My beautiful senior cat, Mr. Jazz – the inspiration for the book, Purr Prints of the Heart, and Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. This was him in early 2013 – each day I was given with him at this point was a precious gift.

I’m in the process of going through pictures of our cats with Dan to determine which one’s I’d like to use for my upcoming book. We have thousands of images – each one more beautiful than the next – but it’s a bittersweet process because it always inevitably happens when we look at pictures – a random one will pop up and hit me painfully in the gut, reminding me of days gone by. This time it was a picture of Jazz. But what’s most interesting, was that it was a picture of him I hadn’t seen before. Considering I combed through what I thought were all of his pictures when I wrote his meow memoir, Purr Prints of the Heart, last year, it was all the more perplexing.

With today marking the third anniversary of his death, my heart is telling me he brought it to me as a gift, giving me a special memory of a time I had long since forgotten about. Some might call it random luck. I don’t. With Jazz, there have been far too many uncanny things that have happened to me with him since his passing and I am certain he is communicating to me from the afterlife. So, in tribute to Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, a day I created in his honor for pet lovers worldwide to pay tribute to those pets they have loved and lost, I share this never before seen picture of him.

Me with Zee, Zoey, Mia, Jazz, Peanut, and Rolz. I’m sure Harley was somewhere around my feet.

This was us on August 25, 2012 – we had a tropical storm brewing and Dan and I were getting ready to hunker down with some basic hurricane essentials, like wine, cheese, and crackers.I really love this picture because it’s just so ordinary – an everyday slice of my life. I don’t remember Jazz being much of a counter top jumper, but there he was, hanging out with all his feline cat-mates. He was so happy and healthy back then. My Harley with us back then too, but she NEVER jumped on the counter. The couch cushion was as high as she would jump but I’m sure she was somewhere on the floor watching us. This was before Kizmet, before Jazmine, and before I would lose Jazz a mere year later, and then Harley, unexpectedly a year after that.

Harley was never a jumper – she always preferred to participate in everything from the safety of the floor.

The photo serves as a powerful reminder to appreciate those glorious, beautiful, wonderful every day moments were are blessed to have with our precious pets, because we just don’t know when they will end, only to be left as memories in our hearts.

To all my beloved pets that have come and gone in my life, this day is for you. I love you forever and always, and each and every one of you has touched my heart in a special way.

For any of you who have loved and lost a pet, my heart goes out to you as well. I know how difficult it is to say goodbye and it is my hope this special day can bring some happiness to you as you remember the joy your pet brought into your life, for however long or brief that time was. Please feel free to share comments here, or join the blog hop if you have a blog, or stop by the specially created Facebook event page here to share your stories and pictures. Thank you and love and peace to you all.

For anyone who has loved and lost a beloved pet, Purr Prints of the Heart is a warm, sweet, and beautiful story to help with the grieving process.

For anyone interested in reading the meow memoir of Mr. Jazz in Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond, please visit www.purrprintsoftheheart.com for details.

Join the Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day Blog Hop.