Animals also have souls. Domesticated animals can be very evolved and very wise, and they reincarnate like us. Just as we often have strong soul ties to people in our lives, such as family members or certain co-workers, pets that join us for only a few years, unfortunately, may well have been with us before as animal companions in lifetime after lifetime. So your cat may have been a hunting dog, or your favorite horse, even a parrot. These animals are part of your spiritual team, and they return again and again to be at our service as faithful servants, and it is our responsibility to care for and value them as if we were a faithful servant.
These special creatures appear in our lives for a purpose and at a specific time. Although their appearance may be different from the last time they were with you, you may recognize something familiar in their personality and feel an immediate bond when you look into their eyes. Take a good look when a new pet comes into your life and you will know it.
We moved from Ealing to Hertfordshire in January 1992 with two cats, Ben and Bilbo. Bilbo was a young cat, full of life and very territorial. Ben was the only other cat allowed on his lot. She was much older and died in her sleep two months after we moved in, which was very sad. About a week later, a black cat walked down the driveway as if it owned it: Bilbo walked out the front door, rubbed his nose with it, and led it into the house. And so Lodger came to us, with Bilbo’s full knowledge and blessing, to take Ben’s place. He lived with us for eleven years and was a remarkable and much loved cat. His service was in protection: if I had a client who had particularly strong or difficult energies, Lodger would discreetly enter and lie on the floor next to them, protecting me and assuming what could harm me or my husband. He did so much to relieve us of hurt, pain or suffering, and as a result he was very often ill and spent his nine lives for us without complaint.
A month before he died, in February 2004, shortly after we moved to Wales, a wild black cat moved in, with Bilbo and Lodger’s consent, and we named him Felix. Lodger’s job was done and it was time to move on and have another team member replace him. We have yet to find out what Felix’s role is, but Bilbo is definitely here to entertain us!
When any animal dies, it is only the body that no longer exists, life, light continues, just as it happens with humans or any living being. While we have a responsibility to honor and care for everything in our environment, particularly those in our care, this includes recognizing and accepting when the time has come for a pet to leave us and return to the light, and letting it go with love and gratitude for all it has done and given. Like us, the time and manner of their departure is predetermined, but because of their love for us, they will stay longer if we ask.
As much as we understand their immortality and the gift, to them, of their departure, it is often desperately difficult to accept that it is time for them to go, and sometimes we can try to hold on to them for too long. I have seen one or two loving and well-intentioned owners delay euthanasia so long that the animal is in great pain, or prolong life with so many pills, injections, and operations that the pet is in great distress. Even our own longing for a miracle to happen, for them to stay longer, can delay their departure, as they pick up on our emotions and, loyal servants that they are, try to do our bidding even in this. So if you find yourself in the sad position of having to decide that the time has come, then tell them directly that you release them from your service and they are free to go. You can also thank them for the gift of their love and support. They will hear and understand, and will often tell you that it is time and that they are ready.
The night before Ben died, even though she was quite ill, she found the strength to walk around the house, sit on my lap, and do many of the things she used to do. She was saying goodbye. When we realized one Sunday night that Lodger’s cancer had returned and he would need to be put to sleep as soon as possible to prevent further suffering, she knew immediately what was coming, and she was glad. Like Ben, she said goodbye, did her favorite things, and died peacefully and with dignity in her favorite place in her house. For our part, we tried not to distress him with our sadness, but we told him our love and gratitude and released him to the light when the time came as best we could.
When our wonderful animals return to the spirit world, they are healed and cared for perhaps by a family member or other animals who have passed away, or by angels and devas whose role it is to care for the animal kingdom. Just as our own human loved ones visit us on earth from time to time to check on and care for us, so do our deceased pets, and this can occur in a number of ways.
Sometimes they will remind us that they are nearby by making a noise that was their trademark, like scratching a rug. They may be visible out of the corner of your eye, or you can feel them around you. When our dog Keeper, another great gift, with the same sense of humor as Bilbo, died, I often felt him jump on the bed where he used to lie, especially as we went through the initial mourning period. Three days after Ben’s death, while I was still feeling very sad, I woke up in the middle of the night to find her lying next to me, purring very loudly. She had come back to tell me that she was fine and very happy. I caressed her for a while and then she returned to her spiritual home giving me her message and comforting me. They can also return to dreams. If you have a very vivid and strong dream that leaves you with the memory of your feelings and fragments of what was happening in your dream the next day, then your encounter with your pet almost certainly took place in the inner realms while you were in the dream state.
Some mediums specialize in reuniting pets with their owners, and it can be a great comfort to know through this spiritual process that there is an afterlife for both animals and ourselves, and that they really are in a better place.
Due to the relative shortness of their lives and their closeness to us, some pets can be with us multiple times during our lifetime, perhaps once as a dog, the next time as a cat or even a horse. It can be very reassuring when one lets us know that they will be together again at a later date, and that it is goodbye and a safe trip, not goodbye forever.
Since the times of Atlantis, spiritual law has prohibited animals from entering the human realm, so procreation between man and beast cannot occur (as it did at one point in our terrestrial cycle, literally resulting in animal-man) and animals cannot reincarnate in human form. However, as many of our domesticated animals are reaching a higher and higher level of evolution, the law must be changed to allow those animals with the correct level of soul consciousness to be reborn as male or female. This is an indication of the wisdom and greatness of spirit that many of our pets have.
Animals such as cows or sheep, which normally do not have individual or unique personalities but are part of a group, share a common soul and will not be of a very high evolutionary level.
I have been talking in this article about the place of animals in the big picture and in our lives. It would be handed down to me not to mention its place in some of the great spiritual traditions of our world. You will learn about the place of the sacred cow in the Hindu religion and the cult of cats in ancient Egypt, for example. You may not be aware that one of our spirit guides can sometimes be an animal, often one that is our companion through many lifetimes, literally continuing to guide us from the spirit world when not incarnated.
Also, power animals play a very important role in shamanism. Part of this tradition involves “traveling” to the Upper, Middle, or Lower Worlds in search of information or illumination, and the shaman is invariably accompanied by one or more power animals to support and protect him. These animals -which can be birds, fish or insects as well as mammals- represent a certain quality and symbolism to strengthen the shaman in those areas they represent, and they are very powerful.
So, if you don’t remember anything else about animals, remember this: they have chosen to be of service to us and we have an absolute obligation not to abuse that service, nor that love.