How to help your pets die well

Death is the other face of life. There’s no escaping it, especially as our beautiful animals have shorter lives than humans. It’s always wrenchingly painful to lose one of your furry family members. You can’t escape the grief that crashes down over you when they transition, when they leave their body.

Death could come at any moment. Even with a young, healthy animal, there’s a chance that they may be gone tomorrow. And the older your pet gets. The closer comes the inevitable moment when you have to say goodbye for the last time.

I see death as a birth of consciousness back into spirit. It’s not the end of the consciousness of your beloved pet, but their rebirth back into the vastness and freedom of the infinite intelligence or consciousness of the universe. I’ve had some undeniable experiences that have led me to understand this in my own way.

Near death experiences are a very well researched and documented phenomena in humans. There are a range of books with case studies of many people whose bodies have died and who have then been resuscitated (or in rare cases, have simply reawakened to life without resuscitation). The stories they tell are of their consciousness continuing, of experiencing something that extends beyond life in the body.

In the case of one doctor, an anesthetist, he had a near death experience when he was on the operating table. He had a profound experience of which you can read a summary of at this link. He had an experience that included seeing and sensing the surgery room, and also communicating with deceased family members.

There are many, many cases of people effectively dying, then being resuscitated, and sharing stories of amazing experiences, gaining insights into their life and circumstances. In nearly all cases, a near death experience is profoundly life changing and leads to a deepening of the person’s spiritual awareness.

Your pets’ consciousness extends beyond the death of their body

And this is true for all living beings. The Buddhist belief is that our consciousness can be reborn many times, reincarnated in a new body. There are some interesting case studies that are strongly suggestive of the phenomena of reincarnation. For instance one author researched 20 cases in which young children talked about previous lives.

I have a personal story to share about this. When I was a small child, maybe 3-5 years old, I used to have terrible nightmares of the soldiers coming into our camp of tipi’s and killing all of us. Historically accurate, with the correct uniforms, types of guns, the American Indian people’s clothing etc. They were terrifying, so real, and there was nothing in our home, no books, no information or images available that I could have seen to trigger this dream. This is suggestive to me that I lived a life or lives in that culture and time.

How can this help you help your pets die well? For one thing, it is easier to let go of your beloved old friend if you know that they may come back again in another body. I have one cat whom I am sure has come back twice, and I am also sure that my whippet is the same soul or consciousness who was Tikka, my crazy Staffie dog.

Of course, even though there are similarities in these different animals who share the same core consciousness, they are each their own unique expression of that. They are unique, just as each life is unique.

The thing is, letting go is what your pets most need from you when they are ready to transition. I have helped many beautiful old animals to the other side over my 25 years of practice. I have learned through my energy healing skills and intuitive abilities, how to help untangle these animals from their owners, so they can transition cleanly and well.

If you have an older animal, now is the perfect time to begin energetically and emotionally letting them go, setting them free to take this huge, important step out of their physical vessel. If you’re not sure when to help your old friend go, give me a yell. I can help you understand when is the best possible time for you to make that choice. And it’s an awe-full choice that we so often have to make for our pets.

Yes, you can palliate right through to a natural death, but you’ll need professional support, appropriate pain relief, and enough time and space in your life to be able to nurse and support your pet 24-7 for as long as it takes. I have spoken to people who have taken this path, and they tell me it has been a profoundly beautiful experience.

If you decide to help your pet transition, most vets do not have the energy healing and intuitive skills to be able to make sure your friend has transitioned fully and cleanly. I have had to untangle and finally release pets for some people who were euthanized many years in the past.

If you want support on that level (either for an impending transition, or past ones) please do email me at [email protected]. I’d love to help you on that level!

What actually happens for your pet when they die?

We can’t tell. None of us can, until we reach that point of the inevitable ourselves. But I am absolutely certain that our consciousness continues. It does not end. All of the near death experiences I have read share some common themes. An ecstatic expansion of consciousness and awareness. A review of the whole of the life that is ending- a recapitulation, if you will. A sense of deep connection with the all that is.

I’m not looking forward to death, but I have no fear of it. I believe that death is the greatest adventure of this life, in many ways. My intuitive understanding of how our animals understand death is that they have no fear of this transition. They know what is happening, and they are at peace with transitioning into the next stage of the journey for their consciousness.  

I hope that you understanding this will make it easier to let your pets go, and to support them through this beautiful, deeply important transition. The more you can send them off with love and gratitude, the better their death will be, for all souls concerned. Yes, the grief hurts. Embrace that pain, allow it to move through you, as it is a measure of love.

A beautiful way to add extra support into the transition process for your pets is to learn and bless your old friends with the Whole Energy Body Balance method – my signature healing bodywork modality for pets, people, and horses. We have two flagship online trainings- WEBB Bodywork for Pets and WEBB Energywork for Animals. If you’d like a special 60% discount, simply email me and request!