Some say that love can bring souls together in life after life. If we believe animals are soul, too, this must hold true for them as well.

Meaning of Forever contributor Mary tells how she and her beloved dog Grover, a Golden Retriever mix who was terminally ill with cancer, agreed to meet again once his physical life was finished.

Mary tells their story this way:

“We loved each other deeply and I wanted to know, if he decided to come back to me in a different form, that indeed it was him.”

Grover and Mary, who is a trained massage therapist for small animals, agreed on a signal—something that passed between them often: “He frequently placed a paw gently on my right cheek and looked into my eyes,” writes Mary.

About two years after Grover’s passing, Mary had a feeling that, either Grover had returned to this world, or he was contemplating a return. Meanwhile, a young girl in the local 4-H Club was raising a litter of puppies. They were Morkies, a cross between Maltese and Yorkshire Terrier, which Mary says she found adorable.

“The girl sent me pictures of the puppies and I determined which one of them I strongly felt was Grover,” recalls Mary. “When I arrived at her house, the puppies were outside playing and I spotted the male puppy I thought was Grover. I was so happy. But when I picked him up, there was no feeling of affection or love between us. In fact, the puppy couldn’t wait to get out of my arms!”

This set Mary back: “How had I been so wrong about my feelings and intuition?”

But, then…

“As I sat in the grass contemplating what had just happened, one of the other puppies came running up, jumped into my lap, placed her paw on my right cheek and looked deeply into my eyes,” writes Mary. “Grover was back!”

Since Mary took her new puppy, Shaley, home they have developed a routine: “Every night before retiring, Shaley and I lay down together, I look into her eyes, and we speak to each other.”

When this routine first began, Mary would tell Shaley about her memories of when Shaley was Grover.

“After the fourth or fifth night of doing this, she told me in no uncertain terms that while she knew I loved her as Grover, she was now Shaley—here for new experiences—and did not want to be pulled back into that old consciousness.

“She wants me to see her for who she is now,” says Mary.

At The Meaning of Forever Project, we would love to know about uplifting experiences you’ve had with people or pets who have passed on. Learn more about us at The Meaning of Forever Project website, or send us an email at themeaningofforever@gmail.com