TINKER

A STORY OF THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

by Paul E. Jamison

"He’s here!"

"He’s come to the Bridge!"

"We’ve got to go to him!"

"Let’s go!"

There have been countless reunions under the Rainbow Bridge between humans and the pets that they’ve loved. That’s what the Bridge is all about. And once in awhile, there comes a reunion that is very special indeed.

Let’s call him Tinker, because that’s what he did. He loved to work with his hands, and he loved to build things that could help others. In his old life, he had started a business that built things to help a special group of beings to cope with a special problem, and he was proud of how well his business did.

He also loved animals. The day he showed up at the Bridge, dozens of dogs, cats, ferrets, hamsters, a rabbit (named Warren) and a skunk came forward to be reunited with their Daddy. Tinker was a bit disoriented, which was understandable, but he was so happy to see his fur-children again, and sat down in the grass and hugged and kissed and fussed over them all.

But it wasn’t long before his kids started, one by one, to pull away from him. He didn’t notice at first, but soon he was surprised to discover that there were only four little animals around him; the rest had sat down on either side of him. Soon there was only one animal with him, a ferret named Clyde.

Tinker looked at the animals on either side of him, and he was troubled. "What are you guys doing? he asked. "Is there something wrong?"

Clyde looked up at him and answered, "No, Daddy, nothing’s wrong. It’s just that we’re making room. There are some other folks that want to meet you." And he pointed to the hills in front of the man. Tinker looked out in front of him, and his jaw dropped open.

For there were hundreds of dogs, cats and a few ferrets sitting in the meadow in front of him, all quiet and all watching him. Most were dogs, with a good percentage of cats and a few ferrets. And they all were smiling at him. Tails wagged, throats purred and he heard the occasional dook or two.

Now Tinker was very confused. He knew that he’d never had this many pets. Most of these animals were strangers to him, but some of them looked somehow familiar…

A sable ferret that he knew he’d met before – he just couldn’t remember where – came ambling up to him and said, "Hi."

Tinker looked at him and finally found his voice and replied, "Uh – hello. It’s nice to meet you, and –" he looked at all the animals "uh – all your friends. Is there something I can do for you folks? Are you orphans? I know about adoptions here, but I –" He just ran down and looked at the ferret.

The ferret smiled and said, "Oh, no, we’re not orphans! Far from it – we’ve all got Mommies and Daddies that we’re waiting for. We just came here to thank you." The ferret stood up on his hind legs and went on. "You’ll probably figure out who we are sooner or later. You know several of us – you’re just not used to seeing us this way. You’ve met me before; I’m Bud the Stud."

"Bud the –" and then Tinker recognized him, and a look of wonder came over him, and then his face lit up with joy and he looked at all the animals gathered before him. "That’s it! I know who you all are now! You’ve used my wheelchairs!"

He was answered with hundreds of voices united in a single "YES!!" A German Shepherd came forward and turned around to face the furry crowd, and he began barking out orders. "All right, Rainbow Bridge No-Longer-Need-Tinker’s-Wheelchairs Brigade! At-ten-HUT!!" All the animals came to attention.

"Up-RIGHT!!"

Every single animal raised up and balanced on his or her hind legs.

"Fulll – CIRCLE!!"

All the animals turned around on their hind legs in one full circle.

"Alll – FOURS!!"

They all dropped back down again.

"Annnd – KICK!!!"

And every animal gathered there raised up and vigorously kicked his or her hind legs in the air. Warren, the rabbit, watched all this and turned to a hamster next to him and said, "Quite impressive, I must say – considering none of them are the right species for that sort of thing."

Tinker laughed the laugh of pure joy and clapped his hands together. Bud said to him, "Before none of us could do any of that. Now that we’re here at the Bridge, we’re healed. We can kick and run and hop around on twos and we enjoy all of it."

Tinker pointed at the German Shepherd and said, "I recognize you now. You’re van Helsing. We used your picture in all the company advertisements." He smiled and said, "I always thought that you looked so happy in that picture."

The dog grinned and said, "I was. That wheely thing you put me in helped me get around real well. Better than I could ever have without my back legs working. I’m sorry that I never had the chance to thank you. Until now."

The Tinker smiled at him, and then looked down at Bud the Stud. "And I remember you, too. You were the first ferret my company worked with. We had a more difficult time getting your picture. Once you got your wheels, you wouldn’t stay still long enough."

Bud giggled. "I’m a ferret. That’s in the job description." He came forward and looked up into Tinker’s eyes. "We’ve all got loving Mommies and Daddies – they all went to you to help us, so it’s obvious how much they love us – and we all look forward to joining them someday and passing over the Bridge together. But we all love you in a very special way. You cared enough about pets that you made a profession out of making wheelchairs for those of us with paralyzed hind legs, just so we could get around.

"I remember how you were when it came to me. You hadn’t worked with ferrets before, and you had to design my wheelchair from scratch. And you worked real hard on it, too, so it fit right. You were always gentle with me, and very patient with me and my useless rear end. And my gizmo fit perfectly, and it was never uncomfortable for me. And, oh, how I loved rolling around in it."

Tinker looked at him and looked at the gathering of animals. "I don’t know most of these animals, and there are so many of you. I couldn’t have personally fitted every one of you for wheels!"

"No, you didn’t," Bud replied. "Most of these guys were fitted by your employees, in your main facility and in the two branches. And everybody treated us just as well as you did. You were very good about choosing personnel. I can assure you, when they come here to the Bridge, each of them will be given the same kind of greeting that you’re getting.

"But you’re special, Tinker. You started it all, and you kept it going. You always made sure that your company treated every one of us with love. All of us here now owe you so much for giving us the chance to get around better and enjoy life while we were back in the physical world. How can we do any less, but to meet you when you came here and to thank you for all that you’ve done?

"We all love you very much, Tinker."

The man looked at the little ferret, and he looked at all the animals before him, and he couldn’t say anything. He just sat there and felt the love wash over him. He cried, and he smiled.

Bud went on. "Everybody here under the Rainbow Bridge thinks you’re a very, very special human, Tinker, and tonight there’s going to be a big banquet in your honor. But for now, there’s just us."

van Helsing turned to the animals and began issuing orders again. "Rainbow Bridge No-Longer-Need-Tinker’s-Wheelchairs Brigade – IN Posi-SHUN!!" Every animal crouched down and forward, so many little athletes at the starting gate. And then, one last order:

"PAYBACK TIME!!!"

And they all rushed forward.

Tinker was hit by the first wave of grateful creatures and knocked flat on his back. Soon he was engulfed in furry bodies, and he was covered with kisses from big and small tongues, even those of the raspy feline variety. Little furry heads rubbed against him and the happy barking, dooking and purring was loud enough to drown out anything else, though you could hear the occasional "Thank you so much!" and "You’re welcome!" Tinker laughed and hugged and petted heads and scratched behind ears.

Tinker’s own pets stayed out of the way and watched all this and they smiled.

A Siamese named Irving said, "Funny thing about love. The more you give away, the more you have to give."

A Beagle named Woodstock replied, "If you ask me, there must have been an almost infinite amount there to begin with. Whatever. Our Daddy’s a very special human, and I’m so very proud of him right now."

A ferret named Jack the Nipper said, "We all are." He watched the pile of furry little bodies for a moment and said, "It looks like we’re going to be here for awhile, guys." He looked around at his family. "So – who’s up for a round of Count the Critters?"

THE END

Dedicated to Big Bear, a special guy who enjoys life and has so much to be thankful for. He's the Spokesferret for Friends of Fuzzies Ferret Shelter in Oregon. Click here to go to their homepage; there's a link to Bear's story.

UPDATE: It is with deep sadness that I record here the passing away of Big Bear on the 5th of May, 2000. He had an important lesson to teach us - When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade! - and he had loads of fun doing it. But it was his time to leave, and I and a lot of other people will miss him dearly; I had hoped someday to meet him, but it wasn't meant to be and my life is that much poorer. I was told that he was honored to have a story dedicated to him, and wherever he is now, I hope he's even happier to be able to walk and run again. And I hope he knows how much I considered him a friend.

Dedicated also to Doggon' Wheels, the real-life "Tinkers" who gave Bear the precious gift of mobility, and who obviously love animals very much. Click here or here to go to their homepage.

And finally, this story is dedicated to all those who give so much for the little creatures on this Earth and ask for so little in return. I'm sure that they will all get a warm thank-you as they pass by the Rainbow Bridge.

Click here to go back to the Rainbow Bridge page.