Our Ghost Puppy - Hounds and Hauntings

Phantom Felines And Other Ghostly Animals - Gerina Dunwich 2006

Our Ghost Puppy
Hounds and Hauntings

by Shannon M. Rea

In November of 2001, my Jack Russell terrier, Kodie, had a litter of five beautiful puppies. Unfortunately, one puppy did not make it. My family and I mourned the loss of this little male puppy and buried him the next morning.

Three days later, we took the rest of the litter to the vet to have their tails docked and dew claws removed. About five weeks later, the puppies had all the enthusiasm that puppies have and they were allowed to run around the living room on their own.

After a hard afternoon of playing and eating, it was time for a nice long nap. The puppies snuggled together in a pile to enjoy their companionship. Their mother, who was looking pretty worn out, and I were sitting on the couch enjoying a quiet moment. We sat there for about ten minutes when I heard the distinct sound of a distressed puppy coming from the bathroom. Kodie’s ears perked up, her body tensed, and she stared in the direction of the unmistakable sound of a panicked puppy.

It was not unusual for one of the puppies to go into a room, have the door swing shut, and after realizing they were separated from the rest of their brothers and sisters, start to whine and yelp until one of us “saved” them.

As I was getting up to rescue the little adventurer from the closed bathroom, I glanced at the pile of sleeping puppies and counted four. I froze in place for a moment at the realization that there was not a puppy stuck in the bathroom. I looked at Kodie and she was still motionless and tense. Her ears were alert, and she was staring at the door. I counted the puppies again just to make sure I didn’t miss any. All four of them were fast asleep in a pile across the room.

That was the start of some very strange puppy encounters at my home.

About three weeks later, after all of my little sweetie pies had found wonderful homes, I let Kodie out in the yard so that I could vacuum (she despises the vacuum and will bark, chase, and bite at it until I’m done). As I was focused on vacuuming, I caught a glimpse of a Jack Russell puppy with an undocked tail sniffing the floor by the bathroom door (the same bathroom that Kodie and I heard the puppy in). The only puppy in the litter that didn’t have its tail docked was the little male that didn’t make it.

My family couldn’t help but believe that the puppy we lost was somehow still with us! We saw and heard the ghost puppy in the living room from time to time, until we moved in August of 2005.