Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, your 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 friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health and strength, those who were hurt are made better and strong again, like we remember them before they go to heaven. They 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 shining, his body shakes. Suddenly he begins to run from the herd, rushing over the grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cuddle in a happy hug never to be apart again. You and your pet are in tears. Your hands again cuddle his head and you look again into his trusting eyes, so long gone from life, but never absent from your heart, and then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together.

The Rainbow Bridge has long been a comfort to many whose pets have gone onto the next world.
The Facebook photos that get shared whenever someone posts about their loss usually list the author as "unknown." It was recently discovered, though, that it was written by a Scottish artist and animal lover, Edna Clyne-Rekhy.
She was 19 at the time -- more than 60 years ago -- and grieving the loss of her Labrador retriever, Major. Her mother suggested she write how she was feeling.
She showed it to friends. They wanted their own copies. It got passed around. It got changed over time.
Sixty years later, the sentiment remains the same. Our pets are waiting in some supernatural field of flowers and rainbows.
Waiting for us.
And many who are raised to belief in an afterlife find the words soothing, a promise that we'll see our beloved fur friends again.
Others find it off-putting. What if there's no afterlife? Why does my dog have to just sit there and wait for me until I die? What if … how does … and why …
As a recovering Catholic and an atheist, I wanted to dig deeper into this. Is the Rainbow Bridge the right piece of prose to share to someone whose pet just died? Is it meaningful, hurtful or an empty gesture like "thoughts and prayers"?
I put my friend Beth Bigler, a pet loss grief counsellor and the mastermind behind @honoringouranimals, on the hot seat.
What to listen for
4:46 Why we must be inclusive with beliefs in pet loss grief
12:39 How we maintain our connection after our pets have died
16:02 The confusion Beth experienced after Arne died
22:25 Why we must mirror a griever's language to provide support
27:30 How we can show up for people experiencing pet loss grief
36:59 Coping with the uncertainty of death, loss and grief

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