Paranormal encounters with deceased pets may help some animal owners cope with their grief, according to a new study.
Jennifer Golbeck, a computer science professor at the University of Maryland, recently conducted the first systematic study of supernatural experiences in people who have lost their animal owners. The aim was to explore the scope of encounters with deceased canine companions and their meaning and importance to pet owners.
Golbeck conducted research using social media, posting on both X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, “If you lose a dog, you may see the dog's ghost, receive signs, or communicate with it.'' Have you had any similar experiences?” he posted a question. You and? ”
She received 544 candid responses, which she organized according to two major themes and six subthemes. “Physical experiences (hearing, seeing, or touching the ghost of a dog) and interpreted experiences (seeing signs in nature, receiving visits from a deceased dog in a dream, and attributing emotions and phenomena to the spirit of a dog) I think it's the fault).
The most common sensory experience (37% of responses) was hearing the sound of a dog, such as a dog barking or the sound of nails clicking on the floor. Almost half (44.4%) of the physical experiences occurred at night, and in 45 of these, people reported feeling their dog lying next to them in bed.
The most commonly cited interpreted experiences include visitations in dreams (15%) and ghosts, such as objects moving or a living pet acting in a certain way with the spirit of a deceased pet. activities such as (15%) were also included.
Golbeck looked at how respondents expressed emotions related to supernatural experiences and found that the majority (74.6%) expressed feelings of comfort, security, protection, and even a sense of gift. found that people reported positive emotions resulting in She says this finding is noteworthy because “psychology has largely characterized externalized, ongoing bonds, especially seeing ghosts, as negative, even maladaptive.” she writes in her research.
Overwhelmingly, respondents viewed their supernatural experiences as comforting rather than painful.
“This suggests that something different is happening during the canine guardian's grief process, and supernatural encounters behave differently than in more typical human grief cases. ” Golbeck wrote.
The authors suggested that the grief that people feel for a deceased pet may be different in unique ways from the grief that humans experience for the death of a loved one. “That means they are often disenfranchised,” she wrote.
“This undermines the right to grieve, as there are few socially accepted rituals surrounding the death of a companion animal, no recognized period of mourning, and the grief of dog guardians is often downplayed or ridiculed. “This can lead to a deprived experience and social denial of the grieving process,” Golbeck continued.
He also noted that psychological research typically uses terms such as “hallucinations” and “misinterpretations” to refer to supernatural experiences, which can feel “invalidating” to people grieving a deceased pet. he pointed out.
Never miss a news. Sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on everything PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to human interest stories.
“In fact, in the current study, there were many comments in which people pre-emptively defended themselves from anticipated attacks on whether their experiences were 'real.'” “While science may be able to explain why we see dog ghosts, it does not explain the subjective experience,” she wrote.
Golbeck said that subjective experience is critical to the meaning humans derive from supernatural encounters. He also noted that people likely have rational reasons to believe in supernatural interactions with deceased pets due to their experiences of disenfranchised grief.
“A seemingly magical visit by the ghost of a beloved lost dog gives a feeling of something mysterious, special, and symbolic of the importance of the relationship,” she wrote. “Such an experience might reasonably be seen as validating and comforting in a context where disenfranchised grief is overriding.”
