Do they somehow know when someone is about to die?
In my culture, the hooting of an owl late at night is considered a bad omen, suggesting the likelihood of an imminent death among those within the orbit of the people who hear it. I am not a fan of superstition and usually dismiss such things, but I cannot deny that the night before my best friend died in my arms in Lebanon, we heard the distinct and uncharacteristic hooting of an owl late at night. It sounded eerie because I had never heard an owl make such a sound before.
There are so many documented cases of dogs and other animals becoming restless and, in some instances, refusing to leave the side of people shortly before their unexpected passing. We know of cases in which dogs, for instance, remain beside their sick keepers, seemingly in anticipation of their passing. What is truly baffling, however, is how they might appear to anticipate the unexpected death of someone who is otherwise healthy.
I sometimes wonder whether something is being communicated to them from the other side, and whether they instinctively act upon it by remaining at their keepers’ sides. Is it instinct, or some sixth sense? Do animals even possess a sixth sense?
What I do know is that we are learning every day that the animal kingdom is far more sophisticated, perceptive, and mysterious than we have ever imagined.
