As an adult, I’ve noticed that many people will refer to “the rainbow bridge” when talking about pets that have died.
I don’t remember this concept from when I was a kid (except Bifrost, because I was that kind of geeky kid), but of course I could have just not run across it.
Where did the concept of “the rainbow bridge” as a metaphor for dead pets come from? Am I right that it’s a relatively recent (as in, '90s or later) concept? Is it mostly US-centric, or international, or what?
Wikipedia suggests that it started to become current on the Internet in the early 1990s.
For what it’s worth, I’m a dog owner who knows lots of other dog owners, and I had never heard of this until I saw this thread. I have lived in Ireland and Australia. I’m guessing this is mainly or exclusively a US thing.
I’ve heard of the Rainbow Bridge for a long as I’ve been online, since the early 2000s. I’ve also received sympathy cards referencing the Rainbow Bridge from veterinarians after the loss of a dog.
According to this, three people claim authorship of the Rainbow Bridge poem.
I first came across the poem in 2006 after the death of my beloved Scottie. I don’t care, really, who wrote it. I am, however, very grateful it was written.
Just a data point – when I was a kid growing up in southern Ontario, the “Rainbow bridge” was (and still is) the Canada/USA bridge that gives you a view of the Niagara Gorge and Niagara Falls. It never occurred to us to fling dead pets off of it.
That’s exactly where I first encountered it but it would have been in the early 90s to the best of my recollection. She tended to repeat herself a lot though.
We recently got a card from the vet oncologist using that phrase after our Lab died. I’m pretty sentimental about canines but that one produced an eyeroll.
