Do Animals Leave The Body Before Dying? - Danielle MacKinnon

Do animals leave their body before dying? What happens to their spirit? Animal Communicator, Danielle MacKinnon answers these questions, according to ten of thousands psychic communications with pets.

The Animal Communicator Experience

I’ve been a professional animal communicator for twenty years (not sure what that is? Read What is Animal Communication). In that time, I’ve worked psychically with thousands of people and their beloved pets in all phases of the dying process: from getting ready to cross over to firmly on the Other Side. Right now, you may be worrying, “I think my dog is dying” or “I’m worried my cat is dying and I don’t want her to suffer.” Perhaps you’re thinking about what your beloved pet just went through and you’re wondering if they are OK.

When your fears and worries for your beloved pet take over, it is challenging to experience the death and dying process with your pet. However, through my work as an animal communicator, I’ve learned that the animal death and dying process is quite different (and much more uplifting) than what most people imagine.

Do animals leave the body before dying: The Dying Process Steps

Step 1: Animal Soul Decisions

Animals choose how, when, why, and where as well as WHO will (or won’t) be with them when they cross over. At the deepest level (the soul level) there’s an incredible spirituality to each individual crossing over. Want more videos to help you cope with the grief around losing your pet? Get my free What Your Pet Wants You To Know When They Die Video ManualThe reality is: everything is really already figured out before the crossing even begins!

Step 2: Begin the Separation of Spirit and Body

If you’re still wondering, “Do animals leave the body before dying” you’ll find this step comforting. Regardless of HOW the animal is going to cross over, before passing, the animal starts leaving their body prior to the actual moment of death. It doesn’t matter if the crossing occurs through an “accident,” euthanasia, or a natural passing: the spirit gets a head start. Animals show me psychic pictures to illustrate how their body and spirit are separating and these visuals help the animal’s humans too.

The spirit’s head start means the more disconnected the animal’s spirit is from their body, the less they “feel” through their passing. The spirit is distracted with the separation process between the physical body and the spirit , so there is less connection to the physical body experience.

Step 3: The Energy Surge

It’s a big job for an animal to crossing to the other side and it requires a lot of energy to complete. The last step in the process of the animal soul leaving the body comes through this energy surge. Sometimes, (although not always) the animal spirit needs a bigger push to finally leave the body. That surge can come through an obvious source – like getting run over by a car but it can come through other places as well.

• A physical experience like a seizure
• Euthanasia (the drug itself)
• The seeming “fighting” that can sometimes happen during euthanasia
• The “I’m suddenly totally fine” thing that happens with some animals just before they die

That final energy surge, in whatever form it comes, acts as the last push to separate the animals physical body and spirit.

Animal Souls Leaving the Body

Where do dogs go when they die? For me, knowing that animals aren’t quite all the way when they are about to pass over has been very comforting. In my work I see so much trauma and pain with animals and their humans. It helps to know that they aren’t experiencing their passing the way I have feared they were.

Hopefully it’s helping you too. Want more videos to help you cope with the grief around losing your pet? Get my free What Your Pet Wants You To Know When They Die Video Manual

How Do I Know What Happens to the Animal Soul?

First of all, everything that I’m sharing with you is from the point of view of the animal in my intuitive connections with the animal. This isn’t something I heard somewhere. It isn’t something I read in a book. It isn’t something that some teacher taught me. It’s what the animals have shown me again and again in my connections with them. I can’t give you physical “proof” because I have not died and come back to tell you what it’s all like, I can only tell you what the animals tell me.

The Dying Process

The first thing that you need to know about the soul of an animal is that even when the animal is in their body, during their lifetime, they are very connected to their soul. Their soul comes with them when they embody into this lifetime. When they’ve completed their journey here, (meaning they have completed teaching whatever they came here to teach in their animal bodies) they decide that it’s time to cross over. Yes they decide this! Want more videos to help you cope with the grief around losing your pet? Get my free What Your Pet Wants You To Know When They Die Video Manual

The Decision

When they decide that they’re going to cross over, there’s a whole process that happens because the spirit and the soul need to disconnect from the body. Yes, animal souls leave the body or at least start the process before the actual crossing over happens. Here’s how that physical process occurs. In this physical process we’ve got an animal body and then we’ve got the soul and the spirit enmeshed together. What has to happen is those two need to disconnect so that the physical body can die and the soul and the spirit can continue on as they’re going to continue on.

So what actually starts happening is we’ve got this physical body and the spirit/soul starts to back out of the bum of the animal in order to start releasing from the physical body. When I connect with an animal that is getting ready to cross over, I can see an outline of the spirit part way in the body (depending on how far along in the crossing over process the animal is).

So, funny-enough, the spirit backs out of the bum. You can kind of see this as it goes all the way along. Even right before the animal actually crosses over, you could see often psychically see a little bit of that energy still in the physical body using intuition.

The Push: How the Animal Leaves Their Body Once and For All

Once that spirit actually releases from the body, sometimes this comes with a big energy push. Euthanasia is an example. If you’re getting help from the vet, some animals go through a big resistance. They’ll start freaking out and going crazy. That is the energetic push that is sometimes needed to get the spirit right out of the body. Once the spirit actually does detach from the body, the body can finally, fully die. The spirit is still there, the soul is still there, it’s all intact, but detached.

How Animals Share Their Crossing Over with Animal Communicators

What’s really cool about what happens to the animal soul is what animals show me about the afterward. They often share psychic visuals of looking down from above on the moment of their passing. Maybe I see a person from above, with this kind of hair, a sofa… I’ll describe the scene accurately because the animal had that separation and awareness.

Awareness

You probably started reading this because you were worried, “I think my dog is dying” or “I’m freak out about the dying process for my beloved pet.” And when you’re wondering what happens when the animal leaves their body, it can feel scary. Hopefully this article is helping you fee closer to your pet that is on the Other Side. We are still connected to our animals once they cross over. They’re still watching over us. They’re still aware of us, they’re even right in the moment of crossing seeing what’s going on.

Want to learn how animals feel about the Other Side or how your pet may be sending you signs? Get my free What Your Pet Wants You To Know When They Die Video Manual

Frequently Asked Questions: do animals leave the body before dying?

You might notice your pet becoming more withdrawn or distant… almost like they’re not quite there even when they’re physically present. Some animals will stare off into space or seem less connected to what’s happening around them. This detachment is actually their spirit beginning the separation process from their physical body, and it’s a natural part of crossing over.

No… and this is REALLY important to understand. The separation process isn’t painful for animals. As their spirit disconnects from their body, they actually feel less and less of what’s happening physically. The more separated the spirit becomes, the less connected they are to any physical discomfort or pain their body might be experiencing.

Not always. The energy surge can show up in different ways depending on the animal and situation. Sometimes it’s really obvious (like the “fighting” that can happen during euthanasia, a seizure, or that weird moment when an animal suddenly seems totally fine right before they pass). Other times, the push the spirit needs to fully separate is quieter and way less noticeable to us.

The best thing you can do is stay calm and present with your pet. Animals are incredibly intuitive and pick up on our emotions… so when we’re panicking or deeply distressed, it can actually make the process harder for them. Your peaceful, loving presence (even if you’re sad) helps them feel safe as they go through this natural transition.

Euthanasia doesn’t change the soul-leaving process… it just provides the final energy push needed to complete the separation. The animal’s spirit has already started backing out of the body before the euthanasia happens. The medication itself acts as that last energetic surge to help the spirit fully disconnect from the physical body.

Yes… this is the process animals consistently show in psychic connections, regardless of how they’re crossing over. Whether it’s through euthanasia, a natural passing, or an “accident,” the spirit backs out of the body in the same way. The timing and speed might vary based on the individual animal and situation, but the actual process of separation is pretty much the same.

Animals maintain awareness throughout the crossing process… they just become less connected to the physical experience. Many animals show scenes of looking down from above at the moment of their passing, describing what they see with really accurate detail. Their awareness actually expands beyond their body as their spirit separates, which is why they can often see and describe the entire scene from above.

Some people do pick up on shifts in energy or have intuitive experiences during their pet’s crossing. You might feel a sudden sense of peace, notice a change in the room’s energy, or even “sense” your pet near you but not in their body. These experiences are real and valid… even if you can’t see the spirit separation happening with your physical eyes (and most people can’t).

The separation process starts well before the actual moment of death… and the final detachment happens right at the crossing. Once the physical body dies, the spirit has already completed its separation. The timeline varies for each animal based on their individual journey and what they came here to teach, but the actual final disconnect happens in that last moment.

Talk to your pet out loud or in your mind… they can hear you either way. Let them know it’s OK to go, that you love them, and that you’ll be alright (even if you’re not sure you will be). Your calm, loving energy is the biggest comfort you can offer. Animals are so intuitive that they pick up on your feelings more than your words… so focusing on sending love rather than fear helps them transition peacefully.