Animals Who Smell Death
Can dogs and cats detect when someone is dying or about to die? Some say a resounding yes, and as weird as it sounds, it actually makes sense--at least, in some cases. The superior sense of smell that a dog has, for example, may be able to pick up some conditions that have an odor that is undetectable to the human sense of smell. Scientists believe that dogs may be able to smell melanoma, for example.
Even so, that doesn't explain cases like the hospice cat who snuggles with patients the night before they die. Workers at the hospice say that the cat is usually so correct that they will even contact family members when they notice it snuggling with a patient in order for the family to say their last goodbyes. Is this just one isolated cat who can smell bodies that no longer function or is something more at play here?
What do you think about animals that can sense or smell death and dying?
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia