Losing an animal companion is a heartbreaking experience that can be very difficult to deal with when the animal has been your best friend, a member of the family, or your soul mate. There are many strategies for coping the grief after the loss of a beloved pet, but the one I will show you here is one that I have found to be exceptionally helpful when dealing with the loss of my own long-time companion, my angel cat Kia. What helped me most was connecting to my spirit helpers and to my animal companion in the afterlife. Who better to get comfort from than the animal companion herself?
The following is what happened when I connected with my spirit helpers asking for their advice:
I first do a grounding, where I become present in my body, filling it out with my awareness. Being here now. I focus on the feet, and roots grow out – I feel I’m by a stream. I sense the running water. I grow upwards – spreading out my awareness and branches into a big crown. I am a willow. The willow brings the awareness down to the ground, to the running water that the tree is standing by, and leaning out over. I step out of the tree, so to speak, and sit on one of the lower branches that lean out over the water. My spirit guide is with me.
Then we hear the willow speaking:
“As you grieve the loss of an animal companion, your first step is to become present with your grief. While the pain of the loss might make you feel more like blocking or suppressing the pain of the sorrow, in the long run, suppressing your grief will cause you more pain and prolong your grief. Imagine sitting by a willow tree, feeling supported and encouraged to feel and express your grief. Who told you it is not okay to shed tears when an animal you have loved has passed? Tell me who loved you more deeply, honestly, and unconditionally than your animal companion? Who was there for you through life’s ups and downs? When you have answered that, then settle down by me or your favorite tree and let yourself grieve and cry for the loss of your beloved animal friend. And as your crying eventually calms down, look into your heart and listen for the voice of your animal companion which says:
“I am not gone, just look within. My heart is beating together with yours. Although my body is no more, my spirit is with you and the joy we had has never been stronger. All those precious moments we shared, they are not gone. You can revisit them anytime you want and bring out that joy into your life right now, for what the world needs is a joy like mine. You can help me and honor me by bringing that joy out and sharing it with the world, as joy is my greatest teaching to you. And with that joy comes love – a love that encompasses yourself as well as everyone you meet. Don’t withhold love, simply be love.”
I ask my spirit guide: “Is there more we need to learn and write about pet loss?”
(Spirit guide:) “There’s always more to learn, but contemplate the teachings you received today and embrace what they can teach you on your journey through grief. As you do, you will find that peace will meet you and be your companion too.”
”Thank you.”
I hope that the messages shared above will bring you peace and comfort on your journey through grief after pet loss.
A Question
Has connecting with an animal companion in the afterlife brought you comfort? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
If you liked this article, you can find more comforting messages from animals and spirit guides to help you cope with the loss of your beloved animal companion in my book “Healing Pet Loss: Practical Steps for Coping & Comforting Messages from Animals and Spirit Guides“.
Thank you Marianne for this beautiful blog post. I felt love and joy clearly. Such a beautiful gift. Thank you.
Thank you for this! So happy to find your wonderful website. I’ll be sharing with many friends who are experiencing this difficult loss.
I felt I had to share my experience with you. I had a wonderful German Shepherd called Shadow. He was named Shadow as he followed me everywhere. At the age of eleven Shadow got a tumour on the spleen that burst. The vet put him on cortisone as operating was not an option. The cortisone made Shadow need to go out at night as he was drinking a large amount of water. Shadow would go to my daughter and switch on her touch lamp, waking her up and she would let him out. i was heart broken as throughout his life Shadow had always come and nuzzled my head if he had needed a potty stop in the night so that he was going to my daughter did not make sense.
Three weeks later Shadow passed away. I was inconsolable. i felt I had lost my best friend and the one being that had always stood by me. Three days after his passing my daughter`s touch lamp suddenly started switching itself on during the night. Suddenly everything made sense. Shadow had planned this and he was just letting us know that he was okay and that although his body was gone from this world, he was still close to us.