KOKO’S SPECIAL GIFT

Joan’s little dog has a connection with the other side

Joan Wallace, 68, Preston, Vic

Rescuing Koko had been the best decision my husband Mike and I ever made.

When we went to the animal shelter, the little terrier chose us, running up and licking our hands and spinning around in circles. Instantly smitten, we took her home.

‘She’s such a clever girl,’ Mike said, when she’d been with us for just a few days.

Koko was a sweet, gentle soul and her big eyes shone with kindness.

She followed Mike everywhere at home, loved going for walks and enjoyed holidaying with us in our campervan.

Tragically, Mike got sick three years later, and was taken from me too soon.

After 40 happy years of marriage, I was left with my grief and our beloved Koko, who also seemed to miss Mike terribly.

Getting used to life on my own, it was comforting that I could feel Mike’s presence in the house.

And in the weeks that followed, I noticed something odd about

Koko. She’d often sit by the framed photo of Mike that I kept on the table in our living room.

She’d whimper as she gazed up at his smiling face, and her eyes would brighten as if he was still here patting her.

One evening as I sat on the sofa lost in my thoughts about Mike, Koko walked over and sat down by my feet, looking up at me with those big eyes. I wondered if, in her own way, she too felt Mike’s presence.

‘Koko, you miss him too, don’t you?’ I said.

She looked at me and tilted her head to the side as if she understood me.

‘You were his special little girl, weren’t you?’ I continued. ‘He loved you so much.’

Koko’s tail wagged as if in agreement.

Patting her, I felt grateful for this sweet little dog.

Sometimes she’d run to the front door, her tail wagging, just like she did when Mike came home. She made me feel I wasn’t silly for thinking Mike might still be with us, in spirit.

In the following months, Koko would often wander into the living room, stop in front of Mike’s picture, and spin around in circles in apparent delight.

Other times she’d get her favourite ball and stand by the front door, wagging her tail.

One day I asked her, ‘Do you think he’s still here with us, girl? Is that why you keep going to him?’

Koko responded with a soft, reassuring whine, as if she was con rming what I’d hoped in my heart.

I like to think Mike’s love for me and for Koko was so strong it transcended his passing, and his spirit watches over us.

Clever Koko could somehow sense it, or maybe she could even see Mike. I know dogs experience the world differently to us, and I’d read they can sense ghosts.

With Koko by my side, I felt less alone, and my heartache eased.

I can’t explain it, but I believe Koko has a unique connection to Mike, even now in spirit.

A year on, I believe Mike still comes to visit me in the quiet of the evening.

I know this, because it’s the time when Koko goes to the door, then sits in front of his photo, tail wagging all the while.

She’s a very clever dog. ●

‘Do you think he’s still here with us, girl?’ I asked her