Freddie Forrester, a freckled, seven year old bombshell of energy, with tousled hair and an ear to ear smile which displayed a toothy changing of the guard, stood sadly beside his father watching Dr. Worthington euthanize his dog Zach.  He wondered if he would always feel this sad.  Dr. Worthington put his hand on Freddie's shoulder as they walked out of the treatment room back into his private office.

      "Freddie, I know that this is a very sad time for you, but I need your help.  Do you think you could bring yourself to help an old veterinarian like me, even though you're feeling so sad?"

      "I don't know," Freddie said.  "What do you want me to do?"

      "Wait here for just a minute, and I'll show you," Dr. Worthington replied.  "I'll be right back."

      "What do you think he wants me to do, Dad?,"  Freddie asked, as he sat on a chair in front of Dr. Worthington's desk, swinging his legs and trying to hold back his tears.

       "I don't know, Freddie, we'll just have to wait and see."

       The door to the office opened, and Dr. Worthington entered carrying a very small puppy on a blue Frisbee.

       "Freddie, I want you to meet Frizbi," Dr. Worthington said.  "His mother passed on yesterday, just like Zach.  He has no where to go and no one to take care of him.  I was hoping that maybe you might agree to adopt Frizbi and to look out for him.  I know what a wonderful friend you were to Zach, and Frizbi really needs a good friend right now."  He placed the blue Frisbee with Frizbi on Freddies lap.  "Here, you just keep an eye on him while I go help another sick dog.  I'll be back soon.  You can let me know then."

       Freddie looked down at Frizbi on his blue Frisbee.  A tear fell from Freddie's eye onto Frizbi's nose.  Frizbi wiped it away with his paw while looking up at him.  Freddie picked him up, and Frizbi began to lick away Freddie's tears.  Freddie was very confident that he'd be able to help Dr. Worthington.  That night, Frizbi slept on his blue Frisbee beside Freddie's bed.       

       Frizbi and his blue Frisbee were inseparable.  After sleeping on it, he would drag it about and chew on it.  When it was time for Freddie to go to bed, Frizbi would carry his blue Frisbee to his bedside and go to sleep on it.  As Frizbi grew, his affection for his blue Frisbee did not wane.  Although he could no longer sleep on it, he slept with it.

        Freddie and Frizbi played together frequently, and it was Frizbi's Frisbee that fueled their love for each other.  Freddie and Frizbi would play tug of war with the Frisbee, as Frizbi growled in delight, trying not to let go.  Whenever Freddie would break Frizbi's clench on the Frisbee, he would toss it gently away, and Frizbi would run to it, pick it up in his mouth, and return to Freddie to resume the tug of war.

        As Frizbi got older and bigger, and as Freddie got bigger and stronger, the gentle toss of the Frisbee became a classic Frisbee throw: a high gliding spin that sent the Frisbee farther and farther away from Frizbi, who would run faster and faster, and jump higher and higher, to catch it.  Now, when Frizbi would bring it back to Freddie, they would not have a tug of war, but just repeat the Frisbee launch and Frizbi's race to the horizon and jump to the sun.

        Freddie and Frizbi became famous.  Frizbi won blue ribbons, red ribbons, green, and gold ribbons, as well as plaques and statues of jumping dogs.  Then, on a rainy Saturday morning when Freddie awoke, he found Frizbi laying motionless by his bed with the scratched, scuffed,

chipped, and chewed blue Frisbee under his paw.  One of Freddie's tears dropped onto Frizbi's nose, but Frizbi did not wipe it away or look up at him, like he had done many years before.  Freddie lay down beside Frizbi and draped his arm over his body.  He lay with him for a long time.  Later, he dug a grave in back of the house.  He made a cross on which he attached the blue Frisbee.  On it he wrote: "The horizon is far and the sun is high, but my Frizbi will guide me to them both," which he did.  Freddie Forrester is now Dr. Frederic Forrester, D.V.M., practicing Veterinary Medicine, as a specialist for dogs.       

       Recently, a young girl of seven stood silently beside her mother as Dr. Forrester helped the girl's dog find eternal peace.  She wondered if she would always feel this sad.  Dr. Forrester put his hand on the girl's shoulder as they walked out of the treatment room back into his private office.

      "Jennifer, I know that this is a very sad time for you, but I need your help.  Do you think you could bring yourself to help an old veterinarian like me, even though you're feeling so sad."

      "I don't know," Jennifer said.  "What do you want me to do?"

      "Wait here for just a minute, and I'll show you," Dr. Forrester replied.  "I'll be right back."

      "What do you think he wants me to do, Mom?,"  Jennifer asked, as she sat on a chair in front of Dr. Forrester's desk, swinging her legs and trying to hold back her tears.

       "I don't know, Jennifer, we'll just have to wait and see."

       The door to the office opened, and Dr. Forrester entered carrying a very small puppy on a pink Frisbee.

       "Jennifer, I want you to meet Frizbi" Dr. Forrester said.  "Her mother passed on yesterday, just like your dog Elsie.  She has nowhere to go and no one to take care of her.  I was hoping that maybe you might agree to adopt Frizbi and to look out for her.  I know what a wonderful friend you were to Elsie, and Frizbi really needs a good friend right now."  He placed the pink Frisbee with Frizbi on Jennifer's lap.  "Here, you just keep an eye on her while I go help another sick dog.  I'll be back soon.  You can let me know then.”