Communicating with Your Dog in the Afterlife

If you are like most people who have lost a beloved animal, I'm sure you have wondered about what happens to them after they die.  Of course, no one can provide us with the definitive answers, but most anyone you ask probably has an opinion on the subject.Some of these beliefs are formed from religious teachings or beliefs, and others are derived from personal experiences that shape our thinking.  

If you are strongly bonded to your pet, odds are you were friends in another life.  Pets are often guardian Angels. Someone who has known you well from another lifetime may have decided to reincarnate as your pet to help you through difficult times.

You were never aware of some struggles because your pet was in prevention mode. Your pet is a hero, unselfishly giving up one of his/her lifetimes just to focus on you. You may have done the same for your pet in some capacity in the past.

When my Labrador, Honey died two years ago, I was devastated. She was just 6 months old. There was something mischievous about this girl - in a good way, of course. She would sit and watch people with a certain kind of intensity, as if she's peering into their soul. She always seems to know something we didn’t.

Shortly after I got her, I had had to leave her with my parents because I was moving out of the city. When I came back to visit her she had gotten so grey and thin. I told her I would come back to get her when I got settled in my new place but she died 2 weeks later from separation anxiety. She just stopped eating and left her body.

I was a zombie for the next couple of months. It was the most tragic, traumatic, and emotionally devastating experience I had ever been through. When Honey died, a part of me went with her.  I went through self-hatred for putting my pet to sleep, to depression, to acceptance. For a long time I couldn't even watch a dog food commercial. I ran into people--even close friends--who jut could not understand my grief, and who kept telling me that it was so "silly" or "inappropriate" to grieve over the loss of an animal.

After all, it was "just a dog. I felt so guilty. This little being had taught me so much about love. That's what animals who are close to humans do. They are very highly evolved spirits who come into our lives to teach us various lessons, but the biggest one is opening our hearts to love.

Exactly a month after her death, she appeared to me, glowing bluish color hovering over the bed I had in the corner of the room. I heard her whimpering like she always would do when she was outside and wanted to get inside the room.

As i got out out of my bed, i walked across the room towards her, but she faded away in the darkness. I always wondered if it was really her, or if i had actually seen something else and my mind had masked the truth. 

So, I asked God to give me a sign that she was fine.  For days after her death, everyday at around 1am I heard a trinker bell (she wore a collar w/a bell so I could hear her at night), then I heard her bark. While she was alive, I always checked on her at 1am to make sure she was fine. To me hearing the bell and bark was Honey telling me she was fine : )

Yesterday while laying on the sofa, I felt a small tug on my leg......I know it was Honey. My leg was right where she would rest when we watched TV at night.

How to Re-connect with your pet post their death ?  

If you have lost, or has been away passed on or been re-homed, you can be in touch with them anytime by softly calling their name 3 times. When you feel their presence, tell them what you are feeling, or what you want or ask them a question. Then listen.

If you see a dog in a shelter who grabs your heart, get him. You will either see your previous pet in his eyes right away or, after some hours or days, you will notice a transformation in his personality, signaling the entrance of your former beloved companion.

Some of our pets have been with us for many life cycles (theirs and ours) and in many forms. They don't always come back as the same species. Don't be surprised if your ferret returns to you as a dog or your dog returns as a cat.

And they don't necessarily come back as newborns. Animals can do a spirit exchange. The animal who vacates their body for our pet does so willingly and is quite happy to go for a rest on the other side. Animals transition with much more ease than we humans.

If their cycle with you has ended, they may return to this plane to different owners, to teach and guide them. Some animals choose not to return but prefer to remain in heaven or however your belief system refers to that realm. They stay near you or visit you often in spirit to protect and guide you.

Your animal companion will love it if you honor them in some way, by painting their picture or writing a story (which is why I wrote this one) or making a shrine with their photo and favorite toy on it. Light a candle to them on the day of the week they died.

There are so many ways you can show you still care. I dedicate this piece to my beloved Honey. Thank you for teaching me always. Your death itself was a lesson.

May we share many more lives together.

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I've shared my story about honey with friends and people who are grieving after losing their dogs.  I've been asked to publish it on the website because it brings solace to some who are worried about whether their dogs are ok after they've passed on.  

In talking with other people, I have heard several stories about people seeing shadows in their homes, or hearing familiar four-legged footsteps or toenails on a floor, or having very vivid dreams after their dogs have passed on.  Are they trying to communicate with us to tell us they are still watching over us?  To lessen our sadness over losing them?I would love to hear any stories you would like to share about experiences you have had.