Phantom Pets II
Jason L. Langlois, Texas, USA
April 1998
Well, well, well, I'm back, and have an update.
Recently, my ex-girlfriend (I prefer to call her roommate, though, as ex-girlfriend seems to imply that we no longer speak) left on what turned out to be a six month stay in another state. As I had said in my story before (I think it's in the 1997 stories archive), I only felt like a dog was walking on my bed or on me if I was upset or distressed emotionally. Well, I was lonely, so I felt this again... I'm sure it was a dog now, because the steps feel like a dog trotting, and not a cat (I've recently had a cat walk on me... feels very different)
I started feeling the sensation even when I wasn't depressed. I began to feel the feeling so often, I started to experiment. I found that it came no matter what position I lay in, or what mood. Also, she began to "play" more, romping around and actually began to disturb me. I felt the impression of a nose, a dogs nose, pressed against my back or leg, but when I touched the spot, nothing was there. I began to think it was my mind or body playing tricks on me, since I wanted to be "haunted" to prove to myself such things were possible.
Well, the clincher came one night as I was on my home computer. I was typing to some friends on AOL (I don't care what people say about it, I like it) and I felt something brush my leg. That didn't surprise me as I sometimes get small breezes from the fireplace flue. But when I reached down to scratch the resulting itch, I heard a noise. It's still hard to describe, but it sounded like a bark, but distorted, as if a small dog were barking in a tin pail. Very tinny and echoing, like that. I tried to convince myself it was my over active imagination, and haven't heard the sound again, but the more I thought about it, the more I know it was heard by my ears and not my mind.
Well, now I haven't felt the sensation for a week, since my ex-girlfriend is back to pack her things, and has brought her rather large, friendly dog with her. I wonder if my spirit dog is jealous?...