http://www.care2.com/greenliving/do-animals-remember-us.html
Do Animals Remember Us?
There are dogs and cats, and then there are Sam Phinneys. You animal lovers know what I mean. When you look into their eyes, something special looks back at you. Yes, all animals are special, and I believe they all have souls. But Sam Phinneys have old souls. Perhaps they have more wisdom or intelligence, or maybe they are even our pet soul mates. I don’t know which, if any, it is, but I’d like to tell you about my Sam Phinney.
Sam was a Chow Chow. Chows are often misunderstood, because some are temperamental. But I’ve always liked them–especially Sam. Sam’s guardian, Mike, did business next door to my veterinary office. Mike would go do his errands, and Sam would stand outside our glass front door with his joyful tail-wagging, until someone would notice him and let him in. Sam loved everyone, and I mean everyone. He would visit with all of us — clients, other patients, staff, docs — until Mike was finished and ready to leave. He was the hit of the office.
I sold that practice to go back to school for advanced training. A couple of years went by, and I was having a typical neurology resident kind of day — crazy busy. As I was walking through the treatment room at my normal fast pace, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a Chow on a gurney. I heard someone say he had been hit by a car. He had a doc and plenty of caring students all around him, so there was no need for an extra pair of hands. I kept walking until I spotted a small tail wag. I about tripped over myself when I stopped dead in my tracks. Sam? Is that you? The tail went nuts. Sam had recognized me. And what’s more amazing is that even in his pain, Sam showed us what animals are really about. Love. They express it unconditionally, in bad and good times. Perhaps there’s a lesson there.
Oh, by the way, Sam made a complete recovery. No car was going to rain on his parade.
Dr. Susan Wagner is a board certified veterinary neurologist whose pioneering work acknowledges the bioenergetic interaction between people and animals. She is an advocate for change in the area of interpersonal violence and animal cruelty, and works toward a greater understanding surrounding the health implications of the human-animal bond.
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39 comments
add your comment »Sanja,
I couldn't agree more. We humans should take note of what true devotion and love means as animals express it well. All they require is a little loving care and they never forget that. Their hearts are forever grateful.
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What a beautiful story...u brought tears to my eyes!!!
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Humans should learn from animals what "love and devotion" means.
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Friends of ours have our dog's litter sister (they were rescues). They moved to Japan for two years and only recently returned. One of the couple came by to visit and our dog went nuts 'saying hello'. It was obvious that he recognized this person (and his sister's scent) when he hadn't seen him in actually over two years. Don't tell me dogs are not intelligent (even when they don't want to act intelligently).
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Loved this story, I have two dogs myself and there is nothing better than their unconditional love
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such a sweet story.
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John,
Often, the only way into a heart is that it be broken first.
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I can tell by these blogs that the good Doctor is "preaching to the choir". By taking the time to be in tune with our companions of another species, we`ll discover many worthwhile traits of character. You guys are breaking my heart though....
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refusing to leave my side ,and when i had got up to accept a drink he was in between my feet the whole time tripping me & when i sat down he jumped in my lap & got in my face ,so i looked in his mouth it see if he had a broken fang , the one lady started crying because she knew he was my cat ,& she asked me not to take him because she loved him very much . which was evident b/c he looked exactly the same , so with a heavy heart i told her i did not plan on it b/c he looked happy & healthy , really i was just glad to see him alive and well , it was really hard leaving him there , but his life had changed and they really did love him & it showed
anyway the story doesn't turn out to be a good one ! my older son told me kevin had died , & since he was 18 yr old i just thought it was his time , well i had met the ladies once again and they told me after i had left Cle- Cle as they called him , had pushed his limits with going longer distance away from their home & was hit by a car, i was shocked & didn't let on that i didn't know , in my heart i know he was trying to go home & he was a lost soul .... i do plan on visiting his grave & placing flowers there Kevin touched my soul & i will always love him forever , until we meet again REST COMFORTABLY MY SWEET BABY
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i too have a story for people who question the fact of animals remembering .
i had a ragdoll siamese cat named kevin , he was beautiful!
we moved into a new house 10 years ago , and brought him with us , after a couple of months he had disappeared from in front of my house , i called him for months , heartbroken , i had decided he will never be seen again !
my oldest son met two ladies who lived 2 blocks away from us , and they were in the process of moving , so he decided to help them , anyway when he had eventually went in their new house after about a couple of weeks , which was across town , he noticed their cat which they called cleo , he said to the ladies , he used to have a cat that looked alot like theirs , and he got lost 8 years earlier , after our move , he told the ladies he wanted them to meet me , his mom
i did eventually meet the 2 ladies , and their cat cleo ,after a long talk with them , they told me their old landlord said the cat must be a stray because it was hanging around for days and he told them they could take him in , and they did .
well when they first got him they thought he was a female because he did not have any testicles,so they called him Cleopatra , and after an examination with the vet Cleopatra was shortened to Cleo ,as i was sitting there in this conversation Kevin was by my side the whole time , leaning against me and cooing as he had always done before with me , he was speaking in low tones , refusing to leave my side , and when
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