Ghost Dog

In addition to being a Paranormal Investigator and Office Manager of 2 Historical Ghost Tour Companies, I’m also a pet parent to 3 dogs.  Needless to say, the thought of “ghost dogs” or other “ghost animals” never entered my mind at all until, I moved into a house where one existed. It was a “ghost dog” and there were many nights that I was awakened to hear a dog’s bark coming from the living room area.  At first, I thought it was one of my dogs but, when I checked, they were fast asleep in my bed.  Then, my paranormal investigator side kicked in and I tried to rationalize the occurrence away by thinking maybe I was just dreaming or it was the result of an overactive imagination.  When I got up the next morning, I completely put the events of the night out of my mind and continued on with my day as usual.  Several days passed and I didn’t think of that event at all.  Then, again, I was woken up by the sound of a dog running around on the hardwood floor in the dining room.  Once again, I checked, and all of my dogs were fast asleep in my bed.  I got up and walked out into the hall and was surprised to find one of their balls, which are kept in the living room, rolling down the hall towards me.  I was both shocked and amazed.  I bent down and picked up the ball and then rolled it back down the hall towards the dining room and heard the pattering of dog paws on the hardwood floor once again.  I then took one step forward and the ball came rolling back down the hall towards me a second time.  At this point, I switched on the hall lights and proceeded cautiously down the hall towards the dining room.  I then switched on the light for both the kitchen and dining room and continued to walk throughout my house switching on the lights in every room.  I also checked all the doors and windows and everything was secure with no evidence of anyone being in my house other than myself and my 3 dogs.  I even went out into the garage and retrieved a level and checked every room including the hallway to see if, maybe, just maybe, the house had settled and was off level.  To my amazement, everything was fine.  I turned off all of the lights and went back to my bedroom.  As soon as I closed my bedroom door, I heard a dog’s bark coming from the living room.  Again, I checked and my fur babies were fast asleep in my bed.

Then, one day, about a year after my personal experience with a “ghost dog”, a photograph crossed my desk for authentication.  At first glance, it was a picture of one of our tour guides sitting on a bench surrounded with unexplained light streams in the background.  I figured that this was going to be a routine and that the unexplained light streaks could be debunked as flash flare.  However, upon closer examination, something else caught my eye completely isolated from the original question about the lights.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing yet, there it was plain as day.  Lying in my tour guide’s lap was an apparition of a dog.  Finally, I was holding in my hands hard evidence of a “ghost dog”.

After these two experiences, my style of paranormal investigation was forever changed.  I soon began thinking about the very real possibility of the existence of “ghost dogs” and/or other “ghost animals”.  I found that this experience was leading me down a path into uncharted territory with a plethora of new questions which are unique in one way but somewhat familiar in another such as, “Why are they here?”, “What are they attached to?”, “Did they just fail to cross-over?”, “Do they really exist?”, “How many documented cases exist?”, “Is there more evidence?”  Needless to say, I have quite a bit of research to do before reaching a definitive answer to these questions.

© J.F. Dietz 2013