Most of the animals that we have had come back to me after they have passed. It seems to be the 'normal' thing in our household.

    I have heard my beautiful dog Jody. She and Max were brother and sister. They were probably a mix of Doberman, Irish Setter, and German Shepherd. After her passing, I heard her come to the door and make a snorting sound as if she is sniffing for food. I saw her once from the window, and at times I heard scratch at the door as she used to do when she wanted to come in. Of course, when I checked no one was there. However, one time when I opened the door, I heard the sound that she made when she brushed against the kitchen cabinets. She did this to scratch her back. Every now and then, I hear her toenails click on the kitchen floor.

    One night, when I couldn't sleep, I felt her scratching at my back. It is a comfort to me as I feel that she is making sure that I am OK and that she is doing fine.

    Fifi, probably, a Poodle and Terrier mix, can be heard clicking her nails on the kitchen floor. My young daughter, Lindsey, saw her once, and it scared her.

    Max, after he passed, would come and lie on my bed. I think that he wanted to comfort me and keep me company. The usual thing for him to do was to go to sleep resting on my feet.

    One of his favorite things to do was chase after tennis balls. He chewed off all the fuzz before he was ready for a game of chase-the-ball.

    When I was recuperating from surgery, he came and brushed his fur against my hand. I knew that was my 'big boy,' Max. Occasionally, he would lie on the floor next to my bed, which is where he died. The dog, Scruffy, that I now have, sleeps in that same spot.

    Missy would always stay in the bathroom, most of the time, which is where she died. When I showered, I would hear her run down the hallway. My daughter was asleep in her bed, and no one else was home. It had to be Missy. One of her favorite things to do was to ride in the car with me.

    After her passing, I noticed that a black and white bird seemed to follow me. She even comes to the window and 'beeps' at me. People tell me that it may be Missy, reincarnated as a bird. Missy was black and white, so I feel that there is a connection. This could be the way she showed herself.

    The day after Missy died, I heard her yapping on the porch. When I looked, there was no one around.

    She was a special present to me for my seventeenth birthday. She stayed with us until she was seventeen, when she passed. My dad got her from someone who no longer wanted her.

    Each visit from my pets shocked me to see them, and then I was excited that I was able to have contact with them again.

    Each of them was very special in their own way.

    The one pet that we had, that didn't make any type of contact, was Fluffy. I have yet to figure out why. Maybe, she came into our life and did everything that she was supposed to do before she passed on. I think that it was comforting that she spent her allotted time with us. I miss her a lot, as I do all my others.

                                                                                          — Diana