I’m an old lady and sometimes I get very lonely sometimes. While watching TV one day I saw an advertisement about rescuing pets. After several days of thinking about it, I decided to go to the local dog pound just to see what kind of animals they had. I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to adopt a pet or not. It would be an additional expense and a lot of trouble, but I went to look anyway. The local pound had dozens of abandoned animals. But I was leaning toward a dog. When I walked into the lobby I met the receptionist sitting at her desk. “Can I help you,â€ she asked. “Yes ma’am,â€ I said. I was wondering if I could look at some of your dogs up for adoption?â€ “Surely,â€ she said. “Follow me and I’ll take you back to the cages.â€ I followed her through a set of swinging doors to where a row of cages were lined on the left-hand side of the outside building.â€ Come back and see me when you finishâ€ she said. “I will,â€ I said. As I walked along the cages looking at the dogs, I wasn’t seeing any I would be interested in. I took my time looking over what was available. I watched as the dogs, some young and some old came to the front of the cage to check me out. In the back of one cage, I noticed one dog who merely set up and looked as I walked by. He didn’t run over to the front of the case and bark like the others. He just sat there looking. His hair was long and matted. Right off I thought it was the ugliest dog in the kennel. But there was something about the way he sat there watching me. It looked as though he was looking right into my eyes. I continued looking thru the rest of the cages, not seeing what I was really looking for. A small dog, with short hair that doesn’t bark a lot. After looking in the last cage, I headed back toward the front. It was pretty noisy with all the dogs barking, but I took a final casual look in the cages as I walk toward the front. When I got to the cage where the dog sat that stared at me,  I stopped and looked at him again. He was still giving me with that deep stare. As I turned to leave I heard a distinctive bark, bark, bark. I looked to see which dog had done it and to my surprise it was that matted long haired mutt with the curious stare. The dog had stood up now and was wagging its still profusely, but still it did not come over to the edge of the cage like the other dogs did. Finally, I turned to go back to the front desk.
“Did you see a dog that you liked,â€ asked the receptionist? “No not really,â€ I said. “But I was curious about one in particular.â€ “Which one.â€ Asked the receptionist, “there are so many,â€ I said I would have to show you. “Sure,â€ said the receptionist. “I be glad to give you some information on it.â€
“That’s the one,â€ I said. “In the very back.â€ “Oh,â€ said the receptionist. “That’s the general.â€ “That’s an odd name.â€ I said. “I remember when this dog came in just recently. An elderly lady had passed away and there was no one to take her dog so it ended up here.â€ “What else do you know about the dog?â€ I asked. “Well, I was here when the dog was brought in.â€ Said the receptionist. I remember the animal control officers talking about how smart the dog was. They said the owner was very poor and couldn’t take the dog to be groomed and that’s why the dog was so ugly looking.â€ “Do you think I could take a look at the dog?â€ I asked. “Sure.â€ said receptionist. “I’ll take you to a visiting room and then I’ll bring the dog to you.â€
 I sat in the visiting room waiting for her to bring the dog. I didn’t have to wait long. The door to the room opened and the receptionist brought in the general as she called him. “I’ll leave you two alone for a while so you can get acquainted.â€ she said. As she sat the general on the floor in front of me.
The dog sat looking at me just as he did when he was in the kennel cage. I looked at the dog and finally broke the silence by saying. “So, you’re the general,â€ I said. Immediately the dog sat up on its haunches and began to wag his tail profusely., “I see you recognize your name.â€ I said out loud. I looked more closely at the dog. It was obviously a mixed breed but I wasn’t sure exactly what those breeds were. Maybe a schnauzer and something else. It was those eyes, I thought to myself. The dog’s eyes were sad and, I can understand why. But when I mentioned his name, I could see a change in his eyes at that very moment. So, I said his name again and held my hand down to see if he would come over and let me pet him. “General, come here boy and let me check you out.â€ I said. Without hesitation, the little dog got up and came to me still wagging his tale. When he was close enough, he sat down and held up his paw as if to shake hands. That did it, this dog had stolen my heart. There was no way I was going to leave this dog here for someone else to have. When the receptionist returned to see how we were doing, I informed her that this was the dog that I wanted. “It’s a great choice,â€ she said. “I’m sure you two will get along fine together.â€ “I’ll take him back to the kennel while I do the paperwork.â€ She said. “No,â€ I said. “I’ll just hold him until we’re all done with the paperwork.â€ “Okay,â€ said the receptionist. “It’ll probably take about a half an hour.â€ “No problem,â€ I said.
The Receptionist was right, it took all of a half an hour to get the paperwork done. I paid the adoption fee and collected all the paperwork and I was glad to leave such a sad and noisy place. On the way home the general and I stopped off at a pet supply store to purchase everything I needed to take care of my new best friend. I had no idea of what kind of food the general was used to, so I bought samples of several different kind. Of course he had to have a collar for his new immunization and ID tag. And I didn’t forget to get a few grooming items. When we got home, I called up a local dog grooming salon and made an appointment for the general to get a full groom. The generals time for being neglected was over. I was in luck, I had an appointment set for the very next day.
Both the general and I were at our 9 o’clock appointment right on time. I explained to the groomers that I wanted the general to have the works a bath with a haircut along with getting his nails trimmed and anything else that needed to be done. The groomer said it was going to be a couple of hours, so I went out and did some shopping to pass the time. Two hours passes quickly when you do something you like. When I returned to the grooming salon to pick up the general, I couldn’t believe how much differently the general looked. He didn’t look like the same dog at all. When he was led out to me, I could see how happy he was to see me again. That warmed my heart knowing that we had only been together for such a short time. With a tear in my eye, I paid the bill and the general I went home together.
Fortunately, I lived in a nice one-story home with a fenced in backyard. Once I introduced the general to the backyard it was hard to get him to come back in. It is as if he had never had a place to romp and play as well as to do his business several times a day. I was very glad to see that at least the general had been potty trained and wouldn’t be pooping and peeing in the house. Right away I knew that when he came to me and whimpered and headed toward the back door where he sat waiting for me to let him out.  Every morning when we got up, I would take him outside to do his business. In return, I would always give him a doggy treat. But before I actually gave it to him, I began teaching him new tricks. But to my surprise when I first started, I found out that he already knew most of them. He could sit on command, and shake hands like most owners teach the pets, but he could also sit up and beg, lay down, and stay. He could dance around on his hind legs as if dancing. We had a wonderful time every morning when he did his tricks for the treats.
From then on out, we became very best friends. He would cuddle and love me when we sat and watched TV at night. He was not far away when I was in the kitchen cooking meals. It seemed as if he was watching every move I made. After a few days I became increasingly aware of how intelligent my little general was. He watched me change from my street shoes into my bedroom slippers when we sat and watched TV in the evening. I was surprised to see one evening when I had sat down to turn the TV on. The general disappeared for a couple of minutes. When he returned, he was holding one of my night slippers. He sat that at my feet and quickly ran back to get the other one. “Good boy, “ I said to him as he fiercely wagged his tail, knowing that he had done something nice for me. After that I got the idea of just asking the general to go get things for me. And as always most of the time he ran off to get whatever it was I needed. It was if he could understand everything I said.
It wasn’t difficult, at my age to get the general certified as a service dog. And he truly was, he was everything I could ever want in a pet all wrapped into one.
From then on out, we were almost never apart. I took him everywhere I went and because he was a service dog no one ever objected when I took him with me.
Life can have its twist and turns, and with me it was no different. One day I unexpectedly, I tripped and fell. I thought I had twisted my ankle in the fall, but when I tried to get up I realized my injury was much more serious than just a sprained ankle. I sat there on the floor wondering what to do next. The general was right there by my side. I knew I had to call an ambulance, but the phone was in the living room and I was in one of the back bedrooms. I looked the general in the eye and said. General, I need some help, would you go get the phone? The general didn’t even hesitate he ran straight to the living room jumped onto the couch and picked up the phone from the in table next to the couch. While he was gone, I wondered to myself if he was going to be a will to do it. I shouldn’t have had any worries because the general came running back to me with the phone in his mouth. I gave him a big hug before I dialed 911 for the ambulance. It only took them five minutes to get here from the time I called.
The EMS technicians pretty much confirmed that my ankle was broken and that I was going to be on crutches for a while. They took me to the hospital along with my service dog , the general.
My ankle had swollen to the size of a grapefruit. The doctor ordered x-rays and when that was over they put a cast on my leg all the way up to my knee. I was issued some crutches to use, and ordered by the doctor to stay off my foot as much as possible. Which I was happy to do, because it hurt.
Now more than ever I became more dependent on the generals intelligence. I could see the general loved to go get things for me. He knew where everything was, it was amazing to watch him run off in search of whatever I needed. If I needed a pillow, he would jump up onto the bed and drag it off and pull it across the floor all the way to where I was sitting. It seemed to me like he was enjoying it. Now more than ever, he was “the general“ around here.
The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. My cast was taken off and replaced with a soft cast for use during the day and could be taken off at night, while my ankle went through its final phase of healing. My doctor said my ankle was healing perfectly and that within a few months, I would be back to normal. He was right, for a while my ankle was stiff but after months of using it, it loosened up and became normal again.
At the time the general came into my life, they said he was about two years old, and I was already 68. As the years went by the general and I were never far apart, we enjoyed each other’s company every single day throughout the many years we were together. As the years passed, my health began to worsen. I was making more frequent trips to the doctor’s office and prescribed more and more medication to keep me going.
the general was getting old too., just like me. My next birthday I would be 83 years old, that made the general 17 years old, which was very old for a dog. I knew in my heart that the general’s time was near. But I couldn’t bare to think about what that meant. The last time we were at the vet, one of the vet technicians gave me a book. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first, because I had other things on my mind. The general and I were watching TV late in the evening when I picked the book up and began to read it. It was called the rainbow bridge. I heard the term before, when I was younger, but I paid little attention to it because it wasn’t relevant to anything I was doing with my life. I turned the TV off and I began to read the story. At first, I read it silently to myself. But it was so quiet in the room, I began to read it out loud. 
Just this side of heaven, I read, is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. I read on as they story told of beautiful meadows and hills for all the animals to run and play together. The story goes on to say that there was plenty of food, water, and sunshine to keep our friends warm and comfortable. And that their old and ill bodies are restored to health. As I read further my heart began to beat faster as the words I was reading began to mean something very special to me. I continued reading out loud. All the animals were happy and content, except for one small thing it said. They all miss someone very special to them who had been left behind. What I was reading caused a tears to form in  my eye, but I had to read on. I looked down at the general. He no longer was lying down, but was sitting up watching me intently as I read aloud. “You like this story?â€ I asked the general. The general gave a little whimper and wagged his tail. I knew that was the generals way of saying yes, yes indeed I love that story. I continue to read. “But the day comes when one of the animals stops the romping and playing and with their bodies quivering. They run from the group, running faster and faster across the meadow and then you know you’ve been spotted. The pet and his special friend have been united they cling together in joyous reunion never to be parted again. Then the special friend’s crossover the rainbow bridge into heaven together.
That was a wonderful story, I said to the general. But the general didn’t answer. I looked down to see the general lying down as if peacefully sleeping. I put the book down to wake the general so we could go to bed. But the general didn’t move. My heart began to race. “Noâ€, I cried. This couldn’t be. I couldn’t lose my little general now when I needed him more than ever. But I knew in my heart that it was too late, my little general was gone. I sat back in my easy chair to calm my racing heart. But that was not to be. I close my eyes and tried to concentrate on slowing my racing heart. Until finally it began to slow and as I sat there with my eyes closed I began to fall asleep. Suddenly I felt a heavy weight being lifted from my thoughts and I began to dream. Of happier times with my little general. I found myself in a lush green meadow, and I recognize the faint barking of my little general. Off in the distance, I see him running toward me as fast as the wind can carry him. Come here boy, I said you look so beautiful. My little general wagged his tail while he jumped up to be hugged. We hugged and kissed each other and was so happy that we were together again. The general turned and looked back the way he had come in I knew that he wanted me to follow him. Together we walked across the green meadow under the warm sunlight toward the rainbow and the rainbow bridge. But to my surprise when we reached the rainbow bridge I saw another sitting there. She stood up when I came closer. “Helloâ€ she said. I’ve been waiting for you. The little general jumped up into her arms. I wanted to meet you and thank you for taking care of my little general. Of all the people in the world, he picked you to take care of until we could be together again. And then I understood then that I had not picked out the general to be my pet. Just the opposite. He had picked me. I reached over and hugged the other woman knowing the real reason I was here. “If you’re ready,â€ I said, “the general can lead the way.â€ “Yes,â€ said the other woman as she reached out her hand to hold mind. With the general leading the way they walk across the rainbow bridge together and entered that wonderful realm of heaven.
