Episode 4: Laurie Blomer and the Art of Seeing into a Photo

Before becoming a professional psychic, Laurie Blomer spent 25 years working with Fortune 500 companies in employee relations, training and leadership development and performance management.

Today, she helps you talk with your animal friend, whether they are alive or deceased.

Laurie sees into a photo to read an animal’s body language, intentions and desires.

LaurieBlomer.com

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Intro with Angela Schneider

Hi there.

Today, I’m turning over the question asking to my good friend Darlene Woodward of Pant the Town Photography in Georgetown Massachusetts.

Darlene, who was featured on Episode 3, The Art of Handing Out Snacks, is one of the founding members at One Last Network and she strive to create images that shine the light on your connection with your pet. With access to miles of sandy beach on the Atlantic Ocean, Darlene creates epic silhouettes against the rising sun.

With her first episode, The Art of Seeing into a Photo, she talks with animal communicator and psychic Laurie Blomer, who shed the corporate world about a decade ago for a higher calling.

Together they explore the ways Laurie connects with animals — alive or passed — and how a photo’s purpose takes on a whole new meaning.

Darlene Woodward

I am here today with Lori Blomer. She is a psychic, medium and pet psychic. I actually first met Lori, in 2015, she traveled from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts to do an animal communication workshop at one of our animal rescues. Ever since then I’ve been fascinated by what she does. I’ve done other workshops with her. I’ve had readings done by her for both myself and my dog Kota. And I’m excited that she’s here with us today. So thank you so much, Laurie, for being here and chatting with us today. And how are you doing?

Laurie Blomer

I’m doing great. I’m so excited about this. Darlene, I want to say thank you, that’s really a great opportunity. I’m really excited about this whole initiative that you and your friends are coming together. I think anything that helps us better understand animals’ worlds, animals’ challenges and helps us develop a sense of empathy for them is a beautiful thing. So thank you.

Darlene

Thank you, thank you. And the more resources out there and people we can reach out to it makes everything so much easier for us with pets who are getting older and going through that phase of life. So I appreciate you being here and chatting with us. And first, I’d just like for you to tell us a little bit about you and who Laurie is.

Laurie

So who is Laurie. Um, let’s see here. So I’ve been doing this work professionally for the past 11 years. I left the corporate world where I was in human resources for about 25 years, and basically waited till I had the courage to make that big jump and that cycle of my life, which was very fulfilling, in its own way felt complete. But as far as my psychic ability is concerned, that is something that showed up very early on in my life. And as far as communicating with animals is concerned, that too showed up early in my life.

In fact, I can remember being very little and sort of understanding what my cat’s point of view and opinion was on things and realizing slowly that not everybody else realized animals had thoughts and feelings about things, or at least understood them.

So I left my corporate role. Again, that cycle felt complete, but I just really felt drawn to help people connect with the bigger picture themselves spiritually, if you will, but also a big part of my work is animal communication. And that, to me kind of feels like part of my calling: to help animals. Their quality of life is so dependent upon us as human beings. I thought anything I can do to help bridge that gap and helping us understand them and also helping them understand us because humans are kind of crazy, their eyes.

When I was working in human resources, I actually did a lot of training and development. So I liked teaching. And the first class out the door for me as a professional psychic was on animal communication, because I really felt this is important. This is timely, people need to understand this. So that’s a very little bit about me.

My title as psychic channel, animal communicator … the second part is that I’m able to kind of tune intuitively to people’s backstories, if you will, that sort of sixth sense, as many people might call it. I also as a channel or medium communicate with folks in spirit, and I communicate with animals who have passed. I also communicate with other folks up there such as guardian angels. We all have a team, animals have a team too.

So when I do animal communication, for example, I invite your people, so to speak, I invite their people and I invite my people. And I basically have a big conversation here. They help me get the big picture of what’s going on and also give me more information on the nature of the relationship between the human and the animal because any of the significant relationships we have in our lives are to a degree preordained by our own souls deciding we want to work together. So there’s always the big picture. And that informs me on how to help sort out the little picture of what’s going on here and now when people contact me to get help with your animals. So that’s a little bit about me. I don’t know if there’s anything that show me expand on and be happy to.

Darlene

No, I love that. I love that. And when speaking with people and their animals and learning about their animals, you actually do this both virtually and in person. And as I understand you use a photo if it’s done virtually to kind of communicate with that animal.

Laurie

I do and I’m glad you brought that up. I have clients at this point all over the world. So many, many of them. We are working over video conference. For me since it’s really an energetic process — it’s telepathy, if you will. It doesn’t matter if they’re in person or not. So that gives me that flexibility. But the animals picture helps me connect with them energetically. In fact, whenever possible, I’ll spend several minutes before a call or a meeting to just tune in, and I’ll sort of do a body scan, see if anything stands out to me about the body. I usually get a sense of what their personalities like. And often, if this is an animal who’s passed, they will give me an idea of what they were suffering from that led to their demise, whether it’s the decision to help them pass on the part of the human, or the animal themselves passed on their own. So I try and get a little bit of backstory. But I absolutely do that during the reading, even if I didn’t have any advance of the picture. I prefer to work with pictures. Frankly, when I first started working professionally, people would ask me to meet with their animals and we were such a distraction to each other. I can remember going to a friend’s house, and their dog is sitting in front of me. It’s like the mailman comes by this time. And I like trucks. And that car makes that noise. And here are my toys. And here’s where I sleep. And here’s my food and I read a little bit too much.

Darlene

So true, the dog takes over.

Laurie

Yeah, he was just very chatty. So it’s a little bit easier, actually, for me to be at a distance. So I should say the animal doesn’t have to be with either of us, for me to communicate with them. So if you’re sitting in your car, and I’m in my office and the dogs at home, I can still have that connection.

Darlene

OK, I love that. And when looking at a picture, if someone would just send a picture, is there a certain type of picture? I’m all about expression and dogs? Do you want to see a picture of the dog and a happy moment? Does it matter? Or does just that whole communication kind of take over where you get that feeling and you’re able to connect no matter what?

Laurie

That is a great question and it’s something you have to kind of get past because pictures can be misleading, right? Yes. Right, they’re not a puppy anymore, they don’t weigh 5 pounds, they weigh 75 pounds. So I take a look at the picture and I almost sort of blur my eyes slightly. I tune in, for lack of a better way to put this, to the essence of an animal. I can often discern from the picture for that matter, are they still in this plane? Or have they passed because energetically they’ll feel different.

I’ve taken classes on animal communication and this is something I’ve worked on. So if it sounds like I’m talking in this sort of somewhat vague terms, it’s a very, very subtle process. I’m actually taking a class right now on doing it as a psychic private investigator, and we’re working with pictures to decide first of all, is the person alive or dead? And then we work with the picture to get a sense if the person’s passed or alive, where are they? What are the surroundings?

So it’s amazing how a picture can actually serve as a proxy, or a surrogate for the actual person themselves, at least from a psychic’s point of view, pictures are really powerful.

So the short answer to your question is, it doesn’t really matter. OK, I like to get a good look at them. So if they’re way in the distance in the field, they’re about this teeny, tiny, I’d like something that’s relatively close up. But it doesn’t have to be a current one.

I would tell a person, if at all possible, send one that sort of is, you know, gives me just a good sort of front image of them so I can see their face get a pretty good view of their body. But that’s all. I can work with just about anything, frankly. I should also add pictures not required for this process at all.

Darlene

Really, OK.

Laurie

It’s helpful. It’s extremely helpful. But sometimes we just don’t have a picture available. And I can still work.

Darlene

OK, wow, that’s amazing. So how about pets who are going through some type of illness? How can you help those pet parents? If someone were to reach out to you and maybe the dog or the animals diagnosed with something? How can you help with that? Would you still be sending a picture and then kind of communicating and then you might get a vibe with that?

Laurie

I, as a psychic — most psychics would play the “don’t feed the psychic” game, meaning they don’t want to know anything. When I am working with animals, especially problem-solving, a little bit of information helps. So I tell people I’m not what they call a medical intuitive, so I don’t diagnose. You know, I don’t get into medical stuff. I always defer to experts and veterinarians, for example.

So if a person has a diagnosis on the pet, and I will also ask them are they taking medications? Is there a treatment plan? All these things can potentially impact the animal’s point of view. So I do ask a few questions up front about them. But where someone like me can be helpful is to get a sense for how is that animal feeling? You know, what do they want? And I can ask, how’s that medicine sitting with them?

So, for example, I remember a dog showing me … I knew I intuitively, I understood that it was something like prednisone. I could tell. I’d feel like there’s something with animals on something that I will call like prednisone, a steroid, and it’s making this animal agitated. What do you see by way of behavior? And she said he’s panting, he’s drinking tons of water and he just walks in circles.

And so you might want to talk to your vet about that. It does not seem to agree with them. So again, I would refer back to experts but all that sort of informs me that my biggest questions for the animals is what do you need more of? What do you need less of? What would make you comfortable? And if you know, are you interested? And I’ll convey to them, here’s what they’re recommending as a treatment. And like if it’s surgery, is that something you want to do? How do you feel about all this sort of stuff?

So I think the greatest thing I can do is be a voice for them and their attitude. Sometimes the animals would be like, “I don’t want that. I’m done. I’m done. I don’t want that third round of chemo.” Or, “well, if you think it’ll work, I’m willing to try.”

I don’t mean to anthropomorphize them, they’re not humans. They show me thoughts and feelings. I convey that into language. They obviously don’t speak English, but one of the earliest skills I had as a pet communicator as a child was understanding their point of view on things and getting a bead on what’s going on with them emotionally. And I think that informs me a lot about how are they feeling, what they want and so on.

Darlene

I love that.

Laurie

Does that answer. Does that help?

Darlene

Yeah, that’s so important, because as our dogs get old — and I know that’s what I deal with right now with Kota, my dog being 11 — you know, it’s just the oh, they recommend surgery, oh, I don’t want to do surgery. I feel personally that’s not something that she would want to go through. So I get the whole feeling type thing. But that does make sense.

And that’s great to be able to share with pet parents who might be going through something like that, and how to help with their animals.

Laurie

Well, and if it makes you feel better, nobody calls a pet psychic who isn’t already clued into their pets. It’s fairly rare that I would find the animals on a very different page than the human. I found humans’ instincts, if they’re intuitive enough to want to call someone like me, I know they’ve been probably:

a. Agonizing over the decision

b. Wanting to do the right thing for the pet

c. They’re doing a gut check to say based on what I know about this wonderful animal who I live with, what would they want?

You know, so instincts are actually pretty good. I find for most people, but sometimes for me, it’s just a point of validation.

Darlene

Exactly, right, it feels better to hear it from somebody else that in that whole “yes, I’m doing the right thing.” And like you said, that validation when it comes to things like that. So how can animal communication help with a pet’s transition? If so? And if it can help with that transition, how does it help with that transition?

Laurie

Well, I mean, it makes complete sense. I deal with this a lot. And I will say this on this podcast, as I shared with you as well, when we’re at those end-of-life situations, I am happy to get on a call, Zoom call, get on the phone, whatever to talk to the owner to say, where are we? Is this time? Do they want this? Because I also know at the end of life, we have good days, bad days, good days, bad days. And sometimes you feel like is it? Is it not it?

So I’m happy and I don’t charge for those calls, just jump in and say how are they doing, is this what they want. So I think that helps to transition too. It’s just understanding timing, and when they are done, to help them understand some of the signs that a pet is showing that they are ready.

But I do talk to animals about euthanasia. I’ll sort of say what is that? And I offer it as an alternative. And I’ll explain the process that it’s you know, they will tell me if they have an option I can present to them. Do you want the vet to come to your home? Are you OK with going to the veterinary office, and I’ll explain that it’s basically a series of two injections: the first one that makes them fall asleep, the second one that will help them just lift out of their body.

And they’re appreciative to have that option. They’re also very quick to tell me not today, right? Yes, I’m ready. But they know that they have options and that you know that it can shorten their suffering. Most animals would go for that and they’re always very clear. Yep, it’s time or no, it’s not time.

So I think that easing in the transition and knowing that we’re not doing this thing that they don’t understand, where you’re like, “do they understand what’s happening,” “do they know why we’re going to the vet,” “do they know why I’m talking to them,” “do they know why I’m making them, you know, get subcutaneous fluids,” “do they know why I stick shots in them every day,” “I feel like I’m hurting them.”

They understand where I’m at, with a lot of those things to just help explain to the animal why we do what we’re doing, what are their options and help them feel empowered. And, um, I can help a pet parent afterward to make connection.

Darlene

That was my next question.

Laurie

Yeah. “Do they hate me? Will they forgive me? Do they understand?” And of course they always do. Once they arrive they’re like “Oh, boy!” And I’ve never met an animal that was mad about it, Darlene, and they’re like, “Wow, do I feel better? Boy, am I glad to be out of that body. I forgot how uncomfortable I was.”

Anyway, I think you’re ready to ask another question. You know, I can talk about this for hours.

Darlene

That was leading right into what happens after they pass. Because, you know, that feeling of like you were saying, “Did I do the right thing? Was this the right time?” And is it ever the right time? And how do we know? And yeah, is our dog, our animals, our pet gonna be like, “Oh, I wasn’t ready to go yet,” and then somehow communicating that. It’s so hard for us, because here we are, we have to move on and go through that grieving process.

Laurie

Yeah, there was a comedian, I don’t remember who it was, unfortunately. But he said, as soon as you get a puppy, you start that … that short — I can’t remember if it’s short or long — walk to misery, meaning you immediately fall in love and you know, they’re not going to live long enough. Whenever it is, it’ll be too soon. It’s that price of love, right? And at that price of wanting to do the right thing and yet we do it again and again. Why? Because we love. And even for me as a pet psychic, it’s hard. It’s not the same. They’re not physically here, but I’m happy to help them connect with an animal once they pass. And they also understand they’re just fine. You don’t have a body anymore. It’s like having an invisible friend around. But they’re alive. They’re well, and they’re no longer suffering. And that’s huge.

Darlene

And that’s the big thing. It’s just, they’re in pain, and we don’t want that. And I’m a big person and, you know, quality over that, that quantity and given them their best life that they can have. I know, is there a timeframe after an animal has passed? Or does it matter? I mean, if somebody were to reach out to you the day after and chat and see if you can kind of help them through the grieving process. Is that too soon? Or is there any type of timeframe or it’s just …

Laurie

I think now, if psychics meet psychic mediums, who talked to people in spirit will often recommend give it a period of time. Folks are settling in up there. They’re figuring stuff out, give them a little time. I found there is some truth to that with humans. With animals, not so much. I think because they get the life and death cycle in a way that we don’t understand. And they also don’t have all this sort of religious and other expectations around what death will be. It’s just a thing for them. Often, animals will see other animals in spirit around like, they’ll be able to tell you have two pets, one of them still there. They’ll say, “Oh, yes, I’ve seen the dog. He’s been around somewhere there.”

So often, it’s not a big deal for them to figure out what’s going on. Secondly, they often come home, like, “Well, I guess I’ll go home tonight.” So literally, they’ll be hanging around your house in spirit immediately afterwards, because they don’t really know what else to do. And it’s like, “Why did I do that?”

There are guides who help animals transition, so they’ll be there to support them. But as Sparky says, he’d rather go home and go back to his living room and hang around. He’ll do that. So often, shortly after they pass, we will see these “out of the corner of our eye” experiences, or we could swear we smelled them or saw them. And people wonder if that’s wishful thinking. No, it’s often because they’re hanging around and they’re still relatively close to this plane.

So the short answer to that one, because again, I’m getting a role here, I will tell you if I can’t quite feel a connection, and I will recommend that we wait if that’s the case. But often, you know, it can be a matter of days. I think part of it, though, is also your readiness, because sometimes people just need to do their mourning. They’re like, “I still have to show up for work every day. I’m not ready to have this conversation. I’m just trying to keep it together.” So they wait till they’re emotionally in a better place to have the conversation and not be taken right back to the trauma that just happened, if that makes sense to you, Darlene. I think animals get that too. They don’t want to cause us pain. So whatever the right timing feels for you is usually what I go by. Yeah, yeah, that’s an important part of it. Yeah.

Darlene

And what about families with multiple pets in the household when one pet has passed away? Is there communicating with the other pet and finding out the feelings? And do they really know everything that’s going on? And we know they sense losing kind of their pet sibling in the household? Do you do a lot of communication with that way?

Laurie

I do. Yeah. And it depends. I’ll explain I guess some of the circumstances. When you direct a thought or an emotion to an animal, whether they are here or whether they have passed, they get it immediately. They just don’t always understand it. So it’s helpful to sort of broadcast that message to the other animals around to say that this animal passed or we’re going to help this animal pass, because it also eliminates some confusion on their part. I have encountered pets who’ve been like, “What happened? One day they were just gone.” I’ve had other pets like, “Oh, yes, I know. They were ill. And in fact, I see them around.”

Some see animals in spirit, some pets see people in spirit, others don’t. So I sort of have to do a check-in to say, “What’s their understanding?” Sometimes they will jump to an incorrect conclusion. Like, “Did I cause their passing?” or “could I be next?” So I’ll have to explain, “No, this animal was ill” or “it happened very quickly, and a decision had to be made.” So it is helpful to talk to other animals afterwards to find:

1. what their understanding is
2. answer questions they have.

Because I’m very curious about the process. I saw an animal, like, he saw his past partner as a skirt of gray shadow, and it scared the heck out of him. And (his owner) said, “He just seems really anxious and he won’t settle.” I said, “Well, he sees this gray cloud, but he doesn’t know what it is.” So I explained it to the dog. And she subsequently reported that he calmed down considerably. So sort of like humans, our understanding runs the gamut. Yeah, that’s what it is helpful. The short answer, though, again, it’s helpful.

Darlene

I can listen to you forever. Every time I listen to you, I learned, you know, something new. And it just fascinates me. And this is also helpful for just pet parents in this journey that we have with our dogs getting old. And yeah, as hard as it is. We’re all going to, we’re going to lose our pet someday. And it’s way too soon. And yeah, anything that we can have, and use to help us with this whole process.

Laurie

So I always say after an animal has transitioned, leave the toys out. Leave the bed there. Talk to them. You know, well, I I’m … Storytime, you ready? Okay, I got a million of them.

Darlene

No, I love your stories. And I know our listeners will love your stories, too.

Laurie

Well, it was a really cool one. This is a woman who’s local to me. She came into my office and I knew she wanted to communicate to a pet. But I wasn’t sure the circumstances. When people come to my office, I do ask them to bring that picture with them. So sometimes I don’t have any advance notice.

I said, “This is going to sound really weird to you. But there’s a horse standing behind you, in my mind’s eye I see him and he’s got scrubs on like he works in a hospital. He’s got the mask, you’ve got something covering his ears. He’s got these sort of green scrubs, that I know it’s going to sound crazy. But does this make any sense to you?”

She started laughing. I said, “Where do you work?”

She goes, “I work at New Bolton Center.”

New Bolton Center is the University of Pennsylvania’s large animal veterinary offices just right near here. It’s quite well known. At any rate, I said, “He’s showing me. So we have this horse and spirit. Do you know this horse?”

Of course, she starts crying and goes, “I do.”

I said, “He follows you around at work because he is always curious what you do. So I see him literally going through doors. If you’re going into surgery he follows. And he’s got his scrubs on, so to speak. And he’s watching you. He’s seeing all the things you used to do when you would go home and do your thing, because now he can. And he’s found it very interesting. And he shared some observations about what he saw and why.”

And that’s the interesting thing. Of course, when you don’t have a body anymore, it gives you a lot of freedom. So I say, “Leave things out, keep talking to him. ‘All right, buddy, we’re going to work today, I know you couldn’t come to work with me before because you were too ill. But once you get in the car, come with me, come with me.'”

They enjoy that. They enjoy continuing to engage with them. Even if you feel like you’re crazy and you’re talking to yourself, they’re getting the message, you’re getting the message, and they appreciate it because it helps them stay anchored in the life they know as well.

And Darlene, another thing to add on that is you’re not keeping them here. I don’t want anyone listening to this, to think that by continuing to communicate will be keeping them from ascending to heaven. They are there. They also have guides and guardian angels who are with them, and they realize it’s a process of them getting settled in. And that it’s helpful. It’s helpful to know that the people who love them still know that they’re alive and well. It’s comforting for them.

Darlene

It makes sense because it’s so hard to lose that routine and that daily life we have, especially, you know, going for walks and things like that. Yeah, I see how that could be helpful when we’re including them in that daily routine, even though they’re not physically there.

Laurie

And it’s comforting for you. Yeah, that’s comforting for them. To me, it’s a kind of a win-win.

Darlene

And that’s what we need. We need anything that we can get to help, anything. Oh, I love it. I love it. Oh, this is great. Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? This is absolutely wonderful.

Laurie

Um, yes, particularly with regard to this idea of an animal who’s ill and is towards the end.

Darlene

And you know me I have my days these days.

Laurie

We all do. We all look for signs after they transition. My cat Custard was a male Flame Point Siamese who died tragically. He was an indoor cat. He got out and literally within two hours, he was hit by a car. And he had a following on Facebook. I’m telling you, I post one picture of Custard and everyone would come out of the woodwork and like that picture. So it was a tragic loss. And two days later, my husband is driving down Route 1 which is near where we live here in Pennsylvania. And a car — I should add, his name was Custard. Tom thought it was an undignified name for a male cat so so he used to call him Mr. Custard or Mr. Cuss — well, a card puts on its turning signal and gets in front of him. It’s a Jeep with a wheel cover that says “life is good.” You’re familiar with that company. And the license plate says Mr. Cus. Two days later.

He took a picture of it. I could send it to you; it’s rather blurry. But look for those signs, those hellos from heaven. They’ll find a way to get through.

And the second thing is something I heard from my cat Pearl after she passed. We had a little conversation about it. And she said, “Don’t apologize when you’re giving medicine. Don’t apologize when you’re doing things even if they might be uncomfortable. Because it’s confusing. Because on one hand, you’re saying you need this. On the other hand, you’re saying you shouldn’t be doing it.”

So she’s like, just be confident and explain. And I really took that, like, I’m not trying to hurt you. But here’s why we’re doing this.

And the other thing, smile through your tears, let them know it’s OK to go. They understand your tears. But they’re conflicted when they don’t know how to make you feel better.

So if you could smile through your tears, that helps. It’s hard, right? It’s also OK to talk up the afterlife. “You’re not going to have any more aches and pains, you’re going to feel good. When you’re ready, if you want my help, let me know. I’m here.”

Take a note from a dog’s playbook, and that is to enjoy the day. “If you’re still here, I’m going to smile through my tears. I’m working to make it the best day ever, ever.” It’s hard not to put our emotions out there, but I think it puts them in conflict about a situation they can’t fix, which is how we feel. So we kind of have to rise to the occasion as if they were our children, which they are and say, “OK, I’m here with you, buddy, and you’re going to be OK, and I’m going to be OK.”

That gives them a lot of peace of mind as they move forward.

Darlene

I love that. That makes sense. And yes, we have to live our lives like our dogs. It’s live each day, each moment each second to the fullest, because that’s how they are. Thank you so much, Lori. I appreciate talking with you. And so how about for our listeners to let everyone know how they can be in touch with you or where they can find you.

Laurie

And I’d love to hear from them. So my name is my website basically. So it’s laurieblomer.com. I have a “contact me” option through that. I also have an Instagram page, Laurieblomerpsychic. And on Facebook, it’s Laurie Blomer — Psychic Channel, Animal Communicator. It’s long, but you’ll find me there. And my email address is laurieblomerpsychic@gmail.com. I have to tell you, in the interest of full disclosure, I live in this adorable little town in southeastern Pennsylvania with lousy lousy cell signal. So I always encourage people to contact me by way of email, or even text me, that’s probably better than a phone call. Because sometimes I have to drive some distance to get to a place. It’s crazy. But that just means I can respond more quickly.

And also because I’m sort of a one-woman show sometimes I respond to emails after hours. So that way, I’m giving you all the information you need without bugging you by calling you at 10:30 at night. So at any rate, I’d love to hear from anyone and again all things animals, I really enjoy doing it.

The one thing I will say is if it’s an aspect of my work that I don’t do, I have a network of great and talented friends. So it’s not unusual, for example, for someone to come contact me and me say I have a friend who’s actually better at that. Our concern as a group is always getting people in the right hands. So just know if I refer you to somebody else, it’s not because I don’t want to help you. It’s because I know somebody who might do something better than I do. And that’s the biggest concern to me is you get the help you need. Although I kind of do it all to be honest with you, but still …

Darlene

That’s awesome. Well, thank you so much for being here. Always a pleasure to talk to you. Always a joy to know you.

Laurie

Thank you. Darlene. Again, very excited to be part of this. Thank you so much.

Darlene

Thank you for being a part of One Last Network and we’re really excited about this, too.

Epilogue with Angela Schneider

My curiosity was piqued after editing the episode and I booked a reading with Laurie.

She told me that Bella and I have been together before, that — to keep a long story short — she is my sacred bear. And we are meant to keep finding each other.

We spoke at length about Bella, what she needs from me and whether Shep is a constant presence in my life. You’re not likely surprised to hear that he is and he has offered to help Bella navigate my word but she told him, “I got this. I’ve been here before.”

Now I’ll admit … I’m a skeptic. My initial plan was to keep this podcast pretty straight, talking about grief and related research, and not veer too far into the spiritual. We stand the chance of bringing in new listeners who want more topics like it and we stand the chance of alienating those who don’t adhere to the more mystical thought processes.

After listening to Darlene and Laurie, though, I realized one thing:

Laurie provides comfort in a judgment-free space, and that’s first and foremost what pet parents need to navigate their grief journey. It doesn’t work for everyone and that’s OK … because everyone’s grief journey looks different.

In our next episode, launching on October 15, we go back to digging into research, particularly the research of Donna Wilson, a nursing professor at University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. She recently completed a research study on grief and how humor can be both a grief trigger and a healing/coping mechanism.