The Last Battle: She sashayed into our family and for 16 years Miss Kitty graced us with her voice, with her 40+ word vocabulary, her huge presence and intelligence, moodiness, extreme skills… Clyne-Rekhy still has the original hand-written draft of the poem. When she showed it to Koudounaris, he says he immediately knew it was real. “The rest of her story confirmed it for me later, but I can’t fully explain the power of those sheets.” The first reference to a meadow in which pets await their owners can be found in the book Beautiful Joes Paradise by Margaret Marshall Saunders. Beautiful Buddy: Buddy was the most kindest, gentlest cat I have ever met, he was so obedient and lovable, he was almost human and almost understood every word you said…

Some versions he read, for example, talked about animals “who are maimed and made whole again,” while others referenced animals being “returned to vigor.” These slight differences “let me know something important: That this has been traveling around for a while,” Koudounaris says. Because this poem describes a lost pet as flying home on the wings of a dove into Gods loving arms, it might offer comfort to someone with deep religious faith mourning the loss of a pet bird. Like many poems of this nature, it can also be comforting after the loss of virtually any type of pet. 14. To a Skylark by Percy Shelley According to wikipedia, The story tells of a lush green meadow just “this side of Heaven” (i.e. before one enters into it). Rainbow Bridge is the name of both the meadow and the adjoining pan-prismatic conveyance connecting it to Heaven. Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that 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 our friends are warm and comfortable.

Later, this blog will cover the original The Rainbow Bridge poem, whose author may be anonymous. This poem is a modification of the original. And that’s O.K. at the Rainbow Bridge, where all the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor, just as we remember them in our dreams. Your cat, threatened by the presence of so many healthy, vigorous animals (even though, truly, they could not care less about him and barely noticed his arrival), will start marking every part of the Rainbow Bridge, until the meadows and hills have a sort of stale ammonia smell. Sadly on Sunday April 3 2022 at the grand age of 16 & 1/2 years Ginger’s family had to make the heartbreaking decision to let him go as his health started to deteriorate rapidly. Cognitive dysfunction is rarely diagnosed in cats, but it can certainly occur with advanced age. More commonly, cats experience confusion and disorientation in their final days due to a build-up of toxins in the body impairing normal brain function. Cats with liver failure, anemia or certain tumors may also suffer from seizures.

Beautiful Joes Paradise is a sequel to the book Beautiful Joe, which was one of the first that helped raise awareness toward animal cruelty and told the story Beautiful Joe, a dog from the town of Meaford, OntarioThe rainbow bridge poem is a tribute to your beloved pet and best friend to help connect to how they made the journey to the other side of heaven. So, when the day arrives, and it is inevitable, how do you cope with the loss of a pet? Of course, some people assume pet grief hurts less than human grief, but they couldnt be more mistaken. The first appearance of the Rainbow Bridge in relation to animals is believed to come from a poem by Paul C. Dahm, a grief counselor in Oregon. He wrote the first Rainbow Bridge poem in prose style as seen below: Dillon My Beloved Maine Coon: Dillon was a 9 yr old brown/white/tabby male who touched our hearts like no other… His gentle spirit, soft voice, and companionship was like no other cat…

If that’s not your style, that’s fine, too. Everyone has their own way of remembering their loved ones. 5. Look Into Adopting Another Cat (Picture Credit: Getty Images)

3. Create Something

Koudounaris suspects that it must have been passed person to person until it lost its connection to its original author—and eventually took on a life of its own. He also noticed discrepancies in the poem’s language that made him suspect it was much older than people assumed. Together with his wife they created their own rhyming version of the Rainbow Bridge poem which they shared with friends shown below:

And before you know it, your pups a part of your life. Loves you, needs you and you need your pet more than you thought you would. Its strange because they cant speak but they understand every word you say . It can be heartbreaking to talk about the cats that we’ve lost, but rather than focusing on the pain, we should remember the good times and share those positive memories with others.The reason the term because so popular is because most pet owners view their pet as more than just “a cat” or “a dog”. While the original seems to describe a dog or cat crossing over to a happy place on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge, this poem alters some of the wording to make it clear its referencing birds. You can easily find it by Googling Rainbow Bridge poem birds. You might even want to make your own modifications to make the poem more directly apply to your lost pet. 12. Dont Cry for Me When Im Gone by Unknown Your kitty certainly wouldn’t want you to be sad and lonely. That’s why they brought you so much joy in life and comforted you when you needed it most. Adopting a new cat can be a great way to honor your old kitty’s love, and you’d be saving a life.