Where there has been love, there can be spirit communication if we are open to it. Pets, animal companions, or fur children, as you might call them, are frequent flyers in my mediumship readings. Each relationship is unique, but all animals that come through in a reading seem to have the same agenda: to put their human at ease and let them know that they are okay, safe, and at peace.
There doesn’t seem to be any limitation on the type of animals that want to connect. The most common are dogs, cats, and birds. However, I’ve connected with several horses whose souls have felt more human than animal and even a lizard that had been a lifelong, loving companion to a client.
Last week I celebrated my 41st birthday, which marked the second anniversary of my dog Teddy's death. Teddy falls into the category of animal companion or best friend. I imagine he’d cringe at being called a fur child because he didn’t think of me as his mom; if anything, I’m afraid he felt more responsible for me, and he played the role of emotional support dog through some difficult times in my life.
Teddy was the kind of dog that could open doors and cabinets to help himself to a snack. He had enough energy to hike to the top of blue hills but would turn into a rag doll to allow babies to crawl all over him without complaint. He sometimes grumbled at being patted and would promptly move himself to ride shotgun on car trips, no matter how many times I put him in the back seat.
I don't believe in randomness, so I've often contemplated the synchronicity around his death date. Why did he choose to leave this world exactly two weeks after I met my wife and also on my birthday? It almost felt as if he was saying, “you don't need me any longer; I can go now.” After he passed, a friend suggested that he had wanted his birthday to spirit to coincide with my earth birthday, and knowing Teddy in his lovingly dramatic Pisces personality, I have to agree.
Grief over pet loss is one of those things that people either get or don't, and most of the people I encounter do get it. When I’m connecting with someone's animal companion, it’s never less meaningful to me than a human one. I know from experience that I could be facilitating a rare conversation with an animal they considered to be their best friend or child. This doesn’t seem to change for people who have lost human best friends or children. Most often, the animals of the family come to be an integral part of a mediumship reunion.
Signs can magnify when we pay attention to them.
I sometimes hear Teddy’s bark inside the sound of the church bells playing near my office, catching me off guard. I see a flash of him perched at the top of the stairs in my home, or I hear the faint jingle of his tags late a night.
If you’re going through something similar, I invite you to notice how you pick up on the energetic presence of your passed animals. Perhaps you sense them in the room with you, catch a glimpse of them out of the corner of your eye, or hear them off in the distance.
Something I hear quite often is that people feel as though their pets are energetically in their homes, and as I’ve learned through my work as a medium, they are. A few days after Teddy’s passing, I woke up to the feeling of him jumping up on the bed, and I sensed the mattress sinking where he would lay stretched out next to me. I could feel his soft fur under my hand, and I expected to see him when I opened my eyes. I’ve since learned that this experience is not unique to me, and it seems to be a common way that animals make their presence known.
Inviting in magic and honoring grief
I don’t believe that we need to take any specific action to honor a passed loved one in any timeline. Sometimes the greatest way we can honor them is by holding their memories with love.
I have noticed there is less acceptance around the grief of a pet, and there are certainly people who don’t understand it. For these reasons, it can be helpful to honor pets in tangible ways. I could be accused of doing too much in terms of this, but I have no regrets. These tangible ways of honoring him keep him close or centerstage, as I know he likes to be.
Ideas for Honoring Your Passed Pets
Keep a lock of their hair.
When Teddy passed, I asked the vet for scissors to cut off some locks of his hair, and I now wear them around my neck in a crystal locket. This somehow didn't feel like enough, and last year on the first anniversary of his passing, I had another necklace made from his ashes. The rest of his ashes are kept on the mantel in my living room for now. This brings us to the next idea…
Creating something with their ashes
Several companies will turn your dog’s ashes into lab-created diamonds using carbon heated to extremely high temperatures. In most cases, you can select the size, cut, and color and even incorporate it into a piece of jewelry.
Paw prints or nose prints
After Teddy passed, our vet gave us four paw prints, which was the best gift. You can buy a kit on amazon to create your own. I gave each of my sons a photo frame with the paw print and a picture of Teddy for their bedrooms. I have a framed paw print on my kitchen altar, and I leave a small offering of milk bones in front of it o encourage connection. This spot usually catches some nice rainbows through the prisms in my window. I used to keep his paw print near a Christmas Cactus, which I believe caused it to bloom for the first time. White fluffy flowers with pink tongues.
Pet Portraits
In my mediumship office, I have a painting of Teddy that I commissioned from a client, and there are many other options for memorializing your pet in this way. There are even artists that will make a felt replica of your pet.
Honor Birthdays
We did this the first two years after Teddy passed. Baking a cake is a grounding activity that I always enjoy, and who doesn’t like to eat cake when they’re sad? I have a client that lights a candle near her pet’s photo that day sans cake.
Thanks for being here and allowing me to share what means the most to me!
With Love,
Sheryl
I’d love to hear how you honor your animals that have passed to the spirit world or what’s brought you comfort.