Current Events > Lately, I've had dreams about my deceased dog.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I was watching her play in the backyard and remarking at how spry she was for a fifteen year old dog. Then I thought to myself, "Wait a minute. She isn't fifteen. She died when she was twelve." Immediately, my dog disappeared mid-run.

This is the third dream I've had about her in recent history.

I've had some guilt about the way that I may have hastened her demise by allowing her to eat as she pleased. She died obese. Had I monitored her eating habits, she might have lived another two years or so. I also feel guilty about not picking up on the fact that she was in decline. Most dreams center on me coming to terms with the fact that she doesn't have much time left or rediscovering her whereabouts after mistaking her for dead.

She passed away in 2014. It seems odd that I would be having these dreams now and with greater frequency than when her death was recent.

I've also had a couple of dreams recently about my grandfather who passed away three years later. One was a casual dream about him working in the same office as me. The other was him giving a nonsensical answer when I asked if there was anything he'd like me to tell my grandmother.

it sounds like those scenes in Back to the Future where if Marty Mcfly does something wrong, characters are erased from the photographs of history

I am not a professional therapist, but it sounds like your mind doesn't understand why your dog left you, or why your grandfather left you. Why was it necessary for them to depart? How would things be different if your grandfather was still here?

This type of psychology is called "grieving," and there are counselors that specialize in grieving

:(

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Yeah, but an eight year delay for one and a five year delay for the other?

That's what gets me -- the timing.

I think the dream is your dog visiting you, because the timing is so random and removed from its parting.

your dog lived a long life. Dont feel guilt.

maybe your dog is trying to tell you that it will happily wait for you in the rainbow bridge and/or help you cross the afterlife river.

hugs

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damn that is sad tc. my dog is only 4 1/2 but i hope he lives to at least 10. idk tho

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limp-bizkit-89 posted...

I think the dream is your dog visiting you, because the timing is so random and removed from its parting.

That's a comforting thought, but I think they're just dreams.

When my grandfather appeared in the first of two dreams, he walked out of a closet shrouded in a golden light. (It's inspired by a scene in The Sandlot involving Babe Ruth's ghost and I was aware of the connection even as the dream was taking place.) I told my grandfather that we all missed him and then I asked if there was anything he wanted me to tell my grandmother. He said something incomprehensible about cheese lamps.

I'm a Christian. I believe in the hereafter. But these dreams as just dreams.

Ratchetrockon posted...

damn that is sad tc. my dog is only 4 1/2 but i hope he lives to at least 10. idk tho

Spend what time you can with them.

i'm sorry tc.

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FortuneCookie posted...

I told my grandfather that we all missed him and then I asked if there was anything he wanted me to tell my grandmother. He said something incomprehensible about cheese lamps.

maybe theyre just dreams. Maybe some are and maybe some arent.

but this reminded me a lot of the movie Signs with Joaquin Phoenix. If you have seen it you know what plot point I am referring to. Sure its just a movie, but maybe its something like that.

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Same thing happened to me as far as animals. Not until years later.

Though in my case it wasn't until the last of them passed. Do you have any animals in your life currently you have a strong bond with? Perhaps it's simply the subconscious missing that connection.

I'm not a big believer in anything grandiose but I do like to chew on the thought that during those dreams we're somehow spiritually connected and get to spend time together again.


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Maybe at certain points in your life you refer back to those memories more than others so they appear in your dreams as well. Comfort during stressful times?

Bringit posted...

Same thing happened to me as far as animals. Not until years later.

Though in my case it wasn't until the last of them passed. Do you have any animals in your life currently you have a strong bond with? Perhaps it's simply the subconscious missing that connection.

I'm not a big believer in anything grandiose but I do like to chew on the thought that during those dreams we're somehow spiritually connected and get to spend time together again.

there is a belief that several ancient cultures had, at very different points of history, totally unrelated to each other.

the story says that once you die you have to cross a river in order to get to the afterlife. If you had a dog, the dog will be there to help you cross. If the dog was colored it will come out white after crossing the river.

is that true? I dont know, but it is interesting to think that several unconnected cultures thought so.

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FortuneCookie posted...

Yeah, but an eight year delay for one and a five year delay for the other?

That's what gets me -- the timing.

The mind does weird things.

I accidentally killed a pet mouse when I was 10 and I still have dreams about it.

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It sounds like you wanted her to die happy, which is all any of us can ask for.

I also dream about my dead dog. Oddly, he is usually in dreams where my dad is still there as well.

The dream realm speaks to us directly.

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Heliogabalus posted...

I accidentally killed a pet mouse when I was 10 and I still have dreams about it.

:(