A retired garda in Co Cork has launched what he has called an “RIP.ie for pets”.
Mick Hanley’s Rest Easy Friend allows people to put up tributes to their furry friends who have crossed the rainbow bridge for an annual fee of €25.
It also has a comfort and guidance page that includes advice on explaining the loss of a pet to children.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Oliver Callan, Mr Hanley said he wanted to give people an “online platform to share stories of their pets”.
He said that friends of his have “felt very isolated” after their pets died.
“They couldn’t really share their emotions and grief,” he said.
Mr Hanley saw how much people relied on RIP.ie during Covid-19 and wondered why there was not an equivalent for people going through the loss of a pet.
The Clonakilty resident also thought about the expression ‘rest easy friend’ that people use when referring to pets that have died.
“I searched the internet and couldn’t find anything,” said Mr Hanley.
At the time, he thought somebody else would move forward with the idea “something, sometime”.
However, he said the idea would not go away and he checked again if the domain had been taken last year.
“For a lot of these people, their pets are their only family,” he said.
“There are people out there who their pets are their best friends.”
Mr Hanley said that the site is not just for dogs and cats, adding that a tribute to a goat has been uploaded.
“It is not just for dogs and cats,” he said.
“You can’t dictate what a pet is. A pet can be anything to anybody.
“These are people’s best friends.”
Mr Hanley said he has owned dogs throughout his life. He has also experienced the loss of cats, a hamster and a goldfish.
“I look back and they are like bookmarks in my life,” he said.
“I can think back on every different animal and say that was when I was that age.”