TITLE:
Blessing the Bridge:
What Animals Teach Us About Death, Dying, and Beyond

AUTHOR:
Rita M. Reynolds
Lajoieco1@aol.com

PUBLISHER:
NewSage Press
P O Box 607
Troutdale, Oregon 97060, USA
Tel: 503-695-2211
Fax: 503-695-5406
Email: Maureen Michelson at maureen@newsagepress.com
Website: http://www.newsagepress.com

ISBN #:
0-939165-38-4

RETAIL PRICE:
$13.95 U.S.A.
$21.50 Canada

ABOUT THE BOOK:
For more than twenty years, author Rita Reynolds has worked with sick and
dying animals at her animal sanctuary, Howling Success. She offers a
pioneering approach to understanding and working with aging and dying
animals, with specifics on how to comfort and ease them into death, such as
creating a soothing environment, herbal stress relievers, and comforting
words. Blessing the Bridge goes beyond the advice of most grief books,
suggesting that even in death, there is tremendous opportunity for love and
learning. Reynolds' compassionate approach to simply "being" with animals,
offers a deeper understanding of our connection to all animals as well as
moving beyond our own fears of death to be of assistance to our dying animal
companions. Her nonsecular spiritual perspective for viewing death and its
blessings is visionary. Blessing the Bridge includes many of Reynolds' heart
moving stories about animals in their final days and what they have taught
her about living, dying, death, and beyond.

"This book offers a profound entrance into the mystery of those two gleaming
eyes before you.  A must read for all animal lovers.  A healing book."
~Stephen and Ondrea Levine, co-authors,
Who Dies and Embracing the Beloved

"Blessing the Bridge is heartwarming and thought-provoking, but always marked
by an unshakable assurance that the end of life can be faced without fear.  
Rita Reynolds has learned that animals, who always seem to live closest to
the marrow of existence, can teach us to accept death as an opening for love
and wonder."
~Gary Kowalski, author, The Souls of Animals and Goodbye Friend

"Blessing the Bridge is head and shoulders above all the other books now out
on pet loss.  With great respect and insight, Rita leads us across the bridge
between worlds and never for a moment lets us forget that the real heart of
this journey is its deeply spiritual center.  Although we face this bridge
with our animal companions, the message Rita Reynolds conveys about love and
loss is universal. It is a message that will fortify us for every other loss
in our life - be it an animal companion, a relationship, a job, or a dream."
~Susan Chernak McElroy, author, Animals as Teachers & Healers

"People seem to dread awarding human attributes to our fellow animals.  In
fact, as Blessing the Bridge so warmly and wisely shows, animals and humans
share the ultimate experience - we all die.  This book softens the sting of
that, and shows how to ease the way for our animal friends."
~Roger Caras, President, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (ASPCA)

"This is a valuable book for those of us who feel a spiritual bond with the
animals in our lives.  However, this gentle, thoughtful volume is more than
just a spiritual guide.  It's also a practical guide to helping an animal to
die with peace and dignity.  Maybe you've had a dog come up to say goodbye to
you just before his death.  Perhaps you've had a clear vision of your cat
running, free and happy, at the moment her heart stopped beating.  I've
certainly had experiences like these.  Until Blessing the Bridge, there
wasn't a book that talked about these experiences.  Rita Reynolds gives the
reader a lot to think about with her comforting beliefs about the animals
afterlife."
~Deborah Wood, pet columnist for The Oregonian and author, The Tao of Bow
Wow: Understanding and Training Your Dog the Taoist Way, and The Tao of Meow:
Understanding and Training your Cat the Taoist Way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rita Reynolds is the founder of Howling Success, an animal sanctuary located
in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville, Virginia.  
For the past 25 years her sanctuary has been home to hundreds of animals.  
Reynolds is also the founder and editor of LaJoie, The Journal in
Appreciation of All Animals, first published in 1990 and distributed
internationally.  Rita is currently establishing a community hospice program
for animals and their human families.  In addition to her animal family,
Reynolds shares her home with her husband and two sons.

If you are interested in animal hospice work or would like to help set up an
animal hospice program, please contact Rita.

Also, she is collecting unusual or inspiring stories about experiences with
animals related to animal death and dying, after-death communication, and
after-death encounters. She would like to consider your story for inclusion
in a future book project.  

You can contact Rita at P. O. Box 145, Batesville, Virginia 22924, or email
her at the email address above.

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