Our herd
There's an old idea that a beloved pet, when it passes, waits for us in a green meadow at the foot of a rainbow — healthy and happy again, until the day we're together once more.
We loved that idea, but we wanted to change one thing. Our pets never did much alone. They were a herd — a noisy, mismatched, deeply loved bunch who shared their beds and their dinners and their people. So we don't picture them waiting one by one. We picture them waiting the way they lived: together, as a herd, ears up in the tall grass, watching the path for us to come home.
That's what this site is for. Not one goodbye at a time, but a place to keep the whole herd together — every story, every picture, every voice.
The poem, and the girl who wrote it
The idea comes from a short prose poem called Rainbow Bridge, written in 1959 by Edna Clyne-Rekhy — a nineteen-year-old in Scotland, grieving her dog, Major. She typed out copies for friends, who were moved and passed them on, and over the decades the words traveled the world, comforting countless grieving families — but usually with her name stripped away. An anonymous printing in a widely-read 1994 advice column carried it further still.
For years its authorship was muddled, with several people claiming or misattributing it, until 2023 — when researcher Paul Koudounaris, of the Order of the Good Death, traced it back to Edna and confirmed it with her original handwritten manuscript. Because it circulated for so long with no copyright notice and no attribution, it is today widely treated as effectively public domain: a gift freely given, which is exactly how Edna meant it.
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….
You can read more about the poem and its history here: