Dear Jack: I Didn't Get To Say Goodbye

Dear Jack, 
I still miss my beautiful, loving little girl who I lost a year ago. I came home from work one day and she had passed away in the new dog bed that I just bought for her. That was one of the worst days of my life, she was 14 and a half and had not been sick, but she must have been suffering from something. I horribly regret that I wasn't with her when her time came; that breaks my heart to this day. I feel she's with me all of the time, she is all over my apartment, her pictures, her favorite spots, her bed. This loss has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to accept. I just wish I could see her sweet little face and hold her precious body once again. I feel so terrible that I didn't get to say goodbye. 
Please advise. 
Love, 
Amanda 

Dearest Amanda, 

I would like you to understand that your beloved girl passed in your absence because she did not want you to see her in her final moments. If it had been meant to be another way, it would have unfolded another way. It happened just the way it was supposed to happen. 

We have a friend named Patty who had a beloved cocker spaniel. It was quite old and it was declining rapidly. Patty took the whole week off from her work to be with her Buddy. She rarely left his side the whole week. Then, at about 10:30 one night, she stepped away from him just long enough to go the bathroom. When she came back, she found him. He had passed in the few moments when she had left his side. I believe he was waiting for her to leave so he could leave the way he wanted to. We get very sensitive to our best friends and we know that we don't want those last moments imprinted in your mind. We don't want you to see us until the peace has come to our face... and that peace comes very quickly. 

So often human beings try to maneuver and manipulate everything to control an outcome, but eventually most of them learn that no matter how focused and determined they are, they cannot control much of anything at all. They are not supposed to control things because God is in control. Sometimes God steps into situations like this to prove it to the human.... but the human can be a slow learner and most of them keep trying to control stuff anyway because they think they can.

Kate has worked Hospice long enough to know that people do the same thing. There they are, in their final earthly hours, and their family surrounds them in a 24 hour vigil. The moment the family member leaves the room, the person has the space to breathe their last breath in private peace. Not all of them -- but many do this. 

So rest assured, your girl did things on her own terms to the last second. Please don't worry for another moment! Don't you see she did not want to say goodbye. Why would she? She knows it's not goodbye! 

She is also very grateful that you can see her, feel her, sense her there. Everyone is capable of seeing us, but not everyone is able to do it. Please know that All is Well.

Love,
Jack

For more insights from Jack, click here to order his book on Amazon.

You are Never Too Small to Make A Difference in a Life

“Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
       One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
       As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
       He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
       The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
       "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
       To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
       Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
       At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, 
       "It made a difference for that one.” 

What we do for our pets and for the animals that we rescue is much like this story about the starfish by Loren Eiseley. 

The other quote that comes to mind is this one: 

You are not too small at all!  You are larger than life for a pet (or a person) who needs you in theirs.  Remember, to a pet you are their entire world.  You are large, you are great, you are important, you are necessary.  Please don't hesitate to reach out to an animal -- or child -- or person -- who needs you. 

I Am Not Far Away At All

You think that I am far from you? 

I feel your thoughts, I know your heart.

I am not far away at all. I'm closer than you would believe! 

You think if you stop grieving that you will somehow lose me. 

You're afraid that if you love again, 

That you will grow away from me. 

Well you're not going anywhere! 

Your soul has grown right into mine

Spun together; 

A tapestry 

Of our life and love.

You cannot lose what has become

A vital part of you.

Someday you'll see that I was with you all along the way. 

You'll then regret the time you spent

Wasting many thoughtful tears

And grieving for so many years!

But while you cannot see that now,

You'll find out what you think you lost 

You never lost at all.

I am merely gone from view.

I am here; 

I am here beside you.

Waiting for the Chosen Time

When you will see and touch and feel me 

As I run into your arms again. 

~Jack~

Separation Anxiety Reversed

Now you know the way I felt when I couldn't go with you.
You always came right home to me. 
Whey would it be any different now? 
Everything will be okay. I'll see you soon. I promise.

I'm just gone from your sight for a little while. 

I promise, you'll Come Home to me.

Have faith in this. Just wait and see. 

I'll be all excited at the gate

To see you, oh I cannot wait! 

Until then know I love you. 

I love you. I love you. I love you.

You Can't See What's Hurting Me - Electromagnetic Fields and Pet Health

People and animals need a healthy environment to thrive in a long and vibrant life. I've noticed and experienced how you will often do everything in your power to create a life worth living for me. You feed me the best food, take me on long walks through nature, ensure my vaccinations are up to date, buy me healthy toys and treats, and love on me every chance you get.  If you work all day, you typically spoil me rotten when you return home. 

Do you know that there is something in our home environment that can be dangerous to me? Something you may not even notice because it has become so commonplace.  It's called an ElectroMagnetic Field(EMF). EMF's can't be avoided in modern life, but they can be minimized so that they don't take their toll on you... and on me. 

Electromagnetics All Around and Over and Under While I Try to Sleep

I notice how you carry your phone with you most of the time now. You carry it in your breast pocket. You strain your neck and your eyes to see whatever it is that is so important to you. Do you see me looking at you looking at your phone again? I look at you and then I look away. It makes me uncomfortable. I know it isn't good for you to be listening to it and looking at it all the time. I don't like it when you use the camera on it to take a picture of me because I am very sensitive to the energy of the phone to begin with and the flash really hurts my head and my eyes. I see you awaken in the middle of the night in our darkened room and ON goes the phone and it lights up the whole room. Don't you know that it is hurting you too? Your eyes, your head, your mind, your heart. 

Our bodies are designed to heal themselves and getting a good night's sleep in a dark and quiet place is part of the healing plan.  It is important to give the brain a rest. It's like shutting your computer down and re-booting it when it has been on too long.  If you don't reboot, your brain slows down and when your brain slows down your ability to withstand stress and sickness slows down too. Our brains get a much-deserved rest when we are sleeping and perhaps even dreaming, but it is in these unconscious moments that we are most vulnerable to the negative energy around us because we can't protect ourselves. Negative energy can be other people's thoughts, but it is often caused by invisible environmental factors. Some people say their prayers each night because prayers can help protect us while we are helpless and exposed while we are sound asleep.   

Like most dogs, I am empathetic. I am more sensitive to the energy fields around us than you are.  Sometimes if I consistently don't want to go someplace with you, I am not being disobedient. It's just that I see something or feel something that is not good for us there. 

I can see how you are living your life and how the energy--for better or for worse--affects you. If it affects you, it affects me and because of my empathy I will literally take on your physical and emotional pain.  I am designed by God to protect you and I do it in ways you probably never even thought of before. 

All day long I am picking up on the energies around me. If they are happy energies, I gladly absorb them! If they are negative, I absorb them too. Because we are always connected, I can feel your energy when you are gone from me and I absorb it across the miles. If you are not happy at work today, I know it firsthand. I know it as well as you do. 

What can you do to help me?  Give me a good night's sleep every night in a room that is a healing space for you and for me. Give me an area to sleep in that is free of electromagnetic fields. Keep your phones and computers and other electronics out of our bedroom. You don't need to be working all the time; you work enough as it is! It can only help both of us. Turn the heat up in the house instead of using the electric blanket. That blanket is not good for you. Or me. Keep doing all the other things you are doing that are good for me.

Have your other pets suffered from similar medical issues? Look around you and minimize the risk factors. Save us from the list of chronic ailments that range from general immunity issues (you wonder why we are sick all the time?) to neurological problems to cancer. By helping me you help yourself too. By the way, our friends the cats are better equipped to handle negative energy than we are. When cats rub up against you, they are actually taking the negative energies from you that you have absorbed.  As a rule, cats are not as empathetic as dogs are, so they can Shake It Off easier than we can. They don't tend to absorb your pain like we do.  

Do us all a favor and try to keep the energy around us positive. Be happy. Keep things simple. When you are healthy, I am healthy. When you are happy, I am happy. 

A Spiritual Translation of "Goodbye"

Spiritualist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, said it perfectly. If only you would realize that you "are not a human being having a spiritual experience; you are a spiritual being having a human experience" here on this earth, you would not make a big deal out of my leaving. I am now FREE of the discomforts and constraints of my earthly existence and I am so happy!

I miss you, yes of course I do, but I know that I am made of spiritual energy and that we are still connected at a deep soul level. I have faith that exceeds any disruption or emotion and I pray that you will be able to have this kind of faith too. Faith in me. Faith in Him. Faith in something greater than what you now see. Don't you see, you are stuck on the details which no longer hold meaning. They live only in your own tormented memory. What you see on this earth is NOTHING in comparison to the world that is waiting for you! The world where I Am.

If you want a really good spiritual read, pick up something, anything by Paramahansa Yogananda.

Canadian Reader Approves of Jack with Five Stars

5.0 out of 5 stars I feel my pet sent me this book to comfort me.

Wish I got hold of this book when I lost my precious pet a year ago- it helps a great deal to survive your pet loss. Also, answer so many questions well beyond the pet- human relationship; in fact, it answered my questions I've been carrying in my head and heart for quite a while- questions about love, letting go, Universe etc. I can honestly say this book transformed me, definitely time and money well spent.  

Thank you Nataliya Nikolayeva for your kind review!