08/10/2025
TRIGGER WARNING- GREIF/ LOSS
People who say animals aren’t capable of feeling emotions such as grief and joy are wrong. It’s as simple as that. I know this because I’ve felt it — I’ve felt it in them, many, many times when tuning into their energy field. Sometimes it’s so strong that I feel it the moment I look at their photo.
When it comes to grief, there have been three animals in particular that have stood out for me. 2 of these animals showed me a level of grief and upset, that was so real, I would almost say it felt like they were in a very deep depression- unable to move on.
The first was a little dog named Cassie. Her owners had rescued her, and she had everything she could possibly want in life. She was a good little dog, and they were really looking after her to an amazing level — super in tune with her needs. But they told me they felt this sadness within her, and it was hard for them to overlook it because they just sensed that, at her core, she wasn’t happy.
Cassie showed me that in her past life she had been in what seemed like a puppy farm, and that she’d had puppies taken away from her regularly. She was grieving the loss of those puppies and holding onto that pain — something she was struggling to let go of.
Sometimes when an animal is experiencing grief, what they need is simply time to process, as we do. Other times, they need someone to listen. And sometimes they might benefit from, or ask for, a bit of energy work to help move the emotion that’s stuck.
In Cassie’s case, we were able to help her move that emotion. I guided her to think about the loss of her puppies in a different way — to know that they probably went off to beautiful, loving homes and had good lives, even if she didn’t know what happened to them. I also helped her see that she now had the opportunity to have a good life herself, to choose happiness, and to look after the younger dog in her home — to have that mothering experience again. Cassie chose to allow this to happen, and her people really saw her more uplifted after that.
Another experience I had was working with a horse who lost a little pony that was very close to him. He went through a period of feeling really out of sorts, needing time and not wanting to be in full workload after losing his companion. That is completely normal. It’s important to be aware that if an animal has lost someone close to them, they might want to do a little less, have more time to themselves, or need some extra TLC — just as we would.
More recently, I worked with a little horse who had been purchased by someone and was going to be moving up to Scotland in the next few weeks. The new owner wanted me to connect with the horse to explain her travel arrangements, let her know she was coming to a loving home, tell her about her new companion, and find out what she needed to make the journey as relaxed as possible.
The minute I looked at her photo — before I even tuned in — I was overcome by an immense sense of sadness. So it didn’t surprise me when I started chatting with the new owner and she told me this mare had been a broodmare who had sadly lost not one but two foals in the last couple of years, both in freak accidents.
I knew straight away this session was going to require a lot of holding space. When I connected with her, the grief was so overwhelming that I felt it wasn’t right to do the session in my usual way. She needed my full attention — not the usual three-way communication with the owner — so we took a little break so I could focus fully on the mare.
What she needed was simple: to be heard. She wanted someone to truly listen to how much she was hurting, how much she was blaming herself, and how hard it was that people didn’t fully understand her emotions. She had questions for her new person — including whether her new owner had ever experienced grief — and some feedback about how she could best be supported moving forward.
There was a massive energy shift throughout the session. As we went on, she opened up again and was happy to go back into the three-way conversation, asking questions about the move and how to make the transition easier.
The level of emotion I felt during that session — as someone who can feel the emotions of animals very deeply — was probably stronger than any sadness I’ve felt in my own life. It was profound. But it was absolutely beautiful to see the shift in her, to support her, and to feel her gratitude at the end of the session. She thanked me for simply listening.
She said her current owners understood she was grieving, and they were giving her time and space, but what she really wanted was to be heard — to have a space to pour her heart out and share what she was going through.
So, what I’d say is this: if you’ve got an animal who has lost someone — another animal or a human companion — and they seem out of sorts, please understand that the level of grief they feel can be just as deep as our own. Sometimes even deeper.
Each animal is different. They might need time. They might need you to sit with them and hold space. They might benefit from some gentle energy work if they’re struggling to move forward. And they might need changes in their daily life — less workload, more rest, and kindness as they process.
Just as we grieve, so do they. And they deserve the same understanding and compassion.
