Fluffy the ghost hunter

Ever have your face licked by a phantom dog? Silent movie star, Rudolph Valentino’s Great Dane, Kabar, likes to give visitors a little lovin’ when they pass by his grave at the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery in California. While invisible doggie kisses aren’t common, people have reported the presence of long dead cats and dogs that stop in and say hello by jumping on the beds to claim a favorite napping spot or are a flash out of the corner of their eye. Most ghost pets don’t stick around for long, however, it’s thought they come back to provide comfort to the family they left behind but then move on. It shows that just because the physical body dies, love never does.

Other visions of ghostly animals aren’t as cuddly. Numerous stories of misty horses gallop across roadways, making drivers swerve while back in the empty barn visitors can hear their hooves paw at the ground and a ghostly whinny. In the early 17th century, a sentry at the Tower of London defended his post against what appeared to be a large bear wandering the halls in what is now the Martin Tower. Since the Tower held a large collection of exotic animals, he must have thought one had escaped! Charging at the bear with his bayonet, he passed the blade through the ghost only to hit the wall. The man died soon afterward from the shock of the experience.

The Ghost Monkey of Athelhampton Hall in Dorset, Great Britain, was a loyal companion to the end. Following the daughter of the Martyn family to a secret room as she took her own life due to an unhappy love affair, the monkey starved to death before the family found them. While the ghost has never been seen, he can be heard to scratch at the door and secret passageway that led to the room.

Signs your pet is trying to tell you something’s hiding in the closet:

• Growling or barking at something you just can’t see.
• Refusing to go into certain rooms.
• Whimpering or other scared behavior.
• Really really affectionate to the food bowl. Wait. That’s normal.