Fwed Astaire Stone Has Now Crossed the Rainbow Bridge

Anyone who has ever suffered the loss of a beloved pet has heard of - if not able to recite - the anonymously-written poem The Rainbow Bridge. A simple yet moving poem, it begins with the words:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. . . .

It is with profound sadness that Anna and I must report the death of our treasured Greyhound-mix “Fwed Astaire Stone.” He passed on today, Mother’s Day 2021. Not only has he been as dear to us as any of our children, grandchildren or siblings; he was also Annie’s service dog . . . , her assistant, her legs, her protector. He was everything a dog should be: smart as a whip (he understood commands in English Spanish and Hebrew and loved singing ‘Happy Birthday’ over the phone. He was also a regular attendant at the closing service (neilah) for Yom Kippur where he would stake out a spot just in front of a large table laden with tons of cans, bags and boxes of pet food contributed by our congregants (and yes, we also collected lots and lots of food for hungry and homeless humans as well).

Fwed, who would have been 13 this coming August, lived a miraculous life. He was saved from a parking lot down in South Beach by our kids, Ilan and Nurit. He was only a couple of weeks old and in terrible shape. Ilan wanted him, and thought Fonzi would be an ideal name. Unfortunately, he was in no shape to keep a struggling pup in his apartment, so we quickly agreed to take him in. However, we told him, since we already had a Chocolate Lab named “Ginger Rogers Stone” (many will remember her; she used to wear a pearl necklace to Friday night services); obviously, he would have to be named after Ginger’s dance partner. Well, it turned that the “Star of the Month” on TCM that long-ago August was Kay Francis, a long-forgotten Warner Brothers superstar of the mid-1930s. Warners paid her a bundle (upwards of $10,000 a week) to wear fabulous gowns and star in what used to be known as “weepies.” Beautiful, elegant and extraordinarily flat-chested, there was only one problem with Kay: she could not pronounce the letter “r”. Consequently, the folks in Hollywood generally referred to her behind her back as The wavishing Kay Fwancis. And so, in her honor, we naturally started calling the newest member of the family “Fwed Astaire Stone.”

Ginger, who was already at least 12 at the time, took Fwed under her wing and taught him everything he would need to know in order to become a top-flight canis familiarus. Ginger lived past 15 . . . highly unusual for a dog her size. The vet who cared for them said that so far as he could surmise, the reason why she lived so long is that she had to complete her task with her baby. As things turned out, she did an even better job than anyone could have imagined; Fwed, a mostly Greyhound/? mix, wound up having the lithe physicality of her genetic hodgepodge but the personality of a Chocolate Lab.

In addition to Ginger, Fwed’s other instructor was the man who trained the Canine Corps for both the Broward and Palm Beach County sheriff’s department. To say that he was obedient is to put it mildly. As mentioned above, Fwed was Annie’s service pooch for years and years, proudly wearing his “uniform” and a perfect gentleman for trips to Publix, the hair cutter and just about everywhere in-between. Wherever he traveled, people would stop, marvel at how handsome and well-behaved he was, and ask if it was alright if they petted him. “That’s up to him,” we would always say . . . ask him.” At a restaurant, he would lay on the ground on his travel blanket right by Annie’s seat; an “I’m on duty” look on his face.

Fwed could never thank Ilan and Nurit for saving his life and then providing him with your spouses, Amanda and Scott as two more people to love. He was the best Tio (Spanish for “Uncle”) to Claire, Mia and Lucas, and would cry with tears of joy whenever he saw and played with them.

What a gentleman! Ironically, my late mother had, for the last 12 or more years of her life a special friend named Fred. We always had to be careful to make it known which Fred we were referring to in conversation. Eventually, they became either “Florida Fwed” and “California Fred,” or else “Four-legged Fwed” and Two-legged Fred.” The one time they met, it was love at first sight.

And so now, Fwed Astaire Stone has crossed the Rainbow Bridge and been reunited with Ginger Rogers. They are both free and can continue that special love they shared for nearly three years. But what is that Bridge? To me, The bridge is a mythical overpass said to connect heaven and Earth—and, more to the point, a spot where grieving pet parents (otherwise coarsely called “owners”) reunite for good with their departed furry friends. It will be a long time before we remove the three beds belonging to him or his many stuffed animals (which after all these years are still in perfect condition) or beloved uniform from the hat track near the front door. Whether we continue putting water in his bowl and biscuits in his jar . . . it is far too early to tell. What we do know is that he was a world-class dog; one who loved being a dog had a loving fascination for cats and a great singing voice.

The poem ends with the words:

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….”

Fwed: please give hugs and kisses from all of us to Panchito, Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Roosevelt and Buster Keaton, and your/our beloved cats Rocky, Malka, Toby, Shlomo and Figaro and let them all know that we speak of them daily and still love them with every fiber of our being.