숨진 애견 모습, 바비큐 그릴에 나타났다?

13살의 나이에 주인 곁을 떠난 애견을 닮은 형상이 바비큐 그릴 뚜껑에 나타나 화제가 되고 있다
 

미국 콜로라도에 살고 있는 스티브-페기 니콜슨(Peggy Nichalson)부부는 뒷마당에 있던 바비큐 그릴을 정리하던 중 그릴 뚜껑 위에 나타난 형상을 목격하고 깜짝 놀랐다.

먼지가 가득 앉은 바비큐 그릴 뚜껑 위에는 몇 년 전 숨을 거둔 초콜릿색 레브라도종 애견 '플레처(Fletcher)'의 모습이 그려져 있었다. 그 모습이 플레처와 너무나 비슷했다는 것이 니콜슨 부부의 설명이다.

늙고 병이 든 플레처가 숨진 후 애견을 화장해 유골을 뒷마당에 뿌렸는데, 바비큐 그릴이 유골을 뿌린 뒷마당에 있었다고 이들 부부는 밝혔다. 또 플레처의 옆에는 물고기로 보이는 형상이 보였는데, 애견이 주인을 따라 낚시를 가는 것을 무척이나 좋아했다고.

13년 동안을 함께 한 플레처가 주인을 잊지 못해 바비큐 그릴 위에 자신의 모습을 남긴 것으로 믿고 싶다는 것이 니콜슨 부부의 주장이다.

Couple thinks dog literally rose from the ashes VIEW SLIDESHOW CENTENNIAL - The Nichalsons don't expect you to believe something beyond the laws of physics is at work on their backyard patio. But they do want you to know that the image that has now appeared on their grill cover certainly does look a lot like their old dog Fletcher. "It's very freaky," Steve Nicholson said. "It is a little spooky." "Yep, we've joined the club," his wife Peggy added with a smile. She's referring to the seemingly endless parade of images that have been appearing on rather normal things in recent years (or at least as long as the internet has been around). Go ahead. Google "George Bush on a piece of toast." Or "Elvis on a rock." Or "Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese." Who knows? Maybe one day soon you will be able to Google "Fletcher on a grill cover" and see what has come to the attention of the Nichalsons as of late. Here's the story. Fletcher was the couple's chocolate Lab. When he was 13, a vet told them the dog needed to be put to sleep. "We had to pick a day, because he was really starting to suffer," said Peggy. "We were just so sad about having to do that." That was a few years ago. Over time the couple's memories of Fletcher started to fade. They even decided to get another Lab. His name is Bodie. Then a few days ago, something happened that caused both Peggy and Steve to start thinking about their old pooch. "We were getting set to grill," said Steve. "[Peggy] came running in and told me there was something amazing out there." Steve went outside to look at the grill cover, and that's when he saw it as well. "It really looks like a Lab," he remembered thinking. "I see a very old Lab," added Peggy. When 9NEWS compared the image on the grill cover with the old pictures of Fletcher, it's hard to instantly blow them off as another party solely interested in selling another item on eBay. In fact they don't want to sell it at all. Here are a few things to consider when trying to make up your mind on the issue. The family did place Fletcher's ashes in the backyard shortly after he died. The grill is under an area of the porch where condensation has clearly and repeatedly fallen down onto the grill, and its cover, below. "You can see the drip marks," said Peggy. And right beside the image is something that looks a lot like a fish jumping out of water. "I'm a fly fisherman and I used to take Fletcher with me. He loved it. He would just sit there and stare just like that," said Steve. Is it a forgery? Perhaps. Is it coincidence. Very likely. But is it also a sign of something else? Who knows? Judge for yourself. To be honest the Nichalsons really don't know what to make of it. Just, please, when you're done with this story, just don't ask us if this was a slow news day. If you've gotten this far then you've read this entire story, so we could simply reply with a comment like this: "Must have been a slow work day, huh?" (Copyright KUSA*TV. All rights reserved.)