Yes, our loved ones REALLY came back to us as animals!
AFTER a loved one dies, comfort can come in many ways. It might be a song on the radio, a waft of familiar perfume or an old photo album.
For some, however, reassurance arrives in a most unusual form: they believe they’ve received a ‘visitation’ from the other side — with their friend or family member appearing to them in the form of an animal.
Sir Paul McCartney recently revealed how he believes his wife Linda, who died of breast cancer in 1998, came back as a squirrel ‘to give me a sign’. It’s not clear how the 76-year-old former Beatle knew the creature was an embodiment of his wife’s spirit — although he did admit to having been dabbling with a few hallucinogenics at the time.
Sceptics may scoff, but for a surprising number of people, Sir Paul’s words struck a chord, for they too believe lost loved ones have returned in animal form. Here, some tell us why they’re convinced that spirits walk among us — on two, four or even six legs.
MY GRANDMA APPEARED AS A HERON TO UNLOCK JOYFUL MEMORIES
Krissi Foskett, 38, and her husband Kevin, 56, own a cleaning company. They live with daughter Abigail, 16, and son Stephen, 15, in Rosyth, Fife.
WHEn I was little, my parents split up, so I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, Barbara. After I moved to Scotland I didn’t see so much of her, but we kept in touch on the phone. She was in her late 80s and was a very no-nonsense, independent person.
Two years ago, she fell ill, and I was boarding a flight to visit her when I got the call to say she’d died. I was so devastated I collapsed.
A week later, I was trying to write the eulogy for Gran’s funeral while on holiday on the west coast of Scotland. But I really struggled — it was as if my memories were blocked.
Then, one day, I was sitting overlooking the water and a beautiful heron landed a few metres away. At that exact moment, a flood of memories came rushing back. I really sensed the heron was Gran. Suddenly, I couldn’t stop writing about her. Within 35 minutes, I’d written the entire eulogy.
The funny thing is, if Gran heard me saying this she’d say: ‘Stop being silly, Krissi.’ But while I’m not religious, I do believe the universe is too big for it all just to be about us.
Since that day, when I’m feeling low or stressed, herons do seem to appear. I feel it’s my gran saying: ‘Come on, you can handle this.’
MY FIRST HUSBAND TURNS UP AS A ROBIN TO HELP ME
Gill O’Neill, 45, owns a nursery. She lives with her second husband Lawrence, 50, who works in office procurement, in Cambridge and she has five children aged between 26 and ten. PHIL, my husband of 19 years, died in november 2015, a year after being diagnosed with cancer. He was only 53, and the grief and shock were unbearable for both of us.
But he’s found a way to comfort me after his death — by coming back as a robin. There is a saying: ‘A robin appears when a loved one is near,’ and I truly believe that has been the case with Phil.
Whenever I need his advice, or am thinking about him, a robin appears. I know he’d say, ‘What a load of rubbish’, but it’s happened too often to be simply a coincidence.
I think Phil gave me permission to fall in love again. The night of my first date with my second husband, Lawrence, I was sitting in my car ‘chatting’ to Phil about it, and suddenly a robin appeared on my car.
He’s helped me make other important choices, too. Phil and I set up the nursery I own together, and after his death I got really stressed wondering whether I would have to sell it. On the day I had to make the decision, I left to take the rubbish out and two robins were sitting on the bin.
I felt Phil had brought my dear old dad, who died in 2013, with him, and they were saying: ‘Don’t sell.’ So I didn’t.
When I told the children, my eldest daughter thought I was mad. But my twins were only seven at the time, and often they’ll say: ‘I really miss Daddy’ and then they’ll see a robin nearby. It gives them comfort that he’s thinking of us.