Dogs in Heaven: and Other Animals: Extraordinary stories of animals reaching out from the other side. Jacky Newcomb
Dogs in Heaven: and Other Animals: Extraordinary stories of animals reaching out from the other side
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Some names have been changed to protect
the privacy of the story tellers.
HarperTrueFate
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First published by HarperTrueFate 2015
FIRST EDITION
Text © Jacky Newcomb 2015
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Cover layout © HarperCollinsPublishers 2014
Jacky Newcomb asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
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available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780008105198
Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780007583935
Version: 2014-12-18
Contents
Chapter 1: Visits from the Other Side
Chapter 3: Animals Are Humans?
Chapter 4: Mystical Encounters and Paranormal Experiences
Also by Jacky Newcomb in the HarperTrue series …
Chapter 1
Animals have always been important in my life, and, I suspect, in yours too. They bring us comfort and joy, watch over us, keep us safe and keep us company. Our pets are happy to listen to our problems and are always on our side. Your cat doesn’t care if your clothes are in fashion, and your dog doesn’t really mind what you talk to him about. You could live in a shed or a mansion, have old furniture or surround yourself with the very latest in interior design. Your pets really aren’t interested and don’t judge you either way.
The pets that have come into my life have often appeared by coincidence, or maybe through some magical or mystical means. Their lives with me have continued along in the same way, and it has fascinated me how closely our pets become entwined with our lives and our hearts; so much so that after they pass away, that connection seems to remain unbroken.
It seems obvious to me that, having spent our lives sharing such unrestricted love, animals and humans have a very deep connection. Doesn’t it make sense that the relationship would exist on a deeper level than the physical one we share in our earthly bodies? Over the years I’ve written about many of these connections: contact that happens in a psychic way; a communication that exists separate to the body; a magnetic draw that endures long after the body of either party has died. A dog is a man’s best friend both during and after life.
When my rescue dog Lady was euthanised, the guilt I felt was enormous. I know you’ll understand when I say that it didn’t help me to know that I had made the decision to end her life through love. I still felt bad about it. Afterwards I cried for several days until I had the most extraordinary experience. One night she appeared to me in a very vivid dream.
The little black-and-tan dog we’d chosen from the rescue centre was already several years old by the time she made her home with us; she could have been aged anywhere from three to seven years. We’d never known her as a puppy, yet in the dream she was a pretty little pup and full of energy. She bounced around in front of me and although she didn’t speak, I felt a message coming from her. It was just as if she were saying to me, ‘Look, Mum, I’m fine! Look how well I am now, look how much vigour and vitality I have!’
Lady was surrounded by other dogs we’d owned as a family over the years. This friendly group of dogs had all presented themselves as puppies in the dream. If dogs could smile, this was what they were doing. I recognised dogs we’d owned when I was a child, and others that had belonged to my sisters and their families. They were all there in the dream! Only one was missing. Candy, a female Jack Russell that had bitten me as a child, was not with the other companions we’d loved so much. I don’t know where she was, but maybe bad dogs go somewhere else. I felt great comfort in knowing that the dogs were all together, and after this very real dream my guilt went away for good. I shared this full story (and others) in my book An Angel Held My Hand. It was important to me to know that Lady had carried on after death. Her life hadn’t ended when her body died.
My cat Tigger, a fat ginger tom, was friends with her too, and in one of those bizarre coincidences he has just jumped up onto my desk as I write this. As he looks up at the screen, it’s as if he is showing his approval of his friend’s immortalisation in this book! How do they know?
Was my experience a dream or something more? I’ve always