Ghost dogs live under my stairs
None of my dogs have ever truly left me
Pauline Lee, 70, from Tamworth, Staffordshire
The doorbell rang and Mia, my SWD H UDQ H[FLWHGO\ WR JUHHW the visitor. ‘Who’s that, Mia?’ I grinned, following her. Mia always PDNHV PH VPLOH VKH¶V VXFK D friendly dog, despite being abandoned in the street by her previous owners.
I’d adopted Mia in 2015 from the Birmingham Dog’s Home when she was 18 months old. Like all the dogs I’ve had before her, she was a PXFK ORYHG UHVFXH
My friend Yvonne was at the door. As I opened it, Mia started
UXQQLQJ DURXQG LQ UDSWXURXV FLUFOHV her tail wagging.
Yvonne had never been to my house before – we’d
RQO\ MXVW PHW DW D ORFDO SV\FKLF FLUFOH %XW 0LD greeted her like an old, beloved friend.
‘Where’s your other dog?’ Yvonne asked as we settled down with WHD DQG LFHG EXQV LQ WKH living room.
‘I only have one dog,’ I said, rather FRQIXVHG
‘There was another dog that FDPH WR the door with Mia,’ Yvonne VDLG DOVR ORRNLQJ FRQIXVHG
‘Maybe she’s outside?’
Canine confusion
, H[SODLQHG RQFH again that I didn’t have another dog.
‘What did this dog look like?’ I asked.
I smiled. ‘Oh, you’ve just seen Pongo,’ I told her. 3RQJR D /DEUDGRU *UH\KRXQG FURVV ZDV P\ ¿UVW UHVFXH GRJ IURP WKH RSPCA and she passed over in 1982. Spirit dog μ6 VR WKDW ZDV D VSLULW"¶ Yvonne said, stunned. ‘She looked so real.’ Although Yvonne was surprised, I wasn’t. I’ve seen 3RQJR PDQ\ WLPHV ± LQ IDFW VKH appeared in spirit just two weeks after her death. I’d got up in the middle of the night to go to the loo, and stepped over her where she lay at the top of the landing. ,W ZDV RQO\ RQFH , ZDV LQ WKH bathroom that I remembered that she’d passed! 6LQFH WKHQ 3RQJR KDV SRSSHG over from the other side every few months or so. Sometimes her visits KDYH FDXVHG TXLWH D VWLU A few years ago, a man was delivering my meat order. At the WLPH , KDG DQRWKHU UHVFXH GRJ FDOOHG 0LVW\ D &ROOLH 6WD H FURVV , R HUHG WKH EXWFKHU D FXS RI WHD My visitor asked who my ‘other’ dog was and while we waited for the kettle to boil, he stood with his back to WKH JDV ¿UH , ZDV IDVFLQDWHG WR VHH his white coat lift up at the back. Playful Pongo ‘What the…?’ gasped the butcher, spinning round. He stared at Misty, who was lying by my patio doors, dozing. ‘Has your dog moved?’ he asked me, frowning. ‘No, she’s been there the whole time,’ I replied. ‘That’s so weird,’ he said. ‘I GH¿QLWHO\ MXVW IHOW D GRJ¶V FROG QRVH touch my bottom.’ ‘I saw your coat lifting at the back!’ I laughed. ‘Don’t worry, it’s just Pongo visiting in spirit.’ ‘You’re saying I’ve been goosed by a ghost? In that case, put some extra sugar in my tea,’ he shuddered. ‘I need it for the shock!’ But it’s not just people who’ve seen Pongo. When I adopted Misty at three months old from The Dog’s Trust, she wanted to sleep under the stairs where Pongo used to have her bed. But whenever Misty tried to get into her bed, her hair would stand up and she’d back away shaking. I realised that Pongo didn’t want to share with Misty! I had to ask Pongo, ‘Please let Misty into the bed, she’s only a little puppy.’ Then Misty tried again and was allowed in the bed. I never had a sleepless night again after that. Misty had a happy life and went to the Rainbow Bridge in 1996. Now, she also visits me. Like all my dog spirit friends, Misty’s not trapped here, she just drops in to say hello. And I always know it’s her. When she was alive, Misty had dainty paws but when she went upstairs it sounded like someone stomping about wearing heavy hobnail boots! A couple of months after she died, I was in bed and I heard the heavy tread on the stairs and I knew Misty was on her way to me. I felt Misty jump onto the bed and I moved my legs to make room for her. I also have visits from my Greyhound Sid, who died in 2010. Greyhound visitor He appears in the lounge to lie by my feet. He was my third dog, after Pongo and Misty, and he came from a charity called the Greyhound Trust. Greyhounds aren’t fond of stairs, so Sid never attempts to come up to see me even in spirit. It’s fair to say my whole family are dog lovers. I have a lovely photo of my adult son Matthew cuddling Pongo at two years old. Like my son, I adored animals from a young age. My big sister Cynthia, who’s 13 years older than me, used to work in a pet shop and I’d go with her and pick up the mice and help clean out the cages. By this time, I was nine years old and already seeing spirit. I grew up with psychic gifts and I remember spotting a Victorian woman with a white bonnet and gloves in the street when I was really small. My encounters never scared me, though - I saw the spirit world as a natural part of life. These days, I still see human spirits but my biggest connection is with spirit animals. And I don’t only see my own dogs, past and present! When my friend Margaret went on holiday I used to look after her ÀDW FRDWHG 5HWULHYHU &DUOD :H¶G both have a wonderful time together. Carla enjoyed herself so much that she’d sulk for days when she returned home. We had a lovely garden whilst 0DUJDUHW OLYHG LQ D ÀDW $QG RI course, Carla had Misty to play with too. The day Carla passed over, I was cutting cheese in the kitchen when I felt her big hairy body press against my side. In life, Carla adored cheese and would do this to me all the time, looking pleadingly up at me while I ate her favourite snack! After my friend had accepted Carla’s death, two weeks later, Carla left me and went straight to Margaret. She still jumps on Margaret’s bed during the night. I don’t doubt that when it’s Mia’s turn to go to the Rainbow Bridge she will come back. I’m an angel card reader on Jenny Smedley’s Facebook page, and I know that angels watch over us all the time. I’m lucky enough to have my spirit dogs watching over me too. I felt Misty jump onto the bed with me