That Friendly Animal May Not Be Your Reincarnated Loved One

Ok here’s what I wrote and it will go live tomorrow. Thank you guys!

The world works in mysterious ways, and people can find messages hidden in anything. Grief is painful, and it’s only human nature to look for signs that our loved ones are still with us.

Sometimes we come across animals in our lives that behave oddly, and we can interpret these behaviors as a message from loved ones passed on.

It’s something we’ve seen many times in the world of wildlife rescue: a cardinal with a concussion believed to be a message from a deceased mother, a raccoon with distemper that a widow believed was her husband reincarnated, a crow with West Nile thought to be a message of hope from beyond the grave.

We can’t say with certainty that animals are never messages or symbols. But what we can say for sure is that it is always in the animal’s best interest to seek help when an animal is acting strangely.

If you believe that an animal behaving strangely may be a message of some kind, that’s okay— we’re not here to take away whatever comfort you can find. But we can accept messages and signs from these animals and still seek help for them.

Any time you find an animal that is approaching humans fearlessly, appears dazed or confused, or seems to be having trouble moving, those are often signs of a concussion or an infection of the central nervous system. These animals’ confusion and lethargy are often mistaken for calmness or even friendliness, but it is in the animals best interest to contact help. Please reach out to a qualified rehabilitator if you find an animal behaving strangely.

Please, never play with a wild animal or handle it any longer than is necessary to properly contain it so it can be brought to a rescue. Playing with and touching the animal can cause stress and injury to the critter, and can also end with you getting bitten or scratched. The most serious risk is that the early stages of rabies often seem like friendliness, so you could be exposing yourself to a fatal illness by handling a “friendly” wild animal.

Please honor your lost loved ones by doing the right thing if you find an animal that may be sick or hurt. Perhaps your loved one guided the animal to you knowing that you would help!

By For Fox Sake and our friends at Clevyr Creatures 🦊