Do animals appear in death-bed visions?  Well, before I get to that, let me say a word about DBVs in general, since some people may not be familiar with the term.

Death-Bed Visions

Death-bed visions (DBVs) are very common.  They have been reported throughout history, across many cultures. 

Here is an example of a typical DBV. A dying person — usually a few minutes or days before their death — will suddenly “light up,” express joy and excitement, and gaze intently at a space that appears empty. They appear to be interacting with an unseen presence.  They might reach their hands out.  They might say, “Hang on, I’ll be there in just a while.” 70% of the time, they report seeing a deceased parent, friend, or close relative.  Less often, they report seeing a spiritual figure or a beautiful, heavenly landscape. 

The person expresses a deep sense of happiness and tranquility about the encounter.  Then, shortly afterwards, they die.  Most people die within about 10 minutes of a DBV.        

This happens a lot.  Although only about 10% of dying people are conscious as they approach death, of these, research suggests that about 50% to 60% have DBVs.            

Researchers and skeptics have offered a variety of “normal” explanations for DBVs, but none have held up very well.  DBVs are not adequately explained in terms of hallucination, medical conditions, medication or drug effects, confusional states, brain damage, or oxygen deprivation.  Nor are they attributable to pre-existing religious beliefs, beliefs about the afterlife, or expectations of dying. 

There are many things that add credibility to DBV accounts.  They have a remarkable consistency, similar to what you find in NDE reports.  Indeed, there is consistency not just within DBV reports themselves, but between DBV and NDE reports, suggesting that DBVs and NDEs may be tapping into the same post-death reality. 

Moreover, we have many DBVs reports in which people are seen “on the other side” who the dying patient had no idea was deceased.  We also have many reports of shared DBVs, in which not only the dying person, but other people in the room (e.g., relatives, medical personnel) also experience the phenomena.  These cases are impossible to explain away as hallucination or some offshoot of a dying brain.  DBVs happen to atheists and people who do not believe in an afterlife.  They happen across cultures.  They happen to people who do not expect to die. 

I don’t have space to cover all the research and all the ways that alternative explanations have been ruled out.  If you’d like to read more, please consult the sources I mention. I’d like to turn to the issue of animals in DBVs.

Do Animals Appear in DBVs?

For our purposes, the question is, “Do animals or pets show up in DBVs?” 

Why yes, they do. Here is some of what I found, when I explored the subject:

The research of Dr. Christopher Kerr 

Dr. Kerr was the first researcher to systematically interview dying patients themselves. Previous researchers had focused on reports of medical professionals or relatives at bedside. 

Dr. Kerr found that, among the people reporting a DBV, 72% “saw deceased family members, friends, and animals/pets” [my emphasis].  Dr. Kerr does not say what percentage specifically reported animals. But, appropritely enough, he grouped sightings of pets/animals together with family members and friends.  That’s what most of us consider them. And when animals appear in DBVs, they often do so accompanied by a human relative or friend.

In any case, Dr. Kerr, a careful researcher, found that dying people did see animals and pets in DBVs.   You can learn more about his research here: 

https://www.drchristopherkerr.com/research

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The research of Dr. Peter Fenwick

Peter Fenwick, MD, has done research on DBVs as well.  In The Art of Dying, Dr. Fenwick states that in his research on DBVs, he found “reports of animals that have special significance for the dying person” showing up at the dying person’s bedside. 

That is, Dr. Fenwick reports that some DBVs include animals and pets. Unfortunately, he does not provide any further specifics.  

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Published Accounts

Scott Smith reports this account of a shared DBV. 

Denise Dmytrasz’s father was dying.  She was visiting her parents.  Her father was lying in the bedroom.  As Denise was talking with her mother in the kitchen, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.  She turned and saw a small dog walk past the doorway, headed toward her father’s bedroom. 

Denise asked her mother when they got a dog.  Her mother said they did not have a dog.  

The family went looking through the house for the dog Denise had seen.  There was nothing.  Later, they learned that the dog looked like the spitz her father had when he was young.  “I believe the dog came to him to make it easier for the crossing over,” said Denise.  “I was surprised, because I never even knew my dad liked animals.” 

Scott Smith, The Soul of Your Pet

Note that the DBV experience violates Denise’s expectations, so it cannot be the result of fanciful imagination, wishful thinking, or the like. 

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Rob Gutro relates this account in Pets and the Afterlife.  

Rob’s mother was very ill and approaching death.  A medium told Rob that Rob’s father, long deceased, was at his mother’s bedside, reaching out his hand to his mother.  He was inviting her on a journey into the next life.  However, his mother was reluctant to take his father’s hand.  (Although this experience is conveyed by a medium, it is essentially a shared DBV.  Rob also notes that when he was at his mother’s bedside, he felt the same individuals were present as well.) 

After some unsuccessful attempts to persuade the mother to take his hand, the father eventually reached down and picked up a dog, Gigi, who was there, but out of sight of the mother. 

Gigi had died many years ago. The mother loved her deeply — more than him and his brother, Rob jokes.  

When she saw Gigi, the mother changed her mind.  She took the father’s hand and agreed to go.  Rob said that it wasn’t until the dog made an appearance that his mother was willing to cross. She died the next morning. 

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At her blog, Understanding Grief, Dr. Marilyn Mendoza states that “family members will come to help the dying transition, and are sometimes accompanied by a deceased pet.”  

She gives this example:

A 67 year old woman saw her husband, who had died 4 years previously, with her 22 year old deceased dog.  She stated that her husband had taken her hand and, along with the dog, told her he would show her the path to follow to be able to die peacefully.”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-grief/201610/deathbed-visions-part-i

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Gary Rothstein, writing for the Pittsburg Post Gazette, relates this account. 

Darin Martin’s husband, Steve, was dying of cancer.  As he got closer to death, Steve told her that he was seeing their dog, Czar, walking down the hallway.  Czar, a Great Dane, had died four years before.  At one point, Steve made sure he and his wife stepped out of his way, so Czar could pass. 

His wife said these DBVs gave Steve great joy and comfort in his final hours.           

https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-seeing-dead-people-20180707-story.html

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Other Accounts

There are several other accounts on Youtube.  For example, one person reported that a very ill woman saw her deceased dog, and then she died 1 ½ hours later. 

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Do Animals Have DBVs Themselves?

We also have some reports suggesting that animals themselves might have DBVs.  Sounds a little strange, but why not? If people have DBVs, why couldn’t animals have them, too?  

Animals can’t tell us what is happening as they approach death. Rover can’t say, “I see my old pal Fido in the corner. He has come to get me.”  So we have to rely on observation and inference, which are subject to error. Still, here are a couple of suggestive cases.   

Vernon Neppe, MD, PhD, a physician practicing behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry, who had significant knowledge in this area, reported that he had a dog named Snowy. Snowy became very ill and lapsed into a coma. Dr. Neppe stated:  

At about 7pm, Snowy suddenly sat bolt upright, looked as if she was looking at an object very, very intensively and following that object with her eyes and her head moving from side to side.  If a dog could smile, she was smiling.  You could see there was a certain happiness radiating from her.  She began to wag her tail.  Within seconds, she then plopped down and went back into coma. 

OBERF website, case #17

Dr. Neppe noted there were multiple witnesses to this event — himself, his wife, and his two adult children.   

A short time later, Snowy died.  There is a clear parallel between this case and DBVs in human coma patients, who suddenly awaken, smile, seem to interact with an invisible presence, then lapse back into coma and die shortly afterwards. 

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Other examples are given by Margrit Coates, an animal medium. Ms. Coates stated, “It is not unusual for me to pick up the presence of an animal in spirit form, who has come to guide a terminally ill animal into the afterlife.”   For instance:

A few minutes before 36 year old horse Frosty passed away, he rallied and pricked his ears forward, as though in response to a call.  Following his gaze, I saw the paddock ahead full of spirit animals, including horses, ponies, donkeys, dogs, cats, birds, and even a lion.  What an entourage, to lead an old horse into the heavenly realms!

Margrit Coates, Communicating with Animals

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One more example. Arthur Myers, a journalist, relates the account of an old chow named Kelly, who was very ill and approaching death.  The family decided to have her euthanized.  The family had two other dogs — a younger chow and an old, blind schnauzer.   

The night before they took Kelly to the vet [to be euthanized], the women were in the house with the three dogs, and for no apparent reason, the old chow [Kelly] started smiling.  The blind schnauzer jumped up and started wagging his tail like he was seeing an old friend.  And the young chow started barking at a blank wall. 

Arthur Myers, Communicating with Animals

So all three dogs seem to be reacting. Of course, they can’t tell us what they are reacting to, but the women present said they all felt the presence of their original dog, who had died of cancer many years ago.  They believed that he was coming to help Kelly transition (which she did the following day). 

So, maybe animals have their own DBVs? The evidence isn’t particularly strong — it’s just a few, scattered accounts. Still, they are suggestive. I just offer it as something to ponder.  

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Wrap Up

DBVs are well documented in the human realm and cannot be explained away as hallucinations, medical conditions, medication, or the result of pre-existing beliefs. DBVs appear to offer a glimpse into an intermediary world, and their purpose seems to be to aid in the transition to the afterlife. 

Animals appear in DBVs.  This is confirmed by multiple researchers in the DBV space, and it is testified to by a range of specific reports.  

DBVs are yet another source of evidence for animal afterlife. DBVs also suggest that when your time for transition comes, animals may be part of the welcoming committee.     

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