How can I tell when my deceased pet is near? Will I see my pet in heaven? Does my dead dog miss me? These kinds of questions cross our minds when we lose our special companions. In this article I’ll go over the signs that your pet is visiting you from heaven.
Saying goodbye to a pet is one of life’s greatest sorrows. Even though I am a psychic medium, my abilities do not alleviate the grief that follows the loss of furry family members. Grief is a marker of a life well loved, and its loss. In the thick of it, grief is heavy and personal, and it can feel like your pet is a million miles away.
But, your pet is closer than you think.
You don’t have to be a practicing psychic or identify as a medium to receive signs from your pets who have crossed the rainbow bridge. You may even start receiving signs in as few as a couple of hours after your pet’s passing.
Here are 10 signs that your pet is visiting you from their new home.
Signs 1-3
- Feeling them: you feel their warm bodies cuddling up to you at night. You may feel a brush of whiskers, the press of their paws on you, pressure on your shoulder, rubbing against your leg, their kisses. The most common way you and your pet bonded through touch is likely the way you will feel them visiting you.
- Hearing them: the jingle of their collar or dog tags to be let outside, the singing of your bird, flapping of wings, the scurrying of paws, the turning of the hamster wheel. People who have lost their animal companions often report hearing sounds that they often associated with their pets.
- Seeing them: movement out of the corner of your eye, a push of energy up the stairs, a shape by the door to be let out, on the couch, curled up on a chair or the foot of your bed. I’ve seen my parents’ deceased kitty, White Sox. The day he passed he came to me on a walk in the woods. As I rounded a bend in the path, he was strutting next to me, tail swishing. He jumped into my arms (yeah, I was walking around with my arms held out in the middle of nowhere) and he told me he was happy because he could go wherever he wanted to now. He also jumped into my lap on a chair later that evening and wanted to be held. And yeah, I also sat there and pet what looked like an invisible cat. But I could feel his presence on my lap. It didn’t have warmth, but it had a cat’s weight and shape. I could feel his contentment and happiness.
Signs 4-6
- Just knowing: you just know they are there. Something clicks in your head, maybe an interrupting thought you can’t shake. You may even get an impression of how they feel. This is related to claircognizance or the psychic sense of clear knowing. You get an impression you can’t get out of your mind. You might be visiting one of their favorite spots and you suddenly know they are there with you. This is a common sign of a visitation.
- Scent: some folks report smelling scents they associate with their beloved animals. Be it food, grooming powder, or other comforting scents.
- Dreams: your pet may start showing up in your dreams. These dreams will feel more vivid because they are actually a visitation. Everything about visitation dreams is heightened, sharper. You’ll remember the feeling when you wake up! In my experiences, these have taken a little longer to happen. My first cat Scully is very good at hijacking ordinary dreams and turning them into visitations. I’ll never forget the first dream she came to me in, she popped out of a cardboard box and meowed loudly in her creaky door voice, as if to say, “I’m here! Pay attention!” Our other cat Lola took longer to make dream appearances, almost a year. But I could tell right away that dreaming wasn’t her specialty. Pay attention to your dreams, and your friends’ dreams too! Don’t be surprised if your pet gives them a message to share with you.
Signs 7-10
- A new visitor: Sometimes other animals show up in your life to say hello. A stray cat crosses your path. Someone needs to rehome their lizard. Your neighbor has a new litter of puppies. It can also literally mean that you have an animal encounter. When we lost our childhood dog, I was about 19 years old, and unaware of my capacity to connect to the other side. Our family was broken up about his loss-he was a beautiful black cocker spaniel we’d gotten my mom as a gift for Mother’s Day, when I was five. Fourteen years later, he passed away on Mother’s Day. I needed a sign to know he was OK, so I asked for one in my journal. Within a day of my asking, a dog appeared at our back door. It wasn’t any neighborhood dog we recognized. He sat there patiently until we opened the door to say hello. He grinned at us in a typical doggy way and entered, trotted around the house until he got to our dog’s room. This mystery dog sat in that room until we caught up with him. I assumed he was sniffing out old food or interesting smells. Instead, he sat there, smiling up at us, then promptly trotted out of the room and out the back door. We never saw him again! I knew it was our beloved pet honoring a request for a sign.
- Photos: You may see lights, orbs, auras, or other interesting visual phenomena in photographs. Especially around areas that were special to your pet. I often pick up on deceased pets through photography, even if it is a photo of a new pet! My cat Lola will often “photobomb” random pictures and share messages or feelings. Pay attention to how photos make you feel, too. Visual effects and feelings can both be signs of your pet visiting (even if it isn’t a photo of an animal!).
- Music: If you have a song that was special to you and your pet, you may start to hear it a little more often. It may pop on the radio or make its way onto your playlist a bit more frequently. Smile and sing along!
- Messages in unexpected ways-you may hear your animal’s name pop into conversation, even if the topic isn’t about them. You may have other people that report dreaming about your animal. You may wind up finding books open to certain pages, and your pet’s name is mentioned there, or there may be a quote that reminds you about your animal. I once had a lovely pet rat named Falk, she passed away after some time. Remembering my dog’s visitation, I asked for a sign from Falk. Shortly after putting that request out to the universe, I cracked open a fortune cookie. It said simply,” Your loved ones are closer than you think.” And they are.
Follow the Paw Prints
To recap, some of the common signs your pet sends you from the other side include: feeling them, hearing them, seeing them, knowing they are there, smelling them, having dreams, through an animal visitor, through photos, through music, and via unexpected messages.
Your relationship with your pet is unique; look for signs of communications that are as singular as your bond. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but covers some of the common signs that your pet is visiting you from heaven.
One final tip-ask. Ask for signs, and be open to receiving. It may not happen immediately, or you may get a surprise within an hour or two! We’re often so caught up in grief, that we miss or discount the signs around us. Don’t be surprised that as you work through your feelings, you start to notice more signs from your beloved furry companion. They are always with us, and much closer than we think, all we have to do is follow the paw prints.
Do you have a visitation story? What signs have you noticed from your pet? Please share some of your animal stories in the comment box below!
