Why is taking refuge also arranged during deliverance rites for pets?

Taking refuge is arranged in the hope that a pet will come to know the deities and Buddhas guiding it, and understand whom it can follow and where it can go next. We treat pets as family, so just as we would make arrangements for a person, we consider their onward path.

In my early years, a friend asked whether I could do anything for a pet that had died. I thought that when relatives or friends die, we ask the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to help with deliverance, recite scriptures, and dedicate merit. Perhaps we could try helping pets in the same way. But thinking a step further, if a pet had no faith and did not know the deities and Buddhas coming to guide it, how would it know to follow them?

So I then asked the Bodhisattva whether we could arrange for pets to take refuge. In our faith, this rite establishes a connection with Guanyin Bodhisattva, Amitabha Buddha, and others. A pet originally knows its owner. We now also introduce it to the deities and Buddhas, so that it knows there is someone to guide and care for it and has a direction for what comes next.

It is generally easier to introduce a pet to the deities and Buddhas while it is alive. In principle, taking refuge can also be considered after death, but it still depends on the pet's condition and whether we can make a connection and ask for divine help. I cannot guarantee this beforehand. Incomplete information does not necessarily mean nothing can be done. You can first explain the relationship between the owner and pet and provide photographs, names, and other details you have, then find out how to proceed.

Dao Shun's dog Haku took refuge while alive, died about two weeks later, and then received deliverance rites. Dao Shun later dreamed of Haku. His wife first shared the story, and Dao Shun later added his own account. These were two accounts of the same dream, not two separate cases. He found comfort in the dream, and I was moved too. But I have explicitly said that we cannot promise clients they will dream of their pets after a ritual. Missing them and grieving take time. If you want to understand your pet's condition, you can first ask and then see what help might be possible.