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Joseph MyLo Delight II, June 2013
Animal Reincarnation: Animals Life Beyond Death -Pet Loss Answers & Hope
Joseph Delight I
A few days after his death I felt that if 'this was all there is', I would die. My children had all grown and left home, I had been single for over a year, live in an isolated area with 2 cats, 1 other dog (Puppy), my rooster and my chickens. I work full time from home and my social life is limited by distance and responsibilities of living the life I live. I needed to love something, if not myself, so I rescued a 11 week old puppy from the RSPCA to make me feel normal and get me out of my soul destroying depression.
I adopted Charles Joseph Dyson Dufus! He is a Ridgeback Cross and he is absolutely gorgeous, a gentle, large clumsy baby. At 6 months old, he is larger than Joey I had been at 4 1/2 years old.
Charlie Joseph Dyson Dufus
My other dog, Puppy, is an Chihuahua/Australian Terrier/Jack Russell cross whom I 'inherited' from my eldest daughter Amy when he was about 1 year old. I was always going to rename him, but because he is so little, Puppy just stuck. He is a terrible escape artist and had the knack of running out of a gate and heading straight to busy roads, ducking under passing cars and avoided being killed too many times. His size allows him to perform some great Houdini tricks! He has now been trained as much as I can, not to run when the gate is open and to 'stay', most of the time he obliges. Puppy and Joey were the best of friends, an unlikely match, but they loved each other intensely, slept together, played together and only ate if the other was eating. They were inseparable, they were 'my boys'.
Along comes Charlie and while Puppy seemed to 'perk' up, he still remained 'distant'. Charlie being such a big puppy, was confusing to Puppy and you could feel the disappointment that it wasn't Joey. I have a passion for Tan dogs, of course because of Joey, and while Charlie looks similar in colour, he is not Joey and has a different temperament. Joey was wise, quiet and extremely affectionate whereas Charlie is boisterous, clumsy and just a big dufus baby! Puppy and Charlie get on well enough, although Puppy is often snappy at Charlie's attempts to play. Puppy is often aloof and distant now and sometimes I wonder if he would be happier living with someone as the 'only' fur baby in the household.
Then I found Brent Atwater, a 'specialist' in Animal Reincarnation and Animal Communication, amongst other things. I joined her group on Facebook and avidly read EVERY story of every member in the group, feeling a deep kinship with many and becoming 'friends' with some, including Brent herself. What an honour that is! My full journey is in the previous post, (Joseph Delight - Joey, 07/07/2008 - 14/03/2013) so I wont repeat it in full. I read Brent's books, Animal Reincarnation and I'm Home! - both of which filled me with joy and a little fear too. What if Joey was not coming back?.... In early May, 2013, I had my reading with Brent on Skype, which lasted about 3 hours - and my heart started to really beat again - I could breathe again - because she said, indeed, he was coming back and coming back soon! In short, the reading revealed he would return to me 'locally', 'same but different', 'distinctive line down his back', 'white marking around his bottom', 'white arrow marking going up his chest to his chin', 'white patch on his chin', 'white left sock' and he would be 'tan' in colour. The numbers 26 and 7 were relevant as was the name 'Callum', 'blue' sleeves and that Joey would be back by his birthday. He would have turned 5 on 7th July. After some time, and many 'false' findings (I searched the internet and found puppies who fit the description). Sent the photos to Brent and she told me that none of the puppies were Joey. I was disheartened and wondered how on earth I would 'find' him. Brent told me to stop looking! She said, emphatically, he would find me. He would be local and he would definitely make sure He found Me.
During the interim, I had days of joy when I faithfully listened to my heart in the knowing he would return and focused my faith on Brent's assurance. I also had days when the memory of Joey, his illness, his death and my loss - were overwhelming. It really did break my spirit into a million pieces.
While walking Puppy and Charlie with a friend, a couple of weeks later, I met up with a local lady in a blue jacket with a logo on it which included the number '26'. She came up to admire the dogs and then proceeded to tell me about her friend's dog who had just recently had puppies. And I assume you can guess the outcome..... Indeed, Joey found me! Every marking, every 'sign' from the reading was 'there' right down to the blue sleeves. In fact, every time I saw Jojo on a visit and when I collected him, all the people around him were wearing blue jackets or jumpers.
Ms Wolf - the 'Local' who found me for Joey
In the litter, owned by Rob Callum, there were three surviving puppies from a litter of 6. Sadly three died, although I didn't ask the reason. The mother is a Staffordshire Terrier and the father a Kelpie/Ridgeback cross. Two of the puppies were black and tan, females and the other one a tan, male who looked more staffy. On the day I met Jojo, the sense of longing changed from sadness to overwhelming love and then impatience!! I just had to wait for him to be old enough to come home!! Initially Rob said the puppies would be ready to go to their new homes on the weekend of 6th or 7th July and I was over the moon! As it turned out, I got Jojo a week early, but he will certainly 'be here for Joey's birthday on 7th July'.
Charlie (6 months old), Puppy and Jojo
Instant acceptance and recognition from Puppy
The same intense look as before
I took them all outside as the sun was shining for the first time in over a week, and put him on the grass outside. Nepo and Pedro came up to say hello, and my cats, although dog friendly, are usually wary of new dogs. They greeted him with a familiar hello, Pedro licked him and Nepo came and just behaved as if ..'oh, you're back!' and sat under the tree. The chickens and rooster also came up to greet him and whilst most puppies would chase chickens (as Joey had done as a puppy first time round) - Jojo acknowledged them with no more than a simple sniff and the chickens came running up to him without fear. It took a lot of training with Joey the first time round with chickens, and he had sadly killed one a few years back. This time, he 'knew'.
My perception about Charlie has somewhat changed and I think now that Joey had led me to RSPCA to find Charlie. I think Charlie and Joey are old mates or perhaps even brothers from a former life. The bond they have is amazing! Charlie is being so gentle with him, cleaning him, guiding him, playing gentle tug of toy games and they nuzzle up to each other. Charlie sees himself as a little puppy still I think. He tries to fit in the little puppy bed while Jojo sleeps on the dog bed he has always slept on. Charlie's gentleness with Jojo is pretty incredible as he usually bounds through the house, heavy footed and clumsily knocking his way past everything in his path!
Not even his bottom fits in the puppy bed
The bond between Jojo and Charlie is unbelievable
Jojo 'knows' his way around the house and the deck - knows how to get to the ramp down to the garden, knows where the food bowls are and keeps going to Charlie's bowl which I put in the spot I used to feed Joey. Joey had an intense, deep 'stare' when he would look at you - almost with pure love in his eyes - right up until the very day he died. Jojo has that same stare - it's not unsettling - it's just magic. As he grows up, this time in a healthy body, I will 'expect' (not hope for) some more of his previous traits to show. I am hoping though that one of the mannerisms will be the 'smile' as Joey smiled all the time and he had not been 'trained' to smile, he just did.
Joey came back. He came back home where he loves to be and where he is dearly and purely loved. The door that led me to Brent has opened other doors and now I live a different life - so much more aware of everything around me. This universe is a madly incredible place, although the world is sometimes a hard place to land on...
I have been single now for just over a year, released from a toxic and miserable narcissistic relationship. For a long time, I avoided meeting men, despised being 'set up' on dates and generally lost interest in ever having a relationship again. After all, how would I fit a man in my bed when I sleep with two cats and three dogs! If I ever do meet a man and have a relationship, he would have to be 'kin' with the same love, compassion and beliefs as I do. If my dogs don't love you, then there is a pretty good chance I won't either! Until then, I am as happy as a pig in mud!
Joey and Puppy, January 2013
Thank you to Brent Atwater for the soul journey you have started me on, for the love you share unconditionally and unselfishly. Your heart is pure and your spirit is that of an angel. I will always be, in this life and the next, grateful to have 'coincidentally' (not) found you in the myriad of people on the internet.
I realised after going through all my photos of Joey, I didn't take enough photos of him when he was a baby. The more he grew, the more my love grew and the more photos I took. So this time round, I am not missing a photo opportunity of this heavenly little boy! I wont bombard the blog with photos every day, but I will put one or two up every couple of months, following his growth and of course, major events such as neutering (!) and birthdays.
1st July, 2013
1st July, 2013 - Jojo kissing big brother Charlie
1st July, 2013 - Jojo adores Charlie
Charlie is turning out to be the most amazing young boy, at only 6 months, he has taken on the 'big brother role' with a passion. His gentleness, concern and love for Jojo is totally unexpected. I didn't expect him to be aggressive of course, as it's just not in his nature, but I didn't expect him to be so nurturing. He picks up toys and puts them in front of Jojo and plays with him like a mother would with her pup. When Jojo whimpers, Charlie immediately goes to him, licks him and pampers him to soothe him. They sleep together, play together, eat together as if they were long lost brothers.
Puppy, on the other hand, has started to show indifference to both of them. I think he feels left out, although I am trying to share the affection equally between the three dogs and the two cats. As Jojo and Charlie are still eating more frequently as puppies, Puppy needs to lose a bit of weight before he has knee subluxation surgery in a month or two. He gets upset when I feed Jojo 4 meals a day and Charlie 2 meals a day while he only gets one! If I break his one meal a day to two smaller meals, he refuses to eat, walks away from the bowl and turns his back to me. He is actually behaving like a spoilt brat at the moment and I find it quite unsettling. The only time he is happy is when I take him for a walk in the afternoons, which I need to restrict also due to his knee problems.
Jojo, meanwhile, continues to display more and more of Joey's traits and mannerisms. He has started to 'smile', he runs sideways down the hall, almost in a 'skip' as Joey used to. He sleeps with his head over the edge of chairs, couches or beds as Joey did from a young age and did for the rest of his life. It's certainly not a normal sleep position!
Jojo 1st July, 2013
Joey, July 2010
14th July, 2013
Charlie and Jojo behave like father and son, the love between them is tangible. Jojo got caught up on the block a couple of days ago in a patch of long grass and bush and couldn't get out. I didn't hear him whining and Charlie raced inside, barked and whimpered (he rarely barks) and kept nudging me to follow him. So I went outside and Charlie ran straight to where Jo was caught so I could free him from his tangle. I am falling so very deeply in love with Charlie - he is really such a special boy.
Charlie and Jojo behave like father and son, the love between them is tangible. Jojo got caught up on the block a couple of days ago in a patch of long grass and bush and couldn't get out. I didn't hear him whining and Charlie raced inside, barked and whimpered (he rarely barks) and kept nudging me to follow him. So I went outside and Charlie ran straight to where Jo was caught so I could free him from his tangle. I am falling so very deeply in love with Charlie - he is really such a special boy.
Jojo sleeping on Charlies head, 15th July 2013
(4 months to the day since Joey went to RB)
Jojo has yet to be toilet trained (which I found a little disappointing) and had very little bladder control when he came home. He wees pretty much wherever he stands if the need arises, but is pretty good at letting me know when he wants to go for a poop though, so I guess that's a bonus.
Jojo 17th July, 2013
In many ways, I was expecting Jojo to show me more traits from his previous incarnation and was starting to have doubts. I have no doubt that this little boy was sent to me by Joey - every marking, colouring, size, breed, date/time of meeting from the reading happened. 100% - not one thing from the reading didn't happen. Even as he was playing with Charlie, I could see the markings and the white ring around his bottom, the dark line down his back (which is now beginning to fade) and his white socks. Its not that I doubted the reading - but I started to wonder if perhaps Joey had sent this little boy to me to soothe my soul rather than being reincarnated. In a lot of ways, he behaves as if he knows me, the house and surroundings but for the first couple of weeks I was on such a high for just having him, I didn't look for traits of old. Although there were some mannerisms that were typical Joey, they were also typical 'dog' type mannerisms that could be passed off as nothing more than Jojo being a healthy happy puppy.
Outside the pool safety fence around the spa on the deck :)
A couple of days ago, I was giving Jojo a cuddle and I asked him to please show me some signs that he IS Joey returned. My doubts were eating at me so much. I got in the car the other day and Joey's collar which hangs over my rear vision mirror's handle, had moved to the front of the mirror. I haven't used my car for a few days and I certainly NEVER move it. Then I thought, that used to be a sign from Joey after he passed away - now why would he be sending me signs if he has reincarnated? Not only why, but how? If he is now in a physical body again, he could he show me that kind of sign? As I drove, his song came on the radio and really fell apart. I started to feel incredibly sad that maybe I had it all wrong. Maybe this little boy isn't Joey after all, and just another little boy sent to me by Joey.. I love Jojo to bits and nothing would change in my feelings or devotion to him, but the thought that he might not be my boy had me feeling a little sad and perhaps a little foolish. Who was I kidding?
Big brother Charlie and Jojo on the deck on a sunny winter day
Jojo with his Snoopy Dog
My three sons :)
I sent a message to one of the members of Brent's group, as I know two of her babies returned recently. I asked her if she had ever felt 'doubt' that her dogs were actually reincarnated. Her explanation was that yes, she had felt that at times in the early days, but as they grew, the displayed more and more of their personality. By the age of one I should expect Jojo to show me Joey (in all his good ways) and of course, learn new traits and mannerisms in this life. Just as humans I assume.
Yesterday I asked him to show me a bit of Joey - and then just went back to my office to work. He is very good at telling me when he is hungry or needs to go poo! I heard him calling for food - he has a very excited way of barking, jumping and doing a little dance when he is hungry! I went into the kitchen and leaned down to pat him on his bottom as I was going to get his lunch. I patted his right hip and then - he did the funniest thing. He stuck out his right rear leg in a backward point - like he was stretching his leg backward as far as it could go. One of Joey's mannerisms that I have never seen another dog do. Joey did that for all of his little 4 1/2 years of life! Since Jojo has been here, I have always fed Charlie and Puppy either raw chicken wings or necks but up until yesterday, Jojo seemed disinterested. Chicken necks were one of Joey's favourite treats and he would grab one, go and sit in his big bed and chomp away. Yesterday, Jojo took a chicken neck from Charlie's bowl, ran out to Joey's big bed in the lounge room and chomped away. Last night I woke up with Jojo's face in the crook of my neck (Joey slept like that with me a lot of the time when he was well). The leg thing.... now that really, I mean REALLY got to me....
Today, I have asked Jojo to 'smile' at me. Joey ALWAYS smiled. When he got up in the morning he would walk into to my office with a smile, turn his head and act all coy. If I went out to the shop and left him at home, when I returned, he would smile. If I told him I loved him and what a 'good boy' he was, he would smile. When people came over who he REALLY liked, he would smile.
I feel slightly guilty for the doubt - not that I doubt reincarnation - I am a 100% believer. I believe there is more in the universe than we could ever hope to even know a fraction of. My doubts about Jojo being Joey's reincarnation make me feel guilty. As I write this, Jojo is sleeping behind me on my chair, cuddled into my back. I started updating this four days ago and just hadn't had the 'freedom' to finish it.
I await Jojo's smile and any other sign he can show me that he is indeed, back.
31st August 2013
In the last few weeks, so MUCH has changed in my house! Charlie has injured his front left paw and is confined to the house and a portion of the deck. He is not allowed to 'play' in the garden until his paw heals. So all three boys are confined to the same area, no walks, no play in the garden and it's very sad to see Charlie looking out over the garden and not being able to play. I am constantly on 'poop scoop duties' on the deck!
Where once I had doubts about Jojo being Joey, these doubts have all but gone. I noticed a few weeks back as Jojo was sitting on my lap, that he had a mark on his head. I thought it was dirt so I tried to wash it off. As I was wiping away, I noticed! It was a 'J' and I burst into tears. A dark "J" just sitting there! You can only notice it when his brow is not furrowed, but it is still there and every time I see it, it just makes me smile.
In my walk in robe I had a pair of my favourite shoes, one had been chewed by Joey as a puppy back in 2008 and I had always vowed to have it repaired. It was in a box in the back of my wardrobe and I had forgotten about it. A couple of weeks ago, I went out into the lounge and there was Jojo with 'the shoe'! Needless to say, the damage done to 'the shoe' is now past repair! I gave it to him as a 'gift'
Joey loved bras! If there was a bra anywhere - right up until he was sick - he would find it and he would chew the straps! He ignored everything else of my clothing (after puppyhood) but loved bras. I have lost three bras to Jojo in the last month! He chews just the straps and leaves the 'cups' alone!
One of Joey's traits that he had from puppyhood was when I would get out of the shower, he would lick the water off my legs and feet! Joey loved licking feet for some reason from an early age. This last month, Jojo 'races' to the shower the minute I turn it on and waits for me to get out of the shower. He then? Licks my feet and legs! It's not something I really wanted Joey to get into the habit of but I was unable to stop him (didn't really try!) and now Jojo is continuing on where Joey left off.
My ex rang last week and when Jojo heard his voice on the phone (I had it on loud speaker), Jojo ran and hid under the bed. Joey did that for the last two years of his life - he was petrified of the ex.
Last week a friend I hadn’t seen for a couple of months popped over last night. He hadn’t met Jojo yet, but had known Joey very well and he had bought Joey a ‘Snoopy’ dog as a puppy. My friend didn’t know anything about Jojo (or anything about reincarnation or my blissful journey with Brent's Animal Reincarnation group). When he arrived, Jojo could hardly contain himself, he was so excited! He ran around in circles, barking, jumping, running to and from my friend and wagging his tail so much I thought he might take off! My friend made the statement, “it’s as if he knows me!!”. Jojo then ran over to the ‘toy basket’, tipped it over and pulled out Snoopy and ran over to my friend with it in his mouth.
Two other friends, one who knows about the 'reincarnation' (but humours me with her 'oh yes, of course it's Joey) and the other who knows nothing of my beliefs have said on many occasions how much Jojo behaves like Joey. Joey LOVED my best friend and when she comes over Jojo gets so excited he pees, just like Joey! People Joey didn't like tend to have the same reaction from Jojo, he hides under the bed. He greets strangers or new people with distant 'interest'.
Jojo is OBSESSED with the cats. I mean obsessed 'in love' with them and as Joey had grown up with my cats, he 'remembers' how they used to cuddle and sleep together. He loves them as if he was a cat or they were dogs - licks them, wraps his arms around them and just LOVES them.
No doubt for me now that my Joey has returned!
One of Joey's favourite places in the sun, and now Jojo's
Jojo at 3 months (and neutered on 15th August 2012)
Typical Joey 'stance' :) Charlie (background), Jojo and Puppy Houdini
Joey, about 5 months old
Jojo has a need to 'touch' Charlie, and Charlie doesn't mind at all
The sweetest little soul - sensitive but playful
Koko Bonet
Co Host, PetLifeRadio, http://www.petliferadio.com/aliveagain.html
Admin, Animal Reincarnation: Animals Life Beyond Death -Pet Loss Answers & Hope
Animal Communicator
Authority on Animal Life after Death and Pet Reincarnation
Website: www.BrentAtwater.com
email: Brent@BrentAtwater.com