“ARE PETS PSYCHIC?” > Page 1, 2
The Sense of Direction
The stories about animals that have made long, sometime arduous journeys to be reunited with their owners are some of the most incredible and compelling cases for unexplained animal powers.
Before Sheldrake gets to that, however, this section of the book also includes the migratory habits of birds and other animals - species that have been following the same travel patterns for hundreds or even thousands of years. Science regards this as instinctual behavior (what is instinct anyway?) that is aided by visual cues in the form of landmarks, the position of the sun and possibly the stars, odor clues carried by prevailing winds and water, and possibly even the subtleties of the earth's magnetic field that these animals can "feel."
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| In his 300-plus-page book, Rupert Sheldrake provides extensive years of research on the subject of the mysterious powers of animals, plus dozens of fascinating accounts from pet owners. |
The book contains several anecdotes about animals that can sense when they are nearing their homes when returning from trips. But can't these be explained by the animals seeing familiar landmarks, smelling familiar smells, and even picking up on the changes in behavior of their owners as they near home?
It's those long journeys home and even to unfamiliar places by pets - on their own - that are most intriguing, and Sheldrake provides several examples in his book, including this remarkable tale:
My father-in-law had a small farm and on it he kept a watchdog, Sultan. One day my father-in-law became ill and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. A few days later he died and then he was buried in the local graveyard, five kilometers from the farm. Several weeks after the burial the dog was not seen for days. This seemed strange to us, as Sultan never used to stray. But we did not make much of it, until one Sunday a former employee came along, who lived near the graveyard. She told us: "Imagine, when I went across the graveyard the other day, Sultan lay at your family grave." I cannot fathom how he could have found the way all these five kilometers. There were no footprints of his former master that he could follow. And he had never been taken to the graveyard, not even to the fields, since he had to keep watch at the house. How is it possible that he found his master's grave?
Animal Premonitions
In this section of the book, Sheldrake explores the possibility that some animals can forewarn us of events that are about to occur. Most common, perhaps are pets that seem to know when their owners are about to have epileptic seizures. Epilepsy, explained in the simplest terms, is a kind of temporary short circuit in the victim's brain, resulting in convulsions, labored breathing and sometimes blackouts. Is it a real premonition the pet is having before the onset of such a seizure, or is it supersensitive to slight muscle tremors, subtle changes in behavior or emitted odors that even the victim is not aware of minutes before the seizure takes hold? Sheldrake notes that pet dogs, cats and even rabbits can be sensitive to the event.
Sheldrake wonders if animals are sensitive to other diseases as well. He offers some anecdotal evidence that could suggest that some pets have warned diabetics when their blood sugar was low, and also stories of pets that seem to know where cancerous spots are on their owners, long before the diagnosis is made.
Mentioned earlier is the ability of some animals to "know" when an earthquake is about to occur. Before the quake actually starts, rats and snakes have been seen fleeing their burrows, horses and other farm animals become agitated, and birds fly away from the scene in great flocks. Again, this is almost certainly a case of supersensitivity to the environment rather than true precognition. The animal senses subtle vibrations, odors and electric and magnetic emissions resulting from the stresses within the earth.
Much harder to explain, however, are incidents in which the pet truly seems to have foreknowledge of some disastrous event - an event for which there can be so sensory cues to pick up on. Sheldrake includes several interesting examples, including this one:
One morning my dog, Toby, tried to stop me going out of the front door. He barged against me, leaned on the door, jumped up at me, and pushed me. He is normally a quiet, loving dog and knows my routine; I would have been back within four hours. I had to lock him in the kitchen and left him howling, something he has never done before or since. I set off at 7:30 a.m. and by 9:40 a.m. I was involved in a horrific traffic accident resulting in a fractures neck and right arm, and many other injuries. In the future, I'll listen to Toby.
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