Dogs "are interconnected in the great weave of life, something that we have become abstracted from. They give us back at least a semblance of the instincts we have lost-- deep connectivity, love, empathy, caring," said Dr. Jean Houston, Monday night's guest on the show, whose new book is titled Mystical Dogs.

Houston, a wide-ranging scholar and eloquent speaker who helped shape the New Age movement, has known such luminaries as the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa and Eleanor Roosevelt throughout her life. But she said that she had learned the most from her relationships with various dogs over the years. "I see them with their...earnest presence...as teachers to cross the threshold into the next stage of our potential being, because they love us, they overreach, try to become us...and we too are inspired to stretch beyond our comfort zones," she said.

Many dogs seem to be able to exhibit abilities that go beyond their natural instincts Houston said. As man's rescuers and protectors, they will "rush into raging rivers, leap into fires, bring people out of snowstorms," she outlined, adding that some dogs can even sniff out illnesses. As callers presented their unusual and moving pet stories in the second half of the program, Houston commented on our deep and primal connections with the animal kingdom.