Most of us would readily admit that the strongest relationship we have in our life is with our dog. If you have a dog in your life, you realize that it is true. They will do anything for their owners, providing them with a lifetime of compassion and love that most humans will never come close to giving back. Perhaps you can remember how close you were to an animal in the past, and even though they are now gone, we hold onto that closeness.
Some people who had a pet in the past say that they will never have one again in the future. It isn’t because of the difficulties that the pet created in their life, it was because they loved the dogs so much that they suffered greatly due to the loss. Perhaps that is why so many people will talk about their beloved dog at any opportunity, and this was the opportunity of a lifetime for many of them.
On a personal level, I can remember many of the dogs that I had when I was growing up. My family certainly had their fair share and each and every one of them was more than a close friend, they were a family member. Some of them were with me for well over a decade before they passed away and I still miss them and think about them often.
Something that really got me thinking about them was a picture of a dog shaped cloud that was posted on Facebook. The cloud picture went viral and thousands of people started commenting on their beliefs about what happens when dogs die.
“I know they do … and I know my dogs are waiting for me…and sometimes in my dreams they come back for a little visit … I swear I can smell them or feel their special lick.”
They asked the question on social media if those who were seeing the post believed that dogs go to doggy heaven. Some people expressed their belief that it couldn’t possibly be true but others were sharing their own personal stories and beliefs.
“I used to call my dog Sable my little arctic fox because she looked a lot like them just bigger. On my 30th birthday, the anniversary of when I would have gotten her, I was driving home from dinner and a beautiful fox ran across the street. It stopped, looked me dead in the eyes while I slowed down to almost a complete stop, and then walked away really slowly. It literally made me burst into tears because it felt like she was wishing me a happy birthday and anniversary. I miss her everyday.
Then there was this interesting story:
“We [have] dogs that kinda just show up on our property and then never leave. They act like they’ve lived here for decades. One in particular, a pit bull we named Brick, knew from day one where our property line was because we don’t have a fence in the front yard … He didn’t have a problem learning the layout of the house it’s like he knew it. I believe he was another dog we had before … He ended up saving my mom from a dog that lived up the road that had almost killed a previous dog we had.”
One person talked about how their dog knows all of the tricks that their old dog knew.
“Our dog has known all our old dog’s tricks since he was a puppy, including complex ones like ‘play dead’ and he tries to do the ones he’s too small to do, like ‘open the fridge.’ He never needed to be house-trained or crate-trained. He hates the same types of dogs she was reactive to. He looks drastically different, and he’s a boy, but it’s like he’s the same dog. It’s very weird. So I think something’s going on. I usually don’t jump to supernatural explanations but I don’t know how else any of it’s possible.”
This person adopted an English bulldog exactly one year after they lost their German Shepherd.
“My last promise to my German Shepherd was to find a special dog that deserved a life of love, kindness, compassion and dignity and save them the way I saved her. I truly believe her spirit guided me to Duke that day to save him.
[When I] had an undiagnosed arrhythmia and one night my heart rate was over 200 beats per minute while sleeping. Duke woke me up and made me aware of the dangerous situation. I got to the hospital in time and got diagnosed. I doubt I would be here today if Duke hadn’t sensed something wasn’t right.”