Is There Life After Death?

“Is there life after death?” is a question I have pondered when confronted with the idea of my beloved canine companion passing away. It hit me like a tonne of bricks, not only because of his advanced age (eight years on the count) but more importantly because he was always such a gentle, loving and non-aggressive animal. His love of life was palpable, something I could feel in my gut whenever he and I walked for a walk or just sat in the backyard and talked – his love for life and mine for him would rub off on each other like a moisturized lip gloss.

When I got home from the vet I told her I had this theory that maybe there was a better way to deal with the situation than taking him into hospice or putting him down. She told me there wasn’t, so I stopped thinking about it. Two weeks later I was at the vets again to have him checked out and as luck would have it, the results of a non-invasive test confirmed my worst fears. He was clinically dead. To say the least, I was devastated.

This question has haunted me ever since. As I look back over the many years I have been a dog owner, I can’t help but think there must be some answer out there, some way to explain to me why my dog is still here on earth today and why there will always be humans. Maybe there is a soul in there somewhere who still has a purpose in this world, who took a chance and stepped outside of all the rules and stereotypes to come along and make a difference. Maybe I will get my dog again one day.