eBook Animals in Spirit: Our faithful companions' transition to the afterlife ePub

This book is helping me cope with the loss of my cat. It explains so well why animals choose their passing, why they are here in our relationships, and best yet that they are still around us after passing.

I read this book several years ago after I lost my spunky Jack Russell. I was especially devastated because of how I'd lost my beloved dog. We live out in the country, and in front of my other dogs, we believe he was caught by either a coyote or a bobcat. Cries were shortly heard from the backyard and then complete silence. We never found him, but know that an animal got him.

I was wrought with grief. Losing a pet without any type of expectation, let alone in what felt like such a gruesome way, only increased my grief. Instead of focusing on how he lived and all the joy and comic relief he brought to our lives, I could not seem to stop focusing on HOW he died. I struggled so much with the fact that his final moments must have been so frightening and scary. This really upset me. So I was seeking out some comfort.

Reading this book helped me heal so much. It still took a long time before I could think or talk about my beloved dog without choking up. But now I am ok. I miss him, but I know that HE is ok, and also that the way he left this world was part of his spiritual journey. I cried throughout reading the book, but it was a cathartic process. I understood that likely Sammie's final moments were frightening, but also that it must have happened so quickly, it felt like a dream. And that God's goodness would never allow a spirit to endure too much of that, and likely his spirit jumped from his body before everything was finished physically. In the days after Sammie died, I am 100% certain I saw a reflection of him in a window even though there was no dog standing there to have a reflection.

I am a very spiritual person and very open to learning about the afterlife, so this concept was not new to me. But it still helped me to process what had happened so much. On a side note, I read an excerpt in this book that discussed allowing a beloved pet, if possible, to lie in state for a while in your home or where they died. It's a way to honor the animal, and also allows other family members (people and pets) to accept that the soul has left the body and that the body was simply a temporary shell carrying that spirit. It brings a sense of healing.

I had never done that before and obviously would not have had the opportunity to do that with my Jack Russell. However, 4 years after reading this book, another beloved dog just passed away, by my side, at home and on her own terms. I remembered reading this book and decided to do this. So I left my recently deceased pet lying on her dog bed in the living room, where she had passed. I put her on fresh blankets, packed her little body with a few ice packs just to be on the safe side and covered her with beautiful blankets. My significant other was out of town for the evening, and I wanted him to be able to see her and see how peaceful she was when she passed. Literally all of the distress she had on her face minutes before passing left when she finally crossed over, leaving her looking completely peaceful.

I dressed her dog bed with lots of fresh flowers. I refreshed her ice packs and flowers a few times over about 24 hours. This process was both healing for me, my significant other and our other dogs. All of the dogs visited the room, sitting in front of her bed, smelling her face, realizing she was gone. They spent a lot of time sitting with her and you could tell they were sad and grieving, too. I continued to sit with her during that time on/off, petting her and talking to her, thanking her for her companionship. I am sad that she's gone, but know she's ok now and she is free from the old body that was starting to give her so much trouble. Going through this process with her over the 24 hours after she died and before we buried her was very sacred and special. Much of the time over that 24 hours we have soft, peaceful music playing...the same music we had playing as she passed away.

So this book continues to provide guidance in my life as I just followed this process and think I will continue to do this -- it was that healing and peaceful.

I read this book after my favorite cat died, and it was very helpful to get through the grieving process. This is a book for readers who can accept appearances of the afterlife and are comfortable contemplating it.
The author has a very intuitive approach to sensing changing life forms and the meaning of life. I have worked with animal communicators before and I have no doubt that intuitive communication with animals is not only possible but necessary.
It's a great book to read when grieving an animal companion, but also for any animal lover who wonders if subtle communication with their pets is possible. The author gives many examples of her work with her clients.
She doesn't just teach about animal communication but offers a valuable spiritual perspective on the meaning of life events.

I would urge anyone who has lost a beloved animal to read this book--or better yet, read it before you suffer the loss. Don't be afraid to confront your friend's impending death like I was. I have never read a book that was so comforting at the exact time that I needed it. The stories are beautiful and amazing and the book is well written and well organized and very emotional. Animals are so much more comfortable with death than we humans are and there is so much we can learn from them, thankfully with the help of animal communicators like the author.

This book took me by surprise. It was very insightful and incredibly comforting. I purchased many many books on animal communication and grieving but honestly didn't expect much out of this one due to the low price. However, I was completely blown away by many of the lessons and personal stories. I have purchased many other books on this subject that cost a lot more money and were literary garbage. Please give this book a try. It is well worth your time.

What an affirmation of spirit this book is! Since my beloved nine-year old tabby cat died on February 28, 2013, I have amassed over 22 books on dealing with grief (grief associated not only with the loss of animal companions but grief related to the loss of human companions as well). However, the book that has propelled me forward in coming to terms with the reality that Minnie's spirit lives on is Animals in Spirit. Minnie died in my arms at home (with her terrified sister, Missy at her side) rather abruptly after two days of not being herself. She was in the prime of her life (at 9 years old), healthy, hearty, robust, and very loving and affectionate. In her book, Ms. Smith touches on the untimeliness of the passing of some animals and how the spirits of these animals who are "surprised" by the suddenness of their deaths sometimes need to continue their lives in another body. Well, five days ago, I went to one of NYC's Animal Care and Control (around a month after reading about this) feeling even more strongly that both I and Missy needed Minnie back in some form (and, more importantly, that Minnie's spirit needed return to her physical return home and resume her life withs us). Millie, around Minnie's age and therefore less likely to be adopted as quickly as younger cats, and I found each other that morning at ACC. She is the spitting physical image of Minnie and possesses a spirit and personality miraculously similar to Minnie's. As the caring ACC counselor, Damien, several days after the adoption said, Millie is filling a void she was experiencing (alone, traumatized, homeless in a shelter), as well as voids felt deeply by Missy and myself. I'd like to add that a fourth void was definitely, ultimately filled. And that, of course, would be Minnie's. My heartfelt gratitude to you, Ms. Smith! Steve Latture