Rainbow Bridge Poem History: Who Wrote It, When It Spread, and Why It Comforts Grieving Pet Families

There are a few lines that seem to find people exactly when they need them. Not because the words erase grief, but because they give grief a place to rest for a moment. For many families, the “Rainbow Bridge” reading is one of those rare pieces of writing that shows up in the middle of a hard day—maybe in a text from a friend, maybe in a veterinary clinic handout, maybe in a sympathy card that finally says what you’ve been trying to say to yourself. It’s not unusual to hear someone whisper, “I don’t even know who wrote it,” and then keep reading anyway, because the feeling of reunion, peace, and recognition is what matters most in that moment.

For decades, that uncertainty about authorship was part of the story. The poem circulated widely without a name attached, and over time, multiple people were credited. In recent years, though, the origin has been clarified in a way that both honors the writer and explains why the text became unmoored from its creator. Understanding that history doesn’t make the poem “more correct” as a comfort, but it can make it feel more human—and for many grieving pet families, that matters.

The origin story most people never heard

In February 2023, National Geographic reported that the original “Rainbow Bridge” story began in 1959, written by Edna Clyne-Rekhy in Scotland after the death of her Labrador Retriever, Major. The details are simple and piercing: a young woman in grief, trying to put language around love that doesn’t stop just because a life ends. That is part of why the writing has traveled so far. It wasn’t created to go viral. It was created to survive a loss.

In the years that followed, the “Rainbow Bridge” text moved through the most ordinary human channels—typed copies, shared pages, one friend giving it to another. As the writing spread, names fell away. When something comforts a hurting person, they often pass it on quickly, and they don’t always think to include a citation. Over time, the poem became both ubiquitous and anonymous: a communal piece of pet-loss language that belonged to everyone, and therefore—on paper—belonged to no one.

Why authorship stayed unclear for so long

The long period of uncertainty wasn’t just internet chaos; it was also a function of how grief literature spreads. In veterinary waiting rooms, hospice resources, and condolence traditions, people are trying to help someone breathe again. That urgency tends to prioritize usefulness over provenance. Even today, it is common to find the poem distributed as “Author Unknown,” including in university veterinary materials. That isn’t necessarily neglect; it’s a snapshot of how the poem lived for decades—circulating faster than attribution could follow it.

During the years of ambiguity, other names were attached to “Rainbow Bridge,” including Paul C. Dahm and other claimants in the 1980s–1990s era. The existence of multiple versions and retellings created a kind of authorship fog: some versions were rhymed, some were in prose, some were shortened, and some were embellished. That is one reason you’ll hear people describe the “Rainbow Bridge poem” as if it is one fixed text, when in practice it has functioned more like a family of related readings, grouped under the same comforting idea.

When it spread and how it became a modern ritual

When families ask about “when it spread,” they’re usually asking a practical question: how did this become so common that it feels like a tradition? The answer is that the poem moved in waves. It circulated privately for years, then it began appearing more publicly in print and media, and finally it found its natural home online—where pet communities gather, grieve, and witness one another.

In 2023, the historian Paul Koudounaris published a detailed account of how the poem’s history and authorship became tangled and how it was ultimately traced back to Edna Clyne-Rekhy, including the role of unattributed circulation and later publication. National Geographic also describes how the writing moved from personal copies into broader public life, which is a familiar pattern for grief texts: first shared in intimate circles, then adopted by institutions that support grieving families, and finally absorbed into the everyday language of condolence.

The rise of online pet-loss communities accelerated everything. A poem that once traveled by photocopy could now travel by screenshot, and the “Rainbow Bridge” concept became shorthand in a way that few other pet-loss readings have managed. It became a phrase people could say without having to explain the whole grief. “He crossed the Rainbow Bridge” can mean: I loved him, I miss him, I hope he is safe somewhere, and I don’t know what to do with this ache.

Why it comforts, even for people who don’t share the same beliefs

One reason the “Rainbow Bridge” meaning is so durable is that it offers something many grieving pet families desperately need: permission to keep loving. The poem isn’t only about where a pet goes; it’s about the relationship continuing in memory and in longing. In grief research, that idea is often described as maintaining a bond rather than “moving on.” For pet loss specifically, the need for validation can be intense because people sometimes encounter minimizing comments—grief that is real, but not always socially respected.

On the clinical side, the American Veterinary Medical Association acknowledges that grief after the death of an animal can be profound and that people benefit from time, support, and rituals that honor the bond. More recently, a 2026 study in PLOS ONE found evidence that prolonged grief disorder symptoms can occur after the death of a pet, with pet-bereavement grief presenting in comparable ways to other major bereavements. For many families, the “Rainbow Bridge reading” works because it acts like a small ritual: it organizes the chaos of love, loss, and memory into a narrative the heart can hold.

It also helps that the imagery is gentle. The poem does not demand a particular theology in order to be emotionally useful. For some readers it is literally spiritual. For others, it is symbolic—an imaginative bridge that stands in for the truth that love does not vanish. That flexibility is part of why the poem has been adopted across cultures, households, and generations of pet owners.

How the poem fits into memorials, sympathy cards, and veterinary traditions

Families often ask how to use the poem without making it feel forced or performative. The best guideline is simple: use it as a container, not a script. If it feels true, let it carry a piece of what you can’t say yet. If it doesn’t feel true, you are not failing your pet by choosing different words.

In a pet memorial service reading, the poem can be placed at the beginning, when emotions are raw and people need a shared language, or at the end, when you want to close with a sense of tenderness rather than finality. In a sympathy card, many people choose one short excerpt rather than the full text—just enough to communicate companionship and reunion without turning the card into a printed page. That is especially helpful when you are writing to someone whose beliefs you don’t fully know.

Veterinary and hospice settings tend to use “Rainbow Bridge” for a practical reason: it meets people where they are. In moments of shock—after euthanasia, after a sudden decline, after the last appointment—families often need something they can hold onto. That is why it appears in clinic resources and handouts, sometimes still labeled as “Author Unknown.” It becomes a transitional object: not a replacement for grief support, but a small, steady presence inside the first days of loss.

From words to choices: what memorialization can look like after pet loss

After the immediate shock, families often encounter a second wave of grief that looks deceptively like logistics. You may find yourself making choices that feel too permanent for a heart that is still trying to catch up. If your pet was cremated—or if you are planning pet cremation—questions about memorialization can surface quickly: do we bring the ashes home, do we scatter, do we divide them among family members, do we want something we can hold?

This is one reason the “Rainbow Bridge” concept pairs so often with modern keepsakes. A poem can hold the story; an object can hold the day-to-day reality of missing them. Some families choose a single pet cremation urn as a home memorial. Others prefer pet urns for ashes that include a photo or engraving so the memorial feels personalized and specific. If you are exploring options, Funeral.com’s Pet Cremation Urns for Ashes collection is a helpful place to compare styles in one calm space.

If you are trying to honor a pet’s personality—playful, regal, stubborn, gentle—some families gravitate toward sculptural pieces that feel like art rather than “a container.” That is where Pet Figurine Cremation Urns for Ashes can feel especially meaningful, because the memorial can echo the way your companion looked and moved through the world.

For shared grief, keepsake urns are often the most practical and emotionally balanced choice. A larger urn can be paired with several smaller keepsakes so siblings, partners, or close friends can each hold a small portion. Funeral.com’s Pet Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes collection is designed for exactly that kind of shared remembrance. And if you’re trying to understand the difference between a single memorial and a “distributed” approach, the Journal guide Pet Keepsake Urns and Small Pet Memorials explains how families use photo urns, mini keepsakes, and shared portions in real life.

When “keeping them close” is literal

Some people want a memorial that travels with them. Others want something discreet, something that can be worn under a shirt or held in a pocket on hard days. That is where cremation jewelry enters the conversation—not as a trend, but as a form of closeness that can be surprisingly grounding. A cremation necklace or small pendant typically holds only a tiny amount of ashes, but that smallness is part of the point: it is symbolic, not logistical.

For general guidance on how these pieces work, how to fill them, and how to choose materials that hold up to daily wear, Funeral.com’s Journal article Cremation Jewelry 101 is a strong starting point. If your loss is a pet and you want designs that reflect that bond—paw prints, silhouettes, heart motifs—Funeral.com also offers a dedicated Pet Cremation Jewelry collection, alongside broader options in Cremation Jewelry and Cremation Necklaces.

Sometimes, families choose jewelry and an urn together because grief changes shape. At first, you might need the stability of a home memorial. Later, you might want a small piece of closeness on anniversaries, travel days, or quiet moments when you didn’t expect to miss them so sharply. The Journal piece Pet Urn vs. Keepsake Urn vs. Cremation Jewelry walks through these emotional and practical differences without pressuring anyone into a single “right” answer.

Planning questions that often show up after pet loss

Even when the death is “only” a pet, many families find themselves doing a form of funeral planning—choosing what the ritual will be, deciding who should be included, and figuring out what to do with the ashes when you are not ready for a final decision. If you are keeping ashes at home, it can help to think in terms of safety, respect, and emotional fit. Funeral.com’s guide Keeping Ashes at Home offers a grounded way to consider placement, family comfort, and long-term plans.

Some families choose scattering in a favorite place, and others choose a ceremony that feels symbolic and calming, such as a water burial (also described as burial at sea in some contexts). While pet-specific rules can vary by provider and location, the broader idea of water-based memorial rituals resonates with many people because water carries movement, return, and continuity. Funeral.com’s explanation of what happens during a water burial ceremony can help you imagine what that kind of goodbye looks like in practice.

And because families often need to plan through grief, cost questions can surface earlier than people expect. While human and pet cremation pricing are not the same, many households are navigating both kinds of planning in the same decade of life, and the broader shift toward cremation has shaped the entire memorial landscape. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the U.S. cremation rate was projected to reach 63.4% in 2025. The Cremation Association of North America reports a 2024 U.S. cremation rate of 61.8% and provides additional projections and methodology. As cremation becomes more common, it’s unsurprising that families increasingly search for cremation urns for ashes, small cremation urns, and keepsake options that fit modern lives.

If your household is also planning a human memorial—or if you are simply trying to understand the “urn language” that shows up online—Funeral.com’s collections for Cremation Urns for Ashes, Small Cremation Urns for Ashes, and Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes can help you compare what those terms mean in practice. The Journal article 4 Rules for Choosing the Right Urn for Ashes is also a practical bridge between emotion and decision-making, especially when you are trying to choose calmly instead of urgently.

Alternatives to the Rainbow Bridge poem when it doesn’t feel like “you”

It is worth saying plainly: you are allowed to dislike the “Rainbow Bridge” poem. Some people find it too specific, too spiritual, or too tidy for the mess of real grief. Others love the idea but prefer different words. If that is you, you can still honor the purpose behind the poem—the desire for reunion, peace, and continuing love—without using the text itself.

One alternative is to write a short “memory letter” to your pet: what you loved, what you miss, what you hope they knew. Another is to choose a simple reading about companionship that doesn’t reference an afterlife. A third is to make the ritual less verbal and more physical: lighting a candle, placing a collar on a shelf, creating a small photo table, or choosing an urn engraving that captures your relationship in a line or two. If you need immediate support while you decide what feels right, Funeral.com’s Pet Loss Hotlines & Online Support Groups page (reviewed for 2026) and the AVMA’s Coping with the loss of a pet guidance can be a steady place to start.

What the history changes, and what it doesn’t

Knowing that the “Rainbow Bridge poem” began as a young woman’s private grief writing in 1959 does not require you to use it, and it does not “validate” your love more than it already is. What it can do is return the poem to its original scale: not a mass-produced condolence, but a human attempt to survive missing someone. When families learn that, many of them feel a quieter kind of comfort. The poem becomes less like a cliché and more like a hand reaching back through time, saying: I know how this feels.

And in the end, that is what most pet-loss rituals are trying to do—whether they use the Rainbow Bridge reading, a different poem, or no poem at all. They are trying to make room for love that doesn’t have anywhere to go yet. They are trying to honor a relationship that shaped daily life. They are trying to build a small bridge between “before” and “after,” so you can keep walking without pretending you weren’t changed.

Frequently asked questions about the Rainbow Bridge poem