Many people want their animal to reincarnate back to them. Surprisingly, I have seen it happen. A friend of mine added a new Visla to her family. As I watched this dog mature she mentioned how her new experiences were “familiar” to her. She reminded me of my old Visla friend not only in looks but in temperament as well. Though the two dogs have clearly different personalities.

Then a deceased horse who shared with me, “God asks me why I am so sad; and when I told him it is because I am away from my person he told me to go back to her because no one should be sad in heaven.” Over a few sessions this horse told me clues to find the farm he (now a she) will be born at, what she will look like, what her mother will look like, and around the week she will be born. It all happened, and when human and filly saw each other for the first time they had an instant recognition.

Then there is the Doxi whose person is so distraught about his death that he too will manifest his return. His person will learn about his whereabouts from a friend; he will be a long-legged doxi mix who can run fast. This happened. I saw them joyfully together. He shared with me bits about what he remembers of his past life.

Maia, my wolf dog, has told me she is coming back. She said she wants to come home. Maia told me the name of the woman that will have her, how Maia (to be a male) will look, and gave me other clues that have come true. I will meet the puppy in a few weeks. But all the details do not match. Time and consciousness are the details that confuse me the most.

Remember when Maia’s spirit said she was “stuck in a dark place”? I was sick over this for days. “How” I respectfully asked, “can this happen to a being who found herself first in a beautiful part of heaven?” It reminded me of being a teenager and ending up in bad section of NY City. The date of when Maia found herself stuck matches the date that her spirit, if reincarnated, would have entered the womb of her new birth mother. If this was so, why was Maia not conscious of this?

I find myself asking and making assumptions about how reincarnation actually works. I have come to believe that each of our lives holds a consciousness in heaven.

One dog told me, “Our lives in heaven are like memories that are conscious.”

There are different fragments of our soul and those fragments break off or stretch to another life in body.

Young lives, I am told, do not become conscious of their past lives until they learn to live in their new bodies and their minds are developed, and they begin to look at the world outside of themselves. Only then can remember and integrate past lessons and lives.

I imagine the goal is to have our entire fragments join together. I have always believed that we reincarnate to become more conscious, more aware, better listeners, better communicators, more loving and accepting of others, and mostly to realize our gifts and to help not only ourselves but others as well.

I believe whole-heartedly in my abilities. Though I am going to need hard-core facts to believe that Maia is actually in the puppy I found. I have help. Makia, my all white cat, said firmly to me, “Mom, I don’t want another animal in this house.” I answered, “But Makia, what if it is Maia? We can’t not take Maia back.”

Makia looked me dead in the eye and said, “I will meet that puppy and if I say it is Maia it can stay. If it is not Maia it will have to leave.” And then she turned her back on me and walked out of the room.