This isn't really about the dog rainbow bridge, but there are enough connections because we met celebrating the joy of our dogs. I feel so sad about this young girl.

I posted about a Pets for Therapy day I recently helped organise for the Salvos for one of their womens shelters in Inner sydney. Michelle, one of the girls who was living at Samaritan House was thrilled to come along, and brought her own dog Pep the Foxy Cross. Pep was living with Michelles Mum and dad while Michelle was waiting to get into a treatment centre for her drug addiction. I remember Michelles dad pulling up and Pep jumping out and running a bee line straight to Michelle. She won "Most Sociable Dog Award". I got talking to Michelle about Pep, and how she looked forward to the day when she had beaten her demons and could get her own place again where she could have Pep.She told me that Pep had a disability in her hips as a result of an injury caused she thinks, when a would be burgler kicked her for barking as he broke in. We all had a ball.Afterwards Michelle packed little Pep in a shoulder bag and took of to the train to drop her home. She said she and Pep would be at the next event with Bells on.

She told me a little about her life and struggles too. She was struggling to stay off drugs, but could not get into a rehab untill she had surgery for a back injury as no rehab would take her while she was on pain medication, even though it was sedative pilld she was addicted too. She was staying with the the salvos while she waited for her surgery.

While there, she reconnected with Captain Karen, the Chaplain. It turns out they went to school together, and went on Salvos camps together as teenagers. They hadn't seen each other untill they met again at Samaritan House. Live can take people on very different roads. They really enjoyed catching up and had some common childhood history to draw on.

Captain Karen told me she had been doing really well, and went home for a week to get some respite. Unfortunately, and we'll never know why she slipped, Michelle was tempted by the drugs again. Her Dad went to wake her two days ago to go to a Doctors appointment, and she had passed away in bed. She had taken one two many of the pills. Pep was laying down at the foot of the bed whimpering, which is why he knew something was wrong.

Captain karen asked me for copies of our Pet day photos, because Michelle and Pep are in them having a blast. She wants to give them to Michelle Mum and Dad to show them some of the happier times in the last month before she passed, and to show that people liked and cared about Michelle.

Well, the family has asked Captain karen to do the service for the funeral next week. So some small comfort came to the family in a funny kind of way.

How very very sad, the poor girl and her poor family how devastated they must be. Such waste, particularly when she was trying to do the rehab. Sometimes no matter how hard you try to make your lot better, life continues to kick you in the butt. But it puts our lives into perspective and things that you think are such mountains are in fact bumps in the road in comparison. Our thoughts are with them.

That is heart breaking. My heart goes out to the family and her friends, it is devestating when someone is taken from us no matter what the circumstances are. I cannot imagine what the family is going through especially her Dad who found her. It always makes me realise how very precious life is and that we should not take it for granted that we will be here tomorrow. My thought and prayers to the people who knew her.

That is so sad that it kind of defeats words.

I feel really emotional about this. She was such a nice girl, and trying so hard to turn her life around. We had such a brilliant day and she and Pep had a ball. She was so enthused about getting involved in the next one. The only thing I can think of to put a positive side to it is that at least her mum and dad wont have to go through the torment of trying to piece together her last days as so many parents who loose kids to drugs do, and also that she was at home and they don't have the guilt of having shut the door on her as so many parents have to do.

Guess the dogs get to sleep with me tonight.