On March 25, 2002, with tears streaming down my face, I held my beloved cat Storm's failing body in my arms. As I struggled to make a decision, I telepathically asked him what HE wanted me to do. Suddenly, a feeling of calm washed over me and I knew his soul wanted to go home. When Storm's vet, Pam, removed his Elizabethan collar and feeding tube, he stared into my eyes with such unconditional love. I will carry that memory in my heart forever.

As a human spirit communicator I accept death as a normal part of life, but I couldn't accept Storm's. An incompetent vet had caused his heart failure and I blamed myself. How could a psychic not know what was going to happen?

Guilt-ridden, I tortured myself, until a friend told me about an animal communicator, Rae Ramsey, who had helped her through the loss of several of her own beloved animals. Desperate for relief from my overwhelming grief and guilt, I called Rae. During our session, she told me Storm would come back to me in this life. My first question was, "When?" but since there's no time in the spirit world, a definitive answer was impossible. My second question was, "How would I know it was Storm?" (a ridiculous question for a psychic) I was terrified I wouldn't find Storm amidst the endless sea of homeless kittens. Rae and Storm assured me I would know.

In January 2005, I had a terrible car accident. Shortly afterward, when my cats, Krystal and Reno became ill, I once again had to use a local vet. It wasn't enough. Krystal passed away in May 2006 and Reno passed away three weeks ago at the AMC after maxi-facial cancer surgery. Rae supported me through it all, even coming to visit me at the hospital.

During our session with Rae before the surgery, Reno asked me how he would look afterward. I told him he would always be beautiful to me, but the surgery was worse than we ever imagined; he looked grotesque. During visiting hours, Reno told me he didn't want anyone to see him that way. Not wanting him to suffer, I told his soul to go home. The next day our vet, Pam, called to say he was failing and to get there as fast as I could. I was almost there when Pam called to say Reno's heart had stopped and they were keeping him alive with a respirator until I arrived. Although he was unconscious, the minute I walked into the room his heart started beating again.

Pam asked me what I wanted to do. I said I was sending him home. Just as we did with Storm, we removed the tubes, and after I held Reno in my arms and said goodbye, Pam released him from his ravaged body.

As Reno's doctor and my friend, Pam was devastated. Medically, Reno shouldn't have died, but when the soul wants to go home, nothing can prevent it.

Rae waited several days to speak to Reno in spirit. Instinctively I knew he was in light. I knew he was happy. I knew he was healed. The one thing I didn't know was if he had forgiven me for allowing the surgery, but Reno told me through Rae that there was nothing to forgive and thanked me for sending him home.

And then the miracle happened.

My cousin Phyllis' daughter, Rachel, is a volunteer at the Freeport Animal Shelter. Phyllis told me about an extraordinary kitten there and sent me cell phone pictures. Bells went off in my head. I wanted her, but was crushed to learn she had been pre-adopted. Knowing how desperate I was to have her, my cousin stopped by the shelter on her way home from work. Thankfully, the person hadn't come, so this kitten was available. The next day I went to the shelter with my friends, Brenda and J J.

After Storm died, I often told Rae the thing I missed most was the way he laid his head on my chest and purred his heart out, which is exactly what Dallas did when we got home and took a nap together. She rests her head on my chest, lays her head on my cheek, and follows me around the house--all the things Storm did.

As happy as I was to have Storm back, another kitten at the shelter had caught my attention. He was the spitting image of Reno. I went back the next day, but amongst dozens of kittens running around the kitten room, I couldn't find him. I described him to Rachel and on Sunday, she found him and sent me a picture on her cell phone. I enlarged the picture and felt the jolt of soul recognition as I gazed into Reno's eyes. He came home with me the next day.

During my appointment with Rae that evening, she confirmed that Storm was in Dallas' body and Reno was in his new body. (I have since renamed Dallas "Storm"--I needed to be able to call out that name and once again have Storm come running) There are no words to describe my joy or the gratitude in our hearts. I don't know what Storm, Reno, and I ever did to be so blessed, not only with each other, but most especially with Rae, who is an angel.

So if you are waiting for your miracle, as I'm still waiting for Krystal, please know it can and often does happen.

Love transcends all boundaries, even time, space, and death. Never doubt that you and your beloved animals will be together once again when you enter the light and cross the Rainbow Bridge.