Visits From Dearly Departed Doggies

[JRT Lover]

The very sad post about Roo has made me think of the presence that our departed doggies leave behind and the times that they visit us again.

I have had quite a few visits from my JRT who crossed the rainbow bridge in April - my 1yo son saw something in the bath with him one day, was shrieking and pointing in excitement at the (seemingly) empty end of the bath, then moved up there and proceeded to pat the air for ages, giggling in delight. I couldn't believe my eyes and wish I had videoed it because it seems so unbelievable!

Once, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her race across the front of the shed in her purple coat, another time she ran across the back yard as I was near the window, another time I was asleep and felt her little body climb in beside me and lie down along my side like she used to do so often. Sometimes I can just feel her presence in the room or beside me in the car. I miss her so much, but it's so comforting to feel her presence still here, even if it makes me feel like I must be a bit mad!

Love to hear your stories of visits from your doggy friends....

[julesluvscavs]

Thats lovely JRT Lover .

Im very spiritual and as a result I have experienced similar things. But I cant say ive ever felt my past dogs around after they have left , well apart from my childhood dog who i swear i could feel laying on my bed for months after every night.

I was just saying to my husband last night, I haven't felt Joey's presence around, which i thought i would of because he was such an in tuned dog. My husband said he hadn't either and said I think hes gone for good

Joey used to pick up a lot strange going on's in our house, and we used to think it was the elderly man who died in our house before we bought it.. and ive said to Hubby, wonder if he had known Joey was going get ill and he had been looking out for him as now i cant feel that presence of that spirit anymore .. makes me feel a bit lonely actually

The weirdest thing was that the night my husband's Mum died, well early hours of the morning, Joey sat upright on our bed and started making weird noises.. it took him a while to settle after. Half hour later we got a call from the hospital to let us know hubby's Mum had passed away. People often say to me maybe she was letting us know through Joey.. A couple months later Joey left us too Im not too keen to think he's there with her (we didn't particularly get along)

Edited October 22, 2013 by Jules❤3Cavs

[Nushie]

I had a foxy and he was PTS about 6 years ago now but i remember for months afterwards i would get a whiff of his smell... not a bad smell. We used a different shampoo on him than our Dally. And i remember sometimes i would be sitting watching TV or studying and i would be able to smell him, and turn around and he would not be there. Sometimes i swear i could feel him curled up at my feet or at the foot of my bed, only to look and remember that he was no longer with us.

[Lasareina]

my partner has told me a story of one of his dogs he had before he met me...

A few months after the dog passed, my OH heard the sound of him pounding up the stairs like he always used to - he rushed outside to see if he could see him and there were 2 guys in the front yard breaking into his van.

He also tells me about how he used to have a dog that slept on the end of his bed and my OH would often dream that he was running through the bush at the back of his house as if he was the dog. He would wake up in the morning and the dog would have muddy paws :)

I'm half convinced my OH is a animal whisperer or something... all animals especially dogs seem to love him

[YvonneM]

I'd love to think that my beloved Winston who was PTS in February this year was still watching over us from above, but I have never "felt" or seen him since ... which saddens me, because he truly was my heart dog. Having said that, I think that other dogs can sense a presence that perhaps we can't. Our Banjo was born one week after Winston was given his wings, and, more particularly when he was quite young (although he's only 8 months now), he would stand on his hind legs and look around and sniff the air near a photograph that we have of Winston on our TV stand, and also in our bedroom where we have his urn, up quite high, he would also stand on his hind legs and sniff and occasionally let out puppy sounds. He didn't behave like that anywhere else in the house.

[the cat lady]

We lost 2 of our cats and our dog last year.

I don't know which of them it is, as all of them had curled up on the end of the bed at some period of their lives, but I have felt one of them jump on the bed and walk across my legs. I immediately thought, Oh, that's just the cat! Then remembered that our one remaining cat was sleeping in the laundry. We now have another dog who has taken up residence on the end of the bed, I haven't felt anything for a while.

My daughter often says when she visits that she can feel Lexi (the dog) in our house. It's kind of nice to think they are still around us

[Steph M]

These are lovely, lovely stories. I love hearing things like this :)

[silentchild]

After I lost my beloved Emma I so desperately wanted to feel or see her but there was absolutely nothing. Until about a week or so after she passed I was lying in bed looking at her empty bed that was beside mine and cried myself to sleep. When I woke the next morning I looked at her bed again and there were three Rottie-sized indented pawprints on the bed that I am 10000% sure was not there before. It could just be my mind playing tricks on me or maybe the cat was playing a practical joke on me, but I choose to believe that she had visited me in the night and it made me feel much more at peace about everything. I haven't felt or seen anything since.

[Akayla]

When I was little I used to get annoyed at one of our cats that had passed away as it would headbutt and lean on me except when I would turn around she was gone again. She even made me lose my balance once. I would walk inside grumbling about invisable cats :laugh:

[Jed]

When I drove to the property (where my 5 dogs perished) to mow the lawn, I could hear barking, and thought it was the neighbour's dogs. It was happy barking - "so pleased you are here" - and after a few visits I realised it was the dogs who had passed - a couple of them had distinctive voices, and when I stopped and listened, I realised it was them.

Sometimes when the dogs are playing, I see an extra one flash past for an instant but when I go to count, the extra isn't there.

After I saw the photo of the rainbow bridge over my property, I know where my beloved dogs are, but it is nice to know they come to visit me sometimes.

[Steph M]

It's lovely to hear it's such happy barking!

[persephone]

When I drove to the property (where my 5 dogs perished) to mow the lawn, I could hear barking, and thought it was the neighbour's dogs. It was happy barking - "so pleased you are here" - and after a few visits I realised it was the dogs who had passed - a couple of them had distinctive voices, and when I stopped and listened, I realised it was them.

Sometimes when the dogs are playing, I see an extra one flash past for an instant but when I go to count, the extra isn't there.

After I saw the photo of the rainbow bridge over my property, I know where my beloved dogs are, but it is nice to know they come to visit me sometimes.

ohh, jed ... such a bittersweet happening ...

[persephone]

The odd feeling/sighting of dogs, yes.

I remember some years ago, campers on the riverbank told us they slept well, except when Sally (horse) came galloping past the camp ..they were waiting for her to stop, as she always did , to scrounge food and kiss everyone... and wondered why she didn't this time.

They were gobsmacked when we told them Sal had been put down months before ....

[ESCS]

Shortly after our cat passed away, I was hanging out washing in the garage where her ashes were kept inside a cupboard (waiting to be taken back to where she was born). I heard a persistent tinkling which was the sound the tag on her collar would make against her food bowl. At the back of my mind, I thought it was one of the tibbies but at the time they were in the garden no where near the garage. It occurred to me it might be neighbours' cats but none of them wore collars. When the tinkling continued, I turned around and saw my cat flash past me. It was a split second and the sound disappeared after that. The most wonderful thing about what I saw was my cat back when she was young and healthy(she was a very different cat towards the end of her life). It gave me great comfort as I'd felt much guilt about putting her to sleep particularly as her passing was not as peaceful as I'd hoped. I never saw her again but felt strongly that she was trying to tell me that she is ok and in a better place. She was my friend for 16 years and always a great comfort at troubled times. She continued to be a comfort from beyond. It makes me feel so humbled to have shared my life with her. Incidentally, she came from Young (small country town in NSW). Fairly soon after she passed on, our lovely second tibbie came into our lives and she was also from Young. I have an incredibly close bond with this tibbie just as I had with my cat. Thank you to Mita and Helen's breeder for our very special gift.

[pepe001]

I had to PTS my dog a couple of days before my daughter was born. Not a good time for anyone. This dog was not a children-friendly dog - I would say she would be a children-dangerous dog. She was unstable and was from 8 weeks old but as we have good fences and no children visiting her temperament was manageable. She got sick and ended up at the vets for a stomach x-ray. He didn't find any stuck bones but found she was chockers full of cancer and recommended PTS. Before this DH and I had decided to re-fence our yard and make a locked secure part for her so she and new baby didn't interact. How could we PTS a healthy dog that has never actually done anything bad but we both knew her an a child would never coexist? But wasn't to be, which was a blessing in disguise really. Her best trick was an amazing play dead - taught when I first started clicker training. She would jerk her head sideways, fall on her side, then twitch one leg, then lie still.

The night my daughter was born and we had both gone back to the hospital room. The baby was laying in the plastic cot-thingy (so you could see through it) and I was sitting on the bed thinking 'what the hell do I do now - puppies are easy but this is a human baby'. The baby looked directly at me and moved her head in exactly same way that my dog had done a million times. And I swear her eyes looked just like my dogs. I actually said my dogs name out loud in surprise. And then felt like a real idiot. Human babies are even meant to see a distance at the age (a couple of hours). But I do believe it was my dog coming back to say it will be ok.

Another story beyond the grave. My much-loved MIL died last year. At xmas time a clock made by her husband before he died chimed a few times - both loved Xmas and it was a time every year when she visited us. It hasn't been wound since he died 12 years ago. Then on the anniversary of her death it chimed again. We just said it was her coming to check on us. A few months ago I went to a clairvoyant (which I have never done before). She said the person who you lost last year comes to visit and likes to tell you she is there. I burst into tears at the time but am happy she does that.

[Jed]

Thanks pers

I realised it was them barking because they always excitedly barked when I drove in - and one day, I realised it was them. Oh happy day!!

[pebbles]

That's lovely, Jed.

Ben, my Border Terrier was a special boy. I used to take him and the others to the old racecourse out of town for a free run. Ben was always pottering behind. After I had to have Ben PTS I couldn't go near the racecourse for ages then one day I took the others down for their run. They acted strangely, kept running back along the track. I could feel Ben there behind us. This kept happening every time we went there and I'd talk to Ben. As summer came on and I didn't go there because of snakes, one evening I told Ben that we wouldn't be back for a while and he could rest now. I did go once more a while later and didn't feel Ben's presence then. I still miss that boy dreadfully.

[Jellyblush]

Oh, this is so sad and sweet at the same time. Your stories are beautiful. And amazing. I hope Roo visits me.

[Staffyluv]

It is 2 years tomorrow since Ollie dog went to the bridge and I see him and hear him here all the time..

It is funny, he was always being told to get out of the fridge - if the kids (or us) had the door open, his little head would be in there.

The other day, I turned around and the kid had the door to the fridge open and I swear, I saw his little black butt sticking out - I was about to tell Zig to get out of the fridge and realised that Zig was sound asleep on the lounge..

When Zig walks through the house, he walks high on the pads of his feet, so doesn't make much sound on the floorboards. Ollie used to make the tick, tick sound, where his nails hit the floor boards.. I hear this sound a lot.

There has been loads of times, in the kitchen especially, where I have said something to Zig only to find he is not there..

Zig sleeps on the same spot on my bed that Ollie slept on. He also sits on the same spot on the lounge that Ollie used to sit on.

Ollie used to climb up on one chair (there are two chairs) at the windows and look out - Zig climbs on the same chair..

We still have a couple of Ollie's old toys and Zig won't play with them..

They are so different but there are so many similarities as well.. Although I miss Ollie so much, sometimes it really does feel like he is still here.