Candles in honor of our babies at The Bridge

[Squirt's Mom]

A small way in which we can honor those we have lost is by lighting a candle in their honor. Gratefulness.org grants us the ability to light candles and compose short messages. We are also given as much time as we want to meditate on why and for whom we are lighting our candles. Candles may also be lit to offer support or gratitude. Each candle will stay lit for 48 hours. Here is the link to the candle lighting site:

http://www.gratefulness.org/light-a-candle/



When you first compose a message for your candle, be sure to include either "K9C" or "k9c" somewhere within the body of your message if you'd like your candle to be "searchable" along with candles lit by other members of our family here.

At any point in the future, if you want to view candles lit by yourself or other members of our family, first click on “View All Candles.” Then type K9C (or k9c) in the search field in the upper right hand side of the candle lighting page.

All candles with messages containing K9C will show. It is then possible to select each candle to read the individual messages.

When you create a candle, one of the prompts asks if the candle will be part of a group. At this point, click on “No.” As long as you’ve included “K9C” in your message, any candles lit by our members will show up together in the K9C search field.

However, please know that it is entirely your decision as to whether or not you want your messages to be read by other members of our family. If you prefer, of course you can always light your candle privately by not including the K9C identification. Please light your candle in whatever manner brings you the greatest comfort.

[Rusty's Mom]

Thanks for the reminder and the URL. I will do that!

Blessings,

MJ

[gpgscott]

Leslie,

Thanks so very much for the candle site.

I have used it often and the more I view it the more special it becomes to me.

Hugs. Scott

[jrepac]

Thank you for this; it is a very nice gesture....there is no "religion" per se for our pets, which I find sad. If I ever go to "Heaven" and none of my pups are there, I want out! :)

I'll be back to the main site in a week or so...I just need to take a few deep breaths after several days of heartache.

Jeff and Angel Mandy

[mytil]

Take all the time you need Jeff. I will light a candle myself for your girl.

((((hugs))))
Terry

[bernie47]

This is so wonderful, reminds me of the days when my mum and i went to church and lit candles for sick people in our lives .. my candle is burning for my girl Ebonie ..

[4thepets]

Thank you so much for the link. I am still so much in pain and missing my lil chuey. I will make me so happy to light a candle for him with the help of my friends from this site. Thank you all for your love and support...



Chuey's mom

[ventilate]

an excellent site, thank you

[Cyn719]

Leslie

What a beautiful site to bring to the forum. xo

[Sugar]

A small way in which we can honor those we have lost is by lighting a candle in their honor. We have a page at Gratefulness.org set up under the name of K9C where we can light candles, plus there is space to write a short message and sign your name with each candle lit if you wish. You are also given as much time as you want to meditate on why and for whom you are lighting your candle. Candles may also be lit to offer support or gratitude. Each candle will stay lit for 48 hours.

Our page can be found at: http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=K9C

Thanks for offering this page where we can light candles in honor and memory of our beloved pets and Thanks for lighting one for Sugar. She told me that she is happy and not to cry. I am trying. Jean

[catrine]

Thank-you for this sight. I miss my sweet "Dee" so much. My house is so empty. I am sorry for all of you that lost there loved one. I have to believe she is in a much better place and I will be with her again.

[canina999]

Thank you for helping me remember Benji when he was enjoying his life

[labblab]

Bumping up.

[MBK]

My sweet Alivia. I miss you deeply. I cannot still believe you've been gone a year. Max misses you so much, too. We'll always love you baby girl.

[spdd]

Can't get onto the candle lighting site... it is now saying it doesn't exist.... is this a glitch?

[Squirt's Mom]

Judi, it's been a while since I've been to the candle site and it is all different now. I don't see any candle groups at all, just individual candles now. :(

[My sweet Ginger]

Something could be going on but try more than once by going back and forth, it will eventually get you there. At least so far.

[Budsters Mom]

Hmmm.... Our K9C Page loaded just fine for me. No problems at all. :confused:

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=K9C

[Squirt's Mom]

I get a message "Page not found" and the same whenever I follow a link to Gratefulness.org candle site. Weird.....:confused::confused::confused:

[labblab]

I get the same error message. :( :(

And yes, it seems as though the new candle lighting page is set up differently and only on an individual candle basis. Perhaps one of us can contact the organization just to see whether group pages can still be set up in any way....

[My sweet Ginger]

Mine getting me there even faster now. :rolleyes:

[labblab]

...try more than once by going back and forth, it will eventually get you there.

Hey Song, what do you mean by "going back and forth?"

[My sweet Ginger]

You must be still having that problem. Earlier, when I came to the strange screen, I just simply hit the back button. Doing the same thing each time when I saw that wrong screen and eventually I was able to finish it all the way. I don't seem to have that problem anymore tho.

[Budsters Mom]

I just lit a candle for all on our candle page. I am not having any problem getting to it????

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=K9C

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/message.cfm?l=eng&cid=22968345

[labblab]

This is definitely bizarro world...! :eek: :confused: :confused:

When I click on our original links or the links embedded in your replies, Kathy, I am taken to a "Page Not Found" on a totally new and different gratefullness.org webpage. If I click on the new "light a candle" tab on the homepage, it takes me to a new and totally reconfigured set-up. I'm sure this is also what is happening to Judi and Leslie, too.

Maybe you and Song are somehow still linking to the original pages being stored in your cache?? I dunno, but I'll bet if you initiate a brand new search and go directly to the gratefulness.org homepage, you'll see the new set-up that we're describing.

[Budsters Mom]

I cleared my cache. I am linking to the old page through a shortcut on my desktop, on my iPad. I can still add candles and view those of other members on our page. I'm not going to try to get in the other way because this works for me.

[labblab]

Sure wish I could join you there. :o

[My sweet Ginger]

Hmm, wonder what's going on but I still get the old version. :rolleyes:

[Budsters Mom]

Currently there are five candles burning on our old candle lighting page. Four of them have high flames. They have been lit recently. There are at least a few members who can still access that page for now.

There are two candles lit to honor Keesh, one to honor Husko, one to honor Aggie and the one I lit this afternoon to honor all.

I don't know why some of us can access it and some can't.:confused:

[mytil]

I have had no problems accessing the old one at all. Here is the screen shot and I see no changes you mentioned Marianne.

[labblab]

Well now, this keeps getting curiouser and curiouser (as Alice in Wonderland would say! :rolleyes:).

Kathy or Song, do the candles for Keesh seem to be from Judi and are the flames fairly high? If so, that is weird since apparently it has been at least 24 hours since she has been able to access the site. So they should be less than half high by now. I keep thinking you guys must have some shortcut to a historically archived version, but that doesn't explain why you can still actively initiate a new candle now.

Too strange!!!

[labblab]

Terry, I just now saw your reply and screenshot. Here's a screenshot of the new candle-lighting page as of this moment. It is now universal without any groupings. And for instance, if you search for a currently listed candle for Keesh, there is none there. Too weird!!!

[My sweet Ginger]

Oh well, no more candles for me either this morning.
Only getting ' page not found'. :(

[labblab]

Yes, here is the dreaded "Page Not Found" for the link to our original K9C candle page.

[Squirt's Mom]

Yes! That is what I am seeing, too, Marianne! So sad. But I am looking for another site where we can have a group setting for our babies. So far, no luck tho. :( But I do have an idea...let me see if it is doable. ;)

[labblab]

I will also go ahead and email the site administrators to see whether there is any way in which we can establish a group page on the new site.

[spdd]

What about this.... not sure if they would appreciate us.. but I sure don't see why not http://thecenterforhealingarts.com/light-a-candle/ I'm going to light one anyway.

Didn't work.. will try again.

Nope.. candle won't light.

[Budsters Mom]

My old candle page link finally went out too.:o:o:o:o:(:(:(:(:eek::eek::eek::eek:

The new one really sucks! The best part of the site was the unity of our family here. To be able to light a candle and visit the candles of our other pups too. The fact that they were all there together. Therefore, we were all there supporting each other. This new page will not work at all! :o:o I AM NOT HAPPY!!!

I kept a candle burning for Buddy on the old site for an entire year and never let one burn out. When one got low, I lit another. After the year, I continued to burn one every few weeks. Even now, approaching his second anniversary, I will miss lighting a candle for him. Such a loss.:( Such a loss for us all. I am not the only one. Many of us have found peace through visiting our candle page. So sad!:(

[spdd]

Yup.... I felt I was close to "mah boy" when I could light a candle and tried too not to let one go out before lighting another. This sucks big time.

[patches123]

Tonight there will be a candle lighting for Rex the Husky(I know not Cushy babies but in memory of ALL dogs). I will be lighting a candle for my beloved girl Patches and for Rex as well. We have a husky mix named Bradley who was Patches furbrother who misses her dearly. May all our cushy babies run free at Rainbow Bridge where there is no more nasty Cushings or anything else but happiness! Bless you all.:)

[labblab]

Good news for our family! :) I did send an email to the "gratefulness" web team, and they very graciously responded. They explained the reasons for needing to revise the candle site and altering the group pages. Unfortunately, there was malicious misuse of the group pages, plus the "architecture" of the site was breaking down so that the group candles were not displaying properly. In addition, though, they sent these suggestions for informally creating a group page for ourselves. I haven't yet tried it, but I am thinking that we can just continue to use "K9C" as our acronym. So what they are suggesting is to embed the acronym in the text of each of our messages, so that we can then search out all candles for our group. Here is what they wrote:


We recognize that part of what is important to many people who appreciated the groups is a sense of community. As such, we offer the following way to informally make a “group” so that you can continue to connect with others through the candles:

Commit to using a word that you all agree to inside the message (best to use an unusual word or an acronym associated with your “group” rather than a commonly used word like “prayer,” “love,” or “grateful”).

When looking for your group's candles, search on the word you have chosen in the search field in the upper right hand side of the page.

All candles with messages containing that word will show. It is then possible to open the candles to read the messages.

After opening a candle within the group, use the back arrow to return to the group rather than clicking on "Back to Candles."
This way you can dip in and out of your "group" and also quickly see how many candles are lit.

We hope that you and others in your group will continue to use the candles and find them a source of great comfort and healing throughout your journeys.

With kindness,

The Gratefulness Webteam


I told them how much their candles have meant to our family, and thanked them for providing the site to us all. I am anxious to try lighting a candle using their instructions, so I will do so in a little while!

[labblab]

It works!!!! :) :) :)

I just lit two candles (accidentally duplicated myself :o) labelled for "All." One difference is that now the only listing option is by country (not by name or state, etc). So if you want to identify yourself further, you will need to write that part in the body of your message, too, as I did.

To find my candles, just search using "K9C" as the search term (I used caps for the K and C), and then you'll see them displayed together on one page.

http://www.gratefulness.org/light-a-candle/

I am so relieved and grateful to have the candles "returned" to us.

[Budsters Mom]

Thanks Marianne for doing this.:p

I like the other page tons better, but this is a at least way for us keep family here together, which is crucial. Did the administrators from the other site mention why they changed it?

[Squirt's Mom]

That is wonderful, Marianne! Thank you for doing this!

[labblab]

Thanks, guys! Kathy, these were the reasons that prompted the change:


Sadly, the groups were often misused. People wrote offensive messages upsetting those who were sincerely endeavoring to honor a beloved sick person or animal and with more than 10,000 candles lit each day it was impossible for us to monitor them.

In addition, the architecture of the old Light a Candle feature was breaking down. More recently, we and others created groups that did not show up and which did not respond to a Search effort and this was upsetting.

Increasingly the candle group numbers weren't accurate and we were receiving complaints from people who were upset that the number of candles in their group weren't reflected accurately on the entry page.

As a result of these and some additional issues we made the difficult decision not to continue the group element of Light a Candle in our new design.

[Squirt's Mom]

uuhhmmmm, however when I searched for K9C this is what I got -


There were no search results found for K9C

Anyone else find the candles Marianne lit?

[Squirt's Mom]

Never mind - you have to search from the candle lighting page, not the home page. :o

[Squirt's Mom]

It works when you do it right. ;)

[labblab]

So glad you found it, Les. And I see the K9C can be lower-case (k9c) and it will still work/search fine. So if that's quicker and easier for folks, you don't have to bother with the caps.

If it's OK with you, Leslie, I am going to edit your threadstarter here and on EE in order to provide the new link and the posting instructions.

[Squirt's Mom]

You bet! :)

[Budsters Mom]

I did find your candles Marianne and it works! ;) Thanks for finding a way to get it to still work for us.

I do understand why felt the need to change their page and obviously that is within their right. :(:o I never was big on changing things that work!:o

We are approaching Buddy's dreaded two year anniversary. I will light one then and see if I can find it when I search K9C.

[labblab]

It works, guys, it works. I've just been there and saw all our shining candles. Did my heart so good to see them!!! I know it's different, but our lights are still shining strong. Thank goodness, and thanks to gratefulness.org.

[Budsters Mom]

I lit one for my furry little brother Spot. He was with me from age 3 to 18. I'll be lighting one for Buddy soon. Yes, seeing them all together made me feel warm inside.

It is different, but they remain there together. That'a all that matters. It works!

[Bo's Mom]

Thank you so much, ladies. The first year I lost Bo, I made sure his flame on his candle remained lit everyday. During the 2nd year, I did it monthly. It was such a great comfort to have this site going. I will never forget my little Angel Bo and always will remain grateful to this site and all the members here for all you did to help me deal with having a cushpup. Thank you again always!!

[spdd]

I just tried... went to K9C and it said to click on an unlit candle.... trouble was there weren't any unlit. Wondering if that's because it's an American site and I'm in Canada.... not sure.

[labblab]

Judi, that's a glitch in their set-up. To light a new candle, you have to back out from the K9C page by hitting the back button, or by selecting the "View candles" page or the "Light a candle" page if you're on pages where those prompts show up. Or just click on the original link again and start the lighting process from there. I just noticed that glitch myself. But anybody from anywhere in the world can access the site.

[labblab]

Kathy has told us this week that her lighted candles are not showing up when she performs a "k9c" search. Is anybody else having a similar problem? The site is working fine for me, so I am having a hard time sorting out what might be wrong.

Marianne

[spdd]

Mine are showing ok..... just checked it now.

[labblab]

Thanks for the feedback, Judi!

[Budsters Mom]

Still doesn't work for me!!!!:(

[spdd]

I have to go back out of the sight and start fresh to view the candles. Try and see if that works. If you stay on the sight after you light the candle and try to view.... k9c won't come up. It's quirky for me, but eventually I can see the lit candles.

[spdd]

Today it says, "cannot establish a data base connection" when you want to light a candle. Don't know if that's temporary or not. It happens with the link here and also when you type (search) the website name. The website comes up when you type it in... but the "light a candle" isn't working. Will try later today.

[labblab]

Thanks for alerting us, Judi. I'm getting the same error message this morning. I'm hoping it's just a temporary issue that will be resolved shortly!

Edited to add: YAY, the candles are back online once again. :)

[Budsters Mom]

Yes, the candles are working here too!:)

[Maryri]

I forgot to add k9c :(

Lighting the candle did relieve some of my pain. Glad I saw this.

Marie

[Budsters Mom]

Just light another one if you want it to appear on our K9C page. ;)

I forgotten myself a time or two. I'm glad it helped.

Kathy

[spdd]

Sure wish there was a "love" or "like" on the candles page. What people have written is so compassionate and considerate.

[labblab]

Today I read a very touching entry in a blog written by a New York Times editor who is being treated for cancer. He writes about the life lessons that are gifted to him by his aging dog. This line, in particular, meant a great deal to me.


Good dogs – and most dogs are good dogs – are canine candles that briefly blaze and shine, illuminating our lives. Bijou has been here with us for the past 12 years, reminding us that simple pleasures are the ones to be treasured...

"Canine candles that briefly blaze and shine, illuminating our lives."

Oh my, that is just so true, and I think that's why I receive such comfort from lighting my candles here on our site. Each time I light a flame I am instantly reconnected with the life of my baby again, even if for just a fleeting moment.

For anyone who wishes to read the whole article, here it is. I warn you it will make you cry.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/life-lessons-from-the-family-dog/?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_hh_20161109&nl=well&nl_art=5&nlid=65026408&ref=headline&te=1&_r=0

[labblab]

Bumping up.

[Squirt's Mom]

Sadly I can no longer find the K9C candles....nothing worked in the search for me but I still lit one for Squirt.

[labblab]

Hey Leslie, there’s no longer a page that’s permanently dedicated to any group. However, if you include “K9C” in the body of your message, then your candle can be viewed alongside all others who have also been posted by a member of our family — just enter K9C into the search query box. Many days there are no K9C candles to be searched out, and you’ll get “no results found” in response to a search query. But any time that a K9C candle has been posted, you can find it. I do light candles fairly often, as do a few other folks. There were several candles lit at various times during the holidays, which was heart-warming.

To give you something to search for, I just now lit a candle, myself. So if you go back and plug in “K9C” as the search query, you should find it. And once again, it doesn’t matter where you put K9C in your own message when you light a candle, just so long as it’s somewhere within the body of what you’ve written.

[Squirt's Mom]

ahhhh ok! That did work! Thanks!

[gingerbread]

I just read this and went and lit a candle for Ginger. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[labblab]

Colleen, we’re so glad you’ve joined us as a candle-lighter. I know the “Gratefulness” website has been a source of such comfort for me throughout the years, and I hope it will be for you, too. I’ve lit countless candles there, on good days and bad, on holidays and random times — whenever I’ve felt lost or sad but also when I’ve been filled with sweet memories, too. It almost serves as a diary for me, and a special spot where I can talk to my loved ones at any time I wish. Whenever the spirit strikes me, I can leave a special note for my dear ones. It is a connection that I cherish. And as I say, I hope you will, too.

Many hugs,
Marianne

[gingerbread]

Marianne, thank you. I will have to say it was a very special moment for me and I will continue to visit and light a candle for my sweet girl Ginger and others I feel a need to.
I am so fortunate to have you all to lean on.