I have always wondered about the supernatural senses potentially held in the pug breed. I, myself, am proudly owned by two pugs, Iliad and Odyssey, and one adopted rescue pug, Jasper. I also serve as a built in baby-sitter for my Mother's pugs, Crescent, Zeus, Granny and Dovie. (To learn more, go to: ).
I grew up as an only child with pugs as my "siblings", and am a third generation pug owner: my grandmother, mother and I have all been owned by various members of this breed.
I also live in a home that I believe has some psychic residue residing from previous owners. The house has documented activity; the garage was the place of a suicide. Though occassionally hesitant, the pugs do not seem to share my fears.
I do have one story of my pug and a ghost in the house we live in. To make it short: My Lil' Bit (now deceased) was the first to sense this. There is a corner of the kitchen where she used to just stare and all of a sudden the hair on the back of her neck would stand up and then she would start to growl. This happened more than once. We have mentioned it to our landlord and he said that there was an old man that burned up in the house. It had to be torn down and rebuilt. My husband and my daughter have both seen this little old man. He had a torn up cowboy hat and whiskers. The pug we have now, Buttons, does the same that my Lil' Bit did. Our bulldog, Mr. Louie, also experienced this. They both do the same thing, the hair stands up on the back of their necks and they start to growl, except for Mr. Louie: he barks. At first it scared us, and we didn't know what to do, until we mentioned it to our landlord. I, myself, have not seen this little old man, but three dogs can't go wrong. -- Something to ponder...
Our pug, Poco, grew up with our other dog, Duesy, a blue tick hound who was a few years older. Duesy's time to go finally came, and we took her in to the vet, keeping her company as she slipped away.
It was not a happy day. And to make it worse, that night I sat on the living room couch with my wife and Poco watching the only thing we could find on television: "Turner and Hooch."
Poco was sound asleep when the scene came on where Hooch passes away on the vet's operating table. It was hard enough for me and my wife to watch but Poco bolted up, wide awake, and starting barking like someone had come into the house.
Some day I'll have to pass on the story of "Poco the Earthquake Detector."
Brian Sawert
Rainbow Bridge
Part I:
My pug, Rainbow (BoBo for short) became very sick. My family and I took him to the vet that night, around 7 p.m. None of us had any idea how sick he was, nor that, in actuality, he was dying. Since I fully expected to see him the next day, I didn't give him a "final good-bye."
That night I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up with a start, and looked at the clock. It was 2:30 a.m. I was confused, and for a moment it didn't immediately register that Rainbow was at the vet. I looked around for him, then remembered where he was. There were just the three pugs (I often refer tot hem as the "3 amigos"). I got up and went to bed for the rest of the night.
The next morning the vet called to tell me BoBo had died 2:30 that morning. This was the precise time I woke up and started looking for him.
Part II:
I have what I think a great story.
We lost my beloved Rainbow this past November to acute narcotizing pancreatitis---I was (and still am to a degree) an absolute wreck.
I was speaking to my breeder about BoBo and how I felt him with me since his death.
I'm not sure exactly how the conversation went at this point, but the screen door started opening and closing--I thought this was bizarre, as it wasn't too windy. This did not phase my other dogs, the 3 amigos. My breeder suggested that I go outside and invite BoBo to come into the house and that sometimes spirits need to be invited in. I ended the call and went outside and invited him in. I left the door open while I spoke with him.
When I came back in and shut the door behind me, the 3 amigos went nuts. They all started sniffing and crying and running around in circles. They started whimpering and squeaking. I'm convinced that all of us felt his presence.
Amy and the Fab 5
kiwicaleb4
Can some pugs love their owners so much that they come home after death? I'd believe it. BoBo at right.
To understand this, you have to know the layout of my house. I was in the living room, and I had a floor fan in the door to the hallway; it pulls in the cool air from down the hall. Well, I happened to look up and I saw this dog walking from the fan, around to my right, and towards the kitchen.
The image, or whatever it was, was like a wisp, a cloud, or like sheer cloth, and I just had a glimpse of whatever it was. I thought that maybe it was a vision.
I couldn't see the entire dog, though I realized that the four pugs I have with me currently were all accounted for. Two were lying next to me, one at my feet, and the other had flopped in front of the hall fan. I also saw the rear quarters of this mysterious dog, and they were slender. All of my pugs are rather fat, and these quarters were too slender to match any of mine. Also, there were some fur patches, which none of my current pugs have.
I don't remember seeing the tail, but I knew from the size, height, and color that it was a pug. I never did get a good look at the head or front of the dog.
It didn't look at me. It just ambled on towards the kitchen, walking on for about 6 feet, then totally vanished. It just disappeared.
Do you know who it is?
Though I have been showing pugs since the 1960s or 70s, I had one pug that I was very fond of named Poppy. She had only one litter, and nearly died having them. I have always had girl dogs, but she had 3 boys, and 1 girl, but the girl died. Her son later brought me more show fame, later relocating in Japan, and I have one of HIS sons with me now.
Poppy was a good show dog, and she made me famous. She was with me when I moved to Florida, but it was shortly after we arrived that she went blind and developed diabetes. I gave her shots myself two times a day to keep the diabetes in check.. The day before she died, she urinated blood repeatedly. I guess something must have broken inside of her. I took her to the vet the next day, and she had to be put to sleep. I was very torn up about it.
I thought that maybe after she crossed the bridge, she got tired of waiting for me. I thought she had come to lead me home!
However, I do know that whatever it was didn't come from the bedroom, nor was it a reflection, as there is nothing in the room that is capable of reflecting in that angle or for such a distance.
Under Investigation
Currently, this is being investigated to see if more can be fleshed out to this story. Pugs are strange creatures who do mighty odd things at times! However, the timing and the information currently known makes me wonder....
October, 2001:
This morning we took the pugs for a walk to go check out a house a friend of
ours was interested in buying. We live in a neighborhood called "the Fort
Grounds" which is on the site of the old Fort Sherman, which guarded the
mouth of the Spokane River once upon a time.
We walked down a little street that is original to the fort -- it lines up
with two stone pillars leading into the city park that were part of the
actual fort. As we crossed the street towards the pillars, Boomer stopped
dead in the middle of the street (facing east)! He would NOT keep walking
for anything, and I didn't want to drag him by his leash, so I picked him up
and carried him over to the park. Then he was fine for the rest of the walk.
Coming back, we reversed our path, and Marley stopped dead in the middle of
the same street at the same place Boomer stopped (she was facing west)! She
wouldn't come, so Tim got the honors and picked her up and carried her
across!
It was the weirdest thing. Neither pug was sniffing anything, they just
stopped and stood there stubbornly. We go that way regularly, and neither
one has _ever_ done this before.
-A
Brandy: My questions to clarify this case:
Hmm, what state are you located in? Do you have the full, formal name of
the fort? Have you don a check of the area? I hate to say this, but pugs
are rather strange creatures sometimes. I'd be interested in seeing if
anyone else reported paranromal activity in the area. If so, may I use
your e-mail as part of my Paranormal Pugs Page???
LOL! Pugs are rather strange creatures all the time. :-) I just found it odd
what my two did -- even Tim noticed it. I'm in Northern Idaho.
Well, THIS is interesting, I did not know the fort had a different name at
first:
---
Camp Coeur d'Alene was established in 1878 at the headwaters of the Spokane
River. Later its name was changed to Fort Sherman to honor Gen. William
Tecumseh Sherman, who selected the site. Fort Sherman was the beginning of a
pioneer village that became the city of Coeur d'Alene; many of Coeur
d'Alene's early settlers were soldiers at the fort and named such places as
Fernan, Hayden, and Best. In 1898, the entire Fort Sherman garrison was sent
to fight in the SpanishAmerican War. The post was officially abandoned in
1901. Today, North Idaho College sits on part of the original grounds, as
well as City Park. The first sawmill in the Coeur d'Alenes was built by the
military at Fort Sherman.
---
The neighborhood we live in was built right after the fort was abandoned and
platted for residential lots. In fact, we live about a block away from the
fort's original little chapel that has been restored and is used for
weddings. Our house was built in 1907.
-A
Jake & Co.
by C. McKelvey
We all know pugdogs are special, but if you ever wondered why your baby is
staring at a certain spot all the time, it could mean more than "I'm bored."
I learned THAT after I turned a series of apparent coincidences into
connections. My baby, a black pug named Jake, was visiting (still does!)
with my late father. And I have the pictures to prove it! In fact, I'd like
to believe Dad brought his favorite NASCAR driver w/him...
A few years ago, Jake began doing some rather un-nerving things. Sleeping
soundly beside me, he would suddenly jump up, do a swan dive off the sofa
and bark wildly at the ceiling or the door! Of course there was noone
there. Or so I thought! He then would lie down on the floor in front of me
just....... staring, but not AT me, over my head or at the ceiling.
Finally, after attempting to explain to friends or family who would witness
this occurrence, that maybe Jake's vision was a little off and he really was
looking at them or me, it dawned on me! These things always happened on
occasions when my Dad would have been here, celebrations like my birthday, his birthday, holidays and even jake's surgery. My Dad loved Jake!
At the suggestion of my best friend, I soon began to take pictures with my
digital camera when Jakey alerted me. AND to my surprise, there were
"Orbs" on these pictures, usually near or on Jake! After speaking to
several members of a Paranormal group, I found out Jake and I didn't have to
spend the rest of our lives in a "looney bin". This was not uncommon for
these things to occur under the circumstances.
I will attach pictures of my baby and my <cough> Dad and you can see for
yourself. I will also send along a picture of what we feel was the night
Dad brought a friend. I suspect it had something to do with the racecar
driver he loved and we lost. (Added 12.30.01)
Mika
Story and picture by Jon McClintock.
Posted on http://www.paranormalresearchfoundation.com. To read more ghost hunting adventures by Jon and his group, please check this site out! Also, to learn more about a harrowing 12-day pug romp (perhaps even scarier than the pug ghost tales!) see Jon's site at: http://www.jonmcclintock.com. Story reprinted with permission from Jon.
Mika is a young purebred Finnish Pugdog (some think pugs look like small
bulldogs) owned by Jon and Marty McClintock. He's fawn and black and has two
brothers Keedoo and Bubba who have yet to show an interest in the paranormal.
Mika has always been the "sentry" of the three, but only revealed his newest talent
recently when paranormal researchers Al and Joann Brindza visited the
McClintock's in rural Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
Al has proven to be something of a "ghost magnet" during investigations and can
direct a person where to point a camera and find an orb or other artifact. While
most of us need to use EMF meters and thermal scanners to help us find an
entity, Al can sense when there may be something paranormal in the area.
During a late summer 2001 visit, the tables turned. With no warning or apparent
provocation, Mika became very agitated and barked in Jo's direction. Then he
practically lunged at her, climbing up her side and pulling at one ear. The outburst
was so out of character that Jon reached for his digital camera to capture the
moment.
The end result (that couldn't be duplicated a moment later) is this photo showing
two orbs hovering above Jo - and two areas of haze that could be ecto, both near
the ceiling and orbs. One, to the right, appears to be a "streamer" that comes from
the direction of a spot where an old family tragedy occurred. Ever since, Jo and
Mika have shared new psychic bragging rights! (Added 12.30.01)
Jake, a black pug, is photographed with orbs. Orbs are common forms of spectral manifestation on film. Some believe that orbs are the energies of ghosts captured in their most condensed form.
Note the additional light in Jake's left eye. Is that another ghost, or part of Jake's natural sparkle?
Mika and friend, as the incident occurred. Note the orbs and mist above both of them. This is a fantastic shot,and one that shows me that at least some of our puggy pals DO have psi potential!
Odyssey Stark and Granny Chu visit the Florida Keys
By Brandy Stark
OK, well, admittedly the last part of 2001 has been tough on the Stark household. A constant array of car problems, pug health issues, job changes, and other fun-filled events have taken much time and energy. As the holidays approached, it was time to take a break.
I talked Mom into going with me on a trip to the Florida Keys. As she does not believe in ghosts, at least without empiracle proof, we agreed to stay in a haunted bed and breakfast. If anything happened she would believe.
We chose to go to the Red Rooster, located in Key West. It's a lovely place, quiet, near downtown and the shopping district, with caring and friendly staff. Because of our work in Pug Rescue and the members of our pug pack, we had hired a pet sitter to stay with the babies. However, two pugs went with us: Granny Chu and Odyssey.
Granny Chu is 12 and 1/2 years old. At such an age, she can be a bit cantankerous and moody. We feared for the safety of our pet-sitter with her. :)
Odyssey had an eye ulcer rupture earlier this year in his left eye. I rushed him to the vet and, due to his relatively young age, opted to try and save the eye. The initial surgery seemed successful, but the eye was twice the size of a normal pug eye, and was blind. The day of the trip, I woke up to Ody's eye being bruised and even more swollen -- he had somehow hit his eye the night before. In a panic, I rushed him back to the vet, who gave him antibiotics, pain pills, and an anti-inflammatory shot. Ody was in good spirits, and seemed to be fine. However, due to the amount of work his eye would be, Mom and I decided to take him with us.
So, two humans and two pugs made the long trek from St. Petersburg to the Florida Keys, a 7 - 8 hour drive by car. The pugs truly enjoyed themselves. Of course, each pug had a human lap which he or she sat in the ENTIRE car ride. They were, to my surprise, well behaved and easy to travel with.
Anyway, after arrival at the Red Rooster, we checked in. The clerk told us we were in the most haunted room (or what she felt was the most haunted room) of the hotel -- room 18. It was a nice quiet room, off to the side, and pet friendly. PERFECT.
Local legend has it that in the early part of the century a woman made a deathbed confession that she killed her husband and buried him under the front porch of her home (which later became the Red Rooster). The porch was torn apart but no body found; the man's fate remains a mystery. Room 18 is to the side of the porch, but may have been the room where a later guest saw the ghost of a sad older man, who seemed confused about where he was and what was going on around him.
While little seemed to happen while we were there (to my utter disappointment), there were a few oddities. For one, the first night we arrived, Mom, who was beat from the drive, went to sleep with her Granny Chu. I stayed up, unpacking and pulling out the ghost hunting equipment I brought with me. An initial scan of the room showed me a few things: unusual EMF in the area of the dresser and into the bathroom. I found several sockets, but part of the area of EMF (electromagnetic energy, which ghosts give off) ranged over the bed (where there were no electronics, sockets, etc.) and into the bathroom (on a wall without any noticeable plugs, wires, switches, etc.). Odyssey, who was sitting on my half of the bed (where there was an EMF reading) stayed up with me, watching me taking photos of the room and making notes.
After the inital scan of the room, I sat down to work on some reading. I looked over to check on Odyssey. He was lying on the end of the bed, head raised and staring into one corner of the room. I saw that he seemed to be watching something intently.
In that area was the dresser and the TV -- which was turned off. It was also an area where the EMF was registering, though at more consistent readings. I went over and felt nothing unusual. I watched Odyssey a moment more; his gaze did seem to range to the dark TV screen. However, Odyssey, an apartment pug, is exposed to my TV. He pays little attention to it on or off (he's pretty smart about that). He has seen his own reflection (I held him often in front of the mirror as a puppy, and continue to have special moments with him where we stand in front of the mirror and he can look at himself). He does not seem fascinated with his image, accepting it as his own. And that did not account for his eye movement, which seemed to encompass the whole corner of the room. I watched the TV screen, too, and saw nothing in it moving. No lights, Mom was asleep and had not moved, and Granny Chu was sawing logs.
The EMF readings remained consistent in the corner. But, while I stood holding EMF meter in one hand, making notes on a pad of paper balanced in my arms, I saw the EMF register flicker. The EMF dimmed, then came back. I stood still. My arm was steady, EMF meter at ready. It happened again.
That was about it, though. No cold drafts, no further unusual readings. I spoke with the owner, who could give me little information about the wiring of the bed and breakfast, nor the source of the unusual EMF. No electrical wires or panels were in that area that he knew of.
Odyssey did not take an interest in the area for the remainder of our trip.
The next morning, however, I woke up briefly around 5 a.m., then fell back to sleep. I had two very vivid dreams that Mom and I were awake and in our room when objects began to move around. Both dreams focused on the bathroom area, whose door is right next to the mysterious dresser and tv. In the first dream, objects were flying around and out of the bathroom. In the second dream, Mom and I went into the bathroom where I was showing her the EMF readings. Mom had hung a blouse in the shower. As we stood there, the blouse started to move, and invisible hands pressed into the material. (In real life, Mom had hung nothing in the bathroom. It was, sadly, only a dream).
Also, for the next several days, the TV set acted up whenever I was in the room. The screen would suddenly surge and flip, as if hit by energy from a passing magnet. Mom complained that this happened only when I was in the room, never when she watched TV alone. For example, one afternoon, she wanted to rest after an afternoon of walking. Returning to the hotel room, she watched a mystery on TV while I finished my last stop to see Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.
Curiosity satisfied, I came back to the hotel towards the end of the program, and sat on the bed to finish out the show with her. The surges came back with me. I had no equipment on me, nothing to cause electromagnetic energy, nor did I turn anything on or off.
So far, the digital photos I took of the room have revealed little. My 35 mm film has yet to be developed. Further research showed that most ghostly activity takes place in October in the hotel, not in December when we stayed. Nothing moved, there were no feelings of eerieness.
But, that first night, could some form of spectral being come to check out the temporary inhabitants of room 18? Or was Odyssey simply fascinated with the surroundings for some reason known only to his pug mind? Perhaps further research, and another trip to the Keys, will be needed.
12.30.01
This is the area in question. The bathroom door is next to the dresser. This corner gave off a lot of EMF, including over the bed. Level 2 is considered "potential" for ghostly activity using my ELF meter.
4.3.02: A PPP reader submitted the exerpt to far left: he enlarged the area by the lamp shade and found an ORB!
Flower Power
Pug owner and Tampa Bay Pug Rescue Coordinator, Sue, has her own story about a special type of visit from a loved one. Though it is not directly involved with pugs, her pugs were present during the "discovery":
I had to share my own personal "ghost story" although I really don't think of her as a "ghost". At any rate, every year my Mom visits me on Christmas in the form of a blooming purple flower (purple being her favorite color).
Yesterday morning, (12/25/01), I looked at all my flowers to find her. I found nothing. There were not even any blooms even on the plant that bloomed last year. (Florida has a year-round blooming season. -ed.).
I was disappointed. I ended up saying aloud, "Mom, you are going to visit me today, aren't you?"
Then last night (12/25/01), as I was sitting on the patio talking to the last of our Christmas guests. I glanced over at this straggly looking tree planted in a pot and, low and behold, I saw three beautiful purple flowers. This tree didn't even have very many leaves!
I knew it: there was my Mom! I was so excited that I ran over and kissed each flower to let Mom know I knew she was there. She was still there this morning so I called my sister in Chicago to tell her! The girls were so excited too! They really loved my Mom.
That's my story ... hope you liked it.
Sue
(Posted 1.16.02)
The Old Homestead
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 12:50:28 EST
From: Karen and Joe Rivera <Reikipugs@AOL.COM>
I went to your sight and saw the ghosts above the couch. How exciting!
We also have two ghosts that live in our house. One is our young 6 month old black kitten who was killed by a German Shepherd around 10 years ago. He was our Rowdy Roadster. He lived every day like it would be his last. It was like he knew he would die young.
The other ghost is of a young women in her 20's who had committed suicide in the house. Neither one of the ghosts seem to bother the pugs or our other cat. Last March when we took the train to Florida, we hired someone to live with our pugs. When we came back home she mentioned seeing the ghosts of Rowdy and Charlotte. She thought she was seeing things. I am so used to them being here, so I guess I forgot to mention it to her.
Many years ago I had to give away some mirrors that Charlotte's spirit was inhabiting. They were constantly snapping and crackling. It would wake me up in the middle of the night. The mirrors had been Charlotte's.
Brandy: Do your pugs react to the ghostly presence at all? If so, how? What are the common reactions?
Brandy,
I don't know if my pugs are reacting to the ghosts, but quite often they spring up out of a dead sleep and start barking and carrying on. I constantly have to tell them to settle down and be quite. Our German Shepherd just lies there and looks at them like they are nuts.
One of our old cats Walter who died a couple of years ago, used to play with the ghost of Rowdy Roadster. It started right after Rowdy was killed. Walter would wake up, act like he was wrestling with something, look up in the air and leap after Rowdy. Then the chase would begin around the house. It was very amusing to watch. Who knows. Maybe the pugs are chasing after Rowdy.
Sincerely,
Karen and pugs, CA
Mystery Pictures and Staircases
Tue, 22 Jan 2002 14:23:04 -0500
From: MystiKat6@yahoo.com
I'm a (lurking) member of the PUGDOG list and have also checked out, with interest, your paranormal sites. Though I live in upstate New York, the Tampa/St. Petersburg area is one of my FAVORITE places in the country, and if I could live there I'd be going along on your adventures whenever possible! In the meantime, I keep up with your hunting expeditions via your web sites.
In addition, I am involved in the local branch of pug rescue. In addition, I have three puggies of my own.
I finally decided to write you and tell you about my more recent experiences with my house "guests" and the puggers. I'm thinking now that they might have a little bit of 'intuition' I hadn't credited them with before.
I must preface this by telling you, I have owned my house for over five years. I always wished it were 'haunted', but never really believed it to be... until recently. My current boyfriend, who has been staying with us for about six months now, is very 'intuitive' and has some very strong abilities in the spiritual/paranormal realm. He feels that my constant questioning, searching, reading, inviting, had opened certain 'gates', and when he first began coming around the house, found that it was rather 'infested' with entities... some of which he felt were a little on the malevolent side.
Strange things did start to happen, prompting me to talk with my neighbor (the local
historian) about the history of my home and the original owners. My house was built
in 1935 and I bought it from the second owners. The original owners were a husband and wife team of pharmacists who had no children living with them. The man had children from a first marriage, but they had none together.
My boyfriend sensed that the man died in the house, on the stairwell. The neighbor informed me that, indeed, the man had a heart attack on the stairs, fell down them, and later died of his injuries at the hospital.
On two occasions, I have heard what sounds like a large person falling down the stairs... this was also heard by an overnight guest once as well. I also have a friend who believes she is 'sensitive.' Her particular talents lie with precognitive dreams. She told me that since I moved in that she also senses a "fog" on the stairs.
This woman lived in the house alone for many years after her husband died. My neighbor and her husband kind of looked after her for a time. They were the ones who, alerted by the mailman that her mail was piling up, discovered her unconscious on another stairwell in the house leading down to the basement (a separate stairwell from the one her husband fell on). She was taken to the hospital and never returned to the house. She died in 1991 or so, in a nursing home.
The woman was supposedly very sweet and soft-spoken, and my boyfriend feels that she now follows me around. Whenever I go near him, he will shudder, saying she goes 'through him'.
After we found this out, my boyfriend took the advice of some spiritualists and lit a seven-day white candle, which he placed near the door to guide the spirits to "the way out." He also, on their advice, sprinkled salt outside all the ground level entrances and windows.
Instead of helping, this seemed to create an atmosphere of anger. Strange things started to happen in the house.
During the time the 7-day candle burned, my boyfriend had an intense fear of going into the basement. As he is a man who fears little, I had to laugh at him, for I had been there years, and could go down the basement any hour day or night with no problem.
Well, late one night a circuit blew and I went down to the electric box in the basement to flip the breaker. On the way down the stairs, which happened to be the ones where the wife was found shortly before she died, I tripped and broke my toe. I gave up on the breaker that night.
The next day, my boyfriend and I went down to check the electrical situation. (The basement, it seemed, was less threatening during the daylight). While poking around, we found a bunch of old photo negatives stuffed up in rafters, which I later scanned and printed and took to my neighbor. She identified the owners in several of the pictures. As soon as my boyfriend saw the picture of Leah, he said that was the woman he'd seen/felt... he also recognized the husband as "the guy that died on the stairs".
A day after finding the negatives and fixing the electrical problem, we discovered that my basement had inexplicably become infested with fleas. The puggies NEVER go in the basement, as that is where I keep the kitty litter and the cat's food. The cat would go down there but not to hang out. We tried four times to do flea bombs in the house and each time the fleas came back stronger and meaner. Finally, I called an exterminator who came and sprayed. Within four days, the fleas were back with a vengeance and I had the exterminator come back. He came out of the basement scratching his head and looking more than a little pale. He couldn't understand why they were not gone, but sprayed again for us. My boyfriend jokingly mentioned that the house was haunted. The exterminator said, "you said it, not me" and left as quickly as he could, obviously not amused.
Another day, my boyfriend was alone in the house working on my hardwood floors, filling in a floor register that wasn't being used, and he had let the puggies out in the (fenced and gated) back yard. He said that he got a weird feeling and looked up, seeing a vision of a woman. He shook his head, to clear it away, and went back to what he was doing. Next thing he knew, a door slammed next to him, for no reason (no breeze or anything blowing through), and he was suddenly overcome with the need to check on the dogs. Well somehow, the gate had gotten unlatched and two of them had wandered out. Panicked, he ran out front and was able to find them and get them back home, unharmed. He felt that Leah had gotten his attention, as she was looking out for the puggies.
Later that same day, after I got home from work, the power went out. I was standing in the dining room (next to the seven day candle that was still burning) and calling the power company from my cell phone, when the phone just flew out of my hand and across the room. My boyfriend said that he saw the husband behind me, and the husband knocked the phone out of my hand.
That evening, the seven day candle burned out, and the next day when we checked the basement, our flea problem was finally gone. Most of the strange events of that period have stopped, with the exception of his feeling that Leah remains with us/me.
Occasionally there are lights turned on, the television will turn on or off by itself, or we will hear sounds, or see glimpses of shadows, but things are pretty much quiet now.
One of my puggies, Bobby, seems to be particularly sensitive and will often run to the basement steps, for no obvious reason, and just stand there listening, almost if someone has called him. He does this quite often, and it's just as if he's being summoned. My black female pug will sometimes bark at thin air, but not like she is particularly upset. My elder rescue male will go through times where he is afraid to go in my bedroom, and other times when he refuses to be left alone downstairs in the living room. In his former home, this poor fellow was abused/neglected by a male owner, leaving him apprehensive of men. My believes that the pug may see the husband's ghost from time to time which is what causes the intense fear.
What do I think? Well, I have to say, things were pretty weird for awhile there, and I have no other explanation for those events. I definitely think that who or whatever is around the house now, it means us no harm and seems to have a genuine concern for the puggies, so is more than welcome to stay in my opinion.
Kathi
1/23/02
Brandy -
The story does seem to be continuing too... we burn those seven day candles often, but my last one burned out about a week ago, and I didn't go out and get more. Well, last night Dan and I were lounging in the living room with the pugsters and there were spirits dashing around the dining room. All the pugs and the cat were with me on the couch, so the noises I heard were definitely not from them. Dan matter-of-factly said the spirits were passing through and we need to get another candle.
Kathi
Could these be one of the spirits who inhabits Kathi's home? These were developed from the negatives described in the above story. Disclaimer: As I understand it, these are the property of Kathi, who has opted to share these with her story. I have posted them without names (I was not given that information), specified location, etc.
This image was sent to me by a pug owner, identified as "J". Background on
the image: "J" went to view the sunset at a lake shore local to her area. An amateur photographer, and inspired by the view, she took a series of four pictures with a digital camera. All of the images were taken in seconds of one another.
In "J"'s own words, "This was a simple quick digital pictures because it was a beautiful sunsetI didn't even go down there with that purpose [to take a picture of the sunset] in mind. But, I had my camera with me, and like they say, it was a Kodak moment."
The day was cold and windy, but not enough so to create condensation of breath. "J" notes she felt no sand blowing, and would have put away her camera had sand been airborne to protect it. Downloading the image on the computer, she saw an unusual form on one picture. "J" has taken many pictures of the area, but has never gotten abnormal images. Before going any further, please view the photograph. What do you see?
Additional background on the image and "J": "J" had a pug that died 4 months ago. Her mother died 2 weeks ago. "J" helped both her mother and her pug, relaying to both that when the time came, it was okay to go to the other side. "J" has shown her image to others, who see the form of a woman carrying a pug. It is "J"'s thought, and hope, that her mother is the woman, and the pug her recently departed pet. Her mother knew her love of photographs and may have been coming to assure "J" that all was OK with both her and the pug.
Do you believe that this is what the image represents? Is it a camera malfunction? A natural occurrence, or a supernatural visit? Please post your opinion to the guest book provided.
COULD IT BE?
From the Site Mistress: 4.3.02: I had a ghost hunt done of my home with the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg, a local ghost investigation team of whom I am a member. We did find evidence of a potential haunting....for more about that, please log onto the SPIRITS website.
The pugs were present for the hunt. Here is the extent of their involvement:
Can you feel the excitement?
Odyssey (on pillow)
Jasper
Patrick
Iliad (on floor).
SIIIIIGH.
However, the day after the ghost hunt, another strange thing happened which the pugs MIGHT have been involved in:
Brandy, post ghost hunt: At approximately 10:24 this morning, the pugs started to whine. I thought it might be because they were on the deck as I worked in the house, and they were bored. I got up to give them some bread (distraction). As I went out into the living room, I saw this floating wisp of smoke....very similar to incense. I looked around, because it's 10:30, I have been home alone since 7:30 this morning, I do not burn incense often, and never in this part of the house, I had not burned any in the house for months. I looked around, and there was NO incense burning. The front window was open, but nothing was smoking, and the window let in a nice breeze. This patch was about two inches wide, and floated IN PLACE for a moment, despite the breeze. I looked away to find the incense, and check the window, and it was gone. I got a chill (could just be me, though), and said, "If this is "you", (any potential entity) then where were you last night? I only got some light orb images! But, that's OK." I smiled and went out to give the pugs their bread, came back, no smoke. The chair was reflecting some light, but I am certain this was a 3-D patch of smoke about 5 feet above the table, slightly in front of it (towards the TV!) Time: 10:24 (made note, still haven't walked, and need to do so before I eat!)
I called SPIRITS member Karen who told me that she had just had a similar experience with her cat, Angel (SP?), and she was writing it down just as I called. (About 10:30 by my clock, 10:27 by hers). As Karen worked on e-mail this morning, she noted her cat, who was sitting behind her on the chair, looked back and forth from window to wall. Karen spoke to her, asking, "What do you see? What is going on?" Angel did not look up at the voice. She did look at her for the third question (How many are coming in?) The cat looked a couple more times, then stopped. No incident since then.
I am quite certain that I have had at least one ghost pass through my home on her way to the other side. In August of 2000 my grandmother died. Two hours after her death, and four hours before I was notified about it, I was awaken with the overwhelming floral scent flowed all around me. I knew that she had died, and that she was OK.
The experience was so real, and so unusual, that I don't question it. Yet, the pugs did not seem to react to it at all. Could it have been because she was a familiar presence? That she was non-threatening? Or did they truly not sense her?
Now, on occasion, the pugs do bark at something that I cannot see late at night, but keep in mind these are pugs: some days not even I know what goes through their cute little minds.
Pugs are 2000 years old as a breed. The breed's only known functions are those of companionship to aristocracy and nobility.
So, what if during the course of the pugs' evolution some of their supernatural sensing abilities were bred out of them? Could their psi became less because of mankind's tampering? Without the need to survive in the wild, could pugs have lost sensitivity to the paranormal?
In his book How to Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog-Human Communication, Stanley Coren reveals two interesting beliefs about dogs:
1) In many dogs, different fur colors show up as spots near the eyes. According to folk tradition, the dogs with the highest degree of psychic ability are "four-eyed dogs," which are light-colored dogs with a dark spot over each eye, or black dogs with light spots over each eye. These dogs are supposed to have special psychic abilities, such as the ability to see demons, devils, or ghosts....(pg. 112)
Would pug masks obscure these "eye spots" or are they an extension of them?
2) The Lhasa Apso has a long association with the Buddhist monestaries. There was a tradition of bringing this little dog into the room of elderly priests. It was believed that the dogs would serve as a temporary home for the soul of the holy man until he could be reincarnated in a new human body. Because of this association with the souls of sanctified men, they were prized pets (pg. 121).
We can only hope this benefit extends to pugs as well. Pug owners can attest that pugs do act remarkable human from time to time. I have compiled a list of pug stories, with pugs as ghosts or pugs' reactions to ghosts. After two years, the stories have gained substantial numbers on this page.
Please take a look around. The new menu is in the top left corner of the page, or you may simply scroll through the stories below.
If you have stories about pugs and ghosts, please send 'em in. All stories printed on this site with permission of the "postees". I respect the privacy of those who submit stories. Those who wish their names and e-mail address to appear have requested it.
Do Ghosts Like Dog Shows?
Here's the story that goes with the orb picture...I took the beach picture on a Thursday. I didn't use
the camera again until Saturday morning. We were on a highway and I took a couple of pictures of the
sun rise. The pictures turned out fine...nothing unusual. Then an hour later at a dog show, the camera wouldn't work. The screen that shows what will be in the picture wouldn't light up...in about 6 or so tries, only two pictures turned out with enough light to be able to see what's in the pictures. In those two pictures, there are orbs. I hadn't cleaned the lense beforehand. Later that day, I changed the battery in case that was the problem. I still hadn't cleaned the lense. I was now getting normal pictures.
The dog show was held in a pole barn kind of building; it did not feel humid...it was cool to the point of needing sweaters or something extra, but not coats.
