Dogs have extraordinary senses, such as hearing and smelling, but do they also have some other superior sixth sense?

There is no scientific evidence of their sixth sense, but they continue to surprise us on a regular basis.

I have heard countless stories from pet owners who describe an incident when their dog acted with extraordinary, unbelievable and demonstrable abilities.

Once I was hospitalized with an illness that was tentatively diagnosed as a foodborne illness, or acute food poisoning.

It is not unusual for our dogs to miss one of us and stay close by us when we’ve been gone, however I had never experienced the degree of “missing me” as the day I returned home from the hospital. Our golden retriever Jazz and our yorkie Marlo never left my side.

For three days, Jazz laid beside the couch and Marlo lay on top of me. Every time I would get up, I had to be careful not to send Marlo flying through the air and I had to watch my step to make sure I didn’t step on Jazz’s tail.

Most dog lovers understand this kind of human-animal bond. I’m sure many of you have more impressive stories of how “man’s best friend” refused to leave your side in your time of need.

This kind of closeness is only the tip of the dog bone when it comes to our furry family members’ unique abilities or extraordinary senses.

Some of their natural abilities defy normal scientific research. Dogs have proven over and over they have unique abilities unmatched by any other animal, including humans.

Research has shown some dogs know when their owners are leaving work and have started home. Hidden cameras have captured dogs going to the front door and wait just as their owner has left work.

Dogs have an excellent internal clock, meaning they seem to know what time it is all the time. It would seem fairly normal for a dog to go stand by the front door when 5 p.m. rolls around. However, the research purposely had the owners leave work at random times during the day and the hidden cameras showed their dogs still going to the front door to wait for them.

Most recently, dogs have gained notoriety for being able to detect cancer in people. Many people tell their stories of how their dogs alerted them to the cancer in their body. The dogs most often would lick their owners excessively in an unusual manner. The people paid attention to their dogs and went to the doctor for examination. Each of them was diagnosed with cancer.

This has prompted doctors to try to find out how the dogs were able to do this. It became obvious the dogs were sniffing and smelling the cancer.

The doctors are trying to isolate some unknown protein or chemical cancer cells release allowing the dogs to smell it.

Each year, the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association (KVMA) recognizes and honors some of the more profound special pets that have shown their unique abilities in one way or another.

One of the recipients of this distinguished award was a Bassett hound that had been displaced from his owners during a hurricane. Unfortunately, he was never reunited with his family and ended up under the care of a rescue group.

Eventually, he was adopted, but the nuisance barking Bassett hound quickly ended up being returned to the rescue group because of his desire to bark at anything and everything. In hindsight, I think maybe he was trying to tell someone something important.

He entered into foster care where he found himself living with a disabled lady. It didn’t take long before he was beginning to act strangely just before the lady had a seizure.

The lady adopted him and now he is a certified service dog used to alert his owner of an oncoming seizure.

One night as she began to have a grand-mal seizure while sleeping, the wondrous canine jumped in her bed and pressed against her preventing her from falling out of bed during the seizure.

It seems to me dogs are smarter than we think and they may even posses an extra sense or some kind of unknown powers.

If your dog is acting strangely or not behaving normally, he may be trying to tell you something.

You should see your veterinarian as soon as possible to ensure your dog lives a long, healthy and happy life.

Dr. Jeff Castle is a veterinarian at Clark County Veterinary Clinic.