I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but a little quirk I have is that I pray for any animal I see who’s passed alone. It probably stems from the idea of someone leaving this Earth alone. It’s a fear I have I guess and I direct it at all living things, so since as far back as I can remember whenever I see an animal who’s been killed on the side of the road I say a little prayer and I let them know, if they have no one on the other side to wait for, they can wait for me.

There used to be a page called “Rainbow Bridge ”, it was a place for pets that had passed away, people would submit their photos and talk briefly about how their pets were their personalities and habits. They’d say the rainbow bridge was a place where our pets would get to and wait for us so we wouldn’t have to cross over alone. It’s beautiful, but a piece of me thought, maybe they don’t want to crossover alone either…

So I started doing these little prayers, they’re brief and take no more than 5 seconds.

This has been something I’ve been doing for years, it doesn’t matter if it’s a cat, raccoon, possum, dog, deer, hawk, pigeon, whatever is on the side of the road I say a little prayer for them and let them know they can wait for me if they want to.

I’m telling you, I’ve been doing this for years, and every day on my drive to and from work I see a new dead animal, and every day I do the same prayer. Now that my drive to work is longer I see many more, which has got me thinking, what might that look like by now?

The door I’ll need to cross through is probably going to look more like a fence with all kinds of creatures sitting patiently, and some a little more impatiently, unsure of who they’re going to meet with.

Not to mention, my actual pets, the ones I lived with and spent most of their lives with, are probably like “where the heck did all of these guys come from?” seeing new members arriving daily.

I like to think Rocky, my old yellow lab, is probably sunbathing and taking it easy ignoring the zoo going on around him, meanwhile Muse, my tuxedo cat and her brother Nero are frustrated watching the new guests enter. Annoyed that there are so many of them, a little jealous, and probably wondering why?

Granted, I’m not sure what’s on the other side or if there is another side, at least not the way I picture it, but I do know when I get there I’m definitely going to have my hands full.