A Dog Beckons from the Beyond

I received an amazing note from a dear client of mine, Seanne Moulton, recounting an experience she had a few days ago during a mediumship demonstration conducted by Francesca Kimpton, a psychic medium from the UK who now lives in California.

Seanne wrote:

"Francesca was talking to a gal in the audience when she stopped and asked, 'Does someone have a dog who just recently passed?  I mean, very recently?  Because there is a dog here who keeps running back and forth in front of me.  He seems so happy.'

A woman raised her hand, and Francesca immediately knew it was this woman's dog.  She said the dog was running up to all of the spirits who had come through and had been rolling on his back for a belly rub.  The dog couldn't stop talking about the new tag his 'mom' had purchased for him, just before he passed.  The woman confirmed that indeed, she had just bought her dog a new tag, right before he died.

The dog kept talking about how proud he was of that tag.  The woman confirmed that he had been parading around, showing off that tag like he was at a beauty pageant.

Then, the woman's father came through and tried to pick up the dog, saying, 'Come on, all these people didn't come here to listen to a dog!'  But the dog responded, 'Oh yes, they did!'  He said he just wanted his mom to know she was the best mom he could ever have asked for.  He said he always heard her when she talked to him, and he knows she has been crying a lot since he died.  He wanted her to know that he still lays on the pillow with her, just like he used to.

The woman's father chimed in and said to the dog, 'She cried more when you died than she did when I died!'  And the woman confirmed that yes, that was true.  Her dog continued to lick her father, and then rolled on his back for more belly rubs. . ."

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If you're fascinated by the idea that we can connect with our animals after they've been released from their bodies, you won't want to miss The Conference on Animals in the Afterlife, on Sunday, November 3rd in Boxborough, MA.  Psychic Medium Joanne Gerber will be doing spontaneous spirit readings, and we hope that just like the dog in Seanne's story, departed animals will be among those who come through.

Register today to get the early bird rate of $149 for the whole day.  You can join us for the afternoon, to hear Kim Sheridan's keynote and be part of Joanne Gerber's gallery, for just $99.

Why I Wait

When we are in the grips of grief after the death of a beloved family member, our first impulse is to try to maintain a connection with him, in an effort to blunt the stark reality of his passing from this earth.  Because we can no longer touch or kiss or caress the person who has just left his physical body, we become desperate to find other ways to connect.

It's no different when we lose our treasured animal companions.  We want some confirmation that they are okay, that they didn't suffer in the process of making their out-of-body transitions, and that they know we love and miss them terribly, even if it's only been hours or days since they left our loving arms.  We ache to know how they are doing, and we feel we can't wait.

But when it comes to scheduling a consultation with an animal who has just died, I suggest that my clients do wait, at least for a few weeks, to allow the torrent of tears and torment to abate a bit, and to give the animal's spirit the space and time it may need to acclimate to a new reality.

And so I was interested to learn that respected Medium John Holland says the same thing.  I've been reading his book, Born Knowing, in which he says:

     "Until you've dealt with your bereavement, you shouldn't think about
     making a connection right away. . .I also believe that the newly arrived
     spirit needs their own adjustment time before they're ready to send
     any messages."

John is speaking about people, of course, but I think the same advice applies to our animals in spirit.  The healing and comfort you can receive from a session in which they paint vivid pictures of their earthly memories can bring healing and comfort even if you wait, just a little while, before you ask me to make the connection.  The animals with whom you joyously shared your life will still be there for you, no matter how much time has gone by.

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You'll have an opportunity to connect with departed animals and people at  the upcoming Conference on Animals in the Afterlife, when Joanne Gerber will be doing live, spontaneous spirit readings for members of the audience.  You won't want to miss it.

The Conference on Animals in the Afterlife

After months in the planning, I am pleased to announce the opening of registration for The Conference on Animals in the Afterlife, which will be held at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, MA on Sunday, November 3, 2013.

I've grown increasingly interested in exploring this topic since I read Kim Sheridan's ground-breaking book, Animals and the Afterlife several years ago.  It's with immense pleasure that I can tell you that Kim has agreed to appear at the Conference as its keynote speaker.  In a gentle and fully believable way, Kim tells reassuring stories of spirit animals who have been seen, heard, and felt, by people who wondered if they could possibly be real.  They were.

My own work with animals in spirit has amazed me and brought comfort to my grieving clients.  Again and again, these animals have been able to convey cherished memories, show me graphic images of treasured times with their people, and relate specific details that could not have been fabricated.  I will be sharing some of their stories during my conference presentation.

The other featured speakers include Jeff Belanger, the intrepid paranormal investigator, who will describe ghostly apparitions by paranormal pets, and CLN Radio's Alexis Brooks, who will expand on her compelling article about the phenomenon of animal reincarnation that was published in last December's Conscious Life News.  Alexis will discuss her own experience with the reincarnation of her beloved cat, "Paws," who reappeared in her life in the body of her new cat, "Clover."

The gifted psychic medium, Joanne Gerber, will mingle with conference attendees and the spirits of their departed loved ones--including, we hope, their animals--in a dramatic finale to what promises to be a thoroughly amazing day.  I wrote about one of Joanne's gallery events in a previous post that chronicled her uncanny accuracy to bring forth not only the friends and relatives of those present, but their deceased animal companions.

Whether you come as a skeptic or as a believer, you'll leave this event knowing that these afterlife connections are possible for you and the animals who have meant so much to you, no matter how many months or years it's been since you said good-bye.

More information about The Conference on Animals in the Afterlife, including the agenda and registration forms, is available here.

I hope you'll join us.

The Evidence for Animals in the Afterlife

Anyone looking for evidence that our beloved animals in spirit will be waiting for us at the "Rainbow Bridge" when we die would have found it last night during Psychic Medium Joanne Gerber's appearance at the Hampton Inn in Natick, MA.  The three-hour "Holidays Past" event drew an appreciative crowd of about 100, each of whom (including me) had come in hopes of hearing a message from a departed loved one.

Though I was not one of the lucky people who received messages from people they knew, I was far from disappointed.  Joanne Gerber is a well-respected Medium, with proficiency certifications from the Windbridge Institute and from the beneficiary of the event, the Forever Family Foundation, which "furthers the understanding of afterlife science through research and education."  Not only was Joanne generous, compassionate, and grounded, but she was also astonishingly accurate in providing verifiable details about the spirits who were using her energy to communicate with people in the room.

What impressed me, in particular, were the dogs and cats who came through.  There was a bulldog with a spiked collar, "Spike," who Joanne saw while describing the husband of one of the audience members; he had died 17 years ago.  An elderly woman appeared with her cherished cat.  An older man was there with his large, German Shepherd-like dog.  Joanne knew nothing of these people or their pets until they had beckoned her from the spirit world.  What she conveyed was that they and their animal partners had somehow found one another in an unearthly dimension and were still reveling in the joy of their mutual companionship, as if nothing whatsoever had changed.

I was especially moved when Joanne asked if anyone had lost a young golden retriever named "Jack" or "Jake."  A young woman raised her hand and said that yes, that might be her dog:  her golden retriever, "Jykes" (or a similar-sounding name), had died not too long ago.  This dog came through on his own, with no human spirit to accompany him.  When Joanne explained that she heard the dog apologizing for having run away, the woman burst into tears.  Joanne said she saw Jykyes being hit by an 18-wheeler truck.  Sadly, that was exactly what had caused the poor dog's demise.  But lest the dog's former caretaker melt into grief, Joanne was quick to soothe her, sharing a current vision of Jykes gallivanting happily in the afterlife, without a care in the world.