My first experience came after the death of my family dog named Bella. The night after she died, I hung her collar in my wardrobe and laid down to go to sleep still very upset. As I laid there, I heard a noise coming from the wardrobe. I sat up and saw a white speck go past at the foot of my bed. Bella was a black dog with a white tip on her tail. I got out of bed, switched the lights on and heard a noise coming from the wardrobe. I went to the wardrobe to see what it was and found Bella’s collar on the floor, the wardrobe door was open, I personally believe this was Bella’s way of saying goodbye!
The second animal I had was a pet rat named Holly, she was 4 years old. Her sister Ivy had died the previous year, close to Christmas.
The night Holly died, it was like she knew! I passed her cage and she stood on her hind legs to me, this was Holly’s way of letting me know she wanted to come out. I took her out and sat cuddling her and stroking her head as I watched T.V, she went to sleep on me and after the programme, I looked down at her and found she had pasted in my arms. I kissed her head and took her to my local woods and buried her.
Two days later, I felt something on my foot, not thinking I bent down automatically how I used to, to pick Holly up, but obviously she wasn’t there. I had often left my rats out to run around on the floor and this was normally Holly’s way to let me know she wanted a cuddle. At that point, these memories of Holly came flooding back, but instead of being sad I found comfort and thanked Holly for letting me know that she was still around.
This year I lost my dog, Phoebe, a remarkable boxer dog, who was very smart and had used to make quite a unique noise. It sounded like what I can only describe as a cross between someone clearing their throat and a laugh. After her death, I was in the toilet and behind me I heard this noise. I was at this point using the toilet so couldn’t turn round to look. When I had finished, I looked to see if she was there, but nobody was. Next day, I was on my tablet and I saw a white shape out the corner of my eye. My gut instinct tells me it was her. Another time, I kept hearing noises in my bedroom. I wasn’t sure who or what was making these noises and I asked my friend Dawn, Dawn said she thought it would be Phoebe and that she was close by. Dawn asked my if I had moved her bed at all, I hadn’t but I had moved her blankets when tidying up. Dawn suggested that I put the blankets back where they were, so I did and funnily enough the noises stopped.
Thomas West