Ann Hoff shares her personal grief story after saying goodbye to her beloved Rowdy. Ann has long been part of the Pet Perennials family, sharing her insight as an animal communicator and offering comfort through her monthly reflections on grief and the deep bonds we share with animals.
Signs, Songs, and Soul Bonds: Navigating the Loss of a Beloved Horse
There is a difference to losing a pet when you have a connection with your angels and spirit guides. They can bring up things that you don’t readily think of.
The Night Before Goodbye: Messages from Spirit Guides
The night before I transitioned Rowdy, my guide Troubadour started singing the theme to the movie “Goodbye Girl.” “Goodbye doesn’t mean forever. Goodbye doesn’t mean you’ll never be together again. '
Cause, baby, goodbye doesn't mean forever
Let me tell you
Goodbye doesn't mean we'll never be together again
We'll never be together again
If you wake up and I'm not there
I won't be long away
Cause the things you do, my goodbye girl
Will bring me back to you
When Songs Become Signs from the Other Side
What one of my guide’s does is just sing the song in my head until I notice it. For years, if I have what he considers a bad idea, he starts humming the tune to “If I only had a brain” from the Wizard of Oz. It can take me a while before I recognize the song. Then I realize that Troubadour thinks the idea I have is not a good one. It is a great way to get my attention and keep me out of harm.
Last summer, this is the song I had going through my head for weeks.
I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I'll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I'd be without you.
It is a Beach Boys song, which was never particularly a favorite of mine. Olivia Newton John did a version of it, and I think I had that album back in the day. I couldn’t understand why it was going through my head. I hadn’t heard it on the radio, it wasn’t on my playlists, it seemed to show up out of nowhere. So, after I had racked my mind for why it was happening, I asked my guides. Troubadour Immediately spoke up and said it was from the angels to me. He wanted me to know how much I was supported and loved.
I don’t know about you, but I am one of those people who just shrugs off when told I am loved, I don’t always let it in and absorb it. But with Troubadour doing that, I absorbed it. I could feel the love and support the angels had behind me. It was the perfect song for that really. Troubadour can disappear for months at a time and then show back up with a banger like that.
Understanding Pet Loss Through a Spiritual Lens
Once I realized that it was Troubadour singing Goodbye Girl, I focused in. Then the Guides started playing a video in my head, of all the pets I have had and said goodbye to. It had me sitting cross-legged on the floor, cats that I have had coming through and then leaving (For some reason, it was all cats in the video they played) and then coming back in new bodies. It felt like a stream of endless sadness but also exciting new reunions. (If I haven’t told you before, many cats and dogs see getting a new body like us getting a new vehicle- the old one is worn out, and they need an updated version).
The Unbreakable Bond Between Humans and Animals
The video they showed me literally was about a “Goodbye Girl.” That these beings would come into my life, leave because it was their time, and yet always come back again because love called them back to me. Love connects us. Love like that can never be broken. Even when they are in spirit, we are still connected. That is evident.
Do Our Pets Return to Us? A Story of Love Reborn
The guides reminded me that my horse Rowdy had been my horse Apache from before. A horse that I had for fifteen years. Then that being returned as Rowdy. So, in all, he has been with me for 45 years of my life. Most of my entire life! That he of course would return to me in some form and meanwhile stayed connected to me through the bond that we have that is unbreakable. Death is not an end. Death is a transition. It might be the end of the lesson that we were to learn in these bodies, but there is more life ahead. “Goodbye doesn’t mean forever- Goodbye doesn’t mean we’ll never be together again.”
Saying Goodbye to Rowdy: A Transition, Not an End
The night after Rowdy died, Troubadour sang “Danny Boy” all night.
Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying
'tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.
But come you back when summers in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'tis I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.
Grief, Love, and the Promise of Reunion
I looked it up, and it is a common traditional funeral song. Elvis had it sung at his funeral. It makes me wonder if Troubadour is Irish. But it is a song of yearning, of grief and returning. Leave it to the Spirit Guides to be traditional. For some reason, this song is incredibly beautiful, even as sad as it is. It also is again, the promise of return.
“Goodbye my love. Oh, Rowdy boy Oh Rowdy boy I love you so- “
As we say goodbye to beloved companions like Rowdy, we search for ways to honor their presence and the love that never leaves us. At Pet Perennials, we understand that losing a horse or any cherished pet is not just a moment; it’s a lifelong bond that deserves recognition. Thoughtful remembrance gifts, like those created for horse lovers and grieving pet parents, offer a tangible way to hold onto that connection. Because while goodbye is part of the journey, love, just like Rowdy’s, remains forever.
