r/Petloss • u/strbrryfld • Sep 01 '26
Advice Wanted what comes after death?
hi all. I've never thought about it before until my dog passed. she was with me through everything. she was 14. i grew up incredibly lonely and didn't have friends, she was it. she was with me through my dad passing. she was with me for every tear shed and it hasn't even been a week and I'm sick. at first I've always believed that there was something at least- even if i didn't know what it was. now I'm distraught and every day it's hard to wake up because it all feels pointless. I've been thinking of whether or not I'll ever see her again and my logical brain wants to think of basic biology and the fact that the brain dies when we do. and that there is nothing and we won't even realize it. I'm sick to think that I'll never see my little baby again. i didn't have enough time with her and it was so sudden. on the other hand, i want to consider paranormal experiences and think that i may see her again one day. i don't know what to do or think and I've never been more lost and confused in my life.
19
u/thunder2132 Sep 02 '26
I truly believe we'll be reunited with our loved ones, including pets. I used to have regular "visits" in my dreams. I'd go somewhere, and my old pets would be there. My dad would sometimes be there, same with my favorite uncle after he passed. I would be so happy to see them, even my dad who I always had a strained relationship with.
The people I saw would never speak, I could feel their emotions and intents. After a while it would be communicated that it was time for me to leave. It wasn't my time yet. Then I'd wake up.
I had a sleep study done, and found out I have a really bad case of sleep apnea. They told me it could kill me at any time. I started with a CPAP and lost some weight. My sleep apnea got a lot better, and I stopped having visits.
It's my theory that I was near death, and saw what's coming, or at least a part of it. I always believed I was going to heaven, but there were still doubts. Now there's no doubts, just happiness.
11
u/throwaway272871 Sep 01 '26
I think we reunite with loved ones- humans and animals. I think how we reunite with them is beyond our capacity to understand.
For a bit of context, I’m an RN and I’ve seen and heard some accounts that give me hope for the afterlife.
1
7
u/Lifegoeson12356 Sep 01 '26
I get this. Growing up I believed in God and I would talk to my grandparents and pets thinking they were looking down at me from heaven. It definitely helped me with my grief. Now idk what I believe, I surely think it’s easier to believe in something when you are grieving or facing death. But I truly don’t know what I believe anymore and it’s hurts so much thinking that she might really be gone physically and spiritually.
5
u/strbrryfld Sep 01 '26
yes. it's destroying me. i was raised catholic but as i grew older considered that there was nothing. now i so desperately want to believe that there is something, i don't think i can stand the idea that my baby is really gone. i hate that we don't know. i also don't know what to believe anymore and you are not alone at all. it hurts so much I'm looking for anything and everything because i loved my baby so much and want to see her again :(
5
u/Gocatsgo2010 Sep 01 '26
I refuse to believe there is a reality where I don’t get to give my fur babies (and my relatives) a hug again. I need to believe that right now since I have lost my grandmother, both of my uncles, and now my dog, in 18 months
3
u/strbrryfld Sep 01 '26
me too. i keep thinking of paranormal experiences and that is what is bringing me comfort. i have left religion really but i want to believe that there is something with spirits out there. somewhere where we are together. i thought i heard her jingles of her tags the other night. i mentioned it to my parents and my stepdad said he felt her nose on his leg (a thing she always did). this occurred the same night. i keep thinking of how this can't be coincidence but I'm so scared of other possibilities. i need to know there is something- i haven't been rationally thinking as of late and i have been spiraling as i am so sad that I've never felt this level of grief.
1
u/NexoLDH Sep 02 '26
Pourquoi avait vous perdu la foi ?
1
u/strbrryfld Sep 02 '26
i want to become religious again but for me it was after a lot of personal suffering at a young age. i couldn't understand why my dad had to be taken for me at such a young age, while i wanted to know him growing up and would have intense jealousy toward peers who still had their parents. i had mental health struggles, anxiety, ocd, depression etc. i lost numerous friends and family so young and felt that i was surrounded by tragedy. i had such a hard time understanding how it was for the 'plan' when i went through so much trauma and loss so young. then as i got into college it began to dwindle as i picked a healthcare/science major and the more and more i learned about the human body, the less i believed. i learned about the brain and it sort of drove me towards the notion that we are essentially a byproduct of the brain. i wish i didn't learn as much as i did about the functions of how we worked. it didn't disprove any theory as we truthfully could never know, but the idea that i will never understand what is next was always terrifying to me. i desperately want to hope and believe in an afterlife, and i want it to be real
1
u/NexoLDH Sep 03 '26
Je comprends que tu as pu souffrir après ces tragédie et que t’en voulais à la terre entière mais sache que Dieu , ne veux pas que tu souffre et t’aime vraiment, moi aussi j’ai perdu des proches mais en ayant eu des signes et la foi , même si sa me rend toujours triste je me dit que mes proches sont au paradis , un endroit où il n’y a ni souffrance ni tragédie, je continue de vivre ma vie très longtemps et pour l’apprentissage des mécaniques biologique de notre corp tu as eu raison d’apprendre, nos mécanismes biologique est si complexe et incroyable, Dieu est un vrai ingénieur cosmique, enfin voilà sache que après cette vie la y’a le paradis, y’a un après, j’ai pas le savoir absolue certe mais j’ai vécu des choses qui me laisse persuadé que le paradis existe et j’ai la foi je perd pas le cape , je te dit pas qu’il faut que tu redevienne religieux, mais prie avec sincérité et quand tu le ressens sa pourrai t’aider je l’espère
1
u/Accomplished_Sign823 Sep 04 '26
It's hard to remain religious when it seems like nothing is hearing our prayers. Speaking from personal experience. I've also suffered a hard life, yet I pray every single night, there has been times where I think God intervened in a way but then again so much bad has happened and I don't understand why. Ughhh it's such a hard subject 😭
1
u/Bulky-Traffic-570 Sep 05 '26
You don’t have to desperately believe, or not believe. Try meditating for 5 minutes, focus on your breaths, then go outside and take in the sun, maybe go on a walk, and just focus on every sound around you. Look up at the sky, then make your decision. There could be nothing after death, there could be something, ultimately we are helpless, yet the sun still shines.
I’m visited by dead loved ones in dreams but very occasionally. I’ve never been visited by anybody “alive” in my dreams. Like, sitting on a bench talking, type of dream. Take with that what you will.
6
u/ConnectionCheater Sep 02 '26
Hi it took me a while to write this, but I also lost my cat Onion less than 3 months ago. He was 5 and was dignosed with IMHA when he was only 1. We fought that disease for 4 years together and that journey allowed us to have connection beyond imaginable. He meant everything and he still does.
I also started to wonder what comes after death. If there is after life, if I get to see him again. Its difficult for me to have a strong belief in afterlife, because just like you my logical side of brain doubts it.
I still try to believe that I will get to see Onion again when I die. The connection we have for our pets are stronger than people think. We communicate with them even when we are a complete different species. Because of that I believe that the connection still exists and will connect us again. There has to be a reason why after life theory has existed for so long in our history. And the universe is so big. We still don't know whats on the bottom of the ocean or if there are aliens. There are so much possibility that we might not even be thinking about. Like how in black hole's singularity, normal physic that we believed in breaks down. Time, space, the dimension we live in might all just be meaningless in there. The universe we live in has so much possibilities and I'd like to believe that after life is part of them.
But whenever my logical side of brain doubts it, I think of this: every near death experience (where people say life flashed before their eyes) seems to happen because of their brain's unconscious perception of death. Some people see the god they believe in, some people see their family, and so on. So I am just going to train my brain to think of Onion when I think of death or after life. So when I die (and if there is no after life) I will still be able to meet him again even if its just my brain tricking me.
I am not particularly religious or a strong believer of other pseudoscience, but the day Onion passed away, I had a dream of him. He looked around 2-3 years old (when his condition was the best) and I just remember we sat together. When I woke up, I told it to my friends who have also experienced pet loss, and they all said they had similar dream of their pets visiting them looking happy and healthy. So I am just going to believe that after life exists, and my cat Onion is happy and healthy there. One day when we are both ready, we'll meet again. I believe in the connection I had with him.
I am very sorry for your loss and feel free to message me if you need someone to talk to since I am also going through this at the moment.
2
u/dandelionswereframed Sep 02 '26
So I left the religion I grew up with, and have gone through the wringer trying to settle on what I believe. Even if it is not in vogue to say so, I think there's something. I don't believe in a Christian God or Jesus or some dude with a beard, but there's something. And I don't think it cares what you believe in. But I have worked as a vet tech for over a decade, and I've seen thousands of pet deaths. You can feel the essence of the pet leave its body. And 99% of the time, the pet's energy follows their people home.
I actually might believe in reincarnation, because I STG one of my cats came back to me as another cat. There may have been more repeats, Idk, but this one for sure. I got this kitten as an ugly little thing after her mom got squished on the road. She was an amazing cat, she even played fetch with puff balls. But then, idk how, she got out of the house and disappeared. I looked for MONTHS, but I felt in my heart she was dead. About 3 months after she disappeared, I had a dream the neighbor's dogs tore her apart 3 nights in a row. I took that for an answer.
About 9 months after she disappeared, a coworker brought feral kittens to work to get spayed/neutered, and there was one I felt an immediate connection to. I said, "That kitten better have a home, or I'm gonna take her!" And my coworker said don't worry, she has 3 potential homes. All those fell through. So I took her. She is startlingly like my previous cat. Down to playing fetch with puff balls (only one of my 9 cats to play fetch). The biggest difference, my first cat loved dogs. This cat does not care for dogs. Which would be logical if she is the same cat who got torn apart by dogs.
I don't have all the answers, but I do believe there is more. I feel it. Energy, God, the Universe, whatever. I've had too many miraculous things happen to say there is nothing. And I've had enough animal experiences to fill a book.
1
u/ThatArtlife Sep 02 '26
I believe positive or negative energy stays behind. A little bit of us stays here for a while until they are gone.... It could be the slightest sign that shows she is with you, a white butterfly, a cardinal bird, or something that was from you guys... My dog is 15............ I hate seeing her age.....
1
u/NexoLDH Sep 02 '26
Si sa peut vous rassurer , c’est plus qu’une croyance, je suis persuadé que y’a le paradis après la mort et que humain, animaux et tout être vivant et êtres surnaturels y vivent, j’ai vécu des réels choses paranormal et j’ai même eu des rêves de jesus quand je lui ai fait une prière pour qu’il me réponde , tout ça pour vous dire que un jour vous allez retrouver vos proches et vous vivrez une éternité de bonheur je vous le souhaite en tout cas , perdez pas la foi
1
u/SnooDoodles1958 Sep 03 '26
Just pray and ask Jesus if he is real and if there is an afterlife. He will answer if you ask it from your heart. I can tell you there is. Jesus is the way.
1
-3
•
u/AutoModerator Sep 01 '26
Please report any trolls, spam, or harassment to moderators. To do this on new reddit, click the three dots below a post or comment and select "report." On old reddit, click the "report" link below the post or comment.
This is a community of support for Pet owners whose Pets have passed away. It is actively moderated.
Pet owners, as loving, caring people, often have strong opinions on pet care practices. Some of these are controversial. This is not a forum for debate on such issues, nor is it a place to scold a contributor for a perceived mistake in managing their pet. We intend to provide a safe haven of understanding and support. Strident, mean-spirited posts or comments will be deleted. Those who persist in preaching versus caring may be warned and then banned or may be banned permanently based on nature of the topic. If a conversational thread meanders into a discussion unrelated to pet loss support, it will be truncated.
Those who post here are vulnerable and hurting. Even a minor slap has a hard sting. Those of us who are lucky enough to be able to turn away from our computers or put down our phones and hug a healthy, happy pet are truly blessed. Threads must remain supportive and caring, even if one disagrees with something that has been said.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.