His Lordship Admiral Montgomery Flufferbutt

Our feline friend and family member Monty died suddenly this past Tuesday of an unforeseen illness. It was very shocking and saddening, and Emily and I are still processing the event. But one thing that she asked has stuck with me. What do I think happens to our pets after they pass on?

I don't know, frankly. I'd love to have that kind of comfort, but I don't even necessarily know what lies in store for me, let alone poor Monty. However, I will say this: people report sightings and interactions with ghostly pets almost as often as they do with departed humans. And it's not just cats and dogs, either. I've read and heard stories of ghostly horses, cows, and even elephants. Basically, any living thing we are capable of caring about seems to be able, under certain circumstances, to return from the great beyond to make its presence known.

Anecdotal evidence doesn't prove much, of course, but it does point towards some actual phenomenon. Is it that all animals survive death in some energy form? Or are we able to sometimes see things fourth dimensionally and witness events from the past or future, and if we're in close spacial proximity to one of our past pets, then we see them as they were? Perhaps, those we love live on only in our memories, and we merely project their presence onto synchronicitous events in our lives. I like to give people a little more credit than that last option implies, and if I had to pick one paradigm to live under for the rest of my life I'd pick the first one; although even the second is a kind of immortality. I can't really know for sure, though; nobody can.

One thing that I will tell you, is that where there's life there's hope--and as long as people keep sharing their sightings, then I'll keep believing in the possibility of the persistence of personality postmortem for our Monty. And I hope that gives you as much comfort as it gives me.

Yours in Impossibility,

Tobias

Singular Cerebrations: Animals After Life