Providing care through a pet’s entire life cycle—from beginning to end—is central to a new initiative of an animal hospital in Texas.
Built by NVA’s I-20 Animal Medical Center, located in the city of Arlington, the Rainbow Bridge Memorial Garden is designed to “provide solace and remembrance” for Dallas-Fort Worth community members grieving the loss of a pet. Visitors are allowed to bring collars, name tags, or other mementos to memorialize four-legged companions by.
“We built this bridge and garden to help the community remember their own four-legged family members that left them too soon,” says Glen Coolman, I-20’s hospital administrator. “The loss of a pet can be just as difficult as losing any other family member, yet many pet parents don’t have a place to grieve and sometimes no one else to grieve with. We built this memorial to provide comfort during those difficult times and remember those they loved.”
An engraved stone within the garden reads: “Rainbow Bridge. Before you get to heaven, the Rainbow Bridge you’ll find. Fields of green and treats and sun. Only missing loved ones left behind. Play there my friend, run fast, run free. Until the day I meet you there. We’ll cross the bridge to Heaven. And never be apart.”