A canine afterlife?

 

March / April 2002

• My scripture schoolteacher told me dogs don’t go to heaven and now I’m worried about what’s going to happen to my dog Ellie. What do you think happens to dogs after they die? Is there any way I can get her into heaven?

  Michelle Reed, 11, St Kilda, Vic

• From Tuvok, Animal Communicator Caroline Pope’s four-legged friend:

• The concept of your heaven is foreign to me, as it is to all animals, but I do understand the question involved, must confess was a little surprised to be asked this question — it’s something every animal knows so instinctively, fully and completely, we tend to forget how hung up you humans are on the subject.

  As far as I’m concerned, the concept of your heaven — and also of your hell — is a mystery.

  Possibly this is because your church is so far removed from the truth of the matter, when it comes to our species and that of all other species apart from yourselves. This doesn’t mean heaven doesn’t exist. It does —just not in the form you’d have us believe.

  I know, as do all animals, that nothing ever ‘dies’. We simply exchange our body for another form when we’re finished with it, in exactly the same way as you humans do. As humans are, we are capable of seeing and hearing those left behind ‘on the earth plane’ and often calls in to check up and see how you’re doing. Unlike you humans, we can converse easily with those on the other side (those that you call dead) whenever we choose to, if we put our minds to it. (It does take up a lot of energy, though, so we don’t do it all the time.)

  This is a big difference between our species and yours. Because we are able to do this, we don’t have the fear of death that humans do, and we know when we ‘die’ we’ll still exist as we are today, simply in a different form.

  Not all humans can talk to those who have ‘died’ as we can. Those who can, from what I’ve seen, seem to be split into two categories: those who won’t talk about it or mention it to others in case they’re made fun of, and those like Caroline who do it on a regular basis, usually to ease the fears of those who can’t, in exactly the same way as why I’ve been asked to answer this question.

  Caroline has many looking over her and watching her, both human and animal. Most of them wish to remain anonymous, but two who are happy to be mentioned for the purpose of this article are Bundi, Caroline’s dog who lived with me and left us last April, and a man Pete with his dog Ringo.

  Bundi watches over Caroline constantly (he seems to be convinced I can’t do it properly) and has chosen to come back into a body in the next year or so to live with her again. I’m not so sure I’m happy with that, but I’ll accept it if I have to. The other is a man Pete, who died nearly 30 years ago, who Caroline speaks with regularly. Ringo is Pete’s friend — he was Pete’s dog when he was ‘alive’, a seven-year-old Mastiff-cross who was shot by police when they found him guarding Pete’s body two days after Pete had died. Pete and Ringo both try to speak with and guide Caroline on a regular basis, but she simply isn’t aware of them a lot of the time.

  Michelle, I can promise you your dog Ellie won’t cease to exist when she ‘dies’. She’ll be with you and watch over you from ‘heaven’ in exactly the same way as your great-grandparents are doing now. She will be safe and happy, and she’ll still be there for you when you need her, simply in a different form. You may not actually see her, but she’ll still be there, I can promise you that.

  — Tuvok