The Rainbow Bridge

When a pet dies, people often say they have "crossed the Rainbow Bridge". Here's what it means, where it comes from, and why it helps.

What the Rainbow Bridge means

The Rainbow Bridge is the idea that pets who die go to a green meadow where they are well again, running and playing, until the day their person arrives. Then they cross a bridge of light together. It spread as a short prose piece in the 1980s (who first wrote it is still debated) and is now used all over the world.

Saying a pet "crossed the Rainbow Bridge" makes the goodbye feel less like an ending and more like time apart. That is why so many families use it.

A few lines we wrote

They are not lost.
They are just ahead of us on the path,
the way they always were on walks —
stopping now and then to look back,
making sure we're still coming.

Ways to mark the day they crossed

• Light a candle, on the day each year, or any day you miss them.
• Write them a letter. The things you didn't get to say, the things you're grateful for.
• Walk their favourite route, slowly, on your own.
• Choose one photo and put it somewhere you'll see it, at home and online.

Explaining it to children

For young children, "crossed the Rainbow Bridge" on its own can be confusing. It helps to say it together with what really happened: "She died, and she isn't coming back, but she's still with us when we remember her." There's more in our guide telling a child their pet died.

25,270 pets are remembered on Light a Paw so far. More about the meaning: the Rainbow Bridge, explained.