It’s three hours before our dinner guests arrive and Abby barks non-stop in anticipation. We hadn’t told our 9-year-old Papillon that company was coming. As official over-the-top greeter of our household, she figured it out on her own. My husband, Dan, and I are baffled at how she knows, but she knows.

Does the activity of setting the table in the dining room, which we use only for special occasions, spell “visitors” and put this social pup into excitement overdrive? Could it be the way we both take showers and change clothes that signals something is about to happen? Is it because we turned on the porch lights or that we’re both busy in the kitchen?

Whatever the reason, she is always right and rewarded with praise and attention when our guests finally arrive while we are stressed from hours of unrelenting barking. I decided it was time to turn the tables and outsmart Abby.

I set the dining room table when she was outside. Dan and I staggered our showers and change of attire. We took turns in the kitchen so there was only one of us in there at a time. No outside lights were turned on until just before our guests were to arrive.

We were able to knock off two hours of barking, but her unexplainable intuition kicked in at near the 60-minute countdown. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t outsmart her.

I’ve always loved books about animals, their intelligence, and the marvelous ways they impact our lives. When I came across “Dogs That Know When Their Owners are Coming Home and Other Unexplained Powers of Animals” by Rupert Sheldrake, I was intrigued.

How homing pigeons released far and wide find their way back home is still a mystery today. Cats have predicted earthquakes and dogs sit by the door within minutes of their owner arriving, even when they work irregular days and times and use different vehicles.

Years ago, Dan moved to a new home three miles away from his previous one. The only time his Schnauzer, Sage, had been to the new home was via the moving day shuttle. Shortly thereafter, she went missing after digging under the fence. He drove to the old house and found her sitting on the front porch.

Like clockwork, hummingbirds return to our yard every May, hovering in front of our kitchen window as if to say “We’re back! You can put the feeders out now!” And so we do.

We’ve nicknamed Abby “Velcro” when the backpack and hiking shoes come out because she knows this means an adventure that most likely includes her. When suitcases are packed, she sulks and sticks close to us, begging us not to leave.

When either of us arrives to an empty house, we are met by a super happy tail-wagging but silent dog. If one of us is already home, the other can hear the barking before pulling into our driveway as Abby alerts the other person that her family is now complete.

Only dog lovers appreciate it when I say Abby is not just a dog; she’s also a little person. While reading a book in our backyard one day, I noticed her chasing a tiny mouse across the grass. She caught it and proudly stood guard over her prize while she stared at me. After some time, she left her post, went into the house through her doggie door, and retrieved Dan, luring him over to her trophy for a look-see. He praised her and she merrily trotted off. Mission accomplished.

The empathy, intuition and comfort animals offer us are truly magical. It’s a known fact that people who have pets live longer. Pets reduce blood pressure, have psychological benefits and lessen anxiety, loneliness and depression. Sensitive to our emotions, they act as our therapists and counselors.

In the true story, “Marley & Me” by John Grogan, Marley was a destructive, rambunctious yellow lab, who went into a spontaneous calm, comfort mode when his wife had a miscarriage.

“Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat” by David Dosa recounts stories of Oscar, the resident cat at a Providence, Rhode Island nursing home. Staff noticed he was able to predict when someone was nearing the end of their life, communicating with them by lying on the person’s bed. Family was notified and given time to say their final goodbyes. Pets have even been known to react when their owner is in distress or dying in a distant place.

News sources tell remarkable stories of pets who make the journey back to their owners after they’re lost hundreds or thousands of miles from home.

Call it telepathy, empathy, premonitions or simply an intuition that can’t be explained. We’ll leave the animal mysteries to the scientists, but for us animal lovers, it’s our special bonds that make them extraordinary.