The UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital hosted its inaugural Rainbow Bridge Walk in the fall of 2024. This event was created by the hospital’s licensed clinical counselor, Noelle Browning, as an opportunity to unite the community through shared celebration of the human-animal bond.
Participants walk under the rainbow balloon arch at the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s inaugural Rainbow Bridge Walk held in the fall of 2024.
Named after the “Rainbow Bridge” poem memorializing the passing of a beloved pet, the event offered remembrance activities, grief resources, live animal demonstrations, music, and a group memorial walk. It was open to all current and former hospital clients, hospital staff, other veterinary clinics, and the general public. Participants were also welcome to bring other animal family members to join them.
Many are not aware of the support resources available for those facing the loss of a beloved companion animal. The Rainbow Bridge Walk was designed to be a safe, comforting space for the community to honor and remember the animals they have lost, and to explore the many support resources available to help them navigate their loss.
Sponsors hosted tables that shared pet ownership resources and activities such as creating remembrance photo frames or writing notes to pets to share on a communal memory wall. Participants were also able to submit photos and names of animals they had lost, which were then turned into individual luminaria placed along the memorial walking path. All event attendees walked together along the path to collectively share in the memory of all the cherished animals that were gone but not forgotten.
