Do Animals See Our Souls?

[Sifox]

I'm convinced that most (and if not then all) animals are able to see the outline spirit surrounding our bodies. I think they can see when we are not well and indeed when we are in top shape.

I feel good believing this because of my own ability to clearly see the spirit form on all people I look at. This doesn't make me special but if my pets can, then, yep, they are special. Love animals.

[Mew3692002]

I have a hard time believing that they are not capable of seeing our souls but I think that other things may figure in than just that. Animals have an amazing sense of smell and hearing so they may be able to smell our sickness or when we are not feeling well (same as how dogs and other animals can smell fear) or be able to hear a change in us that causes them to assume that we are under the weather. I think that they are perfectly able to see souls, I just think they may use their physical senses more than they would use their spiritual senses.

[Sifox]

Nice post, Mew. I was hoping to hear that from someone else. If I have a headache, my cat positions herself on my forehead. (I'll wake up to discover this sometimes) .If I'm awake though, she will sit as near to my head as poss.My little puppy will actually lick my forehead and sit there also. Do you think that they can sense this with smell? I don't know. Yes they have powerful senses.

[Mew3692002]

Thank you Sifox. Yeah, there is much unknown about what they can and cannot sense with their physical senses but I don't like to rule anything out. Who knows, it may be spiritual or it may not, I'm not sure how to determine which one it is other than guessing.

[Love]

I'm not sure of the answer, but that's a really interesting question. I'll think about that the next time I see an animal.

[Ramsus]

I've often thought/hoped that they can. Animals have always had a fondness for me. I can't count the number of times I've been into someones house and their dog or cat will come up to me and let me pat them, while the owner looks in amazement and says, that cat/dog won't let anyone touch them. I suppose it could mean that I just have a funny smell or something, but I like thinking that there's something about my soul that's good that they can sense.

[Sifox]

This is very interesting because Erin is going into the tangent subject of life in the everafter for animals. Looking forward to more on this.

[Lallymac]

I'm not sure if animals see our souls but my pets definately show compassion for family members and each other in times of distress. My little bischon/poodle x was emotionally traumatized recently by a large dog who attempted to attack her while out for a walk with my daughter. Although she was physically unharmed she was scared rigid refusing to eat or drink.

I was surprised to watch our cat muzzle up next to her reassuringly and begin to lick her fur until she settled down. The cat and dog tolerate each other but I'd hardly say they were friends.
Before we got the cat, my daughter had a couple of budgies (Magic and Merlin). I was in my office one day and the dog was wining and yelping outside the door. When I opened it she ran down the hall to the lounge and back to me wanting me to follow. One of the budgies had the shoulder of it's wing caught through the bars on the cage. As I walked into the lounge my little dog was up on the table licking the budgie and making reassuring noises. The budgie was quite calm about the presence of the dog and didn't move away once I'd freed the wing.
When I'm sick the cat and dog will wedge themselves right up against me in bed.
I find it fascinating that my dog disappears under the bed when I think about bathing her and waits at the top of the stairs when I'm going out in the car and can take her but won't even raise her head if I'm going somewhere where she can't come. It's as she's reading my mind.
Lallymac

[Little Deb]

When my guinea pig Ike was dying last January, the girl next door to me brought Kricket her little Pomeranian in. Kricket licked Ike clean as if he was a baby after he passed away in my arms. My neighbour still talks about this as evidence that animals have so much love in them. I agree. (And Ike was such a smart guinea pig, as well. He used to rattle his cage to get me up in the morning to go to work, and he waited until I returned, to the very end.)Tribbles is my new guinea pig, but he has a different personality altogether, but still very loving.

[JSB]

Having worked at a veterinary hospital and seen a whole lot of animals, I can say that many are full of love and kindness. On the other hand, some are aggressive and violent, and a few are even sadistic. Animals, like people, have a whole range of personality types.

Originally Posted by Little Deb

When my guinea pig Ike was dying last January, the girl next door to me brought Kricket her little Pomeranian in. Kricket licked Ike clean as if he was a baby after he passed away in my arms. My neighbour still talks about this as evidence that animals have so much love in them. I agree. (And Ike was such a smart guinea pig, as well. He used to rattle his cage to get me up in the morning to go to work, and he waited until I returned, to the very end.)Tribbles is my new guinea pig, but he has a different personality altogether, but still very loving.

[Erki]

My sister has two rabbits and they had a clutch(is it the right word? I took it from a dictionary...). When he was 2-3 weeks old, one of the little bunnies fell ill and died after a week, but the mother didn't seem to care. He was totally neglected by the other rabbits...

[Sifox]

Originally Posted by Erki

My sister has two rabbits and they had a clutch(is it the right word? I took it from a dictionary...). When he was 2-3 weeks old, one of the little bunnies fell ill and died after a week, but the mother didn't seem to care. He was totally neglected by the other rabbits...

perhaps because rabbits are still becoming domesticated and are developing the same love for us that our cats and dogs show?
I don't know, maternal intincts?

[JSB]

Animals are inherently no more loving or spiritual than humans are --- all the great traditions consider humans more advanced than other animals (karmically, spiritually, on the "great chain of being", etc.) in that humans have far greater potential for spiritual growth and advancement in this life than animals do.

As for why animals seem so loving: we are usually looking at well-loved, well cared-for animals. It is no different than with people. Raise a child in a loving, nurturing, stimulating environment, and you will (likely) produce a loving, kind, well-adjusted adult. Raise a child in a violent, angry, neglectful, unstable environment, and you will often produce a sociopath. It's the same with dogs: a dog raised as a beloved pet will have a very different temperament from a dog raised for fighting.