Dear Jennifer,
My 5 year old shepherd/lab Emma just passed away unexpectedly. We’re completely shattered. Is there anything else I could’ve done to help her? Why was she fine one day and feeling ill the next, what did Imiss?
Thank you.
Jodie
Dear Jodie,
I’m of course not a veterinarian and can’t make a medical diagnosis as to what happened to Emma. But, I can relay to you the impressions and feelings she is willing to pass along to me.
Sweet Emma was just as shocked by her crossing as you were, and is still processing what happened. She’ll be happy and at peace soon, as all on the other side are, but right now she’s feeling sad and missing being with you physically. She’s also sad that you’re grieving.
I don’t think there is anything you could have done to prevent what happened to Emma. I get the strangest sensation from her, almost like a switch was thrown and everything just turned off. She didn’t suffer; she was just there one second and out of her body the next. I keep getting the feeling it was in her head, or at least she felt symptoms in her head briefly right before it happened, including dizziness and mild pain and pressure in her left ear. Those symptoms could of course be cardiac, too. I’m not getting a clear cause of death from her, just the description above.
Emma is having a harder time processing what happened because she is so attached to you and just wants to be there to comfort and protect you. She’s sorry that her crossing has caused you such grief. She wishes she could have had much more time with you. Usually in these cases, once the animal has had time to work through things, he or she will quickly return to the same family in a healthier body. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s the case with Emma.
Emma loves you very much and asks that you stop questioning and torturing yourself over the how and why of what happened, and begin to make peace with it. This will help you, and also help her to adapt to being on the other side, process her incarnation with you, and be able to return to you when the time is right. She will still visit you, will still be there when you really need her and listen when you talk to her. But, while completely human and understandable (all of us who have lost animals have been there), the severity of your grief is holding Emma too close to you, and keeping her from doing the work she needs to do right now.
Emma would like you to remember the good times together and celebrate them. She says to never forget the wonderful memories or let them be tarnished with sadness. She will always love you and be with you in Spirit until she returns in the physical.
Many Blessings,
Jennifer Dickman
Jennifer Dickman is an Animal Communicator, Reiki Master-Teacher specializing in Animal Reiki, and Intuitive Counselor. She conducts phone and email sessions worldwide. She may be contacted at Jennifer_Dickman@ymail.com ,215-817-0833, or through her web site, www.JenniferDickman.com, where her MP3s “Journey to Contact Your Animals in Spirit” and “Deep Relaxation” are also for sale. To subscribe to Jennifer’s newsletter and receive a free copy of her essay, “Five Things Your Cat or Dog Wants You to Know”, please email Jennifer with the word “Newsletter” in the subject line.