All veterinarians aim for the same result: keeping that essential humananimal bond strong and the pet comfortable in its final days， and to be by their side so they don’t pass alone. Until someday we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge.

“Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge… when you and your special friend finally meet， you cling together in joyous reunion…Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.”—Author unknown

2011年，《福布斯》雜志發(fā)布的美國大學(xué)排名榜中，位列榜首的是只有2141名在校學(xué)生、具有美國最佳文理學(xué)院之稱的威廉姆斯學(xué)院 （Williams College)，普林斯頓大學(xué) （Princeton University）屈居第二，而著名的哈佛大學(xué)只排到了第六的位置。這也是該學(xué)院連續(xù)第二年當(dāng)選美國最佳大學(xué)。