So Do Pets Go to Heaven or Not?

 Dear Jack, 

I have been reading your books.  I saw something today that said God only loans our babies to us for a short time to enjoy on Earth.  Also, then, that they won't be in Heaven and we won't see them, again.  Thoughts?

www.amazon.com

Dear One, 

Thank you for reading the books, for they are the key to healing from your loss. 

People come from all walks of faith and all walks of life and belief. This person sounds like they have been convinced that animals don't go to Heaven. 

I have many thoughts on the topic. I've been to Heaven firsthand and Kate has been studying these things for 40+ years. We are currently writing an entire book on this very subject as we speak. 

It's mostly strict religious people (they can't help it, it's what they've been taught) who will tell you this kind of thing but there is much evidence to the contrary. Pets have souls just like you do. Pets have the Spirit of God in them, just like you do. That Spirit is what brings all of us back to God when it's time to leave this physical world. That Spirit is the love of God that joins each and every one of us together and Him to us... some are bonded more than others (known as soulmates)... God brings all of us Home when our work and learning on earth is completed. Life is the school, love is the lesson and we all "graduate" into the realm of Heaven.

We tell you all about how this happens in Book 3 ("Return from Rainbow Bridge") in my story that I write from Heaven - where I found I would have some very important decisions to make. 

Do keep reading. We are working to answer all these questions and remove all doubt from your mind. Believe! You will meet again one day. You'll see. 💗

Love, Jack 🐾

A 10-Step Guide to Being with Someone You Love Who is Dying

#11 - Read our books whenever you can. It will help you on both sides of grief. 

It will help you with both sides of the Rainbow Bridge. 

The Jack McAfghan Pet Loss Series

A Dog's Memoirs on Life and the Afterlife

Available on Amazon https://amzn.to/3c2tnks

 

Religion Versus Spirit

Toula

Dear Jack, 

First, I want to thank you and Jack for somehow coming into my life this summer though now I believe it was all by Design and a gift from my Toula. You have helped me tremendously and I am finally finding peace that I haven't known since my Toula passed on 11/26/20. 

I am however hung up on 2 things. I am a Greek Orthodox Christian and I feel as though I have sinned. First in taking the life of another living creature (I. E. Toula's euthanasia decision) and second in her cremation, (I. E. Destroying God's temple). How do I get past these things to continue my healing?

-Dina

Dear Dina,

Those rules were written a long time ago before we had euthanasia and pet cremation. Things can change over 100's of years. 

#1) If you looked at the situation from the eyes of God, you would not want a creature to suffer unnecessarily when it can be brought peace. 

#2) God's temple is only our body as long as our spirit lives in our body. So at the time of cremation, it was no longer Toula's "temple". Toula vacated the moment she passed and she went straight to God, her spirit joining with His.

I hope this helps somehow. I know religion can run deep but I do not see any sin anywhere. I see only love and compassion and those are the things that God values most in His people.

Love, Jack 🐾

Dear Jack...Many of My Friends Just Don’t Seem to Care

This is one of the many things your pets come to teach. Many of you have found out who your truest friends are as you work through your grief. Who can you turn to? Are you surprised who is there? Are you surprised who is not? One of the things we teach you in our departure is to open your eyes to see Who Is Really There for you. Who loves and supports you through it all? This is a true friend. Meanwhile, we still love you from the other side with a love that never dies.

Love, Jack 🐾

From the book: Jack McAfghan: Letters from Rainbow Bridge

Is There Life After "Death"? Will You Welcome in Another Pet?

Note from Kate: 

I didn't want another dog after Jack. But I had Joey who became quite the handful (!) after Jack passed. There was a time in my early grief I thought of giving up Joey. I was in so much pain! When I realized it was the complications of grief that made me want to give up Joey I got myself on a new path. It was worth the ride. Keep your heart and mind open and try not to make irreversible decisions when you are going through the stages of grief. Once you ultimately accept your loss, you can make better decisions for yourself and for the ones you love.

Love, Kate

This is Immy.

It was about 6 months after I had passed. Kate didn't really want another dog, for she already had little Joey. The fact of the matter was that the Universe planned on her getting another dog and It made sure she knew it. After I passed, Joey exhibited terrific separation anxiety. He destroyed the house, chewed electrical wires and pens and highlighters, and his screams from being left alone could be heard from one end of town to the other. Kate had no choice. She began the search (you can read the synchronistic story in Book 3, "Return from Rainbow Bridge") which led her to Immy.

The relationship was far from perfect. She had had a very well-adjusted dog (Yours Truly ) and ended up with a dog with many insecurities. But on Day 1, snuggled in next to Immy, Joey was happy and content when Kate went off to work. Mission accomplished!

It would be a very long time before Immy could handle social situations but in the process, Immy grew and Kate grew and Joey was happy and everything turned out okay. Just the way it was Meant To Be.

Loving again can be messy. You can never replace a Beloved friend. But know that that Friend is working behind the scenes to give you what you need to grow and to become a more loving human being.

Is all about the Love. Good girl Immy!

“I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” –The Alchemist

Jack McAfghan: Return from Rainbow Bridge

https://amzn.to/3P2cBjX

Holding On and Letting Go vs Love and Commitment

   How? How do I stay with something when I want to leave? How? 

How do I let go of something when I don't want it to go?

Two words: Love & Commitment. Those of you who are making progress know this -- and there are so many of you, I'm so proud of you. It takes love. That's all. LOVE heals the grief. It takes making love stronger than your grief. Being a hero of love instead of a victim of loss.

Make the commitment to feel better again -- for your sake and theirs. It just takes starting at page one in "Reflections". For so long as you cry and weep and grieve, your best friend will mournfully be waiting to see you smile again. When they walked this earth with you they did not like to see you unhappy, did they? They still walk the earth with you, beyond the thin veil that separates, and they still look at you with mournfulness, waiting to see you happy again. Once you start smiling and living life again they can truly be free.

If you've read my books, you'll learn how to get from here to there. If you haven't read my books, they wait patiently for you to begin your journey out of grief -- and back into love.

The Jack McAfghan Pet Loss Series

A Dog's Memoirs on Life and the Afterlife

Available on Amazon https://amzn.to/3BVjoFO

This photo captured one of the moments we lay with our hearts together. I told her that I would be leaving soon but she didn't hear me, for by then she was back in her head again. The head can confuse things, the heart always knows the truth. The next time you have a choice to make, tell your head to be quiet. Put your hands on your heart and listen to the wisdom there. This is where your intuition lives. This is where we speak to you. This is where you know everything there is to know. Hanging on. Letting Go...

Does it Really Matter What Breed My Dog is?

 Dear Jack, 

Does it really matter what breed my dog is? Isn’t every dog, cat, pet just love? Isn’t that all that really matters? Isn’t that what you tell us? Not to label, that love is all that matters? 

 

Does it really matter what I was?  She always said it didn't. I was advertised as a Collie-Poo and that's what she came to accept. If it was any different than that, she said it didn't matter. She loved me no matter what I was. She loved me.

They said my mother was a Bearded Collie. They said my father was a Standard Poodle. Some people would argue with her. "No," they'd say, "I can tell he has Afghan Hound in him from the curl in his tail... the length of his hair."  

"It doesn't matter," she would reply, "Whatever he is, I love him." 

But it turns out that it did matter. Genetic inheritance cannot be denied in humans or in pets. One day she took me to the vet when I was about five years old. I had a small tumor growing on my eyelid that was bothering me. They scheduled surgery with general anesthesia to remove it.  

"Come back for him at 1 p.m," they said. 

At noon they called. "We've had a delay. Come back for him at 5 p.m." 

Eagerly she went to pick me up at 5. They had to tell her what happened. 

"He must have sighthound in him," they said. "He is definitely an Afghan Hound." 

Sighthounds are a certain group of dogs who have keen eyesight because of the way their eyes and noses are formed. In a puppy, the sense of smell develops first, but in a sighthound pup, the sense of sight comes first. The nose is long and thin and allows for a greater peripheral vision for hunting and targeting. This is one of the things that makes sighthounds unique. They also have lean forms and can run faster and longer than most other breeds.

Sighthounds metabolize medication differently than other breeds. This is in part due to a lower percentage of body fat. Sighthounds also have a unique liver function and cannot process drug substances as quickly as other breeds. It takes them longer to recover and it is part of good veterinary care to manage this. 

I had a very bad reaction to the level of drugs they gave me. What started out as a routine surgery turned into an emergency. They almost lost me! But they didn't. They saved me and they documented in my permanent record that I am Afghan Hound; sighthound.  

For under $100 you can order a Pet DNA testing kit. It may not matter to you what your dog is or how it came to be bred genetically through the years. As more and more people are adopting pets with unknown histories, it is not a bad idea to check it out. The more you know about breed-specific issues, the more empowered you are, the more you will be ready to handle them if and when they arise. 

                                                                                                Love, Jack