5 
Sleep is a wonderful way to connect with your pet on the Other Side. They can visit you in your dreams. Before you go to bed, ask your pet to come to you as you sleep. Don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t happen immediately. Make certain to leave a journal on your nightstand and when you wake up write down any messages you’ve received, even if it doesn’t make sense at first or if the messages aren’t coming directly from your pet. Simply jot down anything that pops into your mind, regardless of how much sense it makes.
Jay Bird
Since he was a little boy, Pete wanted to be a police officer. Every single Halloween costume was the same, year after year, so it wasn’t a surprise when he announced after high school that he was going to skip college and attend the police academy. Pete was someone who wanted to help everyone. His career choice wasn’t ego driven, it was because he honestly felt as if he could make a difference by being in uniform.
He was one of the good ones, and some would even call him special. His warm brown eyes and easy smile made him a friend to everyone he met, and upon graduating at the top of his class, he accepted a position in one of the roughest neighborhoods around his hometown. With a lot of persuasion and grant writing, he convinced his superiors to allow him to start a K9 unit. Pete loved animals, especially dogs, and he argued that not only could these specially trained dogs help with pursuing fugitives, search for missing persons, and assist during narcotics or weapons detection but they could also help bring a sense of comradery among his peers. He was given two dogs—a German Shepherd named Marvel and a Rottweiler named Oscar.
Pete was excited and spoke of Marvel and Oscar as if they were his children, and in a way they were. They spent 24/7 together, with work, home, and constant training. Pete also volunteered his time at the inner-city schools, many of which had troubled kids; at homeless shelters; and at the local dog shelter, where he met his wife, Jodi, who shared his love of animals and helping. It wasn’t unusual to see Pete handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the less fortunate on the street or with Jodi rescuing a dog from a burned-out house. He was a one of a kind person, never wanting praise or an award.
Unlike the stereotype of a police officer, he was sensitive. When Jodi announced her pregnancy by putting pink and blue ribbons around Marvel and Oscar, he broke down in tears of happiness. He went to the precinct that morning with a huge smile, announcing the news to everyone who would listen, still tearing up. You would hardly see Pete without a smile on his face, and his step was lighter than normal on that day. He couldn’t wait to tell his regular party store owner, where he bought his lunch and pop every day. As he parked, he didn’t notice anything unusual, but Marvel was persistently barking, which was odd for him.
“I’ll bring you back a treat too,” he promised and left Marvel and Oscar in the squad car, something that wasn’t out of the ordinary.
Just as Pete got to the door, a man wearing a black sweatshirt and dark jeans ran out holding a gun. Both of them startled, the robber shot Pete point-blank in the head and then again in the chest. He then shot several times into the car at the dogs, who were wildly barking and trying to get out to help save their partner. Marvel was shot in the face. Pete somehow called in to his radio, “Shots fired, officers down.” Pete and Marvel were both dead upon arrival of the emergency crews, as was the party store owner. Oscar survived with a graze wound to his ear.
The community mourned at the senselessness of the crime. Oscar was in shock, and Jodi was, as you might understand, devastated. Like most spouses of officers, she knew there was a possibility that this call would come, but never in a million years believed it would be a reality. She was looking at the future of being a grieving single mother and, for a quick second, contemplated ending her pregnancy.
The funeral was more than Pete would’ve ever wanted. Thousands of officers lined the streets and a special K9 procession marched through with Oscar leading the way. Oscar was handled by one of Pete’s best friends and fellow officer, Dave. As the procession neared the casket of Pete, which also held the ashes of Marvel, Oscar lay down in front of it and began to whine, cry, and sigh in a knowing manner. His best friends were gone. Not knowing what to do, Dave let go of the leash and allowed Oscar to lay there throughout the service. Oscar laid his head down on the blue carpet of the church and cried through the entire ceremony. He remained distraught, so they decided not to take him to the cemetery for his final good-bye.
Jodi wanted to keep Oscar, and she asked Pete’s chief to retire him. The request was unfortunately denied, but she was told that Dave was assigned Oscar. Although she understood the reasons behind it, she felt like just another piece of Pete was stolen from her.
The months of pregnancy were long despite the constant support of her family, Pete’s family, and the police family. She decided she didn’t want to know the gender of the baby. She wanted to be surprised. She was grateful when Dave and his wife Lori asked if they could be her labor coaches, and she readily agreed.
It was seven months after Pete’s passing when Jodi’s mom brought her to a session with me. Eileen had originally scheduled the reading for herself a year before, hoping to connect with her father, but the timing seemed too important and she gifted it to Jodi.
Jodi sat across from me, her mom next to her for support, when the spirit of a large German shepherd came running into the room. It sat there without a human energy next to him.
“There’s a large police dog sitting next to you,” I offered, not sure why I called him a police dog rather than a German shepherd. It was just something that came out.
“Is there anyone else?” Jodi’s mom asked, hopeful.
I nodded as I tried to help usher in the male energy I felt, but it was dim and I didn’t want to get frustrated and shut down the connection. I took a few deep breaths and asked my guides and angels to help him with his energy. Sort of like allowing him to plug in to them so he would have enough strength. Once I did that, his energy lit up the room, as his personality had when he was in the physical.
“He’s confused,” I told them. “He said it happened so fast, and he’s afraid justice wasn’t served.”
Jodi sat there shaking, saying nothing, while her mom nodded her head in validation.
“He said he passed instantly and was surprised to find one of his dogs with him, and then realized he didn’t know where the other was. He was in a place I often call the in between—not Earth and not Heaven.”
“Purgatory?” Jodi whispered.
I shook my head no. “He said he was looking for you and for someone named Oscar and couldn’t find either of you. And he says he’ll be with the baby. Do you want to know what the sex is? He’s very excited.”
Jodi whimpered out a no, which I honored.
“He says to watch for the blue feathers or blue jays, Jodi. They will remind you that he and … Marvin. Who is Marvin?”
“Marvel is his dog that you are seeing,” Jodi’s mom explained.
I nodded. “Okay. He and Marvel will always be with you and the baby. And I know that this is soon, but he says it has something to do with who you end up marrying later, too.”
Jodi laid her hands in her lap and let the tears fall.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” I offered my sympathy, knowing it wasn’t enough. If I only had a magic wand.
On a wintery day the first week of December, Jodi gave birth to a beautiful baby boy that she named Peter. She could feel Pete with her throughout the labor, but she felt silly mentioning it to anyone. She was a sensible and strong woman, who was surrounded by many of the same types, but she couldn’t help but cry when Dave handed her Peter after he was bathed and weighed. Dave bent over and affectionately kissed Jodi’s forehead and whispered, “I’ve felt Pete here the whole time, Jodi. I know he’s so proud of you.”
A couple weeks later, Dave stopped over to check on Jodi and the baby. He had just gotten from work and had Oscar in tow. It was the first time she’d seen Oscar since the funeral, but she’d kept tabs on him through the chief and Dave. He’d had a hard time conforming to a new handler, they said. He wasn’t just being difficult, he was mourning, and they wanted to give him some time.
K9’s are trained and well behaved, but when Oscar saw Dave pull up to Pete’s house, he jumped out of the car before Dave could grab his leash. He ran to the door, whining and barking in excitement. Jodi opened the front door and Oscar leaped up into Jodi’s arms as if to give her a big hug.
“I’m glad I wasn’t holding the baby,” she laughed, kissing and stroking Oscar. He was a large dog, so she commanded him down and he immediately obeyed. As if he knew, he walked straight to the bassinet where baby Peter slept and sat in guard looking proud and protective.
“I think he senses Pete,” Dave said softly. “Can I tell you a couple experiences I’ve had?” Dave shyly asked.
“Of course,” Jodi said, and she handed him a cup of coffee and sat down across from him. She sat cross-legged and placed a blanket in her lap, smiling contently. Motherhood was more than she ever could have imagined. It was exhausting but fulfilling. She knew Pete would’ve been a fantastic dad as well, and after months of wallowing she was determined to give baby Peter the best life, with as many happy memories of his father as she could.
“It started a few days after Pete’s passing. I started having dreams with him and Marvel in them. It was like he was lost and trying to figure out what happened. I could see him moving his mouth, but nothing was coming out. I started to think I was the crazy one and went to a counselor. She told me that I was probably having a hard time accepting his passing, but she said to talk to him if I had the dream again, and remind him of what happened and then tell him that he needed to go to the light. Which I guess is like Heaven.”
Jodi sat very still, without expression. She’d had the very same dream and hadn’t told anybody, except for me and her mom.
“So that night I met up with him again. I told him what happened, and told him I would care for Oscar, and that you, Oscar, and the baby needed him. I told him he needed to find the light and do whatever he was supposed to do in order to be able to move mountains over here. He still looked confused, and he still couldn’t talk. I remember something my mom told me years ago when my grandma died. She told me to ask those in Heaven for a sign that they are around, and to be specific, so I told him to send me blue feathers. I’m not sure why, it was something that sort of popped up in my head. I’m freaking you out, aren’t I? I’m so sorry!”
Jodi wiped away the tears just as the baby stirred, giving her a good excuse to get up and think about how she wanted to respond. Oscar wasn’t so sure about the fuss the baby was making and looked concerned.
“It’s okay, Oscar, he’s just hungry,” she reassured him as she fixed Peter a bottle.
“If you want me to go …”
“No, Dave. No. I … I don’t think it’s odd at all. In fact it’s helped validate my own experiences.” Jodi shared her visit with me and the messages shared. “I came home that very same day after the appointment and there was a package on the porch. Now, there have been a lot of gifts sent from strangers, and I’ve been so grateful, but look at this.” Jodi held up a white blanket with blue feathers stitched all over it.
“What the …?”
“I think we are both getting the signs.”
“Oscar is too,” Dave shared. “But I don’t think it is just Pete, I think it is from Marvel. I guess I am too. I sense him sitting in the back seat with Oscar. I swear I saw him the other day at my house, out of the corner of my eye. Oscar seems calmer when I sense him, so I think he sees them, too. Man, I’m glad you don’t think I’m a fruitcake!”
Jodi laughed. “Well, I didn’t say that!”
Peter was three years old when Jodi decided to go on her first date since Pete’s passing.
“I just think you’ll love him. His name is Jayson and he works at the hospital. And he’s cute,” Breanna told Jodi. “Meet us at Snarkey’s Bar & Grill at 5 p.m. And wear your black pants; they make your butt look great.”
Jodi rolled her eyes at Breanna, but she put on the black pants with a black sweater and looked in the mirror. Deciding that she looked like a restaurant hostess, or someone still in mourning, which she was and always would be but didn’t have to look like it, she threw off the black sweater and traded it in for a light purple shirt. Pete always liked the shirt and said it made her blue eyes look lavender. Giving Peter a kiss on the forehead and giving last minute orders to her babysitter, aka her mom, she headed out.
As soon as she got into the car, she turned the station over from the typical toddler music only to hear her wedding song—Garth Brooks’s “To Make You Feel My Love.” Her heart stuck in her throat and she second-guessed everything. She was a dependable person, though, and thought it was unfair to bail on the night’s plans. It didn’t mean she had to commit to anything.
Jayson was nice, and the conversation flowed easily. He seemed sympathetic, but not frightened of her past situation or her present situation of being a single mom. They began to talk of their love of animals.
“This”—Jayson pulled out his phone to a photo—“is my dog Blue.”
Jodi looked at the photo of a German shepherd that could’ve been Marvel. And then she put it together.
Blue. Jay.
A year later Jodi and Jayson married, with Blue and Oscar in attendance as their best dogs. Oscar was still having a hard time with Pete’s death, so the department decided to retire him and offered him to Jodi, who willingly took him in. A year after, Jodi gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Although Pete and Marvel couldn’t be replaced, she knew that Jayson and Blue were gifts from Heaven.
Love is a powerful energy that bonds people to animals and animals to people, whether they are in this dimension or another, and not even the Other Side can stop the connection. Pets are important members of our families, as they offer emotional support and companionship. It’s natural and healthy to feel intense sorrow when they pass. It isn’t just the humans who mourn, animals mourn for both their human and their animal companions, both here on Earth and on the Other Side.