July 13, 2023, 3:29 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
When a beloved pet dies, people often say it has “crossed the Rainbow Bridge.” But where does this idea actually come from? PETBOOK went on a quest to find out.
When pet owners talk about their animals crossing the Rainbow Bridge, it usually marks a very sad occasion. It concerns what happens to a beloved pet after its death. The legend of the Rainbow Bridge has circulated online and in popular culture for several years. But where did the idea originate, and why does it have so many followers?
What the Rainbow Bridge Is About
The story of the Rainbow Bridge exists in various versions, both in poem and novel form. Generally, the content is the same. The soul of an animal reaches a place called the Rainbow Bridge after its own death. The pet arrives there if it was very close to someone. Once it crosses the Rainbow Bridge, it comes to a meadow that is always sunny but never too warm. There, it finds food, water, and many other animals to play with.
If an animal was old or sick, it becomes healthy again here. Even severed limbs or other injuries heal. The animals remain there until their humans come to them after their own death and continue over the Rainbow Bridge together. In the afterlife reunion, pet and owner are united again, though they were never separated in heart and spirit.
The Rainbow Bridge and Lonely Animals
Over time, the legend expanded to include a chapter about deceased animals that didn’t have a special person in their lives. According to various accounts, these animals cannot cross the Rainbow Bridge but must wait in the fields before it. They are not young and happy again but still suffer. Additionally, the weather is no longer pleasant when a neglected pet arrives.
The gloom lifts, however, when a person who cared for animals in life comes by. Some greet the person, others become healthy again. So, when someone arrives at the Rainbow Bridge who dedicated their life to animals, they can thus save those they couldn’t rescue. The deceased animal rescuer helps all lonely and abandoned pets cross the Rainbow Bridge in their company.
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Where Does the Legend Originate?
The concept of the Rainbow Bridge has existed for quite some time. Some sources suggest that this legend was already spreading in the U.S. in the 1980s. Authors such as Paul C. Dahm, William N. Britton, Wallae Sife, or in the German version Nobert van Tiggelen are considered creators of poems or books about the Rainbow Bridge. In total, more than a dozen people have claimed authorship of the story.
In February 2023, the knowledge magazine “National Geographic” reported that the original author of the Rainbow Bridge poem was finally identified. A Scottish woman named Edna Clyne-Rekhy wrote the poem in 1959 at the age of 19 when her beloved dog Major, a Labrador Retriever, passed away. Paul Koudounaris, an art historian who had long been involved with the cultural anthropological history of the Rainbow Bridge, went on a quest and found the author. He also published photos of the original manuscripts, which unequivocally prove that the Scottish woman penned the story.
Clyne-Rekhy kept the poem to herself for a long time. She declined encouragements to publish it. In fact, she only distributed a few self-typed copies to friends. By the mid-1990s, the phenomenon of the Rainbow Bridge had spread so widely that it reached self-help columns in magazines and journals in the U.S. Suddenly, it became a legend known to hundreds of millions of readers. However, without mentioning the author. As a result, various grief counselors and pet funeral directors claimed authorship of the Rainbow Bridge over the years.
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Why Is the Idea of the Rainbow Bridge So Famous?
Over the years, many people have explored the popularity of the Rainbow Bridge concept. Several explanations are offered. One possibility is a background stemming from Christian tradition. In this theology, there is the belief that animals do not possess a soul and therefore cannot go to heaven. This might explain why this paradisiacal state, where deceased animals exist in the afterlife of the Rainbow Bridge, experienced such popularity in the Christian-influenced U.S.
However, the story could also relate to Norse mythology, where the Rainbow Bridge, also called Bifröst, connects the nine worlds. The redeeming rainbow might also refer to the biblical story of Noah and the Ark. In this parable, the rainbow signified the end of the flood, allowing all animals to leave the Ark.
The author herself said in an interview with Paul Koudounaris that she did not grow up particularly spiritual. Nor was the death of her dog Major her first experience with the loss of a family member. When her father passed away four years earlier, she was initially angry, but then she was overcome with the certainty that there is a good presence in this world. And she felt this warm feeling when she wrote the world’s most famous pet poem. In any case, the idea of a place where beloved pets stay until you see them again is a very comforting thought for any owner.
Source
- Orderofthegooddeath.com, “The Rainbow Bridge: The True Story Behind History’s Most Influential Piece of Animal Mourning Literature” (accessed on 07/13/2023)