Thank you to Diana and Tracy for sharing their experiences. I’ve edited only for length.

Diana and the heavenly radio station

My beloved Labrador retriever was put down last year due to a spleen tumor. The day after she passed, I listened to the radio while I was driving and I wondered if I made the right choice to put her to sleep.

I changed the station to a “far-away sounding” one that was playing a song I never heard before. It was about saying goodbye to someone with brown eyes (which my dog had and I had stared into them as she passed away), and how that person loved them and everything would be okay. As the song finished, the DJ announced the name of the song, “Goodbye Lullaby” with an accent that wasn’t from my area. Then the station completely faded away.

I quickly looked at the radio dial and found it wasn’t an active channel here in Reno. Over the last year, I’ve never heard another transmission on that station nor have I ever heard that song again.

Tracy and a walk in the woods

Two weeks before my husband and I embarked on the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile religious pilgrimage, my beloved Kiara died. She was cremated and since I could not bear the idea of leaving her alone, I carried her ashes with me.

Tracy and Kiara.

Tracy and Kiara.

Well after we finished the Camino, Kiara visited me in a dream. In it, I walked in a wooded area and saw her. I collapsed to the ground and she ran straight into my arms, licking my face and dancing on my lap.

I stood up and held her, carrying her while we talked. She said she missed me and worried that I was still sad. As if to cheer me up, Kiara told me about all the things she loved while she lived with us, such as how her dad wouldn’t make up the bed so she could find a cozy spot to lay down or how I’d take her to work when she wasn’t feeling well.

Then she asked me to set her down as she now was strong enough to walk by herself. I did. She told me she was happy, safe and waiting for us. I asked her if she missed me as much as I missed her. She told me no, because she was so well loved while she was with us that all that love has stayed with her.

As we neared town, Kiara said she needed to go. I cried and wanted her to stay. She said, “Not yet Momma. Not yet.” I sat down and she hopped into my lap, letting me pick her up and kiss her neck (her favorite spot to be kissed). She told me, “I missed that Momma.”

Then she walked away. I could barely see her because I was crying so much. She turned and said, “I was with you on your big walk. I was there the whole time.”

As she disappeared, I heard her say, “I love you forever Momma. And Daddy too. I’ll keep waiting for you.”

In that dream, I remember how the path felt underfoot, how the air smelled and how the weather was misty, like a light, light fog. It felt as if we were the only two living things in that place. I heard a breeze, but didn’t see or feel it.

I awoke feeling shaken and heartbroken all over again. It took a few days before I felt warmth spread through my heart because of her visit.