Lab mix senses California earthquake

I've often read and heard about the ability of dogs to sense an earthquake or thunderstorm before they happen, but now there's visual proof.

Last week, in the few seconds before a 6.5 quake rattled the Northern California town of Eureka, Sophie, a white Lab mix, was lying quietly on the newsroom floor of the Times-Standard , the local newspaper. A few moments before the room begins to shake violently, Sophie springs to her feet and bolts across the room and out of the frame of the picture.

Coincidence? No way.

The dog's reaction was captured by newsroom security cameras. After Sophie disappears, a bearded man and two women are seen running out of the room as file cabinets, boxes, stacks of newspapers and a wall calendar shake.

Sophie is owned by copy editor Jessica Richelderfer and production technician Brian Wheeler. Richelderfer said the dog ran a lap around the room looking for her, then followed her out the door to safety.

The couple brought her back to work this week, but Sophie was clearly upset returning to the newspaper. "She's all shaken up and cowering under the desk," Richelderfer said.

Not surprising, nor is the fact she acted as a warning sign that a disaster was on its way. There are plenty of examples of this sort of thing happening in the past.