The best thing we could do for them is always pray for them. Future elements can come from a person's discernment. The souls in the hereafter may feel that they can counsel us, but they cannot tell us what to do. It makes sense, so that we can learn and experience the lessons that the earth has to offer. They would be there to welcome us into the light.
People never come back as animals.
Everything comes back as their own species. They speak of God as being the infinite life and love. They know they've passed on. There's plenty they can do in the hereafter. They have lives over there the way we do here, where they can accomplish, achieve and assist.