You have just a few hours left to pay tribute to a beloved pet who has crossed the Rainbow Bridge

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Today is the last opportunity you have to publicly pay homage to a beloved deceased pet as part of our free pet-tribute series.

Those of us who currently have – or have lost -- a pet knows what a powerful hold they have on our hearts – and that the bond is not broken, even long after they have departed this life.

Cleveland.com is preparing to unveil paid pet tribute program soon, but before we launch it, we’re giving readers a one-time chance to get a tribute published for free.

Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer Editor Chris Quinn made the announcement two weeks ago. Since then, our email boxes have been filled daily with stories of beloved cats and dogs which made us smile, laugh or shed a tear. We have received more than 60 to date.

Today is the last opportunity to share a special pet memory as part of the free program.

You have until 5 p.m. May 13, to submit your tribute. We’ve put together a form to collect the needed information from you, which you can access at https://tinyurl.com/tributetopets.

The form has a 500-word limit built into it and includes a feature to upload a photo. Please provide only photos that you took or that you have permission to publish. No professional photos will be accepted due to copyright laws. Please tell us who took the photo (for photo credit purposes) and send written permission with your submission. If you did not take the photo, please tell us who did and how we can contact them for permission to publish the photo.

You can pay tribute to a pet you’ve lost recently, or one that died many years ago. We want to hear the story of how you met, a devoted or heroic act that saved or changed you, or simply their habits or antics that still make you smile.

We will begin sharing the stories – several each day -- on Monday, May 16, on cleveland.com and later in The Plain Dealer.

Remember, you have until 5 p.m. today to submit your tribute.