A six-year-old dog has been named the real-life Scooby Doo, as his owners have discovered that he has a real talent for hunting troublesome spirits.
The dog goes by the name Bond during the day, but Scooby at night, when he assists his owners, Helen and Brian Sterling-Vete, with their paranormal investigations.
Brian first began investigations into the paranormal in 2012, after he stayed at Lilford Hall in Northamptonshire, and experienced paranormal activity in the derelict 110-room mansion. Brian now runs the Manchester-based ghost hunting agency, Paranormal Rescue, with the help of his four-legged companion, sharing their discoveries through documentaries, TV shows and books.
Bond was a race dog for three years before he was rescued by Greyhound Gap and adopted by Brian and Helen. He is a sighthound (also known as a gazehound), which is a type of dog that hunts primarily by sight and speed.
Brian says that Bond’s vision is exceptionally good in dark and semi-dark conditions – a helpful skill when searching for ghosts at night, “when he detects something, he’s off like a rocket,” his owner noted.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Bond has had a few close encounters with the paranormal, during his enquiries. Brian described one instance: “We were visiting an abandoned prison and as soon as my wife took Bond inside, he ran to an open jail cell where he started growling. He went inside and started choking so we rushed him outside and were about to call a vet when he suddenly recovered. We later found out that in that particular cell two prisoners had died by suicide, by hanging.”
Bond now accompanies Brian and Helen to every investigation. “I would say around 3-5% of what I’ve experienced has been genuinely defying rational explanation,” concluded Brian.
