Allison DuBois - Don't Kiss Them Good-bye

“Martin isn’t my nephew’s first name. His first name is Robert, and his middle name is Martin. Bobby is Martin’s father’s name.”

Martin was terribly concerned about his father’s well-being and had many nostalgic memories to share with his uncle. His uncle wanted to share Martin’s messages with Martin’s father. He hoped that Bobby would be willing to listen. Some people are not ready to hear messages from the other side and some people are not ready to give messages from the other side. It’s a shame, because when those on both sides are willing to take part in a meeting, there is a great opportunity for healing and closure. It’s healthy to remain open to life’s possibilities.

Recently I had a personal dilemma. My old cat, Sinbad, was sick and didn’t look well. I like to think of myself as a compassionate person and I have always tried to do the right thing in life. Sinbad was ill and physically deteriorating. But I had known him for eleven years! My mom had found him ripped apart by coyotes and had nursed him back to health. He was a young yet full-grown cat then, and we weren’t quite sure how old he was—probably somewhere between thirteen and sixteen.

Sinbad had survived an attack by coyotes. Why should I cause his demise? I could feel that Sinbad was suffering, but I didn’t want to take away his remaining days. I knew that if I took him to the vet I wouldn’t walk out with him in my arms. He loved to lounge in the grass in our front yard and he enjoyed basking in the sunshine. I deal with the other side on a daily basis and know it to be a kind and beautiful place, but I loved my cat and wasn’t ready to lose him. What would he want me to do?

I feared making the wrong decision. He was a family member. It was a Friday night and I decided to talk to my guides. I couldn’t make a decision like this without help. Some people don’t see the significance of pets, but I do. Sinbad was important. I asked my guides what I should do and I received some feedback, but nothing earth-shattering. I became frustrated and said to my guides, “You make it possible for me to give other people clear answers to their problems. I can deliver messages and give peace of mind to others, so why not to myself? I need something special, something magical.”

There’s nothing like a young medium throwing a temper tantrum at the other side. After hours of inner reflection I fell asleep, tossing and turning. That night I was given exactly what I had asked for. It came in the form of an amazing dream. (Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely dream at all.) At the time I was not aware that it was a dream because it seemed so real:

My friend Domini was alive and we were in her apartment. I was looking at my scrapbooks and I noticed that everything was cleaner than usual in Domini’s apartment. She walked around the corner, coming toward me. She looked younger than I was, even though I knew her to be two years older. I had always been the baby in our group of friends. Domini had her hair pulled back into a fluffy blond ponytail. Her childlike blue eyes contained sparks of gold light and she looked flawless. In came Dominic. He walked past her, and they brushed shoulders but neither one flinched. Dominic walked through the apartment and into another room, closing the door.

Meanwhile, Domini was in the living room playing with a baby, but I wasn’t sure whose. I was tired and decided to go home, so I collected my scrapbooks as I headed for the door. Domini said, “Ali! Wait!” She gestured for me to come back. I walked over to her and set my books down on the table. Domini began thumbing through the pages of my books and every now and then she would look at me and smile contently. I told her I had to go and walked out the door, but now instead of being in the hallway, I was in the lobby of a vet’s office. I turned around to ask Domini what was going on. She smiled and gently nodded her head toward me.

I snapped out of my sleep and sat up in bed. My first reaction was to call Domini and tell her I’d had a dream about her, but then I remembered that she had died three months earlier. I had asked my guides for an incredible sign. The one that I was given had many special meanings to me. Out of the many personally significant events in my dream, two messages really stood out. First, Domini was letting me know that she still functions around Dominic and is still with him. Before she died, Domini told me that she was certain she would be able to contact me from the other side. She also said it comforted her to know she would be able to reach out to those she loved.

By showing me the vet’s office, Domini was making me feel that Sinbad would be all right, that taking him to the vet was the compassionate thing to do for him. I knew Domini was telling me that she would take care of him. Shortly after my dream, we took Sinbad to the vet to be put down. The vet told us that he had intestinal cancer and that there was nothing they could do for him. We loved him enough to let him go. Although I’d known that Sinbad was going to pass away that year, it didn’t hurt any less just because I knew ahead of time.

Ironically, our new cat came from Domini. As her illness had progressed, she could no longer care for some kittens she had, so I had brought one home to my kids. We named our kitten Caesar. We still have him, and my family treats him like a little king. He is a breath of fresh air. I love it that Caesar is full of life, as Domini was. The only thing about him I don’t like is his tendency to pounce on my head in the middle of the night and ruffle my hair with his paws. This I cannot get used to. But it seems right that we have one of Domini’s cats. I have no doubt that she is caring for Sinbad on the other side, even though he might be a little mellow for Domini’s high-energy personality.

Pets have been significant factors in many readings. They are part of our lives and many people consider theirs to be family members. Although I knew that cats and dogs crossed over, I wasn’t aware that birds could come through from the other side until I encountered one very small family member during a reading.

The client was a very energetic, comical woman who had recently lost someone, but she didn’t say whom. I sat with her for a minute and immediately saw a clear picture of a woman with dyed hair wearing a Hawaiian muumuu and lei. I had a hard time wiping the smile off my face, because the woman was extremely amusing. I told my client that the woman was a mother figure and I asked whether she either was going to Hawaii or had come from there.

My client gasped. “We were going to Hawaii together, and my mother-in-law died before our trip.” Obviously, my client was moved by her mother-in-law’s acknowledgment of the much anticipated trip.

Then I saw something that I had not seen before. A bird was perched on the mother-in-law’s finger. She seemed quite fond of it, so I asked, “Did she have a bird? Because she’s showing me one on her finger.”

“Yes,” she replied. “She had two birds, Ike and Tina. Tina died around the time my mother-in-law passed.”

I had never before witnessed a pet other than a cat, dog or horse, but now I had seen a bird. This was just further confirmation for my client, which truly connected her with her mother-in-law on the other side.

When I approached Diane about including her reading in my book, she said she’d be honored. But actually I am the one who is honored, to have met such a resilient, charming woman. Diane hopes that her story will provide comfort to others who face similar challenges. This chapter might also give insight to those of you who have never had a reading. Diane’s story will give you an idea of what can occur when one is visiting with the other side.