Mia's anima, a Dog's Soul

Do animals have souls? 

Because anima is Latin for "soul," the answer by definition seems obvious.  By "soul," do we necessarily mean immortal spirit?  I'm okay to leave speculation on the afterlife for others, and to define "soul" as "that which animates us," i.e., our desires. 

Now, my dog Mia is certainly animated by desires for food, companionship, adventure, and what I see in her eyes, pictured below, looks to me like soul.  What the pictures can't show is how her whole sinuous body wriggles in her anticipation of joy that is itself a joy -- for her to experience, for me to share.

[Top photo:  Posed in her compartment of my hatchback, Mia decided mid-selfie to see if she could just bound over the barrier.  No problem.]

[Second photo:  Mia enjoys visits to the vet.]

[Third photo:  Mia napped in my lap on the back porch one summer evening.]

[Fourth photo:  I wasn't home when friend Susan arrived at my front door early for a dog walk.  Mia knew what was ahead.]


I wrote about a conflict with Mia that disturbed me enough to dream about it, and I included another photo of her at "Jung Over: Dreams the Morning After."