By DR. LARRY BAKER ? For the Herald & Review
Are some pets psychic? I doubt it, in spite of many anecdotal stories, "pet psychics" on television and even incidences I have witnessed, which may seem inconceivable otherwise.
One such incident involved Midnight, a black cat that was brought into my veterinary office for annual vaccinations. Immediately after the visit, Midnight's owner put Midnight in her car and then came back into the office to pay. When she returned to her car, Midnight had vanished from the vehicle. Quite alarmed, we scoured the neighborhood, thinking Midnight had made a fast break just as the car door was closing and had escaped unnoticed. Or perhaps someone inadvertently had opened her car door, allowing her to escape. In either case, Midnight was nowhere is sight.
The alarmed owner visited a friend across town that evening and was telling her about the incident. As she was leaving, there was Midnight on her friend's front porch, miles from her own home, just politely sitting there as if she were there all along, simply waiting for her owner to appear.
How did Midnight travel across town and find the home of her owner's friend at the precise time that her owner was visiting? We'll probably never know. It could have been an amazing coincidence, if you believe in those, too. Perhaps Midnight had found a secret hiding place in the car and had traveled there along with her owner, then jumped out the window once her owner paid the visit to her friend. After all, I did a car search once with an owner who thought her cat was missing. I found her cat in the glove compartment. (The compartment was not sealed from above.)
We all have heard of pets that have traveled across several states to reunite with their owners. And how about the Arctic turn that flies more than 18,000 miles each year to return to its habitat? It is thought that birds can use Earth's large landmarks, such as mountains and rivers, memorize star patterns and even use a small mineral called magnetite embedded just about their nostrils to determine which direction is true north. They aren't psychic. Even fish have an innate sense to travel hundreds of miles to spawn in a safe place. There is even one scientific paper entitled "Why Did the Salmon Cross the Road?," which certainly leads us to imaginative thoughts - to show the opossum it could be done?
Animals do have abilities, as illustrated above, that humans do not possess. It has been said that a dog's sense of smell may be a million times more sensitive than a human's. Ants are thought to be able to see colors we cannot. (And just how do we know that?)
We do know dogs can hear high-pitched whistles that are beyond the range of human hearing. Cats can see in very dim light. No, they can't see where there is absolutely no light!
So, in my opinion, animals are special and possess certain abilities we do not. But are pets psychic? And are there people who are psychic as well? If you think so, I would like to talk with you about some ocean-front property in Phoenix.
Speaking for Alex this week is Dr. Larry Baker, who practices small animal medicine and veterinary dentistry at 2800 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Decatur. To submit a question, write to Ask Alex, c/o Herald & Review, Box 311, Decatur, IL 62625 or e-mail jmatherly@herald-review.com.
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