23 Comforting Rainbow Bridge Quotes for Grieving Pet Parents

Losing a companion animal is never easy. Our four-legged family members make us laugh, bring us comfort, lift us up, and give us unconditional love. They’re our best friends, adventure buddies, confidantes, and soulmates. They’re such an essential part of our lives that their passing can leave a huge void. But the bond and memories that we share with them are priceless and make everything worth it. As French poet Anatole France said, “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” 

If you’ve recently had to say goodbye to your furbaby, here are 23 quotes to help you get through this difficult time.

“We are our pet’s Heaven and just because their physical body is no longer alive, it doesn’t mean their soul loves us any less. We are loved from beyond, and always will be.” - Lyn Ragan

“Heartbreak is life educating us.” - George Bernard Shaw

“Heaven, or the Other Side is all around us. It is not in some far away place. Your loved ones are just a thought away.” - Karen A. Anderson

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we have loved deeply, becomes a part of us.” - Helen Keller

“Remember me with tears and laughter. Remember me though it hurts to do so, because the pain you have is equal to the love we shared. There is no goodbye if you carry me in your heart. Remember all the joy we shared, because there was so much of it for both of us.” - Herbie Longfellow Alderdice

“Some angels choose fur instead of wings.” - Unknown

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we have loved deeply, becomes a part of us.” - Helen Keller

“You think if you stop grieving that you will lose me. Maybe you even feel if you let go of me that you are abandoning me; maybe you feel that you will hurt my feelings because if it were the other way around you would not ever want me to forget about you. You are afraid that if you love again that you will grow away from me. I am here! I am here, waiting to run to you when the time comes. It’s unconditional. It’s forever.” - Jack McAfghan

“Having a pet is a risk – you always have the grief ahead. But that’s the flip side of love.” - Unknown

“The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.” - Konrad Lorenz

“The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you’ll learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.” - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler

“Dogs die. But dogs live, too. Right up until they die, they live. They live brave, beautiful lives. They protect their families. And love us. And make our lives a little brighter. And they don’t waste time being afraid of tomorrow.” - Dan Gemeinhart

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.” - Jack Lemmon

“Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” - Vicki Harrison

“A pet is never truly forgotten until it is no longer remembered.” - Lacie Petitto

“Time spent with a cat is never wasted.” - Sigmund Freud

“The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief. But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love.” - Hilary Stanton Zunin

“No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch.” - Leo Dworken

“There is no death, only a change of worlds.” - Chief Seattle 

“If not for dogs, how would we know the meaning of unconditional love.” - M.L. Gerard

“Never. We never lose our loved ones. They accompany us; they don’t disappear from our lives. We are merely in different rooms.” - Paulo Coelho

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” - Winnie The Pooh

“We need to go first because we cannot live without your love and care. If we lived longer than you, we would not and could not survive. It’s supposed to be this way. We also need to cross the Rainbow Bridge before you do so that we can be on the other side to greet you when you get there. We wait at home for you here and we wait at home for you there. It’s just the way it is.” - Jack McAfghan

Do you have a favorite quote about losing a furry loved one? Share it with us in the comments below or on social media—don’t furget to mention us @WagWalking on Twitter.