I once witnessed the loyalty of a dog who sensed his Master was soon to die, and sat at the foot of the bed whimpering for days before an operation. The dog never left the spot by the bed until he was dragged away.
The story I have talked about is one that is dear to my heart. The man going to have the operation was my father and the dog was our loyal family pet Pipi who lived with my father and adored him. For a few days Pipi cried before my father went into hospital. Dad, sadly, never returned. And somehow his dog knew what none of us would have dared to face.
This was nearly two decades ago. But a while ago, I witnessed more animal intuition and sensitivity. I was feeling worried because someone else close to me was having an operation. I couldn’t eat. At around 6 o’clock my two cats came in for dinner, as they always do. And as usual they were starving and ran inside.
But instead of going to their bowls they came over to where I was sitting by the TV and refused to move. I carried each back to the food. One sniffed and walked away; the other had a few mouthfuls and left the rest. They both returned to the couch and sat by me while I worried, and fussed, and signed and shed tears. At about 9pm I got a call from mutual friends who told me that the operation was a success and my loved one had awoken safely from the aesthetic.
I went and made myself a sandwich. The cats jumped up after me and hungrily ate their food.
Scientific Facts
A vet confirmed this was not magic. It’s the bond shared between Master and pet. Well, not so much in cats cases – as we know dogs have Masters and cats have servants. But there is definitely a wonderful, unconscious connection whereby the animal senses pain, sadness or anxiety and reacts accordingly.
Pets can vibe into us, but also seem to exert a wonderful, unseen power over us. The American Heart Association research has found that a 12-minute visit with a dog or pet helps heart and lung function by lowering blood pressure, diminishing the release of harmful hormones and decreasing anxiety among hospitalised heart-failure patients. Animal-assisted therapy is now being used by a wide range of health professionals and correctional facilities.
Japanese companies have begun giving employees a monthly allowance for their pets, understanding that those who live alone in that difficult city need the love and companionship of an animal to give them emotional nourishment, so that they don’t break down or get sick. With the trend to living alone on the increase, pets are the new children in some countries; and remain our best friends in the rest.
Have you had experiences with psychic pets, or animals so driven by love that they develop an intuitive bond with you? Please share stories of intuitive or psychic pets.
COMMENT BELOW!
Some Fact from The Power of Paws website and also from the excellent article in U.S.News
HOW PETS BENEFIT KIDS AND THE ELDERLY
- Kids 11-16 with pets have better ability to understand non-verbal communications.
- Children exposed to pets during the first year of life have a lower frequency of allergic rhinitis and asthma.
- The presence of a dog during a child’s physical examination decreases their stress.
- Children with autism have more prosocial behaviors, less autistic behaviors such as self-absorption.
- Children who own pets score significantly higher on empathy and prosocial orientation scales than non-owners.
- A Mayo Clinic study finds that seniors with pets have 21% less physician visits.
- Pets help Alzheimers’ patients by bringing them back to the present.
How Dogs Help Veterans Cope with PTSD
Article:
http://stubbydog.org/2011/05/how-a-pit-bull-healed-an-air-force-veteran-and-others-like-them/
Video:
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,671301612001_2030797,00.html
@Solomon, you really sound like a cynic, especially when you said that you dog was “just a dog!”
This same dog that you say was lovely, loyal, and brought your family lots of joy.
I see you are sending mixed messages, and as much as I’m happy you at least saw these qualities in your dog, you also apparently had unrealistically high expectations from believing that your dog by breed was supposed to be super intelligent, and perhaps you didn’t get to see how special dogs are.
Just because you haven’t experienced, or should I say, been receptive to all the times the your “just a dog” exhibited these qualities, doesn’t mean that your “just a dog” didn’t!
All my dogs have displayed these attributes when I have been sick, injured, depressed, grieving, and also on the other end of the scale, happy, excited, in love, and so on.
BTW, dog obedience is best achieved from a calm, assertive, well grounded individual/individuals (balanced).
….Do you ever wonder why that is?
I agree with your second guess, too bright. I have warned the kids that when Toffee, note the word,”when”, decides to vomit on my computer, she will be promptly sold for free to any interested parties. My kids have said they would promptly disown me if ever I seriously did such a thing. So I’m thinking that if Toffee knows what’s good for her, she’ll vomit on one of their computers. Then we’ll see who are the noble and compassionate ones!!!
I think animals have a better handle on their intuition than human’s do. My dogs seem to know when I am coming home. Even when I’m five minutes away in the car, my husband says. They go to the door and wag their tales and bark when I’m still miles away so it isn’t the sound of the engine, just instinct.
You are too funny. My cats only vomit on my Persian rugs! I have lots of rugs on the floor and none of them are expensive except my two Persian rugs that were purchased at great expense. Why they do it is a mystery. Certainly there is nothing that would visually distinguish the rugs, so I can’t imagine what makes them want to go to my best ones. They may be psychic but they certainly aren’t too bright, or maybe they are too bright and simply like the attention, even negative attention, they get from targeting my favourite things.
Lived with pets all my life. Can’t imagine life without them. But this psychic thing is something I haven’t experienced. My dog believes I am another dog and hides her bone thingy whenever I come near and my cat just knows ‘psychically’ which of my notes she should vomit on; the important ones, naturally. Or my bedsheets, if notes have been stashed away.
Huge amounts of love, often bigger than human love , but understanding complexity of human emotion? Not a believer, I’m afraid.
Thank you for the compliment about my website, and yes I didn’t even tell that story of trying to bath the cats. I have to because they are Persians and all the fleas get caught in their fur. But I only have to think to myself that it’s time…. and there is such carry on, as to really not be believed! So you are making me laugh a lot because no one without a pet would believe how pets can read minds, and know when to hide under the bed.
My dogs know if I just think about giving them a bath. One will run and hide under my bed upstairs and the other, smarter one, knowing there is not escape sits and starts to shake uncontrollably. I swear, I only have to think it. And I can’t fake it either. I’ve tried to show it to friends who don’t believe me and it doesn’t work unless I am ACTUALLY going to bath them.
Website looks FAB…
I have had a golden retriever – labrador cross and they are supposed to be the super intelligent dogs. Go figure because mine was just a dog, lovely, loyal and brought my family lots of joy indeed. But just a dog. To go to the extent you guys have gone to is ludicrous but hey, enjoy your discussion.
My partner says the dog wasn’t eating.
As Fergie asks, have you ever owned a pet?
This one makes me laugh. When my teenager is having one of her turns, our cats certainly can’t calm her down. Can we borrow your pets?
Where would they go? If they go on to the street they will only be more abused, or end up in the pound. Sounds like a lot of abused children doesn’t it. But that’s another blog at another time.
Yes I get Depression. My cat comes and lies on my bed each night. When I am feel very low I drag him to my pillow. He likes this and purrs loudly on and off all night, and I can’t tell you how much comfort that sound, and stroking his soft body, gives me.
Hi Meredith, just got a challenging email from Solomon below, can you answer him. He says we are all mad, and that you wouldn’t know if your dog didn’t eat while you were sick because you were probably asleep most of the time. Can you reply?
What a dreadful cynic that Solomon is. That’s why I would rather be with my cats and dog that with human beings. I wonder if he has even owned a pet.
Hey Ruth I am following on to this. I wonder if you guys are making all this up. Pets need feeding. If you are sick they will hover about until you get up and throw them a bone. I don’t believe the woman who talked about the dog not eating while she was sick. She was probably asleep most of the time if she had the flu. As for your daft story of your cats, how do you know they didn’t eat mice before they came home? This post is sadly lacking in facts. BTW I don’t go into the pets and health story either. Any one or anything giving attention improves your wellbeing if you are alone sick or sad. To put it down to pets is just generalising to another ridiculous extent
Have a loyal dog and now know what love is. Happier with dogs than people. I trust animals more.
Yes could tell countless stories of how our variety of family dogs and two guinea pigs helped our kids as they were growing up. They give so much love that it is a healing process, but strangely they know when to go to someone when they are crying and when they are distressed, or even when they are being naughty and need to be calmed down.
I used to have a complete phobia about cats. i was allergic to them and also they scared me because as a child my mother used to tell me they were vicious and to be wary of cats. Funny how we listen despite evidence to the contrary. After my divorce my wife got cats, and I would have to go to the house to be with our sons. Well blow me down, if I didn’t end up falling in love and now I go over whenever I can to lay with them on the floor and be soothed. I don’t know how it happened. Their purring seduced me, or maybe it was how gentle they were. I also find my allergy has gone… now that’s weird science.
You know me Ruth, I’ve written to you lots of times before. I’m the daughter of a vet, and I can tell you that it is not weird science that we are talking about. The issue of intuitive pets is a complete fact. Take the dog who could sniff out cancer. I have seen countless experiences of animals with such talents as to defy description. My only sadness having also seen a lot of abused pets, is why they don’t listen to themselves and run away from people who would harm them.
I have a Doberman and she is very switched on to my moods. But more than that when I’m with her I feel so much more calm. I suffer from depression and it’s quite amazing how being with her puts things into a different context. I was going to say perspective, but depression ever allows for that. But it does allow for feelings of being loved and respected which helps the process of getting better. Thanks for writing this
This is your best post to date! I am a fan Ruth but I love this topic. Who hasn’t got a story of an animal who has sensed everything – when they come home, when they are sad. My Bessy is unbelievable. She knew that I was sick in bed recently and never left the room. Not even to eat. I am so indebted to that creature and feel so blessed to have experienced life with a pet.