Macro of rainbow rose heart flower and multi colored petals

As some of you may be aware, I founded Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day (RBRD) in 2015 as a special day for pet guardians to honor the memory of those beloved pets in their life they have loved and lost, but never forgotten – whether fur, fin, feathers, scales or something else. It’s held every year on August 28, in honor of the day I had to say goodbye to my precious Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, the meow author of Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond.

I’m mentioning it early for those of you who might want to participate in some manner. For those that plan on doing a special blog post, I will be hosting a RBRD blog hop. The post will go live at 12:00 a.m, EST, on August 28 with the code and linking information available at that time. I have also created a Facebook event page for those who want to post a picture, write a poem, share a favorite memory, upload a video, or share a blog post link. This is the event link  – please feel free to invite others you think might want to be a part of the day. And as with every year, there is no pressure to participate and I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. I know it’s a sad day. But it’s also a beautiful day. The outpouring of love I see is so touching, as people share in the love they had (and still have) for their pet(s) and it’s a time when we can all take a moment to collectively come together and comfort one another.

I’ve created a new logo for the event and if anyone would like to use it, please email me at info@zeezoey.com and I’ll forward it to you, as I’d prefer not to post it on my blog at the moment. I will also be doing something special this year with several companies that specialize in products for pet loss and grieving. If you’ll be sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social venues, there is a hashtag #rainbowbridgeremembranceday that was trending last year if you care to use it, and if you’re crediting me for founding the day in any of your posts, please reference me as Deb Barnes of Zee and Zoey’s Cat Chronicles, author of Purr Prints of the Heart and founder of Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

Thank you in advance and have a wonderful Sunday!

Editor’s Note: I realize this post is a heavy subject and probably not one you were expecting, but with the holidays heading our way, I felt the timing was appropriate. Holidays are a time that can cause a lot of stress and anxiety for us – especially for those of us that might be remembering a passed cat who we dearly miss, or those of us that are going through personal issues with a cat who is currently ill, or possibly even nearing end-of-life. In the blogging world, we often think of everything in adult terms, often forgetting that there are others around us who are also stressed and anxious. This post is for those who have children in their lives that might need some guidance with the subject of pet loss and grief. The focus of the article is on cats, but the advice applies to any beloved pet, regardless of the species.

Photo credit: DepositPhotos.com

As someone who is involved in the cat world nearly 24/7/365 via blogging, social media, and other outlets, very rarely does a day go by that I do not hear about one cat or another who has passed on. Online sites have become a therapeutic outlet for those who chose to share their grief publicly – I try not to let it get to me, but sometimes it is overwhelming because I take the circumstances to heart, grieving through association. Read more

Mr. Jazz – my beautiful boy who inspired me to create Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day in honor of all those pets we have loved and lost in our lives.

Another Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day has passed and I want to give all of you a heartfelt thanks who participated, whether by sharing a blog post, leaving a comment, visiting other bloggers, joining the Facebook event page, or participating privately from afar. I know it’s a bittersweet day – for many, the memories of a lost pet are far too fresh to share, and for others, it’s a time to reflect on days gone by from many, many years ago, perhaps dredging up old wounds. Read more

My beautiful senior cat, Mr. Jazz – the inspiration for the book, Purr Prints of the Heart, and Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. This was him in early 2013 – each day I was given with him at this point was a precious gift.

I’m in the process of going through pictures of our cats with Dan to determine which one’s I’d like to use for my upcoming book. We have thousands of images – each one more beautiful than the next – but it’s a bittersweet process because it always inevitably happens when we look at pictures – a random one will pop up and hit me painfully in the gut, reminding me of days gone by. This time it was a picture of Jazz. But what’s most interesting, was that it was a picture of him I hadn’t seen before. Considering I combed through what I thought were all of his pictures when I wrote his meow memoir, Purr Prints of the Heart, last year, it was all the more perplexing. Read more

Jazz was always in the hallway of the living room, looking at me before he’d jump up onto the couch to snuggle with me.

It’s almost too hard to comprehend, but my beloved Jazz has been gone nearly three years. He’s never left my heart, but recently I’ve felt him all around me in a very strong sense. I don’t know if it’s because his Rainbow Bridge anniversary is August 28th and that’s been in the back of my mind, or if it’s because lately I feel as if Jazmine is “sharing” him with me via herself. Read more