← Journal
Stories · 5 min read
The Rainbow Bridge, and Where the Story Came From
A look at the poem that gave millions of pet parents a shared language for loss.
By the Paw & Ever editorial team · Published 2026-04-28
The Rainbow Bridge is a poem, not a scripture. No one knows exactly who wrote it first, which is probably the most fitting origin story a piece of comfort could have.
It describes a meadow just this side of heaven where our pets wait, healthy and young again, until we arrive and cross over together. For a lot of people that image is the difference between an ending and a pause.
You don’t have to believe in it literally to find it useful. A story that lets us picture them waiting — warm, fed, running — is a story worth holding.