I ran into Linda Underhill online tonight, and she had some seriously bad news: Calliope, the cat she's had since I first met her over a decade ago, had to be put to sleep. She apparently had a growth that everyone thought was a cyst, so she was brought into the vet... where it was determined to be cancer. She was a very sweet kitty, who had a poor opinion of people who took her mom's attention away from her. I'm now especially glad she let me pet her the last time I was in Pasadena.
Yes, I believe animals have souls. I have often suspected that they are a lot more sentient than some people I have met in my many travels. But then sentience, as it is defined, has always struck me to be a conceit born of humanity's desire to make itself better than anything else around it by changing the rules to fit. Anyone who has been owned by a cat knows the truth, and will join me in wishing her spirit well, and in sending whatever positive energy to Linda you might have lying about.
sad