It is a known fact that humans outlive their dogs, cats or other pets. So when a pet dies, many of us are overcome with great grief. Some of us move on quickly and get ourselves another animal, while some others can never let go of the sadness of having lost the little one. I, for one, absolutely cannot imagine how my life will be once my pet dies. I shudder even at the thought of it. Most of us try not to think of the future in this case and only live in the moment. But what if that pet comes back after its death, only to comfort or to protect you? This is not a completely ridiculous thought as there have been many instances worldwide, of the ghosts of cats, dogs and sometimes even horses or birds returning to their masters for a brief period of time.
It might be said that animals do not have an afterlife, for they do not have souls. Yet the people who have seen the spirits of their deceased pets will swear that is not so. Two theories have been formulated to explain the cause of the appearance of these spirits. As per the first theory, when a master is deeply saddened and continuously mourns for his animal, its spirit too remains unhappy and comes back to comfort its master and to assure him of its well being in the next life. The second theory says that we give the pet, through our love and devotion, a “spirit” which is created from the energy of all our emotions concerning that pet and our wish to see it again. But the ghosts do not stay around for long. They leave once we have come to terms with their death and depart after saying goodbye in their own way.
Not all who experience such ghosts see apparitions of theirs. Some people might see the apparitions of their pet while some others might hear the sounds it makes and even others may smell it or feel its touch. Many times these animals continue to do the things they used to on a routine basis, even after their death. For example: sleeping in the bed, playing with a toy etc. Mostly, these are friendly spirits which only want to comfort or protect people. But very rarely there might be an evil presence at play somewhere in the situation. The most common animals to be seen in this type of haunting are black dogs, black cats, rabbits, goats and other small black rodent-like animals. Let us go through a few famous sightings of ghosts of animals.
1. Cat of Washington D.C.
People refer to this cat as the demon cat or D.C. Apparently, it haunts the United States Capitol building. The story of the Demon Cat dates back to the days when cats were brought into the basement tunnels of the Capitol buildings to kill rats. Legend states that the Demon Cat is one who never left. This black feline is said to have glowing eyes and emerges out of the shadows, continuing to grow to the size of a tiger. It has been spotted before presidential elections and disasters like the stock market crash of 1929 and the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.
2. Preston, the dog
A neighborhood in Nashville is said to be haunted the ghost of a friendly dog on every Halloween day. It is said that this boxer always accompanied trick-or-treaters on Halloween. One such time, a little boy was picking up candy that fell down in the middle of the road. A fast approaching car would have hit the boy but Preston lunged forward and pushed the boy away. Instead of the boy, Preston got hit by the car. Surprisingly, his body was never found. To this day the trick-or-treaters feel like they have been gently bumped on to the sidewalk if they step on to the road.
3. Phantom horses
Gettysburg is nicknamed as the ‘town of ghosts’. It has a history of battles. Till date people claim to see the ghosts of horses with their riders. Some other have just heard the sounds of their hooves or have just felt them pass by. Even live horses are fearful of going on some of the roads that are haunted.
Also the Hollenberg station in Kansas, the only one among the many ruined stations of the no longer functioning Pony Express, is claimed to be haunted. Many cold spots are found at the station and people regularly hear the horses galloping by.
These are a few of the animal spirits that have been seen by numerous people. But there are ghosts of pets that have been seen or felt only by their masters or the descendants of those masters. In such cases, instead of fearing the ghosts the people have taken comfort in the company of their departed pets. They have even spoken to them and given them messages. Never has it occurred that such ghosts have caused any harm to their owners. They have only made their presence felt and left without causing disaster or torment.