Can you communicate with an animal in spirit?

This is the question I’m asked more than any other, and it’s usually asked quietly, by someone who has recently lost an animal and isn’t sure whether they’re allowed to ask it.

My answer is yes. I do communicate with animals who have passed into spirit, and it’s a part of my work that is very close to my heart. But I want to explain what that means to me, honestly, so that you can decide for yourself whether it’s something you’d like to explore.

What I believe

I believe the bond we share with an animal doesn’t end when they pass. That’s my belief, and it’s my experience; I’m not going to tell you it can be proven. I lost my own soul dog, Mylo, and I believe he’s still with me in spirit, still communicating with me, still nudging me in the direction he thinks I should be going. He was opinionated in life and I don’t think that has changed.

So when a guardian asks me to connect with an animal who has passed, I approach it in the same way I approach any communication: I become quiet, I open myself to whatever the animal wishes to share, and I pass on what I receive as honestly and gently as I can.

The questions guardians bring

They’re often the questions that sit heaviest. Are they okay now? Were they in pain at the end? Did I make the right decision? Will I see them again? Is there something they’d like me to know?

I understand those questions because I asked them myself. And I’ll always be honest with you about what I can and can’t do with them. I can’t establish medical facts about an animal’s final moments. I can’t promise a particular answer will come through, and I would never tell you what you want to hear for the sake of it. What I can do is hold a respectful space, and share whatever I receive.

Two separate things

It’s important to me that you know this: communicating with an animal in spirit and pet bereavement counselling are two different services, and neither one needs the other.

Communication is about hearing from your animal. Counselling is a space for you: to talk about your grief with someone who understands the bond, at your own pace, without judgement. Some guardians come to me for one and, in time, explore the other. Many only ever want one. There’s no right or wrong choice, and I’d never suggest that communication is a way of "getting closure" or a necessary step in grieving. It isn’t.

If you’d like to explore a communication, the details are on my Animal Communication page. If what you need right now is someone to talk to, that’s my Pet Bereavement Counselling, and it starts with a free phone call. And if you’re not sure which, just ask me. We’ll work it out together.

My heart goes out to you. I’ve been there too.