What do you think?
Rate this book
Soul Dog: A Journey into the Spiritual Life of Animals
An exploration of animal spirituality and the ability of animals to communicate with humans even in the afterlife
• Chronicles the author’s profound relationship with her dog, Brio, his ability to read her mind and emotions, and the messages she received from him after his death
• Shares the author’s research with animal communicators, psychics, and scientists specializing in animal intelligence such as Rupert Sheldrake
• Explores animals’ thoughts and feelings, interspecies communication and telepathy, animal souls and the afterlife, and animal reincarnation
• Paper with French flaps
Looking for companionship after a near-fatal car crash, Elena Mannes, an award-winning television journalist and producer, decided to get her first dog. But what she found with her dog Brio shook the foundations of her physical and spiritual worlds, sending her on a quest to discover the nature of his spiritual origins and to contemplate and seek out the possibility of interspecies communication--even after death.
Soon after bringing her puppy home, Mannes realized that the master-companion relationship would not be possible with Brio, who quickly showed that he had a mind--and a spirit--of his own. A healer Mannes visited immediately focused on Brio, exclaiming that he was an old soul. Mannes’s growing curiosity about the intelligence, emotions, and consciousness of Brio and other dogs led her to contact an animal psychic in California who described, with amazing accuracy, Brio’s favorite walks and the author’s apartment from the dog’s point of view. Motivated by her experience, Mannes produced a filmed segment with Diane Sawyer featuring the same psychic, who described Sawyer’s country house and her dog’s favorite spots in the yard. Mannes’s skeptical journalist background compelled her to investigate further. She delved into the world of animal communicators, psychics, and scientists studying animal intelligence, including Rupert Sheldrake, to find answers to her multiplying questions: Do animals have thoughts and feelings? Consciousness? Souls? Is interspecies communication possible? Can animals reincarnate?
Spanning the entire life and afterlife of Brio, including his last days and his messages to the author after he passed on, this book also explores Mannes’ investigations into the spiritual life of animals, offering a new understanding of the unbreakable bond between humans and animals. Mannes invites readers to move beyond the owner-pet relationship and shows us how to see animals as thinking, feeling, spiritual beings whose connections with us extend far beyond life and death.
• Chronicles the author’s profound relationship with her dog, Brio, his ability to read her mind and emotions, and the messages she received from him after his death
• Shares the author’s research with animal communicators, psychics, and scientists specializing in animal intelligence such as Rupert Sheldrake
• Explores animals’ thoughts and feelings, interspecies communication and telepathy, animal souls and the afterlife, and animal reincarnation
• Paper with French flaps
Looking for companionship after a near-fatal car crash, Elena Mannes, an award-winning television journalist and producer, decided to get her first dog. But what she found with her dog Brio shook the foundations of her physical and spiritual worlds, sending her on a quest to discover the nature of his spiritual origins and to contemplate and seek out the possibility of interspecies communication--even after death.
Soon after bringing her puppy home, Mannes realized that the master-companion relationship would not be possible with Brio, who quickly showed that he had a mind--and a spirit--of his own. A healer Mannes visited immediately focused on Brio, exclaiming that he was an old soul. Mannes’s growing curiosity about the intelligence, emotions, and consciousness of Brio and other dogs led her to contact an animal psychic in California who described, with amazing accuracy, Brio’s favorite walks and the author’s apartment from the dog’s point of view. Motivated by her experience, Mannes produced a filmed segment with Diane Sawyer featuring the same psychic, who described Sawyer’s country house and her dog’s favorite spots in the yard. Mannes’s skeptical journalist background compelled her to investigate further. She delved into the world of animal communicators, psychics, and scientists studying animal intelligence, including Rupert Sheldrake, to find answers to her multiplying questions: Do animals have thoughts and feelings? Consciousness? Souls? Is interspecies communication possible? Can animals reincarnate?
Spanning the entire life and afterlife of Brio, including his last days and his messages to the author after he passed on, this book also explores Mannes’ investigations into the spiritual life of animals, offering a new understanding of the unbreakable bond between humans and animals. Mannes invites readers to move beyond the owner-pet relationship and shows us how to see animals as thinking, feeling, spiritual beings whose connections with us extend far beyond life and death.
Audiobook
Published November 13, 2018
25 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 12, 2019
This was one of the most touching books I have ever read. I absolutely loved it. I'm not ashamed to admit that it brought tears to my eyes multiple times.
It reminded me of A Dog's Purpose, but with one major difference: this story is true. As such, it was far more powerful.
Anyone who has a dog or is otherwise an animal lover should read this book!
Elena Mannes.....if you're reading this, you and I "met" at one of your book signings in CT on March 13th. I was with a friend of mine. You wrote in my copy of the book "Listen to the animals!" While you may have written that in many books, it was no less meaningful to me. My friend and I are both vegan animal rights activists. It's no coincidence we were drawn to your talk and your book to begin with. I must admit, there were times when reading your book that I found hypocrisy (knowing already you are not vegan) and did not expect you to mention that fact in your book, did not expect it to have ever entered into your mind, as is the way with many dog and cat lovers. Yet I was happy to be proven wrong while reading the last chapter of your book. You asked me to listen to the animals, now I'm asking you to do the same. It's not necessary to use or eat animals. As you yourself touch on in your book, they're our friends, sharing this world with us. No longer does the human race need to hunt, fish, or otherwise kill animals to eat, to survive. I have friends who have been vegan for many decades (30-63 years in some cases). Everything is vegan now, there's no reason to consume animals anymore. Having grown up on a farm, I promise you cows, pigs, and chickens have souls. No different than dogs. How can we justify killing 50+ billion of these souls every year when it's not necessary? If you could live without harming animals, why wouldn't you?
Thank you for writing this book and sharing the touching story of you and Brio.
It reminded me of A Dog's Purpose, but with one major difference: this story is true. As such, it was far more powerful.
Anyone who has a dog or is otherwise an animal lover should read this book!
Elena Mannes.....if you're reading this, you and I "met" at one of your book signings in CT on March 13th. I was with a friend of mine. You wrote in my copy of the book "Listen to the animals!" While you may have written that in many books, it was no less meaningful to me. My friend and I are both vegan animal rights activists. It's no coincidence we were drawn to your talk and your book to begin with. I must admit, there were times when reading your book that I found hypocrisy (knowing already you are not vegan) and did not expect you to mention that fact in your book, did not expect it to have ever entered into your mind, as is the way with many dog and cat lovers. Yet I was happy to be proven wrong while reading the last chapter of your book. You asked me to listen to the animals, now I'm asking you to do the same. It's not necessary to use or eat animals. As you yourself touch on in your book, they're our friends, sharing this world with us. No longer does the human race need to hunt, fish, or otherwise kill animals to eat, to survive. I have friends who have been vegan for many decades (30-63 years in some cases). Everything is vegan now, there's no reason to consume animals anymore. Having grown up on a farm, I promise you cows, pigs, and chickens have souls. No different than dogs. How can we justify killing 50+ billion of these souls every year when it's not necessary? If you could live without harming animals, why wouldn't you?
Thank you for writing this book and sharing the touching story of you and Brio.
August 23, 2020
The author dedicates the book to Brio with a line attributed to Hafiz, "Yours was the heart I cared most for in this world, and yours was the heart that cared most for me." If you've just lost your four-legged soulmate when you start this book, then you know exactly where she's coming from. The best parts are where the author describes her personal experiences and growth; the parts that are more reportage on larger trends in science, spirituality, and belief (which occurs in both) are less satisfying.
July 17, 2019
I have never read a book like “Soul Dog: A Journey into the Spiritual Life of Animals” by Elena Mannes, which recounts her amazing relationship with her dog, Brio, and their spiritual connection that continued after his death.
I’ll let the Publisher’s Note explain more about their phenomenal spiritual journey, while awarding this unique book 5/5.
—
Looking for companionship after a near-fatal car crash, Elena Mannes, an award-winning television journalist and producer, decided to get her first dog. But what she found with her dog Brio shook the foundations of her physical and spiritual worlds, sending her on a quest to discover the nature of his spiritual origins and to contemplate and seek out the possibility of interspecies communication--even after death.
Soon after bringing her puppy home, Mannes realized that the master-companion relationship would not be possible with Brio, who quickly showed that he had a mind--and a spirit--of his own. A healer Mannes visited immediately focused on Brio, exclaiming that he was an old soul. Mannes’s growing curiosity about the intelligence, emotions, and consciousness of Brio and other dogs led her to contact an animal psychic in California who described, with amazing accuracy, Brio’s favorite walks and the author’s apartment from the dog’s point of view. Motivated by her experience, Mannes produced a filmed segment with Diane Sawyer featuring the same psychic, who described Sawyer’s country house and her dog’s favorite spots in the yard. Mannes’s skeptical journalist background compelled her to investigate further. She delved into the world of animal communicators, psychics, and scientists studying animal intelligence, including Rupert Sheldrake, to find answers to her multiplying questions: Do animals have thoughts and feelings? Consciousness? Souls? Is interspecies communication possible? Can animals reincarnate?
Spanning the entire life and afterlife of Brio, including his last days and his messages to the author after he passed on, this book also explores Mannes’ investigations into the spiritual life of animals, offering a new understanding of the unbreakable bond between humans and animals. Mannes invites readers to move beyond the owner-pet relationship and shows us how to see animals as thinking, feeling, spiritual beings whose connections with us extend far beyond life and death.
—
Pub Date 13 Nov 2018
Thanks to Inner Traditions and and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.
#SoulDog #NetGalley
I’ll let the Publisher’s Note explain more about their phenomenal spiritual journey, while awarding this unique book 5/5.
—
Looking for companionship after a near-fatal car crash, Elena Mannes, an award-winning television journalist and producer, decided to get her first dog. But what she found with her dog Brio shook the foundations of her physical and spiritual worlds, sending her on a quest to discover the nature of his spiritual origins and to contemplate and seek out the possibility of interspecies communication--even after death.
Soon after bringing her puppy home, Mannes realized that the master-companion relationship would not be possible with Brio, who quickly showed that he had a mind--and a spirit--of his own. A healer Mannes visited immediately focused on Brio, exclaiming that he was an old soul. Mannes’s growing curiosity about the intelligence, emotions, and consciousness of Brio and other dogs led her to contact an animal psychic in California who described, with amazing accuracy, Brio’s favorite walks and the author’s apartment from the dog’s point of view. Motivated by her experience, Mannes produced a filmed segment with Diane Sawyer featuring the same psychic, who described Sawyer’s country house and her dog’s favorite spots in the yard. Mannes’s skeptical journalist background compelled her to investigate further. She delved into the world of animal communicators, psychics, and scientists studying animal intelligence, including Rupert Sheldrake, to find answers to her multiplying questions: Do animals have thoughts and feelings? Consciousness? Souls? Is interspecies communication possible? Can animals reincarnate?
Spanning the entire life and afterlife of Brio, including his last days and his messages to the author after he passed on, this book also explores Mannes’ investigations into the spiritual life of animals, offering a new understanding of the unbreakable bond between humans and animals. Mannes invites readers to move beyond the owner-pet relationship and shows us how to see animals as thinking, feeling, spiritual beings whose connections with us extend far beyond life and death.
—
Pub Date 13 Nov 2018
Thanks to Inner Traditions and and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.
#SoulDog #NetGalley
August 31, 2021
This poor lady. This was my primary thought as I listened to Soul Dog as an audio book. I work with shelter dogs, and I am a canine behavior consultant. I was previously the director of a faith based youth outreach. I am also a Native American. I have two standard poodles. One of my best friends is an animal communicator and another is an energy healer. Elena Mannes managed to annoy me in all these areas of my life. The cultural appropriation, the blindness to evidence based science, and the confirmation bias threaded throughout this book created a hot mess. Most importantly, she writes about her and her needs and completely dismisses the needs of her dog. She made her dog into something she needed and purposely ignored his inherent canine gifts. Standard poodles can be an exceptionally brilliant breed of dog and like all dogs are masters of scent and observation. Many of her anecdotes can be explained by canine biology. Alexander Horowitz writes about a theory of how dogs tell time. It is through scent. Canines have a power of scent that is often unimaginable
to humans. This is one example of how this book suffered from poor research and went for the easy reach of confirmation bias while ignoring the biology of dogs.
to humans. This is one example of how this book suffered from poor research and went for the easy reach of confirmation bias while ignoring the biology of dogs.
December 13, 2023
Touching story about a woman's story about her deeper connection with her dog.
October 25, 2019
This is s book for people who need to be convinced how wonderful animals are, and that people can actually communicate with animals. If you don’t need convincing, then I wouldn’t bother reading this book. I was really interested in the author’s own dog but not at her attempts at analysis.
June 7, 2019
Elena Mannes' expertise in combining great writing with facts, interest, humor, and storytelling makes a wonderful read for those of us who believe that our dogs are more than "just a dog." I find myself reflecting back to many of her words even now. I highly recommend this book, especially to those who believe in the eternal bond and relationship with our four-legged family members.
February 11, 2022
I think there is one sentence in the book that summarises it for me: faith makes life so much more colourful. It is full of stories of coincidences, individual cases and some collection of animal tricks from the 80s that try to bring the point that animals have telepathic abilities. I think if she would be more interested in the cognitive abilities of animals or in this case dogs, half of the things will be explained by the great ability of dogs to learn to communicate with humans and adopt to our environment. For me personally the book was tiring and annoying.
May 13, 2024
I am a sceptic who wants to learn more about spirituality. However, I need science or rather proof, so when I heard there was a book out there written by a fellow sceptic I snapped it up. And hense my disappointment. While the author claims to have been a sceptic very little of that deductive reasons is explained in this book.
The main argument for it being true is that a lot of people believe it so it must be true. Needless to say their are several gaps in that argument. I mean just because we believe something doesn't meaning its true. For example for a long time in human history we believed the earth was the centre of the universe, that light came out of our eyes and illuminated the world and the earth was flat. Belief doesn't equal fact.
The author spent an extraordinary amount of time exploring the intelligence of dogs and other animals and if they are conscious. While these are interesting topics they are not the subject of the book. I'm not sure what the author was trying to say here but the impression I was left with was that intelligence equals soul. This comes across as incredibly narrow minded and abilist. Is she saying that developmentally challenged people don't have souls? Where does she draw the line on this? What qualifies as intelligence? Does emotional Intelligence count? And so on.
Reading this your probably wondering why I've given it three stars. Here's the thing while it was (in my opinion) mismarketed on the spirituality side. It is a fantastic book about grieving, exploring the relationship humans have with animals. As well as the nature of consciousness and belief. There are some interesting animal intelligence studies mentioned. So I would still recommend checking it out.
The main argument for it being true is that a lot of people believe it so it must be true. Needless to say their are several gaps in that argument. I mean just because we believe something doesn't meaning its true. For example for a long time in human history we believed the earth was the centre of the universe, that light came out of our eyes and illuminated the world and the earth was flat. Belief doesn't equal fact.
The author spent an extraordinary amount of time exploring the intelligence of dogs and other animals and if they are conscious. While these are interesting topics they are not the subject of the book. I'm not sure what the author was trying to say here but the impression I was left with was that intelligence equals soul. This comes across as incredibly narrow minded and abilist. Is she saying that developmentally challenged people don't have souls? Where does she draw the line on this? What qualifies as intelligence? Does emotional Intelligence count? And so on.
Reading this your probably wondering why I've given it three stars. Here's the thing while it was (in my opinion) mismarketed on the spirituality side. It is a fantastic book about grieving, exploring the relationship humans have with animals. As well as the nature of consciousness and belief. There are some interesting animal intelligence studies mentioned. So I would still recommend checking it out.
January 10, 2024
I enjoyed this memoir of the author and her black standard poodle named Brio. The book was a memoir plus the author's investigation into the spiritual realm of animals. The author was extremely attached to Brio who she got when he was just a puppy. She and her friends and acquaintances felt or saw a special quality in Brio that they described as the presence of an "old soul." The author investigated different people who claimed the ability to communicate with animals, and all three of them were able to report things that only Brio and his owner would have known. I felt good about the author and about Brio and wished for more anecdotes about the two of them. I enjoyed the other stories about animals in the book, too. I got bored and started skimming paragraphs toward the end of the book when the author presented a plethora of scientific studies and statements about animal and psychic investigations. I found myself wishing for more memoir and less investigation. I fell in love with Brio, and found myself comparing my own relationships with my dogs to this author's relationship with Brio.
February 10, 2020
This book is about spiritually connecting with your beloved pets, both while they are with you and after they are gone. It questions whether dogs have souls and/or self consciousness. The first 3/4 of the book was great...the last 1/4 became a little too scientific for me. I became a little lost when it began to delve into metaphysics.
September 10, 2019
If you are dog owner, you will enjoy this book! The part of this book I enjoyed most was the interaction between Elena and her dog. There was also a spiritual aspect to this book that I found interesting. (Gerard's review)
May 24, 2023
What a wonderful book.
A great and touching introduction into how to communicate with your dog, both physically, and most importantly spiritually.
Such a beautiful and useful book for people with open minds and a love for animals.
A great and touching introduction into how to communicate with your dog, both physically, and most importantly spiritually.
Such a beautiful and useful book for people with open minds and a love for animals.
February 24, 2019
You have to believe in your soul and your dog's... that's the only prerequisite ...guaranteed to LOVE this!
May 14, 2019
Beautifully written, and completely changed the way I think about dogs, animals in general and intuitive powers. Highly recommend!
August 31, 2021
If you believe that dogs change your lives in ways you never realized, this is a story to listen to for all dog lovers.
December 6, 2021
I wish there were more personal stories about Brio rather than necessarily a journey into spirituality.
January 31, 2022
I loved this! It brought back memories of my beloved soul cat, I miss him all the time but this gives me hope that he is okay.
May 18, 2025
An interesting listen about the soul of an animal and our ability to connect with them.
November 20, 2018
I recently saw Elena Mannes talk about her book (along with several animal communicators) and got the impression that she is a very private person. So much so that it was interesting that she shared the story of Brio, a standard poodle that she considered her soul dog due to their deep connection. Mannes, a journalist by trade, spends the majority of the book discussing situations in which mediums/animal communicators told her and others things about their animals that they could not have known. She also investigates a small body of research on animal's ability to "know." While I did enjoy the book, I felt that I would have connected with it even more deeply had it also shared more of Mannes' story of hers and Brios relationship. We find that he was a dog who was a mischievous pup, had an "old soul,' but never fully gain an understanding of why they connect so deeply. It was similar to hearing Mannes talk and share one brief reading from her book prior to turning things over to the communicators. That said, it is a book worth reading if you are interested in the topic of human/animal connection and communication.
August 24, 2018
If you have ever had a spiritual connection with an animal, I encourage you to read this book. And if you are thinking that such a thing as impossible, I also encourage you to read this book! The author does a beautiful job of expressing the connection between humans and animals, and her case a spirited, loving black poodle named Brio.
I have always been a cat person but fell n love with our dog Suzy 9 years ago when we adopted her from a rescue organization. Having nurtured, loved and kept company with 5 cats in my adulthood, I can honestly say that there are indeed ways to communicate with animals, and them with us.
The author does a brilliant job of weaving actual examples of pet communicators working with a variety of animals, along with scientific studies/research and scenes from her own relationship with a Brio.
With thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I have always been a cat person but fell n love with our dog Suzy 9 years ago when we adopted her from a rescue organization. Having nurtured, loved and kept company with 5 cats in my adulthood, I can honestly say that there are indeed ways to communicate with animals, and them with us.
The author does a brilliant job of weaving actual examples of pet communicators working with a variety of animals, along with scientific studies/research and scenes from her own relationship with a Brio.
With thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
November 15, 2018
Brio: A musical term meaning a directive to perform the indicated passage with vigor, vivacity or spirit. Brio is the perfect name the author chose for her new puppy and the inspiration of Soul Dog. It turns out that the name, meaning spirit, could not have been more perfect. As the author and Brio's relationship develops Ms. Mannes begins to explore the world of animal communicators. Are they "the real thing", are they reading owner's minds, are they con artists, what IS going on with animal commicators or "pet psychics"? Ms. Mannes delves into this as a serious journalist and suffice it to say, the findings are convincing and impressive that yes...it is real. Of course, like all fields I'm sure there are scammers out there, but there is truth too. That said, our animals communicate in their own way no matter who is listening, or not. They do have hearts, minds and souls. I always knew this myself and I've listened in my own way. If you want to know more about Animal Communication I highly suggest this book to learn the facts and the truth, while enjoying the beautiful story of Brio and Elena Mannes.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews