The beautiful venue of Norma's soul
Unfortunately, animal welfare also means being by the side of many dogs when they die, and it never gets easier. Norma's death affected Sybille very much, and as if by divine magic, she came across this story:
"In a Paradise, pets wait for their owners in a meadow and help each other overcome the cruelties they have suffered in their lives."
The first reference to a meadow where pets wait for their owners is in the sequel to the book - Beautiful Joe by Margaret Marshall Saunders.
Her book Beautiful Joe was one of the first to raise awareness of animal cruelty and tells the true story of Beautiful Joe, a dog from the town of Meaford, Ontario.
It is a timeless classic, first published in Canada over 100 years ago.
The story is based on an actual incident told by the author from the dog's perspective. The author's family rescued Beautiful Joe from the hands of a sadistic farmer. He is nursed back to health by the family and later sticks up for his family with his life.
However, the continuation of the story - Beautiful Joe's Paradise - does not tell of a rainbow bridge over which the deceased animals pass.
They ascend to paradise in a balloon in the sky.
