Study Suggests Pets Say Goodbye Before They Die

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Kanashi via Unsplash

In countless households, pets are family members. When our furry and feathered friends pass away, one wonders if they understand how important they have been to us, and how loved they were and will always be. Many pet owners have struggled to know when to let go, and what that beloved four-legged creature is thinking. 

Which makes intriguing a recent video conversation, delivered as part of his “Findings” series, by Rupert Sheldrake on how animals say goodbye.

The biologist bases his conversation on his 2023 report published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, in which he relayed 43 stories of people speaking about the surprising and, in some cases, wonderful endings they witnessed and shared with their animal companions. 

In “Experiences of Dying Animals: Parallels With End-Of-Life Experiences in Humans,” Sheldrake writes of how these experiences seem to match the behaviors of humans, comparing some to what is called terminal lucidity in humans. He writes, “This similarity between animal and human (end-of-life experiences) might be a sign of a common physiology … and could also increase the recognition that animals share an inner life similar to that of humans during all phases of life.”  

These “last rallies” and “last goodbyes” include the budgie who was uncommunicative with his humans for most of his life until the last 10 minutes. That’s when he made his way into a room he’d never entered, walked up to the woman who had adopted him, and — for the first time in his life — let her pick him up. He then died, cuddled in her hands. 

And the couple whose dog, Ollie, in the hours before he died, “sat watching the sunrise for minutes… transfixed, then walked round slowly looking at all parts of the house, garden, etc. … it was a very distinctive behavior that was very different… and we knew it was his time.”  

And as one pet owner said of a beloved cat named Cleo: “She put her paw upon my hand and gazed into my eyes with intensity. She was saying goodbye to me.” 

Five Notable End-of-Life Behaviors

Sheldrake sorts the end-of-life experiences into categories and ranks them according to how common they are. 

• Last goodbyes: The animal says goodbye to the people around them. This was the most commonly reported behavior. Examples include a cat sitting on every family member’s lap or a dog looking deeply into the eyes of their owner.  
• Last visits: An animal that has been living with different people travels to say goodbye to someone else. For example, a cat travels across the street to a former owner, or a pet seemingly fights to stay alive until kids return from college. 
• Last rally: The animal experiences a sudden surge of energy before it dies. 
• Terminal lucidity: The animal seems to be clear-minded and alert during its final days.  
• Retreat into solitude: The animal heads into the woods or wilderness to die alone. The animal may also retreat away from humans in the home. 

Sheldrake — who is not without his doubters in other hypotheses he has questioned and written about — notes that the study is small and built on anecdotes, and there is no way to confirm whether pets are truly saying goodbye or trying to communicate another message. However, many pet owners seem confident in their interpretation of end-of-life behaviors: the animals were saying goodbye. 

Image credit: Michael via Unsplash

Other Studies Show Non-Humans Showing Grief Behaviors

The overlap between humans and other animals’ behavior when it comes to death does not stop at apparent end-of-life premonitions. Biologists have studied grief and mourning in various species, ranging from elephants to birds.

Earlier this year, the BBC wrote of a killer whale clinging to a dead newborn calf, and magpies bringing twigs and leaves to cover their dead. The report included such stories going back years. In 1972, primate researcher Jane Goodall noticed a chimpanzee fall into what she considered a state of depression after his mother died. He stopped engaging with others and wouldn’t eat, and died a month later. 

If humans believe that animals understand the concept of death and feel grief when faced with loss, they may also know when they are about to die, as Sheldrake tried to show.    

The 43 stories — plus an additional 71 anecdotes included as an addendum in this study —  suggest how much in common we humans have with all other animals, including our pets, in life and perhaps as we near death.