I was reminded recently of how much our animals can really sense of the world around us – some of which we may not fully understand.
I read stories all the time about dogs that can help diabetes patients and even alert epileptic people when a seizure is coming on.
That kind of knowing – that kind of innate sense – is a remarkable trait to have.
I was talking to a gentleman recently who told me a story that further cemented my belief that animals have amazing abilities.
He said growing up he had a sheltie. Great dog. Smart dog (as shelties tend to be). He said this dog was incredibly attached to his father.
Tragically, his father passed away in a car accident. The day that this happened, that sheltie – even though the dog was miles and miles away from where the accident occurred – suddenly stood up, walked out into their yard and sat down under the big tree there.
And wouldn’t move.
This was a tree where the gentleman’s father would sit with the dog and play and scratch, and somehow that sheltie must have known something had happened. Did the dog sense the spirit passing? When it happened, did the spirit of the man’s father actually stop by that tree?
I really don’t know, but I wouldn’t discount it – and I certainly wouldn’t discount the dog being able to sense it.
Science tells us that everything is energy. Everything. Even inanimate objects have a certain vibrational frequency. My dad, as a retired chemistry teacher, would be so proud to know I’m discussing this, but every molecule has a certain level of vibration.
Some people can tune into these frequencies, and I know animals do as well.
Emotions vibrate, words vibrate – even words on a computer or cell phone screen have a certain feel to them. Have you ever had that gut feeling that something someone is telling you isn’t true? That’s because lies vibrate at a lower level than the truth does.
If you’re able to sync up with that, you will instinctively know when something isn’t right.
Animals don’t even have to think about doing this. That’s how so many of them are able to survive on their own in the wild. They let their natural intuition take over, and they don’t question it.
Imagine what we could open ourselves up to if we would do the same thing?
I think that little sheltie in the man’s story sensed the world on that level every day, and that’s how he knew something had happened to his dad, and he had to mourn and grieve the loss in the only way he knew how.
It’s about connections. We connect to nature, we connect to people and we connect to animals.
When we have those deep, beyond-words relationships, that’s where the true power and love live.
At CVAS, we make those connections practically on a daily basis. It’s a profound idea to realize that we are responsible for bringing that type of experience to hundreds, probably thousands, of people every year.
Some of our four-legged friends may come in small packages, but their power can be greater than all the stars in the sky and deeper than we may ever know.
***** Jennifer Vanderau is the Publications and Promotions Consultant for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and can be reached at cvascomm@cvas-pets.org. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, interested parties may call the shelter at (717) 263-5791 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org. CVAS also operates a thrift store in Chambersburg. People may help support the animals at the shelter by donating to or shopping at the store.
