Do Our Pets (in Spirit) Visit Us? My First Encounter with a Spirit Dog

One question I am often asked is, "Do pets cross over - can they visit us once they are gone?" I am happy to report that, yes, they do cross over and they also can visit and comfort us.

How do I know this? Well, let me tell you a story.

In 2013, I bought a home near Greenwood, Delaware. Despite being on a highway, it is reasonably secluded, set back from the road a bit, and surrounded by large trees. On the inside, it's like a camp or lodge, with knotty pine walls and ceilings and a huge field stone fireplace.

One day, while walking back through the woods from the mailbox, I saw, in my mind's eye, a large black Labrador retriever, jumping up and down playfully, with a tennis ball in its mouth. I felt strongly that this was his routine, that when his owner walked this same way in the afternoon after work, that he joined him and played ball with great enthusiasm. This made me smile, and comment to my partner, "There's a big black lab jumping up and down in front of you and he wants to play ball." My partner Ray said, "I know." And at that moment, I heard his name and said, "And his name is Beau."

Beau wasn't my dog but he was a happy, sweet guy and whenever we had our dogs at the house (they are only 12 and 14 pounds each), the older girl, Jorja, would often look up toward the sky while standing still, and wag her tail. We felt she must be playing with Beau, as there was nothing else for her to look at during those times - no birds or squirrels, just open sky most every time.

This is where it gets interesting. The house needed a lot of work, so it wasn't lived in for a while. One day, while I was taking a friend of mine that is a Medium to a nearby location to cross over some souls (stuck on the roadside due to tragic car accidents), I thought I would show him my house, even though it was still a work in progress.

As we walked in through the laundry room door, he paused...and then asked, "There isn't a dog in here, is there?" I asked him what he saw...and he said he thought he saw a big dark colored dog sitting toward the back of the laundry room, but then he left or disappeared. "But," he said, "nobody lives here, so that can't be right." It's then that I told him, "That must be my spirit dog." "His name is Beau." "Yes," he said, "that's his name, Beau."

This was wonderful confirmation for me that Beau was not only real, but also that he protected my home from the inside as well as being out on the property. It also was great confirmation for my friend that he wasn't seeing things (!) and confirmed that he sensed this wonderful spirit dog, as well.

This year, at 18 1/2 years of age, Miss Jorja passed on. We still feel her presence - a brush of fur against a bare leg, a favorite toy found in a different spot. The other little one (Happy Camper, but we call him Camper) seems to now be more tuned into spirit and I think he senses her now, despite him being pretty clueless about Beau. It's interesting to watch him doing the same looking up at the sky and playing with another dog that's not visible, at least to our human eyes.

Many people have told me stories about their pets that seem to be around them in spirit. I have seen photos of spirit cats that haunt a historic plantation in Virginia (and on investigations have seen them run by and up the main staircase of the mansion). I have sensed a spirit horse in a local historic site and researched his pedigree based on the name I picked up at the time.

Not to worry, though, spirit pets aren't stuck here as human 'earthbound' spirits might be - their hearts are too good, too kind to be stuck. Instead, they cross over and, lucky for us, they can come back to comfort us when we need them most. Beau is evidence of that big heart - he must have loved living on our property and it brings us a lot of joy to know that not only does he visit us there, but he and Jorja play in our big yard in the sunshine...sometimes letting Camper join in.

I hope you have enjoyed the return of a pet in spirit - it's a wonderful experience!

Thanks for stopping by,

Carol

Dr. Carol A. Pollio

Director