Anyone exploring the field of life after death, will sooner or later ask the question whether the afterlife is limited to humans. Christian tradition usually holds that it is; although members of animal species would possess a soul, this would be a mortal soul. As far as I know, Kim Sheridan is one of the main contemporary authors who seriously challenge this view. She uses a wide range of spontaneous experiences of people who lost a beloved pet. In this respect, her book strongly resembles the work by the Guggenheims about spontaneous types of postmortem contact with human spirits. It is remarkable how many experiences with animal souls have been reported, ranging from telepathic messages and apparitions to stories about reincarnation. The sympathetic author has placed these against the background of her own experiences, which greatly enhances the liveliness of her book.
Chapter 7 is dedicated to Near-Death Experiences in animals. The author claims that some animals that were close to death sometimes show personality changes that remind one of the transformation in human NDE-ers. They appear to radiate a deep peace and are much more loving than they used to be, even if they had behavioral problems before the NDE.
She also gives attention to NDEs in which deceased pets play a prominent role. Such as Obie, the cat of Shelley Nunemaker that was accompanied by people in whites robes (p. 89).
Karen Young observed how her dying cat Strawberry Shortcake spiritually left her body. She saw two smiling persons opening a doorway with sunlight and a lot of activity beyond it. Strawberry ran toward the doorway after looking back at her dead body (p. 194).
Shortly before her horse Ella passed away, Tracey Pollard from England had a detailled panoramic vision of Ella's life.
'It flashed past in an instant buy she felt that both Ella and she experienced it. It was extremely moving' (p. 334).
One of the experiences that impressed me the most is the case of Daisy (p. 223). Daisy was a neglected dog that was always tied up and she had to guard the gate. When her owner went on a trip, he asked Regina Fetrat to take care of Daisy for a while. Regina bathed her and gave her a good time. Years later, when Regina had lost all contact to Daisy or her owner, she dreamed that the dog thanked her for the good time they had spent together. During the following week, Regina felt the urge to call her owner. He told her that Daisy had passed away the week before.
Animals and the Afterlife puts the controversial topic of an immortal animal soul on a higher level by the author's thorough, intelligent approach.
Kim Sheridan defends the notion of the survival of an individual animal soul (rather than a fusion into an impersonal group soul).
Furthermore, in the last chapters Sheridan explores the general consequences of her findings for our perspective on animals. She also mentions some remarkable recent discoveries from mainstream animal psychology and advocates a much more respectful attitude to animals, that is expressed among other things in a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
Warmly recommended!

My wife and I lost our beloved dog of 12 years, who was like a child to us, and needless to say, we were devastated. I got down on my knees and prayed to God for help with the overwhelming grief, and in a very miraculous way, we were guided to this incredible book, which has given us so much comfort. Then, just recently, my sister-in-law lost her cat quite suddenly and called us for support. So I suggested she get this book. She then called me back and said she didn't order it because there was a review on Amazon.com (December 24, 2005) that warned not to get the book because it was New Age and not Judeo-Christian. We are Christians, so I just had to see it for myself. When I read the review, I just felt sorry for the person who wrote it. They obviously didn't actually read the whole book. Not only did they deprive themselves of the comfort in the book, but now that review is depriving others of that comfort as well. It is completely unfair and unethical to write a review for a book without reading the whole book. I can tell from the review that the person only read the very beginning of the book and didn't read the other 300+ pages. The reviewer said the book goes on and on about the author's gifts of dreams that tell the future, but she actually only spent a few pages on that (at the most) in the very first chapter, as part of the background for the author's life leading up to the book. The author even talked about asking her pastor about her experiences when they happened as a child. There's nothing un-Christian about that. The author also talked about being raised Christian, about her pastor's views on the subject, and many other things that contradict what that reviewer said. The reviewer also said the author talked about telepathic animal communication, and this is true, the book did cover this topic, but there is nothing anti-religious about this either. The author even discussed saints, including St. Francis (who in fact communicated telepathically with animals himself), although that reviewer obviously didn't read far enough in the book to know any of that. It's clear that as soon as the author, early on, briefly mentioned the topic of animal reincarnation (animals returning from Heaven to be with their beloved humans again), that reviewer got scared and thought the book was New Age or somehow evil. Nothing could be further from the truth. The book actually can't be put under any label. It's simply a heartfelt book that will help anyone who reads it, regardless of their religion. It contains so much amazing information, so many incredible stories, so much indisputable evidence, and so much valuable advice for those in grief (there's a whole chapter devoted specifically to grief). So I encourage anyone who has lost a beloved animal to read the book, the whole book, and open your heart to the knowledge and the comfort found in its pages.