Canada's 2025 summer forecast spotlights heat dome and ring of fire
It's time to get out and explore Canada's great outdoors!
Canadian summers truly are fantastic opportunities to enjoy our country's spectacular scenery with our extended daylight hours. The one wild card is always the weather!
After a long winter and a sporadic spring, will we be rewarded with a warm and sunny summer so that we can enjoy our favourite outdoor activities?
According to The Weather Network's summer forecast, the upcoming season will truly deliver for those who have been longing for warmer weather. We expect that most of Canada will experience temperatures that are warmer than normal during the months of June, July, and August.
National temperature forecast for this summer. (The Weather Network)
While most of Canada will experience a warm summer, we are highlighting the potential for temperatures to be much warmer than normal across parts of the country (especially during July and August), stretching from the Rockies to northwestern Ontario. Those areas face a risk of extended heat waves and a few days of extreme heat. The excessive heat could also occasionally extend into British Columbia, but we do not expect it to be as persistent there as it will be across the Prairies.
In Eastern Canada, from the Great Lakes to Atlantic Canada, we anticipate a warm and humid summer. While a few heat waves are possible, we do not expect persistent or extreme heat. For most of the region, high temperatures should be near normal or slightly above normal, but nighttime temperatures are forecast to be warmer than normal due to the muggy conditions.
We expect this summer to feature below-normal rainfall across most of Western Canada. While extended stretches of sunny and dry weather may sound ideal, too much of a good thing can also lead to serious concerns.
A heat dome is expected to be a persistent feature over the central United States during July and August. We anticipate that this will result in widespread drought across that region, and we are concerned that drought conditions will expand north of the border, particularly across the southern Prairies, with the potential for significant impacts on agriculture.
National precipitation forecast for this summer. (The Weather Network)
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To the north of the drought areas there will be frequent thunderstorms, including a threat of strong to severe storms with localized torrential rain. This weather pattern with thunderstorms that develop and track around the edge of the heat dome is often referred to as the "ring of fire."
There is considerable uncertainty regarding which parts of the Prairies will be affected most by these regular storms. However, the rain is not expected to be widespread enough to mitigate the threat of wildfires. We are also concerned about wildfires across much of British Columbia and northwestern Ontario.
Eastern Canada could experience periods of dry weather, but we do not expect widespread or prolonged drought conditions this summer from east of the Great Lakes to Atlantic Canada. That region will see more frequent showers and thunderstorms, with a risk of strong to severe storms and torrential downpours at times.
However, keep in mind that summer thunderstorms are notorious for being localized, and we often see areas that repeatedly miss out on rain in close proximity to places that have a surplus.
Below is a more detailed look at what we can expect across the country during the upcoming summer season:
Click here to view the video
A hot summer is anticipated across the interior of the province, including Kelowna and Kamloops, particularly during July and August. However, temperatures should trend closer to seasonal averages near the coast, including Vancouver and Victoria.
Rainfall totals are forecast to be below normal or near normal across most of the province, so the threat of wildfires, smoke, and poor air quality will increasingly concern us as we progress through the season. Keep in mind that summer is the driest time of year in B.C., so even normal precipitation combined with hot temperatures is insufficient to prevent a significant fire danger.
At this point, we expect the hottest weather this summer to be focused to the east of B.C., but we are concerned that it may expand west into the province at times. If the heat does remain concentrated to the east, then showers and thunderstorms will be more frequent and widespread across the province than our current forecast suggests. If it occurs, it would provide significant relief from the dry conditions.
Click here to view the video
A hot summer is forecast for the province, including Edmonton and Calgary, especially during July and August. That includes a threat of extended heat waves and a risk of extreme heat at times.
Widespread drought is a major concern this summer, particularly across the southern half of the province, with a risk of significant impacts on agriculture. Wildfires, smoke, and poor air quality are also concerns.
While much of the province is expected to receive below-normal rainfall, thunderstorms will still occur at times, especially in the central and northern parts of the province, bringing the typical threat of severe storms, localized torrential rain, and hail.
A hot summer is expected across the region, including Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg, especially during July and August. That includes a risk for extreme and extended heat waves at times.
Widespread drought is expected this summer across the central United States, and we are concerned that the drought will extend well north of the border and impact at least the southern Prairies, with a risk for a significant impact to agriculture. Wildfires and smoke are also potential concerns.
However, powerful thunderstorms will provide some relief from the dry weather at times, with a risk for severe storms and localized torrential rain, especially for central and northern parts of the region.
A hot and dry summer is expected across western parts of the region, especially west of Lake Superior, including Thunder Bay. To the east of Lake Superior, including Sudbury, we expect that temperatures will be warmer than normal, but we should see more humidity across this region. That will contribute to a higher threat for showers and thunderstorms and muggy nights, but daytime temperatures will not be as hot as what we will see to the west of the region.
The threat of wildfires is a major concern across northern Ontario, especially to the north and west of Lake Superior. If this threat is realized, the fires could have a far-reaching impact on the other parts of the country with smoke and a risk for poor air quality at times.
Click here to view the video
After a sluggish and sporadic spring, a warm and humid summer is expected across the region, including London, Toronto, and Ottawa. Early June will feature a quick transition to a much warmer pattern, and we could see our first heat wave before Canada Day.
However, we do not expect persistent or severe heat throughout the summer. A few cool fronts will track across the region and deliver periods of more refreshing conditions. The higher humidity is forecast to keep overnight temperatures significantly warmer than normal, but daytime high temperatures are expected to be near normal or just slightly above normal.
We should experience stretches of drier weather during the summer, but we do not expect widespread or prolonged drought in this region. The muggy conditions will contribute to more frequent showers and the risk for powerful thunderstorms. As a result, most of the region should see near normal or above normal precipitation totals for the season.
Click here to view the video
A warm and humid summer is expected across the region, including Montreal and Quebec City. While spring struggled to deliver consistently warm weather, a much warmer pattern is likely for the month of June, and we could see our first heat wave before Canada Day.
However, we do not expect the heat to be persistent or severe this summer. Occasional cold fronts are expected to deliver periods with more refreshing conditions.
Higher humidity should keep overnight temperatures warmer than normal and contribute to more frequent showers and a risk for powerful thunderstorms at times.
We will also be keeping a close eye on the tropics. While we don't expect the hurricane season to be as active as the past two years, the remnants of a tropical system or two could still bring substantial rain to parts of the province later in the summer or fall.
A warm and humid summer is expected across the region, including Halifax, Fredericton, and Charlottetown, but occasional cold fronts will bring more refreshing conditions at times.
While there should be dry stretches, we expect that showers and thunderstorms will be frequent enough to avoid widespread or prolonged drought, and to bring rain totals to near normal or above normal across the region.
As we get deeper into the season, we will closely watch the tropics. A more typical Atlantic hurricane season is expected, but the anticipated jet stream pattern would bring an elevated risk for a tropical system to impact the region.
Click here to view the video
Changeable temperatures are expected this summer, resulting in near-normal temperatures across most of the province, including Gander and St. John's. However, temperatures are anticipated to be on the warmer side of normal across southwestern Newfoundland, including Corner Brook and across western Labrador.
There will be periods of dry weather this summer, but a few moisture-laden systems from the Atlantic should bring rainfall totals to near normal. Later in the season, we will keep a close watch on the tropics due to the potential for remnants of tropical systems. If a system does track into the province from the tropics, localized rainfall totals are likely to be wetter than normal.
Click here to view the video
A warm summer is expected across most of the region, with above-normal temperatures expected across the N.W.T., most of Nunavut, and eastern parts of the Yukon. Near-normal temperatures are expected for much of Baffin Island and the western half of the Yukon.
We expect that much of the Yukon will see above-normal precipitation, but near-normal precipitation is expected across the rest of the region. The anticipated warm weather and stretches of dry weather will bring an increasing threat of wildfires, smoke, and poor air quality at times.
The Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be near normal or slightly more active than normal. However, that actually means that the upcoming season should have fewer tropical storms and hurricanes than most of the seasons during the past decade.
But that does not mean that we can let our guard down across Eastern Canada. The anticipated jet stream pattern would bring an elevated risk for a tropical system to track into the U.S. Northeast (which would also impact eastern Ontario and southern Quebec) and Atlantic Canada.
On the other hand, we expect a quieter-than-normal season in the deep tropics (including the Caribbean), but more storms are expected to form north of the Main Development Region (MDR), and those storms would have a higher potential to impact North America.
Click here to view the video
Summer in Canada provides wonderful opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors and explore the diverse beauty of our country. However, summer weather also comes with potential risks. Please stay informed about the local forecast to ensure a safe and enjoyable summer!
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CNN
23 minutes ago
- CNN
‘Pawprints on my heart': How bonding with a pet becomes a religious experience
James Taylor is a prominent Canadian theologian who has written 15 books on faith and grief, taught religion at several colleges and been the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. But one of his greatest spiritual teachers was a companion who liked to chase ducks and steal Taylor's underwear — and whose most prestigious award was being honored by a local newspaper as its Pet of the Week. His friend was 'Brick,' a high-spirited, purebred Irish Setter that Taylor rescued with his wife, Joan. During Brick's first night in his new home, he managed to topple Taylor's border lamp, scatter his glasses and sweep his alarm clock off a nightstand. When Taylor awakened the next morning he discovered Brick slumbering, with one hind leg sticking up through a lampshade. Over time, though, Brick proved to be a rock. He stood by Taylor's side when he was ill and loved him no matter what. Taylor says the depth of feelings he gradually developed for Brick showed him that some of the most profound moments in life — falling hopelessly in love; feeling a newborn's baby's hand close around your finger; watching a daughter walk down a wedding aisle — could not be captured by sermons. 'My father was a minister, so I grew up in a world of words,' Taylor says. 'I thought wisdom came to me by the words that I read in the Bible or a book on theology. The thing that animals taught me is that God doesn't speak to us just in words but in our experiences. God reaches us through our experiences, and animals are a part of that experience.' Many books and studies in recent years have explored why so many people are leaving organized religion. But few scholars have explored another trend: The growing number of people who've found that bonding with their pets becomes a spiritual experience. We are in the middle of the Great Pet Awakening — a surge of people who say that owning a pet is a religious experience. In a post-pandemic era when many people still live in isolation, more pet owners are saying their furry friends are not mere companions. They are 'partners in a spiritual journey,' according to David Michie, an author and Buddhist commentator. This awakening is due in part to math. Pet ownership in the US has risen over the past 30 years. At least 66% of Americans say they own a pet, up from 56% in 1988. Virtually all people consider their pets members of the family. The other reason for this trend is more intangible. More people are publicly sharing how owning a pet led them to develop spiritual habits traditionally taught by religion. Pets, they say, teach them about forgiveness and the importance of fellowshipping with others. Pets also embody grace — they accept humans as they are. Pets also prompt many of their owners to confront a heavy theological question: Does Fido have a soul? It's common for pet owners to ask online forums what happens to their pets when they die. That curiosity has spawned a new literary genre: pet psychics who assure people that yes, 'some angels choose furs over feathers.' Books such as 'Yes, Pets Do Go to Heaven' and 'The Amazing Afterlife of Animals' assure people that their departed now frolic in celestial meadows. Some psychics offer pet owners even more consolation: a chance to hear personalized messages from their pets in the Great Beyond. Matt Fraser, a psychic medium and author of 'We Never Die: Secrets of the Afterlife,' says he offers a spiritual connection between people and pets. It turns out that pets have a lot to say. Fraser holds seances to help people connect with the spirits of their loved ones. He says it's not unusual for pets to break through his sessions with humans to communicate with their former owners. Fraser, who starred in a reality show called 'Meet the Frasers,' says he believes some pets in the afterlife find other ways to communicate with their former owners in the physical world. 'So next time you hear a faint bark, see a toy where it doesn't belong, or feel a warm, familiar presence by your side, take it as a sign—your spirit pet is saying hello,' Fraser wrote in one essay. Some people mourn more over the passing of their pets than their relatives, Fraser tells CNN. 'Nobody really understands how these animals really grow on you, how much you love them until it's too deep,' says Fraser, who owns three Bengal cats. 'When we lose them, people grieve and say, 'God, I never expected to grieve so hard.' ' It opens up a whole different side of your heart, just like children do.' If a pet psychic sounds like too much, consider this: Animals have been considered conduits to the spiritual world through much of human history. Ancient Egyptians treated cats as divine symbols and thought they provided companionship to their masters in the afterlife (many were buried with them in tombs). Many ancient religions believed animals functioned as 'spirit guides,' appearing to human beings in dreams and daily life to offer wisdom and guidance. Have you ever heard a person say they saw a red cardinal after someone close to them died? The cardinal is popularly viewed as a spirit guide. The connection between pets and spirituality is not limited to one religion. A Pew Research Center poll released last month revealed that a majority of adults in Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Jewish countries believe that animals can have spirits or spiritual energies. No less of a spiritual authority than the late Pope Francis said there's a place for pets in paradise. While comforting a boy whose dog died, Francis told him: 'One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all creatures.' Another revered spiritual leader, Mahatma Gandhi, also believed that animals are sacred. 'To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being,' said the nonviolent activist who helped lead India to independence from England in 1947. 'I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection from the cruelty of man.' There are times, though, that pets owners feel helpless. That's when many of them say having a pet deepens their spirituality. The faith of Taylor, the author and minister, was tested by a cruel succession of personal losses. His son, Stephen, died at 21 from cystic fibrosis. He watched Non-Hodgkin lymphoma destroy his mother's body. He saw his then 93-year-old father — a minister with three honorary divinity degrees — struggle with pain in his final days. When Taylor asked his father which hymns and Scriptures he wanted read at his memorial service, his father said, 'I don't care. I won't be there.' At one point, Taylor was no longer sure he believed in life after death. Yet Brick had a way of sensing his mood and comforting him, Taylor says. He recalls what happened once when he fell ill. 'I went and sprawled on my couch, feeling sorry for myself,' Taylor tells CNN. 'And for the first time, Brick jumped on the couch and curled up against me. He recognized that I was in pain and suffering. It wasn't just enough to lick my face.' Companions like Brick provide what God also promises, Taylor wrote in 'The Spirituality of Pets,' a book that explores the link between pets and faith. 'Pets probably come as close to giving and receiving unconditional love as we can come in this flawed world,' he wrote. Pets also can provide healing, some owners say. This claim is backed up by science. Owning a pet can lower a person's blood pressure and the release of cortisol, a stress-related hormone. Among people who suffer strokes, pet owners live longer than those without animal companions. Service dogs can sense oncoming seizures in their owners, while some say cats can recognize the presence of cancer. Pets can heal psychological scars as well. Some prisons allow inmates to adopt pets. The experience of caring for another living creature has been found to soften inmates' anger, allowing some to experience warmth and affection for the first time in their lives. A growing number of churches now recognize the spiritual dimension to pet ownership. Many offer blessing ceremonies for pets and others have turned church grounds into dog parks to attract new members. Some Christians have created ministries such as Canines for Christ, which provides dogs to patients at children's hospitals, nursing homes and hospice facilities. Unlike people, pets don't judge. Taylor tells a story in his book about a service dog who was escorted into a hospital room, looked past the burn-scarred face of the patient and 'with the wag of its tail,' conveyed to the man, 'I love you.'' Pets also can help their owners confront the ultimate mystery of life that religion addresses: how to make peace with one's mortality. Pets don't tend to live as long as their owners. For some children, losing a pet is their first exposure to death. For some adults, watching a pet die illuminates their spiritual beliefs. That's what happened to Scott Dill. He and his wife, Tara, are longtime dog lovers. One of their favorites was 'Socks,' a black-and-white Shih Tzu rescue. They clicked with Socks right from the beginning. He had a placid temperament and immediately allowed their two daughters, Hyland and Lydia, to walk him by leash. He wasn't aggressive with other dogs. He liked people. 'He was super chill,' says Dill, director of spiritual growth at Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. 'A squirrel could have walked over his head, and he wouldn't have paid attention.' After about a decade, Dill noticed a change in Socks. He lost weight, suffered panic attacks and would abruptly stop and stare into corners. Dill took him to the vet. The diagnosis was a brain tumor. Dill and his family reluctantly decided to euthanize Socks to prevent more suffering. The entire experience — Socks quietly sitting in Tara's lap as they rode to the vet; watching the vet administer a sedative to a calm Socks; touching Socks as he quietly took his last breath — became a religious epiphany for Dill. Christians preach that God loved humanity so much that he sacrificed his son to display that love. Dill knows the Scriptures that commemorate that sacrifice. But the emotional weight of giving up Socks made him feel those scriptures in a new way. Dill shared this experience in an essay entitled, 'We Put Our Dog Down and Saw God.' He wrote that his loss showed him how much God must have hurt when He gave up His Son. 'Through the pain of this loss, God has lovingly reminded me of the incalculable weight of his rescue,' Dill wrote. 'I got a clearer picture of that cost. The cost of love.' After Socks died, Dill says his family carried the dog's body home and buried him in their backyard. They said a short prayer over his grave, thanking God for Socks' life. They erected a gravestone that stands today as a reminder of their loss. 'Even though it was the right decision to put him down,' Dill tells CNN, 'there's just something surreal about being able to choose whether a creature should live or die.' Taylor had to face the same choice with Brick. When Brick was about eight, he started to decline. He struggled to get to his feet while getting out of bed. He stumbled going downstairs. When Taylor took him for walks, Brick's trot turned into a plod. 'I recognized all these symptoms because I have them myself,' Taylor wrote in his book about pets. Taylor took Brick to the vet. Surgery followed, but the operation revealed a litany of maladies that had damaged the dog's internal organs. His decline accelerated. Despite the pain Brick experienced as he hobbled around the house, he never forgot he was housebroken, never whimpered in self-pity or snapped in anger, Taylor says. Brick's condition eventually became irreversible. When he turned 11, old for a dog, his legs stopped working properly. Taylor and his wife decided to take Brick to a vet so he wouldn't suffer anymore. That same day, Taylor says, something remarkable happened. 'Here's this dog who can barely get onto his feet — but he raided our laundry basket,' Taylor tells CNN. 'He did what he loved to do, which was to pull my underwear from the basket and go hide it in the house. He wanted to play, to challenge us and wanted us to laugh in those hours and not go around weeping.' Does Taylor believe he will see Brick again in the afterlife? Taylor is no pet psychic, but he says he's starting to believe animals have souls. He recalls standing next to a friend's poodle who was being euthanized and 'feeling as something was leaving' the moment the dog died. Where that pet may have gone is a place that Taylor calls the 'Rainbow Bridge.' It's a widely circulated poem for pet owners from an anonymous author that depicts animals romping in a lush celestial meadow where they will eventually reunite with their owners. In one variation of the poem, a writer declares her dog's pawprints will 'be on my heart forever.' 'It's very moving because it acknowledges that heaven — whatever heaven is — is not just limited to people,' Taylor says. 'Anyone we love, including a turtle that has lived 90 years, has value that cannot be limited by its physical presence.' In death, Brick left Taylor one final lesson. 'I'm learning from him (Brick) that everything, in the end, boils down to relationships,' Taylor says. 'Brick had no possessions. He was never elected leader of the pack. But he had wonderful relationships. He died knowing he was deeply loved. 'I couldn't ask any more for myself.' John Blake is a CNN senior writer and author of the award-winning memoir, 'More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew.'
CNN
39 minutes ago
- CNN
‘Pawprints on my heart': How bonding with a pet becomes a religious experience
Religion People in entertainmentFacebookTweetLink Follow James Taylor is a prominent Canadian theologian who has written 15 books on faith and grief, taught religion at several colleges and been the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. But one of his greatest spiritual teachers was a companion who liked to chase ducks and steal Taylor's underwear — and whose most prestigious award was being honored by a local newspaper as its Pet of the Week. His friend was 'Brick,' a high-spirited, purebred Irish Setter that Taylor rescued with his wife, Joan. During Brick's first night in his new home, he managed to topple Taylor's border lamp, scatter his glasses and sweep his alarm clock off a nightstand. When Taylor awakened the next morning he discovered Brick slumbering, with one hind leg sticking up through a lampshade. Over time, though, Brick proved to be a rock. He stood by Taylor's side when he was ill and loved him no matter what. Taylor says the depth of feelings he gradually developed for Brick showed him that some of the most profound moments in life — falling hopelessly in love; feeling a newborn's baby's hand close around your finger; watching a daughter walk down a wedding aisle — could not be captured by sermons. 'My father was a minister, so I grew up in a world of words,' Taylor says. 'I thought wisdom came to me by the words that I read in the Bible or a book on theology. The thing that animals taught me is that God doesn't speak to us just in words but in our experiences. God reaches us through our experiences, and animals are a part of that experience.' Many books and studies in recent years have explored why so many people are leaving organized religion. But few scholars have explored another trend: The growing number of people who've found that bonding with their pets becomes a spiritual experience. We are in the middle of the Great Pet Awakening — a surge of people who say that owning a pet is a religious experience. In a post-pandemic era when many people still live in isolation, more pet owners are saying their furry friends are not mere companions. They are 'partners in a spiritual journey,' according to David Michie, an author and Buddhist commentator. This awakening is due in part to math. Pet ownership in the US has risen over the past 30 years. At least 66% of Americans say they own a pet, up from 56% in 1988. Virtually all people consider their pets members of the family. The other reason for this trend is more intangible. More people are publicly sharing how owning a pet led them to develop spiritual habits traditionally taught by religion. Pets, they say, teach them about forgiveness and the importance of fellowshipping with others. Pets also embody grace — they accept humans as they are. Pets also prompt many of their owners to confront a heavy theological question: Does Fido have a soul? It's common for pet owners to ask online forums what happens to their pets when they die. That curiosity has spawned a new literary genre: pet psychics who assure people that yes, 'some angels choose furs over feathers.' Books such as 'Yes, Pets Do Go to Heaven' and 'The Amazing Afterlife of Animals' assure people that their departed now frolic in celestial meadows. Some psychics offer pet owners even more consolation: a chance to hear personalized messages from their pets in the Great Beyond. Matt Fraser, a psychic medium and author of 'We Never Die: Secrets of the Afterlife,' says he offers a spiritual connection between people and pets. It turns out that pets have a lot to say. Fraser holds seances to help people connect with the spirits of their loved ones. He says it's not unusual for pets to break through his sessions with humans to communicate with their former owners. Fraser, who starred in a reality show called 'Meet the Frasers,' says he believes some pets in the afterlife find other ways to communicate with their former owners in the physical world. 'So next time you hear a faint bark, see a toy where it doesn't belong, or feel a warm, familiar presence by your side, take it as a sign—your spirit pet is saying hello,' Fraser wrote in one essay. Some people mourn more over the passing of their pets than their relatives, Fraser tells CNN. 'Nobody really understands how these animals really grow on you, how much you love them until it's too deep,' says Fraser, who owns three Bengal cats. 'When we lose them, people grieve and say, 'God, I never expected to grieve so hard.' ' It opens up a whole different side of your heart, just like children do.' If a pet psychic sounds like too much, consider this: Animals have been considered conduits to the spiritual world through much of human history. Ancient Egyptians treated cats as divine symbols and thought they provided companionship to their masters in the afterlife (many were buried with them in tombs). Many ancient religions believed animals functioned as 'spirit guides,' appearing to human beings in dreams and daily life to offer wisdom and guidance. Have you ever heard a person say they saw a red cardinal after someone close to them died? The cardinal is popularly viewed as a spirit guide. The connection between pets and spirituality is not limited to one religion. A Pew Research Center poll released last month revealed that a majority of adults in Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Jewish countries believe that animals can have spirits or spiritual energies. No less of a spiritual authority than the late Pope Francis said there's a place for pets in paradise. While comforting a boy whose dog died, Francis told him: 'One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all creatures.' Another revered spiritual leader, Mahatma Gandhi, also believed that animals are sacred. 'To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being,' said the nonviolent activist who helped lead India to independence from England in 1947. 'I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection from the cruelty of man.' There are times, though, that pets owners feel helpless. That's when many of them say having a pet deepens their spirituality. The faith of Taylor, the author and minister, was tested by a cruel succession of personal losses. His son, Stephen, died at 21 from cystic fibrosis. He watched Non-Hodgkin lymphoma destroy his mother's body. He saw his then 93-year-old father — a minister with three honorary divinity degrees — struggle with pain in his final days. When Taylor asked his father which hymns and Scriptures he wanted read at his memorial service, his father said, 'I don't care. I won't be there.' At one point, Taylor was no longer sure he believed in life after death. Yet Brick had a way of sensing his mood and comforting him, Taylor says. He recalls what happened once when he fell ill. 'I went and sprawled on my couch, feeling sorry for myself,' Taylor tells CNN. 'And for the first time, Brick jumped on the couch and curled up against me. He recognized that I was in pain and suffering. It wasn't just enough to lick my face.' Companions like Brick provide what God also promises, Taylor wrote in 'The Spirituality of Pets,' a book that explores the link between pets and faith. 'Pets probably come as close to giving and receiving unconditional love as we can come in this flawed world,' he wrote. Pets also can provide healing, some owners say. This claim is backed up by science. Owning a pet can lower a person's blood pressure and the release of cortisol, a stress-related hormone. Among people who suffer strokes, pet owners live longer than those without animal companions. Service dogs can sense oncoming seizures in their owners, while some say cats can recognize the presence of cancer. Pets can heal psychological scars as well. Some prisons allow inmates to adopt pets. The experience of caring for another living creature has been found to soften inmates' anger, allowing some to experience warmth and affection for the first time in their lives. A growing number of churches now recognize the spiritual dimension to pet ownership. Many offer blessing ceremonies for pets and others have turned church grounds into dog parks to attract new members. Some Christians have created ministries such as Canines for Christ, which provides dogs to patients at children's hospitals, nursing homes and hospice facilities. Unlike people, pets don't judge. Taylor tells a story in his book about a service dog who was escorted into a hospital room, looked past the burn-scarred face of the patient and 'with the wag of its tail,' conveyed to the man, 'I love you.'' Pets also can help their owners confront the ultimate mystery of life that religion addresses: how to make peace with one's mortality. Pets don't tend to live as long as their owners. For some children, losing a pet is their first exposure to death. For some adults, watching a pet die illuminates their spiritual beliefs. That's what happened to Scott Dill. He and his wife, Tara, are longtime dog lovers. One of their favorites was 'Socks,' a black-and-white Shih Tzu rescue. They clicked with Socks right from the beginning. He had a placid temperament and immediately allowed their two daughters, Hyland and Lydia, to walk him by leash. He wasn't aggressive with other dogs. He liked people. 'He was super chill,' says Dill, director of spiritual growth at Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. 'A squirrel could have walked over his head, and he wouldn't have paid attention.' After about a decade, Dill noticed a change in Socks. He lost weight, suffered panic attacks and would abruptly stop and stare into corners. Dill took him to the vet. The diagnosis was a brain tumor. Dill and his family reluctantly decided to euthanize Socks to prevent more suffering. The entire experience — Socks quietly sitting in Tara's lap as they rode to the vet; watching the vet administer a sedative to a calm Socks; touching Socks as he quietly took his last breath — became a religious epiphany for Dill. Christians preach that God loved humanity so much that he sacrificed his son to display that love. Dill knows the Scriptures that commemorate that sacrifice. But the emotional weight of giving up Socks made him feel those scriptures in a new way. Dill shared this experience in an essay entitled, 'We Put Our Dog Down and Saw God.' He wrote that his loss showed him how much God must have hurt when He gave up His Son. 'Through the pain of this loss, God has lovingly reminded me of the incalculable weight of his rescue,' Dill wrote. 'I got a clearer picture of that cost. The cost of love.' After Socks died, Dill says his family carried the dog's body home and buried him in their backyard. They said a short prayer over his grave, thanking God for Socks' life. They erected a gravestone that stands today as a reminder of their loss. 'Even though it was the right decision to put him down,' Dill tells CNN, 'there's just something surreal about being able to choose whether a creature should live or die.' Taylor had to face the same choice with Brick. When Brick was about eight, he started to decline. He struggled to get to his feet while getting out of bed. He stumbled going downstairs. When Taylor took him for walks, Brick's trot turned into a plod. 'I recognized all these symptoms because I have them myself,' Taylor wrote in his book about pets. Taylor took Brick to the vet. Surgery followed, but the operation revealed a litany of maladies that had damaged the dog's internal organs. His decline accelerated. Despite the pain Brick experienced as he hobbled around the house, he never forgot he was housebroken, never whimpered in self-pity or snapped in anger, Taylor says. Brick's condition eventually became irreversible. When he turned 11, old for a dog, his legs stopped working properly. Taylor and his wife decided to take Brick to a vet so he wouldn't suffer anymore. That same day, Taylor says, something remarkable happened. 'Here's this dog who can barely get onto his feet — but he raided our laundry basket,' Taylor tells CNN. 'He did what he loved to do, which was to pull my underwear from the basket and go hide it in the house. He wanted to play, to challenge us and wanted us to laugh in those hours and not go around weeping.' Does Taylor believe he will see Brick again in the afterlife? Taylor is no pet psychic, but he says he's starting to believe animals have souls. He recalls standing next to a friend's poodle who was being euthanized and 'feeling as something was leaving' the moment the dog died. Where that pet may have gone is a place that Taylor calls the 'Rainbow Bridge.' It's a widely circulated poem for pet owners from an anonymous author that depicts animals romping in a lush celestial meadow where they will eventually reunite with their owners. In one variation of the poem, a writer declares her dog's pawprints will 'be on my heart forever.' 'It's very moving because it acknowledges that heaven — whatever heaven is — is not just limited to people,' Taylor says. 'Anyone we love, including a turtle that has lived 90 years, has value that cannot be limited by its physical presence.' In death, Brick left Taylor one final lesson. 'I'm learning from him (Brick) that everything, in the end, boils down to relationships,' Taylor says. 'Brick had no possessions. He was never elected leader of the pack. But he had wonderful relationships. He died knowing he was deeply loved. 'I couldn't ask any more for myself.' John Blake is a CNN senior writer and author of the award-winning memoir, 'More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew.'
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Simple hacks that will level up your camping game
It's camping season, and once you get your tent set up, it's time to roast marshmallows by the campfire. Here are some simple hacks to make yourself more comfortable! Is the ground too uneven to comfortably sit in your chair? Tennis balls can fix that! Simply cut a hole in your tennis balls and place them over the bottoms of your chair to help even things out. SEE ALSO: Instead of buying bags of ice to keep your items cold in the cooler, just fill up a bottle of water and throw it in the freezer overnight before you head out. It will keep everything cold and give you extra drinking water! You'll also never regret bringing an emergency poncho with you, just in case. Are you camping in the rain and having to dry everything? It can take forever for towels to dry, but a microfiber towel can dry things off without taking long for itself to dry. Having a dedicated water-proof bag will also keep your belongings nice and dry. Bug spray is also great to have, but a coil uses smoke to keep the mosquitos away! Check out the video above as The Weather Network's Nathan Coleman shows off how these camping hacks can up your game this summer. Copyedited by Anika Beaudry, a digital journalist at The Weather Network. Thumbnail image taken by Nathan Coleman/TWN.
