Our pets know they are about to die and wish us an emotional farewell - I'm convinced these stories prove it, by eminent biologist RUPERT SHELDRAKE Sounds far-fetched? Read these compelling stories and you’ll understand how much we can learn from animals about the nature of death By Dr Rupert Sheldrake Published: 02:23, 21 June 2024 | Updated: 02:47, 21 June 2024 e-mail View comments Piglet the Jack Russell seemed to be fading away. He was half blind, barely able to walk and spent most of his days asleep. But one morning, as his loving owner steeled herself to have him euthanised, Piglet seemed to be rejuvenated.
He ran around the garden with the family’s other dogs, wagging his tail, then settled on the sofa to be brushed, his favourite activity. As his owner placed the brush back in its box, Piglet suffered a seizure and died in her arms. His brief recovery was a little-understood occurrence seen in both humans and animals, sometimes called ‘the last rally’ and known in Spanish as ‘mejoría de la muerte’ (literally, ‘the improvement of death’).
The grief of losing a beloved pet can be as intense as the loss of any dear friend — and the experience of witnessing an animal’s death can be deeply painful. Pets have appeared to say goodbye to their beloved owners when they sense death is near For nearly 25 years, as part of my studies into unexplained phenomena in animal psychology, I have collected case studies about pet deaths, stories shared with me .