My dog recently got very sick and we just had to put her to sleep earlier today. It's making me very uneasy about not understanding what happens to animals in the afterlife; I would think they have the same fate as us, but I'd like some reassurance. Hopefully by getting some information it would allow me to believe she's with family members who have died; or at least understand what's typical for an animal.

Also, one other thing I'm very curious about is, will an animal who lived always be an "animal spirit", or can spirits swap around different species in other lives?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Hi, LLLI,

I can offer a few thoughts, though no real answers. 

In the Buddhist view, we can take rebirth in different forms, including animals, depending on karma, etc.  In fact, one of the teachings about compassion and kindness is to treat all sentient beings as once having been your mother, because probably they were at one time.

In one of Bob Monroe's books, he tells of a "curl" about to move into a human life who apparently was a first-timer having previously been a pet, probably a dog or cat.

So, I think you can take heart that your dear friend is there in the afterlife.

Pat

Hello there, LiveLaughLoveIt. Although I'm not 100% sure on this, I think it is entirely possible that our pets spend some time in the afterlife. I have had recurring dreams where I have seen one or more of my deceased cats in a place and even though I remembered them as not being alive, and then seeing them living and finding it to be so surreal that I wondered if perhaps they were alive this whole time. In one dream, I was in this office like place and I saw one of my old cats there and I went to the front desk and asked the lady about it and she said that this is where he lives now and that they are taking care of him. These dreams seemed very vivid at the time. At the same time it is also plausible that animals keep reincarnating into larger and more complex life forms until they reincarnate as humans, since there are people who have memories of being an animal in a past life. I have always wondered about this subject as well. Although I'm no expert on the topic, I hope these answers were of some help.
Peace and love,
David.

My dog TJ is up there in age, I know I don't have much time with him left in the physical. It would really be nice if our animal friends are all waiting for us on the other side.

From what I read with Bruce Moen's books, I've learned that sometimes our deceased pets are there for us when we cross over.

I think your pet is doing just fine. :)

When I was ten or so, our dog died (he was kind of a nasty tempered old bugger, so I wasn't all that torn up, so I wasn't hoping to see him or anything).

I was outside playing some hide and seek sort of game, just at late dusk, and looked down at a spreading juniper bush I thought someone might jump out at me from (being that sort of game), and there was that dog, laying there looking up at me and wagging his tail (very uncharacteristic for him - I would have been unlikely to imagine him being friendly).

Saw him clear as day for about three seconds.

One of the most wonderful moments of my first experience on Focus 27 (Monore-speak for The Park and environs) was to see my faithful Old English Sheepdog Rafferty sitting and waiting for me, exploding with love and kisses when she saw me coming. Yes, our pets come, too, at least for a while before, they, too, go on to other adventures.

Thomas

Thanks everyone for your replies!

She was apart of my life since I was 7, and is one of the greatest losses I've ever experienced in this life. It's just very unnerving for me to think that I'll never see her again or that she won't be there whenever I crossover.

But you guys gave me some faith she will be. It's all the more incentive to learn what you guys do and help reach Focus 27 to possibly be with her sooner.

Before I could speak all on my own to my fiance, I spoke to two different mediums...who by the way were great.   But the one lady said,  your Scott is holding a black cat that belongs to you...I knew right then that she was talking about my Casper!   So I would say, yes they are there waiting to greet us!

I hope this is true. My black cat adores me, loves me, is obsessed with me. I think mainly because I feel the same towards him. I can go get him wherever he may be in my apartment and plop him in bed with me and he will insist on curling up on my arm under the covers.

Sad to think..... someday...

He will be lying on the ground, dead.
or worse....
Perhaps I will come home, he will be lying on the ground mewling pathetically, struggling to stand, struggling to look up at me. His face and eyes filled with confusion and not understanding. His body completely failing. Death coming, pain. I take the poor cat to the vet... but not to get better. To die.

This life.....
It's not fair.
why? why? why?

That's very comforting ChantillyChopper!

Terethian- I know it's very hard to think about and even worse to go through it. I definitely feel like it's not fair that we can't spend more time with them, but that's life. Enjoy the time you have with your cat and don't dwell his end!

of course they are ,count on it. the afterlife is not exclusivley for humans,all life crosses over

I put one cat to death in this way so far with two more on the way some day. One of them I am so close to I would call him my familiar. I would probably say we are connected in some amazing way like we are similar souls. If I believed that stuff anyway....that's what I'd say.

I just lost one of my cats a couple days ago so this topic is pretty relevant right now. I will keep track of whether or not I have any dreams that involve her.

wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2009 at 6:58pm:

I hope this is true. My black cat adores me, loves me, is obsessed with me. I think mainly because I feel the same towards him. I can go get him wherever he may be in my apartment and plop him in bed with me and he will insist on curling up on my arm under the covers. Sad to think..... someday... He will be lying on the ground, dead. or worse.... Perhaps I will come home, he will be lying on the ground mewling pathetically, struggling to stand, struggling to look up at me. His face and eyes filled with confusion and not understanding. His body completely failing. Death coming, pain. I take the poor cat to the vet... but not to get better. To die. This life..... It's not fair. why? why? why?

Oh I feel you on this! My cat diva is everything to me and I don't think I could deal with her death. :'(

Sorry to hear that DavidLay. Do let us know if you have any dreams! I think I had one about my dog a few days ago, but it's been hard for me to remember most of my dreams the last few weeks, especially details...

Many years ago one of my cats had to be put to sleep.  He was dying from a sudden diabetes onset.  It was extremely hard to make that decision, and I literally couldn't stop crying.  By the next day, when I was sitting on my bed crying, I felt the cat jump up onto the bed, walk across the bed, and plop down next to me.  I couldn't see or feel his body, but I knew he was there.  If it had only happened once I probably could have thought it wasn't real, but this went on for 2 months.  Each time he came I would talk to him out loud, telling him how much I loved him and thanking him for this experience.  Then one night the cat did this when my husband was there too (and I was thankful that someone else witnessed it with me).  My husband was incredibly shocked because he doesn't believe in this kind of thing.  We decided to say our goodbyes together, and we let our cat know he could move on to wherever he needed to be because we were ok now.  And I thanked him for loving me enough to visit me in this way. 

I don't have the answers to where he went or what he's doing or if he can reincarnate, but at least I know he was able to give me this incredible experience. 

That's great to hear, Vicky. I had an experience with one of my cats, too, where I felt it in my arms, just as if it had stepped off of a table into them. This cat was certainly one of the best friends I have ever had.

Here is a clever cat, taking a shower in the kitchen sink, and listening to jazz.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNiAkib6kDE

I am sure just like we humans animals live on after death.

During my NDE I saw my long dead beloved pet dog bully, I could feel his love in a way one can not on earth. By telepathy it was possible to communicate with his sweet cuddly mind

Alan

Hi everyone, my beloved pet, a male Winter White dwarf hamster died this morning. Pouch struggled through the night, but he waited for me this morning, and died in my hand.  :'(


I would so much like to know that animals, like humans, have souls.

Does anyone have any comments on Michael Newton's book, Destiny of Souls? There is a chapter in it about animal souls, that they do indeed exist, albeit in a different place from human souls.

Thank you for listening.

Love, Elanor

Just to say, not a big book reader these days, but I am sure Pouch is in a good place. I have it on my own kind of authority that he has been received into good company. If I could explain that in a rational way, I would, but suffice it to say that three other fellow 'critters' have given me the 'heads up' for you (part of the family), so take it for what it's worth. Says quite a lot, he waited for you, you know. To let go, and all. Best to you.

I think animals like humans phase out of the physical and it is not as hard for them because they do it all the time when they are here. Yes, if there is an afterlife and not simply a continuation of this life in a new body the animals are right there with us. Always. I you had asked me that a few weeks ago I wouldn't have know what to say but I now I a dog Named L.D. and I know he willl follow me where ever I go.

Hi b2, thanks for yours and your critters' replies.  :)  Ok, I'll take it for what it's worth, but please do indulge me on the irrational explanation, and on what sort of critters you share your home with! Yes, you're right, he waited for me to let go. I'm sure it was his way of saying goodbye, and how much I meant to him. He waited until the morning, when I was frantic trying to locate an emergency vet, then he crawled unsteadily into my hand, gave a few final gasps, then passed away. I miss him so much... these two days have been incredibly diffcult for me.

I went out of body once (according to Bets, in my fourth causal body! By the way, Bets, if you're reading this, I did do some reading up on this and found some Buddhist literature on it, it was fascinating but incredibly complex!), so I know for sure this is not the end for me - but I dearly hope my beloved animals will be with me.

I recall Robert Bruce saying he saw animals projecting out of body, and it was the most beautiful sight.

Beau, thank you for your reassurance. Was L.D. your pet? Do you mean that he is following you around in spirit?

Thanks so much again, your replies and kindness means alot to me.
Elanor x

Elanor, okay, I'll indulge you a little. I will say that I have come to realize that my world is full of little messages, little synchronicities which make sense to no one but myself most of the time. Therefore, I have become open to influences around me, within short and long time periods, and open to interpreting symbols in my environment, whether these symbols appear in dreams or in my 'waking' life. So, in my home, there are three critters -- they are symbolic. One is a squirrel, one is a beaver, one is a raccoon. They are of equal size, because they are symbolic. They are small. These critters only entered my home on Friday evening, and were unpacked from a basket I bought at a charity event when I awoke on Saturday. Along with other more 'garden' themed items, all with the theme of bees. Maybe it's crazy, and I don't know you personally, but my world takes things personally. See? It all talks to me, if I let it. And my world tells me, because of the connection I felt, and the 'yes' feeling I got, which I practice, feeling that 'yes' feeling, when I read your post. So I knew. I just knew. I can look at those faces and just know. For what it's worth.

Hi

I got more sensory input from deceased pets than any other afterlife way.  :)   I've felt the touch of Gandey's collie fur sitting next to me, and smelled wet dog smell when Rimsky brushed past, joyfully running full tilt after living more slowly on only three legs.
I wonder if these senses are involved because their afterlife is closer to our physical realm?

Lately I've been getting impressions of the Sheltie breed, which I've never had around but always admired. So I'm wondering if we can please include possible 'future life pets' in this pet afterlife thread?
I think I'll name him Gagnon  :D

Betson

There have been a couple of occasions while in an astral state I experienced myself affectionately petting a deceased pet cat.

Some people have met deceased pets during near death experiences.

Perhaps a soul is a soul, regardless of what humancentric thought might say

Hi b2, thanks for your interesting post. It sounds as though you are keenly in tune with some form of intuition! When I quieten my mind through meditation, and silence the internal chatter, I find I receive messages clearer, too. (But at most other times, the mundane runs my life!) That night after my pet passed away, I prayed quite intensely. Almost immediately after, my attention was suddenly drawn to my clock, which flicked to 22:22 the moment I looked at it. (I see recurring numbers quite a bit, 11:11, 9:11, etc.) I don't know what it means though. I see them when I ask for a sign that my prayer has been heard, so I guess that must be my confirmation.

Hi Bets, it's great to hear from you, I hope all is well. You must especially adore dogs. I'm more a cat person, but am severely allergic! Anyway, yes, please tell us more about your Sheltie spirit friend!

Hello Recoverer, that's lovely to hear, and I couldn't agree more. The humancentric believes that we have dominion over earth, and that animals are here to serve our purposes.

I feel a deep appreciation for all of you, thank you for your kindness. Elanor x

Hi Elanor,

The spirit Sheltie is a small version of the collie we once had share our lives. Same coloring as Lassie from Tv and just as sweet! I believe Gagnon will be a mature dog (not a puppy),  when he gets to our home.  My visions of him don't have much plot or even action, just see him standing and waiting for the right time.  I'm looking forward to it!

Bets

My border collie was put to sleep 2 days ago and i am in a bad way i was in a book  shop to day with my son just looking at some books after about 15 mins ,i picked up this book at random flicking throuth some pages then stopped at this page and looked down and i could not believe what i saw it was the name of my dog molly,is this a sign ,my son was shocked.joe

Hi Joe and Son,

My condolences regarding Molly's passing.

Spirit knows and cares about your grief. Bringing you to Molly's name in random pages of a random book was Spirit's way of letting you know that you have It's /Their care and concern.  It's a loving universe, Joe!  Isn't that amazing ?!

We always hear that when the sparrow falls, it's taken care of in heaven, but it's still like a miracle when we get a direct message!
Maybe now that you've experienced this one, you will find other ways of noticing spirit's role in your life.  That is Molly's gift to you.

Thank you for telling about it with us.

Bets

Hi Joe, I'm so very sorry to hear about Molly. A similar thing happened to me, in the first day I could bring myself to leave the house following my pet's death, I heard his name mentioned (quite loudly) in strangers' conversations, and was suddenly drawn to his name on paper, all quite out of the blue.

Perhaps it's spirit's way of letting us know that they have heard our prayers for the correct pet!  :-)

Take good care and my sincere condolences.

Elanor x

Its been hard losing molly,all i do is look at photos of her and get upset but i have got to pull my self round for the kids sake,because when i am upset they are sad,i will never replace molly,the kids are asking for 2 guinea pigs,they want something else to love,i am sure this will help with there grief.joe

Well... I believe that our pets do cross over and will be there when we do. My family has all had dreams, extremely vivid of our dog about 2 weeks after we put him down. The same with my daughter.. she came and visited us about 2 weeks after she passed.. and my father recently passed.. and he came to me and brother and almost 2 weeks after as well. But.. I have had many medium readings and our dog... actually was there with my daughter, after the dog passed... and was told by a medium right before the dog passed.. that he was going to die. This all happened, and there was no way for them to know anything.
Aras