It’s a journey many of us will take several times in our lifetime as we escort our loved ones to their final destination. Watching a loved one live out their final moments of life is a painful exercise. Even when the end is inevitable, the stress of anticipation is greater than the stress of mourning.

Strangely, it can be even more painful when it is one of our beloved pets, for it is the loss of innocent creatures that have become part of our family. It is the loss of unconditional love that only a devoted pet can offer.

And so, it happens that my wife and I are forced to travel that long, lonely road once again as we have several times before.

His name is Charlie, and he has been one of our canine companions for more than 15 years. But more than that, he has been our furry child that has shared so many of life’s adventures with us. When he came to us, he was promised that our home was his home for the rest of his life.

Now it was time to honor that commitment by accepting the pain of releasing his loving spirit from his frail and failing body. It is time to lovingly escort him to that rainbow bridge and allow him to cross over to await us on the other side.

We envision that he will be joyfully greeted by our other pets who have passed before him. We envision that he will once again be able to run and frolic with his canine siblings, a pleasure that has been denied him for far too long.

But the pain remains heavy on our hearts, especially since we are making the choice to determine the time when we will end his suffering. And we pray that somehow, he knows how much he is loved.

As we try to comfort him in his final hours, we are comforted only by our faith in a loving God who will welcome the spirit of one of His creations and grant us the peace our spirit requires to tolerate the pain we must bare.

Knowing that there is an afterlife, and that the prevailing culture of that afterlife is love, we must trust that our loving God allows us to experience this pain, so that we can more fully appreciate the joy of that afterlife, unencumbered by sorrow.

With that in mind, we bid our dear Charlie adieu until we meet again in that heavenly landscape where joy prevails and tears are unknown,