For every pet who crossed over · For every person left behind
The Rainbow Bridge
A poem for the ones whose time on earth is over and done.
By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.
For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.
No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.
They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.
For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.
The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.
— Author Unknown
And then someone built it.
Paul Made the Bridge Real
Paul Allabaugh read this poem and did what craftsmen do. He built it. Not in words. In wood.
He cut the slats. He painted the rainbow stripes by hand. He stamped paw prints down the center of every bridge. He made them for Mickey, Jeffy, and Chico, his three Chihuahuas. Then he made them for everyone. About fifty bridges by the time he was done.
Paul couldn't find a way to sell them. He had social anxiety. He died by suicide on March 30, 2026, before the world ever knew his name. His bridges are still here. Every one sold goes 100% to his widow, Pat Allabaugh.
Honor a pet with a real rainbow bridge
Place one in your garden where they rest. Stand at the edge. Remember. Every sale honors Paul's hands and funds suicide prevention right here in Volusia County.
See Paul's BridgesThe Story Behind the Poem
The Rainbow Bridge poem has comforted millions of grieving pet owners since the 1980s. Its authorship has been debated for decades. Edna Clyne-Rekhy, a Scottish woman who wrote a version in 1959 after losing her dog. Paul C. Dahm. William N. Britton. The version above has circulated widely as a rhymed retelling.
What is not debated is its impact. The poem has been printed on sympathy cards, shared in veterinary offices, read at pet memorials, and recited by grieving families around the world. It gives language to a grief that many people feel deeply but struggle to express.
The concept of a rainbow bridge connecting earth to an afterlife appears in Norse mythology as Bifröst, and across many spiritual traditions. The poem brought that ancient image into the modern home: the bond between humans and the animals they love, never fully broken.
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If you or someone you know is struggling with the loss of a pet, or with anything heavier: Call or text 988
“My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”
John 14:2