I had gone to St. Mary's to consult some rare books about my favorite girl. What a wonderful library! Y'know those massive, over-stuffed, ultra-ultra-ultra-soft leather chairs -- the kind you might see in some veddy exclusive British club where a waiter hands you port and the Sunday Times? My capacious hindquarters spent the day parked in one of those.
All in all, this was a very civilized way to spend the day. St. Mary's had me thinking that I'd make a good priest -- if I could just, y'know, get past the bit about having to believe in the supernatural.
Then I came back home, turned on the 'puter -- and guess what? The world keeps finding new routes to Hell.
Must we always think about such things?
No. Not always. Instead, think about this.
That story will make your eyes moisten. It may even have you believing in the supernatural.
It's all-natural, not supernatural. Of course, my canine's breed, the dachshund, is known for simply chowing down on its deceased human, but they are very loving and devoted to their living companions.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on the beautiful Maryland site. 'i've been doing similar healing viewing...visiting a site whose motto is "design will save the world."
So what's the all-natural explanation for how that dog found that grave? My dog, bless her, can't even find her favorite chew toy when it's two feet away from her.
ReplyDeleteAwwww! Gorgeous story - and it's life follwoing art.... following life........:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby
Well, I'm guessing by smell. Everyone immediately thinks of scent hounds who track by ground, but there are airborne scents as well. There are many stories of dogs tracking their human companions over multiple miles, and even multiple years. Bella looks more like a herding breed...some breeds are tracker/hunters.
ReplyDeleteTheir hearing is keen, too and they can distinguish specific vehicles from far away.
As for comprehending the concept of death, well, elephants hold funerals. Animals comprehend many more things than they can communicate to us. The one that gets me is the concept of name. If our animal companions understand the concept of having a name, I wonder if they have unique names for each other on their own?
My dog can hear my vehicle from a distance. But smelling my corpse after it has been placed in a box six feet under? Nah. No sniffer on the planet works THAT well.
ReplyDeleteI can't dismiss the many "incredible journey" stories of dogs that crossed long distances to reunite with their humans. Something extra-sensory seems to be going on. By "extra-sensory," I don't necessarily mean paranormal: Present science may not be able to explain such events well, but future science surely will.
It's telepathy and telepathy=love in both animals and humans, or maybe I should say in both two- and four-legged animals.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading about an experiment involving a mother and son. They were on separate floors, maybe in separate buildings, but both hooked up to all the usual measuring gadgets--blood pressure, brain activity etc.
Then one would be given, say, a math problem to solve, causing a rise in his or her blood pressure--and the other's blood pressure would spike at the same time.
More on dogs' super, ultra, or all-natural senses. Maybe dogs have a sort of GPS we don't understand. L'Engle proposed that on a molecular level in her Wrinkle in Time series.
ReplyDeleteI've been taking my mom to doctors appointments this year. I usually take the dog and walk him around the grounds before camping out in the waiting room/s. Today we were going to one of the offices we'd only been to only once before, months ago, and mom was unsure of the final left turn. My doxie started whining about a half a block from the turn and I said this must be it. Mom insisted it was the next turn, and so I went on...and on...and finally said, I trust the dog, and turned back.
Of course, the dachshund was spot on.
He used to do this all the time in Boston, whining whenever we were within a block of the Amtrak station, where we often picked up my son. Everyone knows animals have an inner clock...maybe they have a kind of inner GPS system, too.