The Rainbow Bridge is the theme of a work of poetic prose written some time between 1980 and 1992, whose original creator is unknown.
The theme is of a mythological place to which a pet goes upon its death, eventually to be reunited with its owner. It has gained wide popularity amongst animal lovers who have lost a pet.
Although no major religion specifically refers to such a place for pets, the belief shows similarities with the Bifröst bridge of Norse Mythology.[1]
Contents |
The story tells of a green meadow located "this side of Heaven" (i.e., before one enters into it). Rainbow Bridge is both the name of the meadow and an adjoining bridge connecting it to Heaven.
According to the story, when a pet dies it goes to the meadow, having its body cured of any illnesses, frailties and/or injuries. The pet runs around and plays with other pets, missing only one thing – the love and companionship of its owner, who is still alive on Earth.
Upon the pet owner's death, on his/her journey toward Heaven s/he crosses the meadow. While doing so, the pet (along with any other pets the owner had while on Earth) spots its owner and runs to greet him/her. Reunited, the pet(s) and owner cross the Rainbow Bridge together into Heaven, never again to be parted.
Having been circulated and attributed sufficiently widely around the world, the original authorship of the poem is now uncertain. The website About.com suggests that there are three known contenders at present:
However, the concept of a paradise where pets wait for their human owners appeared much earlier, in the little-known sequel to "Beautiful Joe", the Margaret Marshall Saunders' book, "Beautiful Joe's Paradise." In this green land, the animals do not simply await their owners, but also help each other learn and grow and recover from mistreatment they may have endured in life. But the animals come to this land, and continue to true heaven, not by a bridge but by balloon.
The first mention of the "Rainbow Bridge" story on the internet is a post on the newsgroup rec.pets.dogs, dated January 7, 1993, quoting the poem from a 1992 (or earlier) issue of "Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League Newsletter", which in turn is stated to have quoted it from the Akita Rescue Society of America. Other posts from 1993 suggest it was already well established and being circulated on the Internet at that time, enough for the quotation of even a single line to be expected to be recognized by other newsgroup readers.