I think it is probable, My dog was so intuitive to my families feelings. When she passed away, each of saw her in the car and the kitchen. her two favorite places to be. But I also saw her at work laying quietly while I worked on my client. She had not ever gone to my work in her life, but afterwards she seemed to be guarding me whereever I went. And doing crazy stunts with a goofy look that she couldn't do in her old physical body. Anyway, I hope she comes back to visit the beaches and lakes and forest we vacationed to and our back yard and all of us who loved her as a family member.

Consciousness is a way of perceiving the various dimensions of reality and everything that we experience has consciouness, the cells of the body, the trees, the animals....even the rocks have consciousness.

Animals have varying degrees of self-consciousness as indeed people do. The consciousness that is within them is as valid and eternal as our own. The mechanics of consciousness do not change for animals or men.

The kind of consciousness that animal possess does not allow as many freedoms as our own. Yet at the same time, they are not hampered in its use by certain characteristics that often impede the practical potential human consciousness.

Religion and science alike have denied other species any real consciousness and when man speaks of the sacredness of life he refers to human life alone.

Nevertheless our species is learning its dependence upon other species, and beginning to comprehend its part in the whole framework in physical reality. Our scientists are beginning to understand man's relationship with nature. We will understand that the species is a part of nature and not apart from it.

As for ghosts are concerned, there are many kinds of ghosts and apparitions as there are people. They are as alert or as unalert to their situation as we are to our own. They are not fully focused in physical reality in personality or in form and this is their main distinction. Some apparitions are thought-forms sent by survival personalities out of lingering deep anxiety. If a ghost wants to contact us he can do so through telepathy and we can construct the corresponding image.

Source: Seth books

They do live-on, on the other side. So many who have had after-death experiences have found their beloved pets waiting for them along with family members, and greeting them when they arrive. I am unsure if they ever get trapped here as ghosts though. Would they have the will to resist moving on to the other side or be able to make that decision? This is only my personal opinion, but I have had many much beloved dogs all of my life, including a couple who were very independent and strong-willed, yet I have never seen a ghost-dog around, even when I would have welcomed that.

There are so many accounts of ghost sightings that it would be hard to dispute the existence of ghosts. Since these apparitions do not have the all the characteristics of a physical being, it's apparent that they are non-physical, or what we commonly call "spiritual" beings.

The existence of spiritual beings is taken for granted by most people. Since nobody has mentioned animism yet, I'll bring it up. Animism (from Latin anima "soul, life") is "a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in other animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, a proposition also known as hylozoism in philosophy. Animism may further attribute souls to abstract concepts such as words, true names or metaphors in mythology. Religions which emphasize animism are mostly folk religions, such as the various forms of Shamanism, but also Shinto and certain currents of Hinduism and Neopaganism emphasize the concept. "Throughout European history, philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, among others, contemplated the possibility that souls exist in animals, plants and people." (from Wikipedia)

The Bible also speaks of animals in the spirit realm in Revelation and in a fascinating story in 2 Kings 6, where a servant of the prophet Elisha has his [spiritual] eyes opened by the Lord so that he sees that "the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." (verse 17)

So from a Christian perspective, we have to acknowledge spirit forms of animals, but the question is whether spirits of animals that have died, return in spirit form (ghosts).

But ultimately, what's real to a person is real for them. If Wanda sees her dog, it's real for her. If I cannot see it, does that mean Wanda is wrong, or does it mean that I am blind to a reality that she sees? LeeAnn's point is well taken, too. Do animals have the level of conscious thought to decide whether to move on or to hang around?

There are so many ultimately unanswerable questions because our experiences are different. You'll never prove a point to someone who is closed to believing it. Personally, I've never seen a ghost animal, but I remain open-minded, so that my reality can continue to expand and grow unhindered by my limiting it.

I believe animals can come back as ghosts, I have heard stories where that is the case, but I believe as they do not have as high a self-awareness or as complex thoughts and emotions as humans, they are less likely to have regrets or fear of dying, and so they are less likely to remain in this world and more likely to move on once they pass away.

If human spirits continue to exist after death than I'm sure that animal spirits would also continue to exist. I believe that all creature including humans who has a conciousness and an awareness would also exist as a ghost after death if such things do exist at all.

I'm not sure as to whether or not ghosts exist, but I know that we had a big orange tabby named Treat (his brother was all black and named Trick), and he ran away and was likely killed.

Fast forward about a year, and we have a new litter of kittens. One is a confident little orange tabby who looks and acts remarkably like Treat--even has a thing for biting! We named him Bufftreat because at birth he looked like Treat as well as another former cat of ours, Buff. My mom is on the verge of just calling him Treat and we all recognize him to be Treat.

We've had this happen at least two other times, so if anything, it seems more likely animals don't so much come back as ghosts as they just come back physically.

It is not possible. Wanda is only so much attached to the dog as to imagine seeing it somewhere. The truth is that animals don't have souls, they only exist because God gave them the spirit to live and after their death the spirit returns to God who gave it. Animals are not spiritual entities as are humans>