On May 9, 1995, I lived through one of the most tragic events a fourteen-year-old girl can live through. My sister and I always walked 1/2 a mile down to the bus stop on the busy road that took us to school, as usual our neighbor's dog followed us, as he did almost every morning. Wilbur was a very loving dog, despite being a pit bull mix, and I often felt he was our dog, rather than our neighbors', for he often stayed at our house most of the time. He would always protect us girls when the UPS trucks came to deliver packages, (much to the drivers chagrin) and would often bring us stuffed toys that he was done chewing on or ancient rawhide bones for our puppy, Sally Anne (Sally Anne had a crush on him, as he was a very handsome dog *smile*). On the morning of May 9, he walked us to our bus stop as usual, and then took off down the busy road. My sister and I were worried, and I told her to call him back... I heard the two trucks coming up the road from behind us, but to no avail. Wilbur was killed fifty yards away, right in our line of sight. I screamed, and later my friends told me that they had to hold me back because I very nearly ran out into the road myself. Wilbur cried out in pain, laying there, and tried to look at my sister and I one last time, but he died before he could move enough. In July of that same year, I went out with Sally Anne on a twilight walk. We live in a very rural area, and I walked alone, very unafraid of both the forest and the dark. My dog and I were heading back towards the house when I saw a white thing laying on the side of the lonely gravel road. I thought it was a mangy neighborhood cat and said "get the kitty" to my dog (who loves to chase cats and then lick their faces) and Sally Anne took off... ...and ran right past the white thing. I was puzzled, and as I approached the thing, it rose up off of the ground much the way a dog would after a nap... it was Wilbur, laying in the exact spot where he would wait for my sister and I to come home from school. I remember smiling, and then a sudden feeling of dread came over me... Wilbur was trotting diagonally across the road in front of me, and I remember being able to see *through* his mid-section, seeing his liver and stomach and bones. His eyes looked directly into mine and I felt like someone was telling me to RUN. I ran right through that clear part of Wilbur, the hot July air turning freezer-cold as I did so, and my thighs felt as if they had been sludged through icy jelly (there was nothing on my thighs later, though I had the shivers for quite a while after that). I got into the house and wrote down my story fifteen minutes later, as all good ghost hunters do, and still have the papers till this day. For a week I wondered why Wilbur had come back that night, and pondered this thought nightly after that. I have always been very sensitive to paranormal echoes, (my mom went to a psychic before I was born who told her I had that special gift from God) but felt mystified as to why Wilbur had appeared... then came my answer. A mountain lion had been spotted only eight houses away from ours a few nights before, on July 24, 1995; the same night Sally Anne and I had been out on our evening walk alone in the darkness. Wilbur was protecting me that one last time, and I have never seen him since, although I will hear sniffing at the garage door even when Sally is inside with us. I miss Wilbur very much,and still find myself feeling lonely without his warm brown eyes looking into mine as he wagged his tail on the ground as we watched the sunset together. Still, I know that he still loves me despite being separated by death....I still love you Wilbur. Good boy.

Submitted From: Celyn, California, USA

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