Have you ever looked into your pet’s eyes and felt something that goes beyond ordinary love? Not just affection — but a sense of recognition, like you’ve known this animal before, in another time or another life? I want you to know: you’re not imagining that. And in this episode of Dear Guides, animal communicator Tami Hendrix helped me understand exactly what that feeling means and how you can use it to strengthen your bond with your pet.
Tami communicates with animals emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. She sees how an animal’s soul path intertwines with ours, and she has spent years helping people understand that the bond we feel with our pets is not a coincidence. It’s a contract. In this conversation, we covered how to communicate with your pet spiritually — whether they’re sitting beside you right now or they’ve already passed.
Your Pet Chose You
The Soul Contract Between You and Your Animal
One of the first things Tami said in our conversation was: animals arrive in our lives on cue. They come in at specific juncture points, moments that correspond to our next stage of soul growth and what we need most. Their arrival isn’t random, and it isn’t just luck. It’s a soul appointment.
A soul appointment means that on some level, before this lifetime, there was an agreement. Your animal knew you were coming, and you knew them. Tami describes it as a continuum, a relationship that isn’t interrupted by physical distance or even death, but keeps weaving through time.
“Animals come into our lives connected with our next stage of growth and what we need.” — Tami Hendrix
That resonance you feel when you first meet a pet — that immediate knowing — is the recognition of something that was already in place.
How Pets Come In on Cue
Tami has witnessed this pattern over and over in her work: animals arrive precisely when they’re needed, and they leave — whether through passing or other circumstances — when that particular chapter of soul work is complete. It’s not about how long they’re with you. It’s about what they’re here to do.
She also shared something important about the signs we receive when a pet is meant to come into our life. If you’re suddenly dreaming about a specific animal, feeling a pull to visit a shelter, or getting a clear inner prompting that it’s time — that’s not wishful thinking. That’s a message worth following.
How to Show Up for Your Pet
Presence Is the Practice
If our pets choose us as part of their soul journey, how do we show up for them? Tami’s answer was simple but not easy: by seeing who they actually are, rather than who we’ve decided they should be.
We project onto our animals all the time. We have an idea of what a certain breed should do, what a rescue “must” have been through, what our cat “should” want. And in doing that, we miss what’s right in front of us, the real, layered being sharing our life.
The practice Tami recommends is radical presence. Put yourself in a time-out with your animal. Not scrolling, not half-watching something. Just being with them, with nothing to get and nowhere to go.
Your Pet as a Path to Spirit
This is something I feel so strongly in my own life. Animals are a direct line to spirit. They carry no ego, no agenda, no drama. When you’re with your pet in full presence, there’s a quality of love available that is almost impossible to access any other way.
“Let your pet be your practice of presence. There’s no agenda, no ego, no drama — just love. And in the presence of that love connection, the download comes through.”
Tami added something that I think many of us feel but haven’t had language for: animals help us feel oneness — the experience of pure spirit — when we can’t access it ourselves. If you’ve ever felt the weight of anxiety lift the moment you sat down next to your dog, or felt your nervous system settle when your cat climbed into your lap, that’s not just comfort. That’s frequency alignment. Tami calls animals frequency holders, living tuning forks who help balance our vibration when we’ve drifted off course.
Even walking past a purring cat, she said, is enough to receive that vibrational benefit.
How Deceased Pets Send Signs
The Signs We Miss
Tami was honest about something that I found really relieving: the signs our deceased pets send us are often so ordinary that we walk right past them. We’re looking for something dramatic — a rainbow, a feather, a flash of light — and we miss the whisper.
She described the signs as imaginative, creative, and completely personal. There’s no universal checklist. The form the sign takes is less important than the message underneath it. Your job isn’t to collect evidence. It’s to pay attention.
Dreams, Songs, and Other Animals
Some of the ways a deceased pet may reach you include:
- Dreams — Often vivid, peaceful, and distinctly different in feeling from ordinary dreams
- Songs — A specific song playing at a meaningful moment
- Sensory impressions — The feeling of their weight, their warmth, their presence beside you, even when they’re not physically there
- Other animals — A new animal entering your life that carries a familiar essence
- Moments of sudden knowing — An insight that arrives during something mundane, like washing dishes or going for a walk
Tami noted that this last one is particularly common. The mind quiets during ordinary tasks, and that’s exactly when spirit finds its opening.
How to Connect With a Pet Who Has Passed
Write Them a Letter
This was one of the most practical and moving tools Tami shared. If you want to feel your deceased pet’s presence, write them a letter by hand, on paper.
Writing by hand bypasses the analytical mind and opens the heart channel directly. The mind will immediately protest. It will tell you this is pointless, that a letter can’t do anything, that you’re being irrational. Let it say that. Your job is just to write.
Start with: Dear [name], I love you and I want you to know… and then let it pour. Tami described it as a segue to spirit, a doorway that we already know how to walk through because we know how to write a letter.
Once you’ve written your letter and feel ready, she recommends letting your pet write one back to you. Begin the same way: Dear [your name], I love you and I want you to know… and write whatever comes. The mind will tell you it’s just your imagination. Keep going. The animal will often come through and say something that surprises you; something that lands with a weight and clarity that imagination alone doesn’t produce.
Tami shared from her own experience of losing a dog named Sasha, who passed in a traumatic way. She had written Sasha a letter during a moment of grief and anger, not expecting anything in return — only wanting to release what she was carrying. When she returned the following day and let Sasha write back, what came through was: I went out as I chose, as a warrior. That single message completely shifted Tami’s understanding of how Sasha had passed, and how much agency her animal had held in that moment.
Sit With a Photo and Feel the Love
If you’re not ready to write, Tami offers a gentler entry point: simply sit with a photograph of your deceased pet and allow yourself to feel the love. That’s it. Don’t analyze, don’t ask for proof, don’t evaluate whether what you’re feeling is real. Just feel the love that’s in that image.
That love is a direct line to their energy. The connection you shared didn’t end when they passed. The frequency is still available to you.
Do Pets Choose How They Pass?
This is a question many of us carry, especially if we lost a pet suddenly or in difficult circumstances. Tami’s answer, based on her years of communicating with animals, is yes.
On a soul level, animals participate in their own passing. This doesn’t mean we did something wrong or failed to protect them. It means that their soul, like ours, operates within a larger agreement about timing and purpose. When a pet passes, whether through illness, accident, or euthanasia, Tami has found that the animal is in participation on a soul level with what’s happening. There is a vibrational alignment present, even when the circumstances look painful from the outside.
This teaching isn’t about bypassing grief. It’s about trusting that our animals, who came in with intention and purpose, also leave with intention. Their soul path continues beyond their physical life.
How to Communicate With Your Living Pet on a Soul Level
Tami’s answer to this was beautifully uncomplicated: just be with them.
Not multitasking. Not planning. Just shared presence, with no agenda for anything to happen. She said that this shared presence is already communication — that the heart telepathy we exchange with our animals is something we’ve been doing all along, so naturally that we don’t recognize it as spiritual practice.
“We already know the language. You don’t need to learn something new. Go to your heart. You’ve got this.” — Tami Hendrix
Once you’re in that presence, you can begin to notice. Does your body feel different near your pet? Does a thought arise that seems to come from them rather than from you? Is there a wordless sense of something being shared between you? These are all forms of communication. You’re already doing it.
If you want to deepen this, Tami suggests including your pet in your life’s conversations, literally speaking to them when something important is changing. Animals, she explained, are like children listening at the top of the stairs. They pick up on everything in the household’s energy. When we directly address them — we’re moving, here’s what’s happening; a new animal is coming, here’s what I need you to know — we honor their awareness and keep the communication channel clear.
A Guided Practice: Receive a Message From Your Animal Right Now
At the end of our conversation, Tami led the Dear Guides community through a live practice. Here’s how to do it yourself, whether you have a living pet you want to connect with more deeply, or a pet who has passed that you’re longing to feel.
Step one: Close your eyes and take a deep breath in. As you exhale, release the stresses and to-do lists you’ve brought into this moment. Let your shoulders drop. You’re safe.
Step two: With your next inhale, drop your awareness into your heart space — the center of your chest. Notice what’s there. Warmth, a pulse, a color, a vibration. Just observe without judgment.
Step three: From that heart space, invite whoever wants to come in. A beloved pet from the past, or the one beside you right now. Let them step forward without forcing it. You may feel a presence, see an image, sense an essence, or simply feel a fullness — an awareness that you are not alone in this space.
Step four: If grief arises, let it be there alongside everything else. Notice what else is present — love, warmth, a familiar energy. The grief and the connection can coexist.
Step five: From your heart to theirs, ask: What is it you want me to know? What is your gift to me? Then listen. Not with your analytical mind. With your heart.
Step six: When the exchange feels complete, offer something back. A feeling of gratitude, a memory, a simple acknowledgment of what they’ve meant to you. Then thank them for coming. Take a breath, and gently return.
Tami’s closing reminder from the episode stayed with me: “You can come back to this space at any time.” This isn’t a one-time experience. It’s a relationship you can continue to tend.
Resources
Learn more about Tami’s work as an animal communicator and soul intuitive here.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you know if you’ve had a past life with your pet? Animal communicator Tami Hendrix describes it as a deep knowing, a sense of resonance with no emotion attached to it, just clarity. You simply recognize the animal as if you’ve known them before, even if you can’t explain it.
Do pets reincarnate after they die? According to Tami Hendrix, pets typically don’t return as an exact replica of their previous soul. Instead, they blend with a newer soul, which is why you may notice familiar qualities in a new animal that remind you strongly of one who has passed.
What are the signs a deceased pet is trying to reach you? Deceased pets can communicate through dreams, songs, a physical sensation of their presence, other animals, or moments of sudden knowing during mundane activities. Tami Hendrix notes that these signs are often so normal we walk right past them.
How can I connect with a pet who has passed? One of the most effective methods Tami Hendrix teaches is writing a letter to your pet by hand. The act of writing bypasses the analytical mind and opens the heart channel, creating space to feel your pet’s presence. You can also sit quietly with a photo and allow yourself to feel the love.
Do pets choose their owners? Yes. Tami Hendrix teaches that animals arrive in our lives at specific juncture points, timed to what we need most for our next stage of soul growth. The connection you feel when you first meet an animal is often confirmation of a soul appointment that was already in place.
How do animals heal us? Animals hold the frequency of unconditional love and act as frequency holders, helping to balance our vibration when we fall out of alignment. They also open the heart, often breaking through emotional defenses we didn’t even know we had.
Can I communicate with my living pet on a soul level? Yes and Tami Hendrix says you already are. The wordless heart telepathy you share with your animal is a form of spiritual communication. The first step is simply being fully present with them, without an agenda, and allowing the connection to come through naturally.
About the Author
Gabrielle Bernstein is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, motivational speaker, and spiritual teacher. She is the host of Dear Guides, a podcast and YouTube show exploring psychic and spiritual connection. Gabby has been featured on The Today Show, Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday, and named “a new thought leader” by Oprah Winfrey. Learn more at gabbybernstein.com.