The Dog Who Hears Ghosts

First of all, let me make clear that Buddy, my mom’s dog, is just about the best dog we’ve ever had. He was a stray, apparently dropped off to fend for himself and taken in by friends of mine who then gave him to us. I’m not sure what all went into the mix that is Buddy, but I think there might be a dose of English Shepard, almost certainly some Australian Shepard and I suspect a little Rottweiler might be lurking the background. The main thing is, he is super smart and, at some point, had some pretty good training before we got him. Much to my surprise, he has ended up as a house dog. I never thought my mom would have a dog, especially a 60 pound dog, in the house. But there he is, and he is a great companion for her and a great companion for the two-year-old she babysits for a few days a week. But there is one great oddity about Buddy, which can be a little disconcerting. He hears ghosts. My mom’s house is an old farmhouse, well over 100 years old, and has seen many births and deaths within its walls, so it does not surprise me that spirits are present, at least if you believe that spirits exist. But we’ve never noticed them and other dogs we have had over the years have not noticed them, or have kept their existence to themselves if they have. Buddy, however, is not so considerate of our feelings. The first time Mom noticed it was just a year or so after Buddy came to live with her. They were sitting in the living room one night and suddenly Buddy got to his feet and started looking up with a worried expression at the ceiling, prowling around the room and growing more agitated by the moment. Pretty soon, he crawled under Mom’s bed, which in itself is quite an event since the bed only has about ten inch clearance and Buddy is a big dog. Getting under there is a monumental task and getting back out is even more of an event. Now, this ordeal happened not too long after both dog and owner had an unfortunate incident outside with a nest of hornets. So, our theory about Buddy’s panic was that he heard something in the attic that reminded him of the angry buzzing of the hornets and had a flashback. A week or two went by without incident and then it happened again. Actually it happened several times again, always starting with staring at the ceiling in alarm and then the dive under the bed, where he remained until morning. Then it got worse. One night, they were sitting in front of the television when Buddy slowly got his feet, looked at the ceiling a few times and then started prowling the house, sniffing the floor, behind the furniture and in every corner. He insisted on inspecting every room of the house, alternating between looking up at the ceiling and smelling the floor. Mom said it was pretty disarming and she began to think maybe someone was hiding in the rather large house. So, she got up and followed the dog on his tour, opening all the doors for him and half expecting to find someone hiding in a closet. The tour ended but there was no settling down for Buddy. Finally, she asked him if he wanted to go outside and they sat on the porch for a little while, after which he seemed to forget all about whatever it was that had alarmed him so. It’s a puzzle, I have to say. What does he hear that we can’t hear? Or what does he smell? We have no idea. It doesn’t happen every night or even every week. Maybe someday we will figure it out. If Buddy could only talk, I’m sure he would be glad to explain it.