Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day
It falls on August 28, every year. One day when saying a pet’s name out loud is expected instead of awkward — for a loss from this year, or from twenty years ago. 🌈
Where the day came from
Author Deborah Barnes established Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day in 2013. The date marks the day her cat, Mr. Jazz, died. It has never been an official holiday, and that is probably why it spread — no one had to approve it, so people simply started observing it.
What the day answers is a specific problem. Grief researchers call it disenfranchised grief — grief for a loss that society does not openly acknowledge (Doka, 1989). Pet loss is one of the most cited examples: there is no funeral, no bereavement leave, and often nobody says anything at all. August 28 works because it temporarily removes that silence. For twenty-four hours, mentioning your dead cat is normal.
The poem behind the name
The day borrows its name from a short prose poem about a meadow where pets wait — healthy, restored, running again — until their person arrives. For sixty years it circulated as “author unknown.”
In February 2023 the author was identified: Edna Clyne-Rekhy, a Scottish artist who wrote it in 1959, at nineteen, the day after her Labrador, Major, died. She had written it for herself and given copies to friends, never publishing it. She was in her eighties before she learned that millions of people had been reading her words at their own pets’ deaths.
Read the full poem and the origin story →
Eight ways people mark August 28
There is no required ritual. These are simply what people do, roughly in order of how commonly they are reported. Pick one; doing all eight is not the point.
Say their name in public
Free · A post with one photo and the name. This is the single most common observance, and the reason the day exists — it makes saying the name normal for twenty-four hours.
Donate to a shelter in their name
Any amount · Many shelters mark the day and will acknowledge the pet by name. Some let you sponsor a day of care.
Read the poem out loud
Free · People often report that reading it aloud lands differently than reading it silently. →
Visit somewhere they loved
Free · A trail, a beach, the corner of the yard. Bring the leash if you still have it.
Light a candle at sunset
Free · Widely observed informally. No fixed time — people light one when they get home.
Write down five things you never want to forget
Free · The sound of their feet on the floor. Where they slept. Details fade faster than faces do.
Make something that shows them well again
Free–$10 · Healthy, at ease, somewhere open. For many people this is easier to look at than a photograph from the last months. →
Reach out to someone else who lost a pet this year
Free · The most underrated one. Their grief is almost certainly less acknowledged than they let on. →
If you know someone whose pet died this year
This is the part of the day most people skip, and it is the one that does the most good for someone else.
The reason grieving pet owners so often describe feeling alone is not that their friends do not care. It is that most people say nothing — because they are afraid of getting it wrong, and because there is no obvious moment to bring it up. August 28 removes that second problem entirely. The day itself is your reason for texting.
It does not need to be long. Three lines is a complete message:
“I saw it’s Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. I’ve been thinking about Bella — I still picture her losing her mind every time you came home. Thinking of you today.”
Use the pet’s name. Add one specific thing you remember, if you knew the animal. Do not ask a question — they do not owe you a reply. If you never said anything when it happened, send it anyway: support disappears after the first week while grief keeps going, so a message that arrives months later usually lands harder, not softer.
Not sure how to word it?
Answer three questions — who they are to you, what happened, how long ago — and you’ll get wording that fits that situation, not a generic card line. Free, no account.
Find the words →If this is your first August 28 without them
Anniversary dates tend to hit harder than the ordinary days around them, and often harder than people expect after months of feeling steadier. That is not a setback. Grief for an animal typically arrives in waves tied to dates rather than fading on a schedule.
You are also allowed to skip it. Some people find a public observance helpful and some find it exposing. Neither response says anything about how much the animal mattered.
Frequently asked questions
When is Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day?
August 28, every year. It falls on the same date regardless of the day of the week.
Who started Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day?
Author Deborah Barnes established it in 2013. The date marks the day her cat, Mr. Jazz, died. It is an informal observance rather than an official holiday, which is part of why it spread — nobody had to approve it.
What do you do on Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day?
Most people do one of four things: post a photo and say their pet’s name publicly, donate to a shelter in their pet’s memory, visit a spot the pet loved, or read the Rainbow Bridge poem. There is no required ritual. The common thread is saying the name out loud on a day when doing so is expected rather than awkward.
Is Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day only for dogs and cats?
No. People mark it for rabbits, horses, birds, reptiles, and any animal they lived with. Owners of less common pets often say the day matters more to them, because their grief is acknowledged even less the rest of the year.
What if my pet died years ago?
The day is not limited to recent losses. Many people observe it for a pet who died a decade earlier. Grief for an animal tends to arrive in waves tied to dates rather than fading on a schedule, so an anniversary observance years later is common, not unusual.
What should I say to someone whose pet died this year?
Use the pet’s name, name the loss plainly, and keep it short: “I’ve been thinking about Bella today. She was such a good dog, and I know you still miss her.” August 28 gives you a reason to reach out that does not require an excuse — which is why it is one of the easiest days of the year to say something.
Is it too late to say something if I never acknowledged their loss?
No, and late messages often land harder than prompt ones. Support arrives in a rush in the first week and then stops, while grief continues. A message on August 28 arrives precisely when everyone else has gone quiet.
What is the Rainbow Bridge poem?
A short prose poem describing a meadow where pets wait, healthy and happy, until their person arrives. Edna Clyne-Rekhy, a Scottish artist, wrote it in 1959 at age nineteen, the day after her Labrador, Major, died. She was identified as the author in February 2023, after decades in which the text circulated as “author unknown.”
Sources: Doka, K. J., Disenfranchised Grief: Recognizing Hidden Sorrow (1989); the authorship of the Rainbow Bridge poem was attributed to Edna Clyne-Rekhy in February 2023 and reported by National Geographic. Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day was established by Deborah Barnes in 2013. Related: The Rainbow Bridge poem · Pet memorial ideas · What to say to a grieving friend.