Rainbow Bridge Pet Urns

Why people choose rainbow bridge

Nobody knows for certain who wrote the Rainbow Bridge poem. It appeared in pet-loss newsletters in the early 1980s and spread by photocopy and then by email, which is a fittingly ordinary origin for something that has comforted an enormous number of people.

The poem matters less than the picture it left behind. Most owners who ask for a rainbow have never read the full text — they just know what the arc means, which is really all a symbol needs to do.

Vets and pet crematoriums use the phrase constantly. For many people it is the first gentle language they hear on the worst day, and it stays attached to the memory.

How this design is made

The arc is painted in soft bands rather than saturated primaries — the intent is a watercolour sky, not a childrens toy. Colours are laid wet so they bleed slightly into one another.

We usually place the figurine at one foot of the arc, facing outward, as though it has just arrived. Some owners ask for it facing back the other way instead. Either is fine; tell us which.

Small clouds in white slip are added at both ends to anchor the arc so it does not appear to float off the side of the jar.

Read more: Where the Rainbow Bridge poem came from