STORY BY HYLA HOPE HARDER, Ph.D.,
Author of 101 Puzzles, Riddles and Rhymes for Cat Lovers

THE YEAR WAS 1972. The place was Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Tulsa. I was kneeling in the sanctuary praying. Suddenly I became aware of a familiar odor-the odor of my beloved poodle Muffy who had died several weeks before of renal failure. I had grieved terribly for the constant companion of my teenage years. Now I felt her presence sitting next to me in the holy surroundings of a church. What a comfort that feeling was to me.
From that moment on, I became interested in stories of other pet owners who “experienced” their dearly beloved, departed animals.

This article is a compilation of such stories. The incidents recorded here involve Tulsa residents who have lost pets and then “seen” or “encountered” them several days, months or years after the animal died. The stories are haunting but they are true. You be the judge.

Buster Brown was a beloved chocolate lab who was owned by a local businesswoman and her husband. When Buster was eleven, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. On Friday, September 9, 2005, at 4:10 p.m. the grief-stricken couple had to put Buster down. The weekend was a nightmare for them. The next Tuesday, September 13, the wife received a call that her husband was in the E.R. of St.
John’s Medical Center. He was experiencing chest pains. She rushed to the hospital and was comforted to see a family friend named Joyce volunteering in the hospital’s emergency waiting room. Later the husband was transferred to the third floor of St. John’s to have a stint put in his heart. Joyce accompanied the wife to give her moral support.

While the two ladies waited for the surgical procedure to be over, a chocolate lab ran into the waiting room. “Why that’s Buster Brown,” Joyce called out in surprise. The dog ran straight through the double doors that separated the waiting area from the operating area. No one could stop the dog. Once he was behind the double doors, the dog disappeared.
Everyone in the waiting area, including Joyce and the wife, saw the chocolate lab and wondered how he got to the third floor of the hospital. How did he get into the hospital? How did he get on the elevator and make it to the third floor? Why couldn’t someone stop him? As intriguing as these questions were,they faded in comparison with the seriousness of heart surgery.

The surgical procedure went well and the next day the husband was alert and feeling better. The wife, of course, did not mention the dog in the waiting room. She was shocked to hear her husband say, “Buster Brown came to be with me yesterday. I didn’t see him but I heard him make his familiar little sound he always makes when he lies down and I heard his dog collar jingle. I felt his presence. He lay down on the floor next to my bed when I needed him most.”

As amazing as this true story is, it is not too different from a story that made national news in the 1930′s and was carried by the major news services. An elderly woman was hospitalized for an undiagnosed illness. Her condition deteriorated and the doctors believed she was going to die. Three of her physicians were walking to her room to examine her. As they approached her room, they were amazed to see a cocker spaniel run out of the lady’s door. They chased the dog down the hall until he got to the end of the corridor. The dog turned the corner and disappeared. The doctors notified the security department but, although security officers were looking for him all through the hospital, no one ever saw him again.

The lady started making dramatic improvement and two weeks later she was considered well enough to go home. When her primary physician was dismissing her from the hospital, he remarked to her how amazing her recovery had been. “What do you think made you improve so rapidly?” the puzzled physician asked.

“Oh, it was seeing my dog. I started wanting to live again,” she replied.

” I saw your dog come out of your room. We tried to catch him but we never could,” the doctor said.

“Well, naturally you couldn’t catch him. He’s been dead several years!” she retorted with a twinkle in her eye.

In America torn by the Depression, this amazing story of an elderly woman and her dead dog touched America deeply and gave our country a remarkable incident to ponder.

One of Tulsa’s most respected and beloved veterinarians has also seen some of his own pets after they have died. They appear as shadowing figures which are moving and appear at the edge of his field of vision. He stated categorically that the phenomenon of owners seeing or experiencing their animals after the pets have died is far more common than the general public believes. Many animal rescuers interviewed for this article believe that a substantial percent of pet owners have some kind of “after-death” experience with their deceased pets.

Some pet owners do not see, hear or smell their pets but they “sense” their presence. Such a phenomenon occurred to Mary Ann Jarrett, one of Tulsa’s most respected and admired animal rescuers. Mary Ann has helped countless dogs but one Shih Tzu has a special place in her heart and her memory.

The Shih Tzu came to Mary Ann with a long and highly unusual name. The dog was called “Haley Bop the Pun’kin Seed.” (The name was almost bigger than the little dog!) Mary Ann had the dog for a few years until it developed a terminal condition and had to be put to sleep. The dog was buried in her backyard. A few days after the dog died, Mary Ann noticed she could sense the dog was in the yard waiting for Mary Ann to talk to her. For six weeks Mary Ann sensed the dog’s presence in her yard every evening when Mary Ann went outside. Mary Ann would talk to her and call her by name. One evening when Mary Ann went outside, she could tell the dog was gone. Haley Bop never came back but the six weeks of her presence comforted Mary Ann a great deal.

Some pet owners feel that their beloved departed pets send other animals to comfort them. Acclaimed Tulsa writer Pat Atkinson is in this category. In the ’90s, the day after Halloween, a black kitty appeared in her backyard. The kitten had singed fur and was terrified. It took a lot of tender loving care but Pat eventually convinced the cat to trust her. She named him “Henry.” Seven years ago Henry died and was buried in Pat’s back pasture. Three years later, a young terrified black kitten appeared at Henry’s gravesite during Halloween season. He, too, had obviously been mistreated. Pat coaxed him with food and love and named him Kacey (short for kitty cat). Kacey looks like Henry, acts like Henry and even has Henry’s likes and dislikes. Pat is convinced Henry sent Kacey to her.

Every devoted pet owner dreads the day he will have to say good-bye to his beloved animal. If you have recently lost your cat or dog, perhaps this article will help you realize your pet may be curled up by your feet this very moment or sitting on your window sill. Perhaps you just don’t see him.

Whether you sense your departed pet or not, the best way to honor him is to help another animal, so please consider going to the animal shelter and saving a life in memory of the one who gave you so much during his life. Remember: THE LIFE YOU SAVE WILL BLESS YOUR LIFE IN RETURN!