What to make of “The Rainbow Bridge”?
If you’re a pet owner, you may know this poem. It’s one of those things a veterinarian or a well-meaning friend will give you after your pet dies. It’s maudlin and pandering. And every time I read it, I cry. “The Rainbow Bridge” story goes like this: Your pet dies and is transported to a place “just this side of heaven.” It’s a wonderful place, where your pet is healthy and happy and always has food and water and other animal friends to play with. The only thing missing: You. Your pet misses you. Then, one day, your pet senses something different in the air. He perks up and breaks away from the joyfully playing animals. “You have been spotted,” as one version goes, “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
