By Rebecca Birt
It is one thing to call yourself a cat person or a dog person, but to feel you have a spiritual connection to your pets is something 23 year old Chloe* has believed in her entire life. “I grew up with all sorts of animals, but I knew deep down I wasn’t just human, I was linked to dogs too.”
It is one thing to call yourself a cat person or a dog person, but to feel you have a spiritual connection to your pets is something 23 year old Chloe* has believed in her entire life. “I grew up with all sorts of animals, but I knew deep down I wasn’t just human, I was linked to dogs too.”
Chloe refers to herself as dogkin, and sometimes wolfkin, which is a subdivision of otherkin. Otherkin believe themselves to be deeply connected spiritually to the creature in their kintype, which can include dogkin such as Chloe, or other types involving reptiles, mammals and also birds.
This started when she was 8 years old after her family adopted their first dog, a 7 year old Alsatian mix called Milo, and she knew from the start there was something different about this pet. “We already had 2 cats and a budgie, but I had always asked for a dog, so bringing Milo home was one of the best days.” While Milo took his time to trust other members of her family, he took to Chloe instantly.
This started when she was 8 years old after her family adopted their first dog, a 7 year old Alsatian mix called Milo, and she knew from the start there was something different about this pet. “We already had 2 cats and a budgie, but I had always asked for a dog, so bringing Milo home was one of the best days.” While Milo took his time to trust other members of her family, he took to Chloe instantly.
“He wouldn’t leave my side, and I wouldn’t leave his. He was instantly my best friend.”
Being close to a pet is expected but Chloe felt that Milo understood her better than most of her friends and family. She said she felt ‘empowered’ by his presence, as though she was gaining positive energy just by interacting with him and could read his facial expressions as though he had human features.
When I asked her how she knew she had this connection with dogs, she answered immediately. “I can remember having really vivid dreams of running through forests on all fours, I would subconsciously look down at the floor when I walked, I had a really strong sense of smell and I would find myself remembering how people smelled when I first met them instead of what they wore or even what hair colour they had.”
When I asked her how she knew she had this connection with dogs, she answered immediately. “I can remember having really vivid dreams of running through forests on all fours, I would subconsciously look down at the floor when I walked, I had a really strong sense of smell and I would find myself remembering how people smelled when I first met them instead of what they wore or even what hair colour they had.”
“While it seemed weird to everyone around me, from my perspective it was completely normal.”
Chloe first discovered the term ‘otherkin’ after curiosity got the better of her; she found a Wikipedia page explaining otherkin and a Tumblr blog detailing the subtypes. Once she saw dogkin listed, she finally had a name for the connection. Other users had posted their stories, although some felt their otherkin status a lot more strongly than Chloe.
“I read one story about how they felt phantom ears and tails and wished for paws, I’ve never felt that I should change myself.”
“I know I am a human being, there is just a part of me that is spiritually connected to canines.”
*name changed to protect identity.
For more information about otherkin, please visit Otherkin.net or Wikipedia
For more information about otherkin, please visit Otherkin.net or Wikipedia