Louise
Poppema
New Gloucester, ME
207-233-0798
If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.
James Herriot
About Louise
Fiction to Fact
What is Animal Communication
What Questions Do People Ask
Science or fantasy
Personal Work
Musings
New Paradigm
Musings
November 2009
Last night, I participated in a panel of experts invited to speak in a wellness series sponsored by a local humane society. This panel included a bereavement specialist, a veterinarian, an animal behaviorist, me and the owner of a pet cremation service. Our topic? End of life issues. Something every pet owner will have to face and something our culture rarely cares to discuss ahead of time.
I have spoken with many horses, dogs and cats when their human companions faced the question of euthanasia. Some have had a diagnosis of a terminal disease and for others the nature the animal’s decline is unknown. Some veterinarians referred their clients to me directly; some people feeling lost and not sure what to do have contacted me independently. Animal communication does not substitute for a vet’s opinion; it can add another piece to the puzzle of determining when, how and whether euthanasia occurs.
In all my conversations with animals, I have not encountered a single one who has expressed a fear of death. In my experience, they accept death as simply another change. Some animals express concerns about leaving their people and some have said that they don’t really want to die but their body just is making it necessary. Almost all have said that what they DON’T want is to hurt.
Everybody will experience this passage differently and everyone’s choice will, and should, be specific to their circumstances. There is no denying the huge hole an animal’s passage can leave in our hearts. For me, when yet another of my animal companions dies and my heart hurts so, it helps to think of my heart as garden soil; each time it is broken, the pieces become smaller and looser, creating a much more fertile base for the seeds of love to take root. And the tears provide the moisture essential for love’s growth.