At Least They're Committed

Brandy got embarrassed. She was our beautiful and sweet Airedale terrier. She was graceful and elegant, and she loved my dad more than life. And Brandy smiled when she was embarrassed. I remember her not quite jumping high enough to clear a low fence and occasionally stumbling when we were out hiking, and she had gotten embarrassed and would wag her tail sheepishly and grin at us. I think if an animal has that sort of awareness, it must have a soul.

While I often find peace in watching prayer and mini-sermons on TikTok or Reels, there once was a holy man who started to explain, I believe, why dogs have no soul. I clicked off of it before he got to the point, because if that was what he was getting at he was wrong.

I’m not saying all animals have souls; you could easily make the argument that some people don’t have souls. But as I’ve mentioned before, I believe God is giving us room to continue evolving (that includes providing humans with scientific awareness and life-saving technology) and I think some of our four-legged companions have come along on that ride.

Days after my Siamese cat Mariko died, I was lying in bed in the dark and, as clear as could possibly be, I felt the blanket that draped between my legs flatten, then something circle and curl up between my legs. It was familiar. It was an action I’d come to know well over the 13 years she was with me. It was Mariko, coming back to tell me she was OK and to visit one last time.

After my parents’ dog Grizzly died, my Dad told me that I would probably think he was crazy but he felt Griz come to comfort him — he felt the Jack Russel jump onto the bed, walk to where he lie and nuzzle his muzzle into Dad’s neck. YES! I told him. I absolutely believed him. I then told him about Mariko’s visit — which I had never told a soul before.

Soon after Mina passed, D awakened to the sound of her nails clicking on the hardwood in the bedroom at the apartment, walking across the floor. I prayed she hadn’t gotten lost or confused on the way to the Rainbow Bridge and asked my dad — who is committed to be at the other end welcoming dogs — to help her get there. I believe he did. In the meantime, I’ve designated a garden for Mina with yellow and orange flowers grown from her ashes.

We are energy and so since energy can neither be created nor destroyed it must be displaced or channeled, right? That’s not to say that some energies, such as our souls, aren’t spiritually super-charged. I don’t know how that works or even if your soul something else entirely. I don’t know a lot of things. I don’t think I’m supposed to. But I do know our beloved pets have souls.