Many owners think their pet has seen a ghost, survey finds
Forty-two per cent of owners said they believed their pet had sensed something supernatural.
Over two-fifths of pet owners believe that their pet has seen a ghost, a survey by Blue Cross has revealed.
Out of the 1,200 pet owners who took part, 42 per cent said that they believe their pet has sensed something paranormal and/or supernatural, and 60 per cent believe that their pet can see things that humans cannot.
Among the behaviours that owners reported were pets staring at a space to warn them of a ghost, refusing to enter a room or area, and barking or growling at an empty space.
According to 41 per cent of owners, unusual behaviours had coincided with an unexplained event in the home.
However, the charity has pointed out that there might be a natural explanation for such behaviour.
Jenny Baxter, animal behaviourist at Blue Cross, said: “It may appear that our pet is sensing something unknown and supernatural, but it is more likely they are sensing a real thing that is far beyond people’s limited sight, smell and hearing.
“As humans, we might think there is nothing there when our dogs growl or bark at what appears to be an empty space, leading us to suspect something spooky is taking place, but they could easily be responding to something they can hear four times further away than our own hearing.
“Likewise, a cat that suddenly avoids using a certain area of the house might be doing so because something unpleasant happened in that location. For example, they might have slipped and hurt themselves and so now have a negative association with that place. Without knowing this, it might appear that the cat is avoiding this area because it can sense a ghost.
“Whether ghosts are real or not, there is enough evidence for us to understand that pets’ superpowered senses enable them to experience the world in a very different way to humans.”
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Joanne Webster, a professor of parasitic diseases at the RVC, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
