The Return of Banshee

by Donna C. (Cobi & Beemer’s Person)

For those of you who are curious about reincarnation in dogs I am passing along revelations from my recent experiences with Laura……….

Banshee, my dear friend’s 7 year old black tri aussie, passed away unexpectedly this past March.  Banshee was an amazing dog.  She was the only dog born from her mother, Molly’s, first breeding.  No, there were no others that were stillborn, she was THE only puppy.  Banshee, however, possessed all the talent, personalities and craziness of an entire litter, within her strong, agile body.   During her lifetime she became an agility champion and produced many champion show dogs, agility, service, therapy dogs and wonderful pets.

About a month after her passing I brought a picture to Laura and asked if she could contact Banshee.  The first thing Banshee said was to tell her owner that she did not get sick from being attacked by a wild animal (something her owner suspected, but that I did not share with Laura).  She said that it was her time to go because she had other work she needed to do and that was to help other dogs who did not have all their legs working.  She said that there is a little handmade blanket on the bed and that when her owner holds that blanket she will be holding Banshee.  Finally, she said one of her daughters who looks like her will now be in charge of the other dogs.

I called my friend and told her what Laura said.  Sure enough, there is a little handmade baby blanket that Banshee slept with on the bed in the master bedroom.  Banshee would not let any of the other dogs on the bed, but since she has passed, her daughter, May, who looks like Banshee, now sleeps on the bed and has assumed the alpha dog role.  I asked her if she knew any dogs with leg trouble and she said there is a dog with 3 legs they do agility with, but that Banshee didn’t really know that dog.  Banshee is a service dog, so it is in her nature to be helpful to others.  My friend was happy to know that Banshee was not attacked and that she is doing something helpful.

The following month I came back to Laura with my dog.  He had torn his ACL and was facing surgery the following day.  He was very depressed and upset about spending another summer laid up, as we had just been through this procedure with his other leg exactly a year earlier.  After his surgery we went back to see Laura and my dog told Laura that Banshee has been with him though his entire ordeal and that when he is feeling weak and discouraged Banshee gives him strength to get through it.  My dog has had an amazing recovery and is weeks ahead of schedule from this time last year.  A few weeks later my dog said he still sees Banshee and she told him she is ready to come back, maybe this time as a silver colored dog.

Banshee’s daughter, May, produced a litter of pups on July 5^th.  I was going to see Laura to check in on my dog’s progress and asked my friend if there was anything she wanted me to ask on her behalf.  She said that the Ski Patrol at one of the resorts in Colorado has requested a puppy from this litter and said to ask which one, if any, would be the best candidate.  I never really got around to asking that question.  Instead, I asked, since Banshee said she was ready to come back, if there was any chance that she may be in this litter just born.   It took what seemed like a long time for Laura to answer, but when she did, in a rather confused sounding voice, she said that there is a black tri male with a white right paw and on it’s behind, not where the tail is there is a crescent moon shape.  I said, that doesn’t make sense because Banshee wanted to be a silver colored dog.  Banshee said that this dog has a much stronger more powerful body and she is happier there.   I asked if that is because she is going to be the dog to go to the Ski Patrol.  She said she wasn’t telling because it’s going to be a big surprise.

Thoroughly convinced Banshee was in this new litter and destined for the Ski Patrol I anxiously called my friend.   I didn’t tell her I asked about Banshee.  When my friend said there was no pup fitting the description Laura gave my heart sank in disbelief – Laura is never wrong!  My friend cautiously asked why I wanted to know.  I told her Banshee said this is how she is coming back and that it will be a surprise.  My friend said, wow, this explains a lot……..

Banshee has a daughter they call “Cue”.  Cue’s name is “Behind the 8-Ball” because when she was a puppy she had two white spots on her hips near her rear that if you looked at them together they looked like an 8 Ball.  As she matured and filled out the spots grew apart and turned into little crescent moons.  This very unusual marking was considered overmarking for a black tri so the dog was not able to compete in the show ring but demonstrated an amazing talent for herding.   Cue got certified in herding in record time.  She loved it and was being prepped to compete in a huge competition.  About two weeks before the competition Cue shut down and would not cooperate.  She was suddenly no longer interested in herding.  Her personality began to change so much that both my friend and Cue’s owner said she was not the same dog.  In fact, they both commented that if they “didn’t know better” they would swear it was Banshee!  I said, but Laura said it is a male.  My friend said that Cue is very strong and powerful, and not at all feminine.

When my friend called Cue’s owner to pass along this information she asked how Cue was doing.  Her  owner said that she was trying to find something else for Cue to do since she was no longer interested in herding.  Cue had very limited agility training on a few obstacles, but not on a course. Her owner put her on a course to see if she would like to try training for agility.  With little to no direction Cue did the course perfectly, even the difficult obstacles– Surprise!!!