ST. GEORGE — A small crowd along with a few four-legged friends gathered for a brief celebration at the Tonaquint Nature Center last week for a new memorial honoring pets who have crossed “the rainbow bridge.”

Inspired by a famous poem meant to bring comfort to pet owners who have lost a beloved animal companion, a small bridge painted like a rainbow was unveiled last Friday.

“Written by Edna Clyne-Rekhy in 1959 when she lost her golden retriever, the Rainbow Bridge poem has become the most widespread gesture of comfort for when a pet dies,” David Cordero, the city’s communications and marketing director, said in a news release. “It focuses on the future and hope of seeing your pet again while mourning the loss of their physical presence.”

In addition to there being a physical manifestation of the bridge, pet owners were able to put the collars of pets who had previously died on the bridge’s railings.

“Anyone who has ever lost a pet understands that pain and the joy of getting you’re next pet,” St. George resident Amy Mugavero said as she held onto pet collars of her own she would soon leave at the bridge. “Pets get us through so much.”

It was Mugavero who originally had the idea for a Rainbow Bridge pet memorial after seeing something similar on social media. She contacted city officials about it four months ago and that idea has since become a reality

“We thought it was a great idea,” said Sara Roundy, the city’s recreation supervisor. “It’s already filling up (with collars). It’s great. I think it’s awesome.”

According to the poem, which St. George Mayor Michele Randall read prior to the ribbon cutting, when a pet dies, it enters a place of heaven called the Rainbow Bridge, a place of hills and meadows where those pets are in their prime and can run and play. When the time comes, those pets happily greet their newly arrived human companions at the foot of the bridge.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.

Randall said her family had a pet dog for over 17 years. The dog was adopted when her children were still growing up at home. When that long-lived canine died, it was a loss felt by the entire family, she said.

“They become family members,” Randall said. “I think this (bridge) symbolizes people who are true pet lovers and people who love their pets – this gives them a place they can go when their pets have passed away. … It’s a serene, peaceful place.”

After the ribbon cutting the bridge filled with people who began putting the collars of their deceased animal friends on the bridge’s railings. Stories about those beloved pets were soon shared while infrequent barking was heard between some of the pet dogs brought to the event.

Like the mayor, Roundy also called the location of the memorial a peaceful place that has also been loved by the community before being repurposed for the Rainbow Bridge. It has often been the site of the photos taken for special social events like weddings and family reunions, she said.

The bridge also has a story of its own. It was originally located in Mathis Park until it was washed downriver during the 2005 floods. Following the flooding, the bridge was repaired and relocated to the Tonaquint Nature Center and used as a connection for a trail system in that area.

As the crowd began to thin, numerous collars were left hanging on the bridge’s railings with room left for many more. Anyone who has lost a pet is invited to come and leave a collar at the bridge as a reminder of their departed animal friends.

The Tonaquint Nature Center is located at 1851 S., Dixie Dr., in St. George.

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