When Charlie’s master, John, passes from this Earth, this loyal and beautiful doe-eyed kitty-cat sits at the window each day, awaiting his return home.

Deena, John’s long time girlfriend, recalls her sweetheart, John, and his loyal female cat named Charlie:

John

“John always had a love for animals. When his father died, John left grammar school to become a farmer, which he did for the next 20 years of his life. During his farming career, he had several run ins with the local policeman who kept telling him not to keep the tractor running as he kept jumping on and off of it, because it was against the law to do so. One day, this policeman told John that he would make a good policeman. Soon after, John quit the farm and joined the police Academy where he was a very good police officer for 31 years! John was one in a million.”

“To demonstrate this, during his time as a police officer, John became part of a murder hunt, while in plain clothes. Grantham hospital had privately called in the police because of a spike of children’s deaths on a particular ward. With John’s help, they caught killer, Beverley Allitt, who has shown no remorse for killing then… or since. She is known as one of the world’s most infamous woman serial killers. This nurse/killer was responsible for the deaths, attempted deaths and harm to children under her care at Grantham hospital. Beverley became known as the “Angel of death.” John was rewarded along with others for catching her and working on this complex case.”

“When he retired from the police force, I met John while in Asda, a retail store in England. We became a couple in a whirlwind relationship. He loved the great outdoors. Taught me a lot about birds, wildlife animals and such. It was a special, wonderful world he opened up to me. I miss it so much!”

Charlie the cat

“I love cats! Charlie came into our lives due to the sudden death of my first silver kitten, Nokie. She was born with a brain disorder and died at 6 months old. I was devastated! John looked for another and we found Charlie. Charlie was just a little kitten called, “Tara” from nearly an all boy litter. She refused to accept her name. One day I was talking to my mother about Charlie Sheen being fired from the show, “Two and a half men.” Every time I said Charlie, she meowed. I said Charlie, she said, “meow.” I said Sheen, no meow. So I said, “Do you want to be called Charlie?” She said, “meow.” And this… is how she came to be Charlie, and not Tara.”

“John started training Charlie to walk on a leash. She loved it. He played favorites with her. Sometimes I caught him nuzzling her against his face as she licked him. He was daft with her. When we went out with her, he used to let her get up trees. And John followed her up them, too. It was always John who fed her, she wouldn’t let me. At bedtime, Charlie slept around his head. John used to say that Charlie was always talking to him. And… that there were other times that she was making demands. When I asked him how he knew the difference? He said, ” “When her meow is short, it’s a demand. When it’s long, she’s just chatting!” And then, he would go back to stroking her. I asked him, “What’s the mid-range meow?” He tapped his nose saying, “That’s between Charlie and me!”

John and Charlie

Charlie always waited at the window for John to come home from work or wherever he had gone. When he was home, he read books as she was resting against his head. When watching “Game of Thrones”, she was in his lap. They were hardly ever apart.”

Charlie waiting by the window

“So you can see she was already waiting at various times for him while he was alive. When he died last year, right before Christmas, Charlie lost her will. She never left his pillow. She lost her fur. She stopped eating. Charlie was in a bad way. But all of a sudden, Charlie started waiting at the window again, and has been ever since. I wonder if a loved pet can sense when a spirit visits?”

“When she leaves the window, she goes to sit in his favorite chair, as if he is sitting in it. It’s now almost a year since his passing. We still miss him badly. Oh, he also loved crosswords. And quiz shows. He was obsessed with keeping his mind sharp. He wasn’t keen on dogs. Always cats. Always Charlie! And her, him!”

“I cry as I look at his photo. I really miss him. Jade, I never told you that I have a sleeping problem that sometimes stops me breathing. John used to shake me awake. This year it is weird but I still get shaken awake in exactly the same way as he used to do it. The cats jump on me, not shake me. It’s happened at least 17 times this year. Strange!”

The light

“This image was taken one night when John was sleeping. When I woke up, this strange light was already there. I took a few pictures of it on John’s iphone. Although this looks like sunlight, it was approximately 3 in the morning and pitch black outside. I didn’t use a flash because I didn’t want to risk waking John, since he had a lot of pain in his body that kept him from sleeping well.”

“The light seen is in the direction of the TV. But it was off. Even in broad daylight and the television on, that light on the corner of the wardrobe has never before or since ever happened again. Nor any other lights. After John saw this image he experimented with torches, lights, even waited up at dawn for the sun to come up but it never happened again. Plus, the fact he claims it would make more sense for the wardrobe mirror to light up instead of a non-reflective surface like that. This strange light has never appeared since that night.”

3 green orbs

One green orb

Commentary- Indeed, Deena, animals are very sensitive to spirits and when they are around. Many times they will even stare into thin air as though they are looking at someone or something that most humans can’t detect. But sometimes, a camera or video cam aimed in the direction of where the pet animal’s gaze is fixed upon, can capture images (many times orbs) that can then be seen by the human eye. It’s certainly worth a try. Deena was able to capture them, but in this case she was awakened when she saw this light. If you look at these 3 images, besides seeing the light and that the positioning of the orbs have changed from one photo to the next, you can even see halos around some of the orbs.

Charlie

It’s clear that John and Charlie bonded right from the beginning, as she spent most of her time with him. John taught her to walk on a leash. He spent great amounts of time nurturing her and being a human cat warmer. It’s no wonder that Charlie would go through such grief.

Many people share the belief that animals don’t grieve, but that the feelings of grief are only those we place upon them. But this is not true. Many animals are known to experience grief in some form or another when there is loss; whether it is that of their animal companions, or that of their human companions. 

In her book, “How Animals Grieve”, Barbara J. King makes this case as she lays out her evidence for the many animals that she has found to do so; elephants, gorillas, dolphins, horses, cats, dogs, birds, rabbits and so on. These stories are heart-breaking as even these animals don’t escape the painful clutches of grief. You see, animals love and develop close bonds too. Like us, it is because of this love and bonding that they grieve. Having developed such attachments, they miss and long for their loved ones, too. 

Our pet animals also grieve the loss of their human companions. And as you can tell from Deena’s story, they can become depressed, stressed out so much that they lose their hair, lose their appetites and lose interest in life because they’ve lost their loved one. You see, these are just some of the many ways animals mourn their loss. When an animal is grieving, make sure they know they are loved and cared for by giving them human contact and reassurance. Like humans, their grief is a process. At some point they will heal their loss.

Charlie by the window

When John first passed, Charlie would not move from his pillow. Naturally, Deena was concerned over this and feared for Charlie’s health and will to live. But now, Charlie has a pattern of waiting in the window during the day, for John to come home. Then, later, at the time John would be home reading or watching the TV, Charlie moves to John’s favorite chair. And according to Deena… it is just as though Charlie is sitting in John’s lap. And… she probably is!

Charlie sleeping on John’s quilt

Charlie refuses to sleep on anything but the quilt John gave her, and on John’s pillow when she sleeps at night. It is just like John comes and stays for extended visits. Sometimes, Charlie even watches something invisible in the doorway. Animals are ultra sensitive to spirit activity and can alert us when someone we can’t see is around. They are privy to a higher level of psychic information and communication.

If you look at the series of the 3 photos above, you will see the bright light coming in through the curtains and some random areas lit up around the room. But… that’s not all. You will also see what looks like one to three separate green orbs located in different places above it. For sure these are some sort of spirit entities. Were they there to signal John’s departure? Only they know, but he passed just a short time after their appearance.

It is also interesting to note that when John was still living, he would always feed the cats their food. Since his passing, there have been numerous times that the cat bowls have disappeared. Sometimes they would reappear again. Deena has found them in some strange places.

I would definitely say that John visits often to comfort his two very special girls, Deena… and Charlie; one human and one animal, by letting them know that he is still with them, and always around.

To read more posts on grief and ways to deal with it, click here.