Gentry's Kennel

This story was written by me for my Grandad at the very end of his time here. There is again a reference to the Rainbow Bridge poem, and various people have asked me to publish it here with Gentry’s stories and poems – so here it is, along with a few of my favourite pictures of Grandad and his dog, Shelley and their favourite walk.

An old man was walking down a lane. He walked with the aches and pains of years of hard work and long life. He held a stick in his hand, and used it to help him walk along. Every so often, he’d stop, take a moment to catch his breath, and then walk on again.

He came to a slight bend in the lane, where a wall alongside a field formed a seat of sorts.

He took rest on the seat in the warm, late summer sunshine.

He breathed in, and realised he’d breathed deeper than he had done in years. The air smelt warm, and sweet, of the just harvested hay. He closed his eyes and savoured the smell filling his nose. His eyes opened, and he saw details and colours like he last saw 20 years ago. He looked around him in wonder, taking in all the sights, smells & sounds.

He stood up, feeling refreshed, to carry on with his walk. He took a few steps, and realised, he was more using his stick to swing along with him, turning over leaves here and there to see what was underneath, rather than to help him down the lane.

He came to the end of the lane, and he saw a large green meadow. Far, far in the distance, he saw lots of animals all playing and enjoying the sunshine. He paused for a moment, unsure for the time being whether this was the right way or not.

He entered the meadow, knee high with summer flowers, the sweet smell of warm grass, and the sounds of bees buzzing around the honey-filled flowers.

In the distance, a dog, with a glossy black coat, a white blaze on her chest and forehead, with 3 white socked feet, and a tiny white flash on the top of her tail suddenly stops, stock still, and looks up at the man who just entered the meadow.

She tentatively wags her tail, peers intensely at the figure in the distance, takes a couple of steps, and then starts bounding, almost flying across the grass to meet him.

He sees a dog break away from the others and look towards him. He wonders… “Could it be..?” and recognises his dog!

He begins to walk towards her, almost without realising, starts running, both of them now free from aches and pains.

She puts her paws on his chest and tries to lick his face; he looks into her eyes, big and brown, no longer cloudy with age. He puts his hand on her head, and they realise they’ve found each other.
“I told you I’d see you soon Old Girl” the man said.

Slowly, they turn together, and walk down to the far end of the field. They come to a bridge, Rainbow Bridge.

For a moment, the man looks back at the path he’s come down, and the people who he’s left behind.

Then, man and dog look at each other, and turn to look forward across the bridge where they see people waiting for them on the other side.

Together, Bill and Shelley cross the bridge.

Copyright: ZSG
Pictures: By ZSG and Gentry