crossing over
One of the most difficult things anyone will experience is the death of a loved one. In the last decade, society in general has become more aware of the bond between a human being and an animal. So, as society moves to recognize the value of animals in our lives, the effect of their passing has also moved into the mainstream conversation. Memorialization includes sympathy cards, specialized containers for cremated remains, engraved garden stones and remembrance paw prints.
One of the questions I am asked most often after the death of an animal is if they are alright. I have found people worry more about what is on the other side for an animal than for a human.
Animals know when they are ‘scheduled’ to pass. That unless there is an accident or deliberate act on the part of a human, animals do not worry about their physical bodies dying and their souls leaving this earth. They know it is part of the plan for all souls, and they accept it with little resistance. Perhaps it is partially because they have often left their bodies while alive to visit other places and souls they have known. Or maybe it is the amount of joy they pack into short lives knowing it will end all too soon. Whatever the reason, animals and death have a different relationship than people and death do.
It is a fact that animals, when we consider both wild and domestic, are more likely to die a violent death. In the wild there are predators and prey, and death happens every minute. However, when a soul has chosen an animal body, they also know their soul will leave that body before there is any pain at death. This is true in the wild, and it is true when an animal is struck by a car. The instant circumstances dictate that life will end; the soul crosses over completely pain-free. This is important to know and can prevent much human suffering at the violent death of an animal.
On the other hand, sometimes death is the lesson, and an animal’s soul will choose to stay until the last breath is taken. An animal’s death may be a lesson in love.
When an animal passes and the soul is free to go back home, a number of things happen. The soul will first be welcomed by some of those it has known before. A life review is important as it can begin plans for its next incarnation. In pure soul form, it can choose to represent itself any way it wishes. I have found, however, that animals will mostly stay true to the form the communicator knows them as, with perhaps a few embellishments like glasses or hats or a complete suit of clothes. At this time many will return to earth to visit their caretakers. The visits may consist of actual, physical nudges, making sounds to signal they are there or moving objects. Once in a great while, a soul will manifest in its complete form.
Upon losing a beloved animal, regardless of how prepared a caretaker is, the process of grieving will start. Grieving for an animal is in many ways like mourning the loss of a person. Shock, denial, anger, guilt and sadness are all part of the grief process when an animal dies. Feelings of guilt are far more common than when a person dies because caretakers will spend hours, days, weeks or more trying to think if there was something they could have done to prevent the death.
Lastly, one of the most common requests is for the soul to return in another animal form to the same caretaker it just left. This is totally understandable and the level of love that comes with it is appreciated. However, unless the animal’s passing was not in the soul’s plan from the start, there are going to be different lessons to be learned that may require a totally different set of circumstances. The experience the animal has just had with the caretaker gives it a unique perspective with which to recommend another soul to be placed. Along with that, no soul wants their beloved human to not adopt another animal because the one that passed ‘just can’t be replaced’. It isn’t a replacement, rather the love for the new animal is a testimony and a way to honor and give a legacy to the animal that is gone.