The Rainbow Bridge is a sentimental tradition amongst pet lovers,
especially if the pet is a dog (but not limited to dogs)
as the place that beloved companion animals go when they die.

I quite liked the variation on the story,
Beyond the Rainbow Bridge.
It's long. A dispatch/abstract version follows.


The man and his dog were in heaven. The orchard was abundant, the grass comfortable to sit in, the sky clear and sunny; and the old man who tended the place was good company.
The man was telling the old custodian how he got there.
When he died, he found himself at the crossing of a Rainbow Bridge.
Right away he knew he was in the right place,
because his beloved dog, who pre-deceased him,
was there waiting for him.

Man and dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge in companionship, as they would have done in life.
It was not long before they encountered The Pearly Gates.
The man, retelling the encounter, felt anew the unease and confusion.
Everything looked right but it felt wrong, from first sight;
and the dog confirmed it, holding back, uninclined to investigate.

The Pearly Gates were closed, but a gatekeeper, who seemed nothing like the fabled Saint Peter, came out, greeted the man,
and opened the gates up.
Looking inside, the man saw the streets paved with gold, the material abundance, the glory, so many overwhelming details.
And then the gatekeeper told him:
"Of course, you'll have to leave the dog outside. No dogs here."

And that settled it.
If the Pearly Gates was no place for his dog, it was no place for him.
Now, with his dog contentedly enjoying a water dish of fresh water after the journey,
the new arrival expressed his misgivings to the old man.

And the custodian of heaven was quick to reassure him,
telling the man that the Pearly Gates had their place,
and fulfilled a most important function --
they made sure that people who would abandon their beloved companions
had a place to go, other than heaven!

(well, it read something like that)