This story a part of the True Ghost Stories page on Obiwan's UFO-Free Paranormal Page. Please do not copy or distribute without permission from Obiwan and/or the original author!
Date: Sat, 2 May 1998 13:54:30 -0700 (PDT)
To: guestbook@ghosts.org
address anonymous
This is my first time to submit a story anywhere so please excuse my lack of expertise. This is not a particularly sensational story, but perhaps one that other people may have experienced something similar to. I have other strange events happen to me but don't quite feel comfortable discussing them as they are highly personal
When I was a child we had a beloved dog that was a member of our family just as important as the all the official people members were. He was named Sergeant and was a beautiful large German Shepherd that we had gotten while I was only 2 and he was only about 8 weeks. So we grew up together. He was included in all facets of our family life. He was very protective gentle and loving. A great dog for kids. Sergeant was always allowed to run free as we often didn't live in a real urban area. He was very protective and no one approached us or our home uninvited. At night Sarge would sleep in the living room (the couch, he wouldn't lay there during the day because he knew he wasn't supposed to but felt secure with it once we were all in our beds) and would periodically waken and climb down to make his rounds. Our house had somewhat of a circular type hall that began in the living room went past all the bedrooms then led into the kitchen and circled back into the living room.! !
At night he'd leave his couch and walk down the hall, pausing at each bedroom door to check in, then complete his trek clicking his toenails on the linoleum kitchen floor and return to his forbidden couch.
Unfortunately, nature does not allow canines to live as long as we want them to live. At age 11 (old for a dog I guess) he developed cancer and was nearing the time when we would have to have him put to sleep when oddly he was killed by a motor vehicle. After 11 years of being street smart. We were of course heart sick but consoled ourselves with realizing the pain of loss is but a small price to pay in comparison to the many years of joy he brought us. We didn't have the heart to think about acquiring another dog as someone so beloved cannot be easily replaced. A time of mourning is needed for the loss a loved one even if it's not a human loved one.
I was 12 at the time and I remember so clearly lying in bed at night and I could actually hear him (he was a large dog) walk down the hallway, pause at the bedrooms and then head back down the hallway to the kitchen where I would then wait to hear his toenails click on the linoleum of the kitchen. He never stepped into the kitchen though. I often heard his nightly ritual, then one day mentioned it to my mother. She was at first somewhat stunned and a little at a loss for words. I could tell that she had heard him too but of course she said that it was just the sound of the furnace. This continued for several months.