I remember my first pet, a cat named Pompon, who got in a fight and received a terrible wound on his back. One day, he "mysteriously disappeared" when my father and grandfather had promised to bring him to the vet to get healed. He ran away as soon as they opened the car door, so the story goes. I was completely devastated and started questioning my mother on "what happens when kitties die". I have never been satisfied with the answer - they just die. They have no soul, and they don't go to heaven. Heaven is for humans only. Whew! That was a lot of disappointment for a 5-year-old!
Now that I am open to the Spirit world, I am so happy to have discovered that I don't have to hold on to that belief anymore. My initial hunch that there is a continuation of spiritual life for animals has been validated for me, more than once.
The first time I had a visit from an animal who crossed over was about five years ago. One of my cats had died from a painful illness. Two days after her death, as I was lying in bed, I felt a cat jump on the bed and pawing down the cover just like she used to do. I felt very heavy in my body, yet I remember sitting up from my body and shaking my husband to wake him up, showing him who was coming for a visit. (He did not wake from my "spiritual" touch) ;) I turned back to Griselie, my spirit form petting her spirit form, clearly hearing her purring and feeling her pawing. She felt so heavy, as if she had not rested and energetically recuperated enough from her illness, and I was puzzled at how she could come visit so soon after her crossing. It felt like she didn't have a lot of time, almost as if she had "run away" from her resting place to deliver a message. She looked at me straight in the eye and started reciting a prayer... I prayed with her. Then she turned around, jumped off the bed and disappeared. I laid back down in my body. It was an amazing, peaceful and loving experience -- but was it just a dream?
An other memorable cat visit was that of a friend's. This cat had been ill, and my friend had been quite worried. On the Saturday night, I wake up hearing a cat's purr in my ears, but an unfamiliar rhythm and voice. I open my eyes to see a cat I had never seen before, looking straight in my eyes. She told me to tell my friend how much she loved her, and that she was grateful for a good life with her. Incredulous, I asked her to repeat the message, which she did word for word. When I accepted to pass along the message, she jumped off the bed and disappeared. On the Monday morning, my friend comes to work with red eyes, telling me that she had to euthanize her cat over the weekend. I told her about my "dream" and the message for her, hoping to bring her some comfort. She showed me a picture of her cat (which I had never seen before) - it was the same cat which had visited me!
This was more than a coincidence, and I really started to believe.
Since then, I consciously communicate with animals, seeking to commune with their spirit selves in addition to their physical selves. I've shared many spiritual experiences with my cats, my puppy, the birds in my backyard and countless "wildlife". Animals do come as healing guides for a few of my clients, either as animal totems or to comfort those who have loved a pet who has crossed over. Pets to whom I give Reiki treatments respond very well to this healing energy, and communicate messages about their health and how to make it better. I've helped a dog heal from a torn ligament in his hind leg, a cat heal an injured front paw, a wild bird find her way out of a building. I've helped reduce a puppy's anxiety after her adoption, and I've helped other pets cross over with love and dignity.
Animal Reiki is certainly a healing practice I will continue to develop. I find it very soothing, rewarding and I believe it really helps "share the Love".
...and with my spiritual experiences, I can now tell my son that if kitties and puppies don't go to Heaven, maybe they go to an even better place where they continue to love us, pray for us, guide us and care for our well-being. After all, in the spirit world, we are all balls of Light - people, animals and plants - and pets are part of our spiritual family. We will all be reunited when we return to the Light, and in the meantime we can open our hearts and minds to the visits and messages they have for us from the other side of the veil.
