Do animals have souls?

For eons, men and women have pondered the question: Do animals have souls?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, one of the definitions of "soul" is: The ability of a person to feel kindness and sympathy for others. And: A person's deeply felt moral and emotional nature.

Any dog or cat pet parent will tell you that animals have a sixth sense when it comes to understanding human emotional needs. For instance, when you are feeling down, an animal can often act as a better confidant than another human.

Animals possess a sense of fairness; they can distinguish between right and wrong, they are capable of fidelity, altruism, and even self-sacrifice.

Did you know that animals are aware of death? They have a sense of their own mortality, and grieve at the loss of companions, whether another animal or a human.

There are many examples of how dogs have sacrificed their lives to help humans.

Kabang lost her snout saving two Filipino girls from a motorcycle accident. And for indisputable evidence of how courageous dogs can be, take a look at the team of golden retrievers who arrived in Newtown, Connecticut to help comfort the victims after the Sandy Hook shooting. Or the Japanese akita who jumped into freezing waters to save his suicidal owner.

Cats have also been known to go above and beyond for their humans - such as Tara, a normally mellow family cat that saved her four-year-old family member Jeremy from a scary, unprovoked dog attack.

In 1986, when a 5-year-old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness, Jambo, a gorilla, stood guard over the boy while he was unconscious, placing himself between the boy and other gorillas until the boy was rescued.

For centuries, humans have imagined they are the only animals with morals. But humans are not alone in the moral arena, a new breed of behavior experts say.

"Dogs are thinking animals," said animal behaviorist Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "They seek the outcomes they want. They avoid the ones they don't. They solve problems. They have expectations. They have hopes."

So, do animals have souls?

Let's see what a few animal lovers from Sisters Country say:

Sue Dolezal, airport controller for Sister Eagle Airport:

"Our dog Henry is 12 years old now. And from the age of seven weeks when we brought him home, he has been described as an old soul. He reads people. He reads me daily in my life. He cuddles when it is appropriate, he makes me laugh, and over the years as both a crisis response canine and a therapy dog, Henry has demonstrated the amazing ability to find the most stressed out person in a room and sit with them."

Sisters resident Sana Hayes, founder of Paws for a Visit:

"When you get very still and quiet, witnessing those moments we call life, you can surely notice a vibration or sense of presence from those no longer here. The body disintegrates, but the essence of that which has once touched our hearts resonates eternally. Most people who have outlived a beloved pet can attest to this depth of soul connection."

Longtime dog owner Helen Schmidling, former education editor for Banfield Pet Hospital:

"I do believe animals have souls - different from our souls - but nonetheless. For what is a soul? It's an immaterial part of a being, that life and spirit that inhabits our physical body. And once one has departed? It's still a spirit, a connection, a memory. We have established a deep and rich relationship with animals, inviting them into our homes as family members. When they pass on, a part of them remains connected to us, and that connection is purely spiritual."