An Interesting Day at Rainbow Bridge

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In honor of Bindi Irwin winning the 2015 Dancing with the Stars with a dance dedicated to her father, I thought it was only appropriate to post this poem that was written about her father (author unknown).

 An Interesting Day at Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge is a place of both peace and anticipation as departed
pets await their beloved owners. There are plenty of things to keep them
contented while they wait: trees you can't get stuck in, endless
meadows, splashing streams, thickets perfect to hide in for
pounce-attack games.

But one day the residents noticed some rather... unusual newcomers
arrive.

The koalas and the kangaroos slipped in rather quietly, but then came
the bearded dragons, the skinks and the goannas. The influx of snakes
startled an entire family of cats up a tree. Pythons, cobras, tiger
snakes, brown snakes and even fierce snakes. There were so many at one
point, it seemed the ground itself was alive with writhing. A burly
wombat shouldered his way through the crowd and plopped down in a shady
spot, barely missing a Jack Russell terrier who yapped indignantly as he
abandoned his position.

And then the crocodiles showed up.

Finally, a Great Dane managed to get up enough nerve to approach one of
the reptilian giants.

"Um....excuse me," he said hesitantly. "But why are you all here?"

The croc dropped her jaw and laughed. "Same as you, mate," she said.
"Waitin' for someone who loved us." 

The dogs, cats, gerbils and other "typical pets" looked at each other in
confusion, then at the plethora of weird, ugly and downright deadly
creatures assembled. Who on Earth could possibly love some of those
faces?

"I see him!" shouted a green mamba from his vantage point in one of the
trees. A cacophony of squeaks, hisses, bellows and roars erupted as the
mob surged forward toward a lone human walking across the field toward
the bridge. The other animals managed to catch a glimpse of him before he was
overwhelmed by the crowd.

"CRIKEY!" he shouted joyously right before he was bowled over by the
wombat.

"Well I'll be," said a Persian as she tidied up her fur. "It's that
Aussie my human liked to watch on TV. Had to be the craziest human on
the whole planet."

Rescue Day 2012

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It is that time of year again. Rescue Day. When I was an AA (rookie) at the Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, Rescue Day meant days of cleanng and polishing. Then came the day. Always on the first Saturday of October and it coincided with Taste of Bethesda to draw as many visitors as possible. Moonbounce, kid fingerprinting, balloons, a toy train, demonstrations, and the helicopter from Park Police. 

I think my favorite was when our Sgt arranged with ECC to broadcast the tones of a mass casualty event and then we recreated a mass casualty in the back parking lot complete with moulage and fake blood (IV bags full of red dye). The comments overheard from the crowd showed that it was an eye opening experience for the majority of them.

Laura (my sister) and I went this year. Neither one of us ride any longer but we are both Life Members and we brought my young nephews. I also brought Káva. It was so much fun to see all the old faces .... I meant that in the nicest way .... all the other Life Members who showed up to exchange stories, laughs, and life updates. It also reminded both of us how much we missed riding. It's hard to move on sometimes.