# When did "the rainbow bridge" become a popular metaphor for pet deaths? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449 "2017-01-18T04:10:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/1 "2017-01-18T04:10:24Z")
Pretty much what I’m asking in the title: 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? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/2 "2017-01-18T04:25:38Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/3 "2017-01-18T04:40:23Z")
I’ve never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/4 "2017-01-18T04:41:43Z")
Another USAer here. Never heard of it, and I’ve had lots of pets die over the past 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/5 "2017-01-18T04:58:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/6 "2017-01-18T06:08:04Z")
I first heard the term around 1995. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/7 "2017-01-18T06:36:20Z")
Never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/8 "2017-01-18T06:44:45Z")
[https://www.reference.com/art-literature/wrote-rainbow-bridge-poem-827b568f9a94ead3](https://www.reference.com/art-literature/wrote-rainbow-bridge-poem-827b568f9a94ead3) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/9 "2017-01-18T06:48:39Z")
I first heard of it on the Internet circa 1999. Somehow even my Mum has heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/10 "2017-01-18T07:26:52Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > I first heard of it on the Internet circa 1999. Somehow even my Mum has heard of it. It’s exactly the kind of thing that people’s Mums will have heard of! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/11 "2017-01-18T08:40:42Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > Am I right that it’s a relatively recent (as in, '90s or later) concept? Is it mostly US-centric, or international, or what? Just a data point – when I was a kid growing up in southern Ontario, the “[Rainbow bridge](http://www.richard-seaman.com/USA/States/NewYork/NiagaraFalls/HelicopterTrip/BothWaterfallsAndBanksFromTheNorth.jpg)” 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. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/12 "2017-01-18T12:28:41Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Just a data point – when I was a kid growing up in southern Ontario, the “[Rainbow bridge](http://www.richard-seaman.com/USA/States/NewYork/NiagaraFalls/HelicopterTrip/BothWaterfallsAndBanksFromTheNorth.jpg)” 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. I’m hoping you jest. The bridge is where pets meet their owners when they too pass. No flinging. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/13 "2017-01-18T13:07:25Z")
I remember reading the Rainbow Bridge poem in a Dear Abby column, probably in the late 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/14 "2017-01-18T13:10:06Z")
The only Rainbow Bridge I have heard of is in Utah. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/15 "2017-01-18T13:31:41Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I remember reading the Rainbow Bridge poem in a Dear Abby column, probably in the late 1980s. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/16 "2017-01-18T13:36:50Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > 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. 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. Mrs. J. liked it though. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/17 "2017-01-18T13:41:43Z")
Mostly these days I see it on Facebook. I find it nauseating personally, but understand why it brings people comfort. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/18 "2017-01-18T13:55:24Z")
Freaking ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/19 "2017-01-18T14:01:50Z")
It’s been a [metaphor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bifr%C3%B6st) for the junction between Earth and the gods for a few thousand years. Oddly, the bridge between Earth and the realm of the dead is something [else](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gjallarbr%C3%BA). Not a rainbow or multi-colored but covered in gold. So, if you’re Norse, you and your pets end up in different places unless you die in battle. ---
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449/20 "2017-01-18T14:12:02Z")
I first came across it in the late '00s and have seen it a lot since I frequent dog related forums/am part of dog related FB groups. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-rainbow-bridge-become-a-popular-metaphor-for-pet-deaths/777449.md?page=2)