Specky the paranormal dog, who could see into our lives

Specky came into our lives about a year ago. She was a rescue dog and her original name was Old Speckled Hen, so I’m guessing the previous owner was a fan of the British beer Old Speckled Hen, or they thought she was a chicken – either way, alcohol may have been involved.

We shortened her name to Specky: Old Speckled Hen was too long and clunky to use for regular doggy commands – it’d be tricky to say “Sit, Old Speckled Hen” or “Shake hands, Old Speckled Hen” or “Stop mauling the face of that child, Old Speckled Hen!”

“Specky” kind of suited her anyway. It was the perfect triple-whammy name: she had speckles all over her fur, she had rings around her eyes that looked like spectacles, and she liked to footy-leap onto the back of other dogs while onlookers roared with delight. Though she wasn’t the most confident dog at first: she was a little timid and nervous and aloof. Understandable: she’d spent the first year of her life thinking she was either beer or poultry.

Two weeks after we got Specky, my dear sister-in-law Becky passed away – it happened exactly one year ago today. Becky never got to meet Specky, but on the night Becky died, at 3 in the morning, as my wife and I stood in the kitchen clinging onto each other and crying … something extraordinary happened. Our timid, nervous, aloof dog … began to dance.

Specky bounded around the house with crazy exuberance, like Schapelle Corby doing the Charleston on Dancing With The Stars. Specky danced on the couch, danced around the coffee table, danced up and down the hallway – it was so unexpected we actually stopped grieving to watch our dancing dog, then we went back to grieving, then back to the dog. This went on for about two minutes.

Look, I’m not a big believer in paranormal stuff. Years ago I thought I saw a golden-haired girl-ghost in the bathroom doorway when I got up at night to take a pee – but the next morning my wife reminded me that we have a little blonde daughter who sometimes gets up at night for pees, and also, I’m legally blind without my glasses on.

Another time, when Donald Trump got elected, I remember the afternoon sky suddenly turning freakishly dark and malevolent, and I thought “The devil has arrived! The apocalypse has begun!” But then I remembered that I lived in Melbourne and the weather can be a bit unpredictable – even the weather report forecasted “freakish skies with patches of malevolence”.

But this dog-dancing thing was something else. I know it sounds ridiculous but some kind of powerful energy definitely entered Specky on that terrible night, and our dog transformed into … Paranormal Dog. Spooky stuff started happening: Specky suddenly became affectionate and playful and happy around the house, always sitting under the ginkgo tree that Becky once gave us as a gift.