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losing a pet

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Tearjerker video shows Golden Retriever enjoy one last visit to the yard she grew up in

"She knew what was gong on."

@honey.andherhumans/TikTok

Hug you fur babies tight.

Having our beloved fur babies cross the rainbow bridge is devastating, but it’s a blessing when we are able to say goodbye in an intentional way. Bestowing them their favorite treats, setting up a special place for one last cuddle, visiting one of their favorite haunts…these little rituals don’t necessarily take the pain away, but they do help us feel like we did our part to thank our beloved creatures for a lifetime of pure love.

For the family of Nala the Golden Retriever, that meant taking her to the yard she created so many childhood memories in for one last bask in the sun.

In a video posted to TikTok, we see sweet Nala being carried by dad, all smiles and tail wags. As one of her owners wrote in the caption, she seemed to “know what was going on,” and was letting her family know that “she was going to be okay.”


@honey.andherhumans I’ll love you my whole life Nala ❤️ #goldenretriever #dog #dogs #dogloss ♬ original sound - katherine


Dad, whose face in the video says it all, shared a special relationship with Nala, and considered her his “soul dog.” But really, the entire family gave her lot of love throughout her life, adorning her with beautiful bows, lighting a fire for her to watch after her nightly walks (she had begun sundowning), and offering her sips of yummy matcha.


@honey.andherhumans Nala had all the love in the world 🥹🪽these two together were everything ❤️ #dog #dogs #dogloss #souldog ♬ when the party's over - Billie Eilish


@honey.andherhumans if your dog doesn’t come on your coffee runs is it really a coffee run #dog #dogs #dogtiktok #nj #riposo #riposocoffee #riposocoffeeroasters ♬ original sound - Sofia Coelho


But really, you don’t have to know a thing about Nala to feel moved by this video, because any pet owner who’s lost a fur baby knows exactly how bittersweet these final moments are.

As one person wrote in the comments, “losing a dog is a different kind of pain.” Another echoed, “the hardest part of having dogs.”

Others were quick to offer some words of encouragement.

“In another life, she'll run towards all of you again. with the biggest smile,” one person said, while another added, “I think she got a glimpse of just how many snackies are waiting for her in doggie heaven!”

Two other honorable mentions:

“This is my yard and my dad's got me, all is well.”

“We had some good memories out here, didn’t we?”

Since Nala’s passing, her family has received support in many lovely ways. In the video below, we see a special box for her ashes made by a friend across the country, with the words to the “Rainbow Bridge" poem printed on top.


@honey.andherhumans the most special, thoughtful gift 🥹😭❤️ #dog #dogs #dogloss #dogtiktok ♬ original sound - WBsongs


We sign on to be pet parents knowing that heartbreak is inevitable. That’s why it’s so vital to fill those limited days with as many precious memories as possible for our little angels to take with them onto the other side. Luckily, those can be simple things: a car ride here, special treats there, and, of course, never underestimate the power of cuddles. So, go give your fur baby the biggest hug possible.

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Pop Culture

'Rainbow Bridge' poem has long comforted grieving pet parents. Finally, the author is revealed.

For years, the creator of this beloved piece has been shrouded in mystery.

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For years, 'Rainbow Bridge" seemed to simply exist without an author.

For grieving pet parents, few words come closer to providing some sort of comfort than those of “Rainbow Bridge.” After all, the poignant and wildly popular poem offers a slice of hope, promising a reunion with our furry loved ones in a magical paradise of the afterlife. Even for those who aren’t so theologically inclined, the imagery can be soothing after irrevocable loss.

For so long, “Rainbow Bridge” has seemingly existed as its own entity, being handed out by vets or shared in condolence cards and online sans a credited author. However, thanks to the tireless sleuthing of historian and author Paul Koudounaris, that mystery has been solved.

According to an interview with National Geographic, Koudounaris had first become enticed to find the unknown creator of “Rainbow Bridge” after encountering it several times while working on his book about pet cemeteries (fitting). Wanting the person who wrote what he described as “a text with monumental importance to the world of animal mourning” to receive some well-deserved acclaim, Koudounaris began his search.

He discovered that “Rainbow Bridge” first came to notoriety through the long syndicated advice column “Dear Abby,” where in 1994 the poem was printed along with a warning for readers to “grab their hankies.” However, there was still no writer’s name attached. Koudounaris would have to compile two dozen names with even the slightest connection to the poem, and one by one cross them off the list until he landed on just one—a woman in Scotland by the name of Edna Clyne-Rekhy.

“What initially would have seemed like the most unlikely candidate in the end turned out to be the most intriguing candidate and, of course, the actual author,” Koudounaris told National Geographic, noting that Clyne-Rekhy was the only non-American on the list.

Koudounaris reached out to Clyne-Rekhy, who was not only shocked that he had found her but completely unaware that her poem had touched millions of hearts.

As Koudounaris details in his own story, Clyne-Rekhy was only 19 years old when she first put her words to paper. The year was 1959, and she had just lost her beloved Labrador named Major. Her only ambition (or more accurately—compulsion) at that time was to memorialize him and surrender to the “warm feeling” that seemed to be inspiring her to write.

Even when it was but a messy draft full of crossed-out words and scribbles, people knew the poem was special. At least, the few people who were shown it knew. Despite her husband’s encouragement, Clyne-Rekhy never sought to publish but would share a copy from time to time, always without her name written on it.

Here is the poem in its entirety:

The Rainbow Bridge

By Edna Clyne-Rekhy

"Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, your 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 friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health and strength, those who were hurt are made better and strong again, like we remember them before they go to heaven. They are happy and content except for one small thing, they each miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance, his bright eyes are shineing (sic), his body shakes. Suddenly he begins to run from the herd, rushing over the grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cuddle in a happy hug never to be apart again. You and your pet are in tears. Your hands again cuddle his head and you look again into his trusting eyes, so long gone from life, but never absent from your heart, and then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together."

By the early 90s, “Rainbow Bridge” made its way to a few animal lovers’ groups in America and then to the 1 million readers of “Dear Abby.” Sixty-four years after its creation, now we see its words engraved on countless pet gravestones and recited during mourning groups. Clyne-Rekhy had no idea.

And though she wasn’t thrilled that several people attempted to take credit for something she poured her heart into—including one who, according to Koudounaris, insisted it was originally performed by a Native American shaman—more than anything, she was touched to learn that it made such a positive impact on others.

As for any further advice for grieving a lost pet? Clyne-Rekhy, now 82, says get another one. While she agrees that no two animals are alike, she told Koudounaris, “There’s no reason to deny yourself…your previous pet certainly wouldn’t have wanted you to live without it.”

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Joy

Grieving dog mom gets a tattoo of her deceased bull terrier made from his ashes

'He's always with his mum now.'

via pixabay

A very suave-looking bull terrier.

Robyn Moscrop, 27, grew up with bull terriers, so three years ago she decided to adopt one and named him Bronson, Wales Online reports. He wasn’t the easiest puppy to raise but that didn’t stop him from being the apple of her eye.

“He was a crazy dog. He made such an impression on everyone because he had such a personality,” Good News Network reports. “He just kept me really busy and I’d see other people with their really well-behaved dogs and I’d be thinking ‘oh my god, why can my dog not be like that?'”

She spoiled her dog and would even rent out fields with other bull terrier owners and they would have massive 20-dog playdates. “He honestly had such an incredible life,” she recalls.

Sadly, Bronson unexpectedly passed away last July at the young age of 3. Moscrop was devastated.

The woman working at the crematorium told her she could have his ashes in a tattoo. She asked her boyfriend, George Ricketts, to give her a tattoo with Bronson's ashes mixed into the ink. He was incredibly nervous that he’d mess up such an important piece, but he got to work.

It took him eight hours to get the tattoo right, but the final result looks perfect.

@robynmoscrop

Portrait tattoo of Bronson process @heavyhandsgeorge Instagram for the artist. #tattoo #tattooartist #tattooexperience #tattoodog #dogtattoo #dogportrait #memorialtattoo

The tattoo has helped Moscrop get over the grief of losing Bronson because she feels like they're always together.

“Sometimes I talk to [the tattoo] as though I talk to him,” she was quoted as saying in the New York Post. “It sounds silly, really, but sometimes when we’re at places, and say I’m just wearing a t-shirt, I just think, ‘Oh, he’s here with me seeing all this, too.'”

Moscrop's tattoo may seem strange but people are doing a lot of creative things with ashes these days. You can have them pressed into vinyl records, turned into glass art, sent into space or make them part of a memorial fireworks display.

It’s all about giving the person a proper send-off and helping those who loved them heal.

People approach grief in their own personal ways. Frank T. McAndrew, professor of psychology at Knox College, notes in The Conversation that the loss of a pet can be as painful as losing a human loved one. But the difference is that when we lose a pet “there’s little in our cultural playbook” to help us through the loss.

A tattoo of a pet with a piece of them included is a fantastic way to feel close to an animal one has lost.

Moscrop is feeling a lot better about losing Bronson after getting her tattoo and she recently added a new bull terrier to the family, 2-year-old Alabama.

“If I didn’t have my new dog, I’d find it really hard to speak about him,” she said. “But since I’ve got Alabama, she’s kind of filled that hole that he’s left and made it a lot easier to heal because it is awful losing your dog.”

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