Community Guidelines

Last updated: November 2, 2026

People come here carrying something heavy. These guidelines are here to keep this a gentle place for them.

You are welcome here

• You can walk, kneel or light a candle without saying a word.
• Your grief is real, whatever kind of pet you loved, however long it has been, and however others have treated it.
• You can speak plainly about death, illness, euthanasia, guilt and anger. Those words are part of this.
• You can tell the truth about a hard day.
• It is never too late to hold a funeral.

Please be kind

Everyone here has lost someone. Please listen more than you advise, and let people grieve in their own way, in their own faith or in none.

What does not belong here

We have no tolerance for the following, and we may remove it and restrict or ban the person who posted it:

• Cruelty about someone's loss or choices. This includes "it was just a pet," telling someone to get a new one, or judging decisions about euthanasia or care.
• Harassment and hate. This includes threats, bullying, unwanted attention or messages, and attacks on who someone is. That covers a person's faith or tradition, or having none. Please do not argue about belief or preach, in a funeral, a gathering or a direct message, and please do not tell anyone what has or has not become of their pet after death.
• Encouraging anyone to harm themselves. Please also leave out details of how someone might do so. If you are struggling, you are welcome to say so, and the "Need support?" link is there for you.
• Sexual content. None, of anyone.
• Anything that sexualizes or endangers a child. We report this to the authorities.
• Seeking out minors. Teenagers may be here, grieving like anyone else. Please do not try to find out who they are, ask for their age, move a conversation somewhere private, or ask them to contact you elsewhere. Please also do not lie about your own age.
• Intimate images shared without consent, including fake or altered ones.
• Other people's private details, such as a full name, address or phone number. Please do not pass on someone else's invite link without asking them.
• Photos, stories or recordings you have no right to share. This includes other people's photographs, and songs, films or television picked up on a tape.
• Recordings of people who did not agree. Cassette tapes are for your pet's sounds. Please trim out people talking, and especially children. Nothing on a tape should be sexual, cruel or frightening.
• Pretending to be someone else, claiming a qualification you do not have, or making a memorial for a pet that does not exist in order to mock or deceive.
• Graphic images of injury or death.
• Advertising, spam and fundraising. Please do not sell or solicit here, including in gatherings and direct messages. Please do not use a gift to pressure or bother anyone.
• Illegal activity.

If you host a funeral or gathering

Hearing a pet's voice can be a lot for someone in grief, so please tell people before you play a tape for the room. Hosts are people too, not therapists. Please keep the room kind, use mute and remove with care, and do not try to counsel someone in crisis on your own. Share the "Need support?" link, and report it.

If someone hurts you or worries you

• Mute or block: select a person to stop seeing their words. Blocking also stops their direct messages. You can turn off direct messages altogether.
• Your voice or your music on a tape: report the tape, or write to privacy@bridgeside.pet. For music or other copyright, write to dmca@bridgeside.pet. You do not need an account.
• Report: you can report a person, message, direct message, memorial, photo, cassette tape, guestbook note or gathering, even as a guest. Recent messages from the person are saved with your report, so you do not need to copy them.
• If someone seems to be a young child on their own, or a teenager being treated in a way that worries you: report it, and we will look into it. Please do not ask them for their age or anything else about them.
• Worried about someone: choose the self-harm option when you report. You will see ways to help them, and it will not count against them.
• Anything else, or if you are not on the site: write to support@bridgeside.pet.

What happens after a report

Bridgeside is run by one person, so here is what you can honestly expect.

• We aim to read every report within 48 hours. We do not watch all the time, so please do not rely on a report to get urgent help for someone.
• If someone may be in immediate danger, please contact local emergency services. In the US, call 911, or call or text 988.
• Intimate images shared without consent are removed within 48 hours of a valid request.
• Sexual content involving a child is removed as soon as we know of it, and we report it to the authorities.
• Reports alone never mute or ban anyone, however many there are. A person decides that.
• Words about wanting to die are never refused, and they never create a report or any record about the person by themselves. The person writing them may see a quiet note, in their own browser, with ways to reach someone. Our Privacy page explains this.
• What we might do: remove content, mute someone, ban an account or an IP address, or do nothing if we find no problem.
• We may not be able to tell you the outcome, because guests leave us no way to reach them, and because it may involve someone else's privacy.

If you think we got it wrong

Mistakes happen, especially with one person and an imperfect word filter. If your message was refused, something of yours was removed, or you were banned, write to support@bridgeside.pet, and we will look again. If a report concerns a photo or copyright, our Terms explain the process.

Thank you for helping to keep this place gentle.