As a kid, I found myself surrounded by horses, cows, chickens, cats, rabbits and dogs. Animals have the amazing gift of sharing their wisdom, and if we pay close attention, they can be our greatest teachers.

Gabby

Although their bodies have long been let go of, their spirits remain. Their nicknames engraved on the stepping stones that grace my garden is a reminder of the connection we still have, and the sweet memory of spreading their ashes while their doggie playmates ran through their dust seems like yesterday.

Gabby and Clio were two greyhound bookends. Gabby, with her black and white mask, black polka dot spots on her body, and that unforgettable needle nose. She was the clown — Crazy Bones. With a “go after whatever you want” attitude, Gabby was often finding herself in some sort of passion-induced predicament. Like the time she ran so fast she wiped out and ended up with grass stains all over her body. Or the other time she ran around the house at full greyhound speed — forgetting there was a 12-foot drop off around the bend. I’ve never seen a dog fly through the air for such a long time, and actually land okay. Well, except for the time she ran into a soccer goal net while running at full speed — her body bouncing up into the net…pausing in mid-air…and then catapulting itself back onto the field. She was fine, but I couldn’t close my jaw from what I had witnessed.

Gabby was hilarious. She lived each moment to its fullest, went after what she wanted, spoke up when she needed something, and entertained herself and others with her antics. She knew how to have fun, to live from her heart, and she knew how to be a true companion. When Gabby passed, there was a huge void in my heart. She was my first, and I thought I’d never be able to go through the death of a pet again.

Two months after Gabby passed on, her sidekick Clio ended up with a large tumor on her torso. Within two years time, I would experience transition in my marriage, and both of my dogs and my father would pass unexpectedly. Life was teaching me about death at a fast pace.

Clio

Clio was a saint — never doing anything out of line her entire life. When Gabby tore up the garbage, it was Clio who walked upstairs slowly — with a sideways glance on her eyeballs, and a look on her face that said, “Um…you might want to go check on Gabby.” Clio didn’t expend any energy unless she really needed to, and when she needed to, she was really fast. Clio was nicknamed Lazy Bones at a young age, yet her pace was more “the speed of life.” With her jet black fur, that same distinguishable greyhound nose, and a super long tail that circled like a helicopter, Clio was a lady. She was dainty, precise, careful, quiet natured, and the opposite of Gabby.

Take an icy winter day in the Midwest for example. The door opens, and Gabby darts off at high speed — within moments sprawled all over the driveway, but sporting a grin on her face as if to say, “Wow! That was slippery! Fun!” And then there was Clio — calculating every step, tip-toeing onto the ice or completely avoiding it altogether.

Between these two, I learned to live life from a place of fearlessness and fun, as well as paying attention, slowing down and being gentle.

Clio lived to be 11 years old — long enough to help me raise my current canine companion, Java. There were moments when Java was young that Clio would remind me that Java was on the dining room table, or that there was a red marker in Java’s mouth that probably shouldn’t be there. Clio continued to be a saint until her last exhale became my next inhale.

The days leading up to Clio’s passing were one of my greatest life lessons. Don’t wait to tell someone you love them. A week to the day before Clio passed, I received a late night call that my father had passed unexpectedly. After the shock wore off, I perused my mind to remember our last phone call. Pulling our words from the memory of my heart was easy.

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, baby.”

I’m immersed in the lessons from the animals I have lived and worked with over the years, and yet, the dog who graces my house now is my wisest teacher. She’s still very much alive, but someday I’ll be writing a story about Java’s passing. For now, let’s just say that this 10-1/2-year-old exuberant Plott Hound who once climbed on top of dining room tables and ran through the house with butcher knives and screwdrivers in her mouth has taught me one of my most important lessons of all time.

Love fully and allow yourself to be loved.

Oh yeah, and wag your tail until it hits you in the face!

The only reoccurring childhood nightmare I ever had was about cats taking over the world. I would wake up, get out of bed and act out a new ending where I befriended the enemy cats by feeding them milk and saved the day. For most of my life, being around cats caused me to sneeze, itch and made my eyes water.

I really liked Dale. He had two cats, so I decided it was time to make my peace with them. Binx was easy. He was shy and hid whenever I arrived at Dale’s house.

Buzz was another entity entirely. A black-and-white tortoise shell, he would coax me in, acting as if he was ready to be my closest buddy for all time. The next moment, in the midst of my innocent petting, he would suddenly hiss. I’d jump back, heart racing and commit to never trying to be his friend again.

This cycle repeated until a life-death crisis occurred. Dale and I returned to his house to discover Buzz lying half-dead in a pool of blood. We rushed him to the vet who told us Buzz was in rough shape and would likely not make it.

While in the veterinary hospital, we learned that Buzz had a cell mast tumor that was inoperable. The tumor would swell and create histamines that caused his stomach to bleed and resulted in his vomiting blood. Even when he improved and was able to return home, his condition was precarious. Having been so close to losing Buzz made me realize how much I’d grown to love the little crabby bugger! I don’t know what it was that caused him to see me differently, but from that time onward Buzz loved me, too.

Over the next two years, Buzz miraculously survived two more of these near-death episodes. Dale and I knew that Buzz’s tumor would eventually lead to his death, but we hoped to have many more good years with him.

It was Sunday, October 3, one week before our greatly anticipated wedding. As we were preparing for bed that evening, Buzz suddenly began to howl in that familiar way that signaled he was in pain and big trouble. I assumed we’d bring him to the emergency vet like we’d done three times before. They’d treat him, and we’d bring him home. But Dale knew otherwise.

Dale and Buzz were dear buddies. The love bond between them was palpable. Dale understood it was Buzz’s time to go.

This was completely unacceptable to me. As far as I was concerned, there was no way that God would allow Buzz to die the week of our wedding. We would take Buzz to the vet, and he would rally as he had before.

Dale’s certainty finally broke through to me. There was calmness in his knowing that this was simply Buzz’s time to go.

After a sleepless night of crying and comforting Buzz and each other, Dale went into work to let his employer know he had to return home as quickly as possible. Five minutes after Dale returned home, Buzz left his physical body.

We were both devastated. At that moment, I was so overcome with grief and anger that I didn’t even care about our wedding. I imagined walking down the aisle with a red-blotched face as the photographer and videographer captured the event. I didn’t even care what I looked like. Nothing else mattered.

After the initial shock wore off, I accepted that the timing of Buzz’s death was somehow necessary. But why? Why did Buzz have to die six days before our wedding? I continued to pose the question inwardly until I received the answer: Jack (who had been my beloved dog for 12 years and had passed four months earlier) and Buzz had fulfilled their missions with us. They had come into our lives to offer love and companionship until Dale and I found each other. Our wedding was the beginning of a new cycle. Jack and Buzz needed to begin their own new cycles and adventures elsewhere. They had finished what they came here to do.

Buzz stayed as long as he possibly could while giving us time to recover before our wedding. The day after he died, my sister arrived from out-of-town and our focus re-shifted to looking forward to our wedding and the celebration of our love and commitment.

Although my heart still ached, I was overwhelmed with gratitude: for this incredible man I’d finally found and was going to marry; for our many friends and family arriving to help us celebrate; and for these amazing souls in animal bodies who touched our lives in ways words can’t express. They were leaving us in great hands!

“Share the funniest experience you’ve had with your pet.” When I read The Edge’s theme for this month, it caused some writer’s block. As a long-time animal lover turned professional animal communicator, I have had many “funny” experiences with animals. Unfortunately, none of them were such elaborate tales that would warrant creation of a full-length article. Then the brilliant thought came: Why not take some of the funny “one-liners” that animals come up with during animal communication sessions and write up something like “Animals Say the Darndest Things” (a takeoff on the old TV show “Kids Say the Darndest Things” that was so popular when I was growing up)?

Alas, the universe and some particularly active “other world beings” had other ideas! Instead of using one of the common meanings of the word funny – causing laughter or amusement; humorous – I was to write about the recent happenings in my animal communication practice which would be more accurately classified under the other common meaning of funny: difficult to explain or understand; strange, unusual or odd; curious. It became clear to me that my article was to deal with the extraterrestrial stories that have been coming up with ever greater frequency in my dealings with animals.

My own first “encounter of the third kind” happened a few years ago with a very mainstream client who lives in the countryside of Indiana. We had worked together many times over the years, and due to our successful sessions she trusted my animal communication skills without question.

She called to tell me about strange seizure-like episodes one of her dogs started having out of the blue, which were not actually seizures, according to her vet, but something they had never seen before and had not been able to successfully diagnose or treat. We talked to the dog, who immediately sent me a telepathic image of what caused her new condition. I was amazed to see an incredibly intense bright light in the shape of a flying saucer in the night sky. She said the saucer had suddenly arrived in the middle of the night, blasted a huge electromagnetic field that lit up the entire night sky and then disappeared. She felt her seizure-like conditions had begun as a result of that blast of energy.

My client breeds and shows Border Collies, and in nice weather they all sleep outside in adjacent kennels. I asked the other dogs if they had seen anything, and sure enough, the dog’s son recounted the exact scenario, but said he had not been physically affected. According to the mother dog, the blast affected her and not the others because the aliens were studying her. I was astounded that she used the word aliens, and I was trying to figure out how to broach this “funny” subject with my human client! Because we had had such a successful track record over the years with our animal communication sessions, I felt I could tell her what I found out. The phone was quiet for a while, and then much to my relief, she sighed and said, “I figured something weird was going on.”

This session resulted in more conversations during which I was able to dialogue with the aliens themselves. From the beginning we agreed that the word alien can have a negative connotation for us earthlings, so they suggested using the term extraterrestrials or ETs. In my more recent conversations with other animals and their extraterrestrial experiences, the term “other world beings” was suggested as an even more neutral phrase.

The other world beings stated that they were simply studying earth and its inhabitants for the greater good of all. They were apologetic that their first encounter had so negatively affected the dog and promised to make sure that future studies would not be in any way harmful. We negotiated a time frame for continued studies after which they would leave the area. They kept their word, never to be heard from again. The dog’s symptoms disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared.

Since then, there have been other reports from animals about studies going on and experiences of being transported and then returned. The most recent was just resolved after one particular cat had been missing for six weeks! I kept receiving information that the cat was alive, but nothing more. I had spoken to him several times before, but never before had I been shut out in the eight years of my professional career like I was with this cat now.

Sheldon the cat: "I had this mission, being involved with another world."

Sheldon the cat mysteriously reappeared two weeks ago.

When we spoke to him about what had happened and why there had been no communication, he related the following:

“I had this mission, being involved with another world. I went (was taken) to do mutual study and exploration. My information is gathered and then transferred to a type of kitty cat archive, and all memory of it is gone. They take information from me and do who knows what with it. It’s all good, that I know. At this point, it’s helping with the survival of our planet, that I know for sure. The other world went through a similar process, with not such a great ending. We will avoid that with their help, luckily.

“I am chosen because my family and I are open to this process. It’s a sacrifice we are all willing to make, especially now that they understand it better. It could happen again, but I think not. There was a huge information download and exchange this time. The astrological format was extremely conducive. That’s why it took so long.”

Tim Miejan’s editorial in last month’s issue, entitled “Are we open to off-planet assistance in our evolution?” was at least partially addressed by an orange tabby named Sheldon who is obviously open to “other world being” help. Who’s next?

Jodi Menke of Kindred Spirits Animal Communication believes that animals are spiritual beings that have a lot to teach us. Sometimes they are brought into our lives just to make it better. Some have a much higher purpose and are here as teachers or healers to assist you in the growth of your soul or life purpose.

Jodi is a Registered Karuna Reiki Master, Earth Healing Energies Practitioner, has an advanced Animal Communication Certificate, a Certified ThetaHealing™ Practitioner and has a certification in StarFire Animal Communication. Jodi’s intention is to strengthen and enlighten the bond between animals and humans by offering clarity, insight and healing to both people and their pets.

I spoke with Jodi about talking to animals.

So how did you discover that you had this ability to speak with the animals?
Jodi Menke: I’ve always had a special bond with animals. When I was a child, I had an invisible pet dog. One day, I left my invisible dog at the park and wouldn’t stop crying until we went back and got it. When I was in my 20s, we had to put down our dog named Murray. That was one of the hardest days of my life. I felt like a piece of my heart went with him.

Murray is what I would call my soul animal. We connected at a level that I didn’t fully comprehend until after he was gone. If we were both human, we would have finished each other’s sentences. Once he was gone, I wanted that connection back. I learned that there was formal training on communicating with animals. Once I started the classes, it came so naturally to me that I realized then that I had been doing this my whole life.

What are some of the common issues that you have found in working with pets?
Menke: This journey has been very interesting. I have learned a lot about the relationships between humans and animals. I believe that the animals in our lives come to us for a reason and are there to help us with a certain lesson or to comfort us and be our companion when we need it most.

People usually ask for my help because there is a behavioral issue or concern with their pet, but usually there is a whole other level to the issue. For example, a couple was very worried about their cat. Their cat was very full of life and adventurous. She was so adventurous that her caregivers worried for her safety. I got that there was a message in this for one of the caregivers, specifically. One of the caregivers was particularly upset by the actions of her cat, so I asked her how long it had been since she had done what her spirit called her to do? She immediately started to cry. The cat was helping this woman to connect to that free spirit in herself and heal her past so she could start living her life in a way that would fulfill her.

Another client came to me with a horse, an Arabian mix. She wanted to ride him, but she was afraid because of his behavior. He would nip at her and act up when they were riding. She was worried he would run off with her. As I started working with her horse, I knew this horse was in her life to help her with her self-esteem, self-confidence and assertiveness. So I worked with both of them. The woman began to gain a new courage with her riding that not only helped her horse’s behavior issues improve but helped her to regain her personal power. She was able to ride confidently. She also became more assertive and her personal relationships changed for the better. She was a much happier person all around.

Sometimes people call me just to find out more about their pet. They want to make sure their pet has everything it needs. Sometimes their pet is having health issues and they want me to give them insight on what it is. Sometimes pets don’t get along and they want to know why.

I always enjoy meeting new people and their pets. One of my greatest joys is helping people and animals understand themselves and each other better, because it deepens their relationship and creates more harmony and happiness in the household.

Are there any tips that you can give us to help people deal with the loss of a pet?
Menke: The loss of a beloved pet is difficult. It’s okay to go through the grieving process with the loss of your pet. People sell themselves short when they don’t allow themselves to grieve. Your pet is a part of your family. The physical and emotional connection we share with them makes it feel as though we have lost not only our best friend, but a family member. People should give themselves permission to move through the full grieving process so they can heal and move forward. Remember that the other pets in your household may go through a grieving process of their own. Allow them space to do that.

When someone comes to work with you, what is the typical process? Do you go and see the animal?
Menke: My readings are done primarily over the phone. Once the date and the time are set, I ask them to email me a photo or a detailed description of their pet, along with the pet’s name. It isn’t necessary for me to be in the same room as the pet. Usually, I connect with the animal’s personality traits and their likes and dislikes first. This helps my client to understand that I am now connecting with their pet. Then, I ask for questions or concerns and we take it from there.

Can you talk with pets that have died?
Menke: Yes, I can talk to pets that have passed. It feels similar to communicating with animals that alive except that I don’t feel the life force in animals who have passed like I do with live animals.

Keta, my beloved Yorkshire Terrier, has been assisting me in meditation for eight years and has consistently helped with my healing and energy work for more than four years.

What can your beloved pet do for your meditations?

• They can help ground you.
• They can help hold the energy space if you need to move in and out of it.
• If you go elsewhere in your work, your pet’s warm body next to you helps you maintain a connection with your body. Their physical presence can help bring you back into the present.
• Some pets can help guide or assist you within the meditation.
• Some can show you where negative energy is buried in their body by moving to or touching that area.
• Some can actually help remove negative energies.

Even if none of these occur, it is still a wonderful sharing experience to meditate with your pet. It’s something you can share and enjoy together.

Most animals are creatures of habit and routine. So here are some tips if you want to try meditating with your pet:

• Have a consistent place where your pet is located during meditation, like next to you on the sofa, a specific chair, or on a pillow by your feet.
• Tell your pet that you want them to help you meditate or meditate with you. Use the same key words each time so he or she will begin to understand the routine.
• Then always start your meditation the same way. I start mine with some deep breaths and toning. When Keta hears those tones, she knows we are going to work together and she settles in. Consider starting with putting on a chanting CD, soft music, lighting a candle or incense. Whatever your routine is, be consistent with how you start your meditations. This will provide a cue to your pet about what you will be doing together.
• Start to include your pet in your meditation routine, and have patience. Let your fuzzy friend get used to this new activity with you. Soon your pet will have an understanding of what is happening, and will look forward to sharing this special bonding time with you.
• When meditation is over, praise your pet for their help.

When I work with clients, Keta holds and interacts with the energy we are working with. She sometimes even verbally gurgles, a signal that she is holding onto the energy in the sacred space. This is very helpful, as I need to move in and out of the healing energy space in order to observe, listen, take notes and interact with what they are experiencing. Her partnership is extremely important to my work.

Now she knows what it means when I tell her, “John is coming over to work with me. I need you to help me ground and hold the energy space.” As soon as I start toning, she jumps into her little basket and does her job.

When we finish, she is proud of herself. And, I always praise her for her help.

I encourage you to try meditating with your pet. I promise, it will be healing for both of you!

There’s something really incredible about having a dog with a sense of humor. I mean, who ever heard of a dog wearing a red plastic bucket over her head, or making a pillow fort at bedtime? I heard once that a sense of humor is a sign of intelligence. What about laughing until milk comes out my nose? Is that a sign of intelligence, too, or just a sign that I have a funny dog?

It all started the day Java entered my life – a rubbery, curious, gorgeous 12-week-old female Plott Hound pup with limbs, tail, ears, eyeballs and head going every which way depending upon what she wanted to express. By the time we got home from the shelter, I knew I had a funny one on my hands.

Maybe it was the time I got out of the shower and she was standing on top of the dining room table. Or, the time she grabbed a butcher knife in her mouth then did wind sprints through the house. Or, possibly the time she was being chased by my other dog, Veta, in the backyard and decided to leap into the evergreen tree to make a fast getaway – balancing her entire body on a low branch so Veta couldn’t get to her. How about the time that Java peed while standing up on her hind legs in a pile of snow – yeah, like a human – back legs spread apart on the ground and front legs on the retaining wall. The only thing missing was a camera.

The list goes on, but one of my favorites occurred over and over from the time Java was 4-9 months old. You see, I had this red, plastic bucket near my patio door that I filled with water to clean off the dogs’ paws before they came inside. Well, one day, my jokester of a puppy decided to dump the bucket, picked it up with her mouth and then flipped it over her head. As if that wasn’t funny enough, she then took off running all over the backyard – red, plastic bucket still rattling around her noggin – until she decided to come to a screeching halt. This ended up being a daily occurrence for Java until the snow fell that year.

Then, her favorite trick became running past me really fast in the snow, ripping my mitten off my hand and playing “catch me if you can” with an evil look in her eye. Oh, wait…did I mention yet about the first time I hung laundry on the line? It stayed there until I let her outside. Then, it became a waving toy to leap at and carry around the yard in her mouth. Smart human only hung laundry up once.

Okay, maybe this one is funny. There was the time I accidentally threw her ball on the roof, so I got the ladder to get it down. Well, while I was on the roof, Java climbed up two full rungs on the ladder and waited for me to toss her ball to her. Yeah, I know I was supposed to write about just one funny event, but with a dog with this kind of sense of humor, how can I pick just one event when funny stuff happens daily?

For years, Java woke up in the morning by sliding off the bed on her belly, then moving into an army crawl on the floor. That’s pretty funny in and of itself, but there’s more. While she was crawling across the floor she was wagging her tail, snapping her mouth open and closed, and making her eyeballs go back and forth like a cartoon dog.

Java has since moved on to simpler delights in the morning. She now gets her chuckles by ever-so-gently placing the tiny little hairs on her muzzle up against my arm, face or lips until I can’t stand it anymore and I wake up laughing.

And just last week she ran outside to chase a squirrel and ended up wearing one of my tomato cages!

I think the masses may be ready for the Java Comedy Hour!

My three cats completely get me. They jump up for a snuggle when they know I feel sad and they engage me in games when they sense I’m in a playful mood. Another great thing about my cats is that they work very diligently to help this catlady maintain her inner peace and balance. Don’t believe it? Read on….

Midnight Yoga
My very thoughtful felines know that I probably don’t spend enough time on yoga, so they make sure that I receive a little extra while I am lying in bed at night. They position themselves in various spots on the bed, gently forcing me to bend and shift my body into various poses. Sometimes they even feel it is beneficial to move my head from the pillow. They won’t tell me why this is key, but they seem to know what they are doing, so I trust them. My husband isn’t invited to the midnight yoga sessions – they must not think he needs it. Again…they are the experts.

The pose that the kitties often favor is what I like to call the Angle Tangle. It’s sort of a variation of the Warrior pose, but at an angle, and on a bed, and with cats. Sometimes it is difficult for me to sleep while holding this pose, but I know the cats have my best interest in mind so I don’t disturb them. After a few hours of Angle Tangle, I sometimes ask permission to move to the living room and spend the rest of the night in the Full Sofa Recline pose.

Meow-and-Response Chanting
My cat Phoebe knows that I enjoy Kirtan call-and-response chanting. She engages me in her own form of call-and-response on a daily basis, especially at meal times.

Phoebe: Meow-ow-ow
Me: What is it, baby?
Phoebe: Meowwwwwww
Me: Do you want to play?
Phoebe: Meow-ow-ow-ow-ow-owwwwww
Me: Do you want Mama to hold you?
Phoebe: Meeeeeee-owwwwwwww
Me: Are you hungry?
Phoebe: MEEEEEEEOWWWWWW!

Om Shanti to you too, Phoebe.

Purrfect Presence
My kitties know that I can always use a little help maintaining focus while meditating. With this in mind, they like to provide little distractions while I am enjoying my peaceful practice. They talk to me, attempting to divert my concentration. They climb all over my body, testing my ability to remain present. Sometimes they even create a disturbance by hacking up hairballs nearby. I cannot express my appreciation for their ceaseless dedication to challenging my ability to remain focused.

Yes, my cats definitely know what it takes to assist me with maintaining my daily inner peace. Where would I be without their diligence? Thanks to my four-legged spiritual coaches, I embrace each moment of each day with a happy heart and a peaceful cattitude.

Na-meow-sté!

Most of my life I didn’t like cats. Growing up, we were a dog family. Cats were scary, unpredictable and made us sneeze and itch.

Dogs, on the other hand, were loyal, dependable and made us laugh. We could count on them to enthusiastically greet us when we arrived home. They followed us around from room to room like planets orbiting the sun. They could joyfully play games for hours as long as we played, too. Their devotion and love was apparent. I had no need for cats.

In my match.com profile, I was asked about cats. I chose the responses: “I don’t have cats; I don’t like cats.” I’m grateful Dale didn’t let that stop him from emailing me. Eight years and four cats later, I adore cats. I’ve been delighted to discover how unique they are from each other, and how much love and laughter they bring.

We adopted our boy cat, Sam, from “Caring for Cats,” a shelter in North St. Paul. Sam had been rescued on the streets of the University of Minnesota during a severe winter cold spell. He likely would not have survived.

From the moment we brought Sam home, we began noticing rather un-cat-like behaviors. Like my former dogs, Sam follows me around from room to room; I have to be careful not to trip over him when I make a quick reverse. When I arrive home, most often he’s sitting on the desk looking out the front window as if anticipating my return. He promptly comes downstairs to greet me as I enter the garage door.

Like both dogs and cats, Sam loves to play. His favorite toys are little coiled ribbons of plastic we’ve named “twirlies.” He bats the twirlies with his paws and chases after them as they go spinning down the hall. He looks like a talented hockey or soccer player. Recently Sam added another talent to his repertoire. After batting the twirlie around awhile, he picks it up in his mouth, carries it to me, and drops it so I’ll throw it for him again. Much to our amazement, we have a cat who plays fetch.

Sam is very attached to me, his human mother. Recently I was out-of-town for a full week. On the morning of the day I was returning home, Dale and I spoke by phone. He told me that Sam knew I was coming home that day.

I keep my heart monitor watch on the lower level of the house. Sam had gone downstairs, picked the watch up in his mouth and carried it up two flights of stairs. He dropped it on the rug in the middle of the doorway. Sam was saying, “It’s time for Mom to come home.”

I was really taken by the intuitive and love bond this cat has with me, a desired trait I had previously reserved for dogs only.

Sam has been sleeping on the chair next to me as I’ve written his story. He wants me to tell you that everyone should have a cat because it makes life so much better. I wholeheartedly agree.

In my career as a dog trainer, I often have clients come to me at their wits end with behavioral problems their companion animals are exhibiting that are a disruption to their home life and, in some cases, potentially dangerous. After each session with my clients, I find myself becoming more deeply grounded and peaceful and sharing this work has become an integral part of my career and life. My tool kit for working with companion animals does not include shock collars, prong collars or a lot of gadgets to sell people. I come to the client’s home with my two hands, a peaceful heart and a willingness to see the companion animal in their own unique perfection.

Up until two years ago, I was like most dog trainers – demanding that the dog behave as we the human intended, controlling the situation with no ifs, ands or buts about it. Then a miraculous event occurred, and it has changed my relationship with companion animals profoundly.

As a volunteer of a Twin Cities Humane Society that was having a fundraiser, I was asked to bring a dog and a cat from the shelter out for a woman to work with in front of a large group of people. I had no preconceived ideas, nor did I have the time to research who the famous woman was that I was to meet. Using only her hands, Linda Tellington-Jones allowed that dog and cat – which were just shells of their true selves, with medical conditions and terrors of being found roaming on the streets and now locked in a shelter – to find their confidence and sense of calm so they could become aware of their surroundings and become grounded and balanced. It fascinated me – more so because I was the one who had, just moments before, taken the terrified dog and cat out of their kennels and had seen the fear they both exhibited.

I signed up that day to become a part of the Tellington TTouch program, which has lead me to continue to work with dogs and cats and share this gentle work with their guardians.

Tellington TTouch or TTouch (Trust Touch) was developed using a simple, but profound idea. The potential for learning could be enhanced and learning time shortened dramatically by a person moving his or her own body in non-habitual movements. Linda immediately thought, if this works for humans then it will also work for animals. Linda developed precise touches, and now she presents lectures sharing these techniques all over the world. She continues to mentor thousands of students each year in her training program to become a TTouch Practitioner.

Becoming a certified Tellington TTouch Practitioner takes a minimum of two years and involves six complete weeks of courses. Between classes, case studies are completed to lessons in real-life experience. Classes are taught in many locations (to find a course location in your area, visit www.ttouch.com). There are also many daylong and weekend seminars that you can take to learn more about the work. Linda has written many books about TTouch, also.

The basic TTouch is a circular touch, with your hands exhibiting a light pressure on the animal. Being calm and relaxed while practicing the touches is key. The touch brings about a sense of awareness to the companion animal. Once the animal feels safe and secure, a new way of seeing the world happens, one TTouch at a time.

What I most enjoy about TTouch is sharing the techniques with people so they also can change their relationship with their companion animals. I recently was hired to work with a Yorkie that barked whenever the door bell rang – a common problem with dogs. I think you could have knocked the owners over with a feather when I started our session by practicing some deep breathing. What was astonishing was that Betsy, a very hyperactive dog, began to lie down at my feet within 45 seconds of us breathing and not paying attention to her.

When we model for our pets the behaviors we require, they find their calmness on their own. We then worked on having Betsy sit and stay on a dog bed when people came to the door, and after a short time, the solution was at hand. The owners were so relaxed when I left and they thanked me for showing them a new way to see their dog.

A major part of my TTouch and dog training is putting on seminars for people to learn TTouch. I organize canine events at Gunflint Lodge and other places in the Twin Cities. Recently, I was at Gunflint Lodge when dog sledding was taking place. The musher introduced me to one of the dogs that he had recently adopted, one that was extremely scared of people. The musher had only touched the dog a few times. He was hoping that over time, the beautiful grey husky would begin to relax.

I could not touch the dog myself, but I did not want to let the opportunity pass without trying something. I stood by the Husky as it was cowering in its little kennel, and while the musher took my husband for a dog sled ride, I started to do Touches, the circular movements on my arm. I was deeply breathing, and encompassing a feeling of safety and security. Within about two minutes of deep breathing, a nuzzle began to gentle touch my hands. As I continued to touch my own left arm with my right hand, doing the specific touches, I occasionally drifted to touch the scared dog. I allowed the dog to feel the touches when the dog felt safe; if he wanted to leave, he was free to go. Within the next 20 minutes, I continued to touch the husky and worked all of the way to the tail area, covering many areas of tension while I continued to breathe and send out a feeling of calmness and safety.

When the Musher came back, he came over to where I was sitting and the once-fearful dog began to lick his hand with a wagging tail.

I had been with the dog for 40 minutes. Did I do something? Was the musher different this time when he approached? Are there mysteries of the human animal bond that we don’t know? I think all may be true but this I believe: When we are present and mindful with pure intention, anything is possible.

Lessons from the Universe are always present, and finding the stillness within us can allow those lessons to be comprehended. As we all have found, the lessons come quietly, but at times the lessons are as loud as a rushing waterfall.

My first lesson from the Universe came to me at the age of 6. My Shetland pony, Trixie was enjoying her oats. I decided to get on her back and enjoy that moment with her. I had no bridle or halter, but I easily stepped on the fence and sat on her back as I had done so many times. I can still feel that stillness with Trixie and that sense of love and harmony, if only for a moment. It felt so familiar, like I had been at that place before.

Then a thought rushed over my mind of her running with me to the end of the pasture and of me screaming for her to stop but she wouldn’t. I could get hurt and I could not stop her. At that moment, she took off at a full gallop. The other horses were at the end of the 60-acre pasture and I felt her little legs running for them. I held on to her mane, crying in fear. We finally reached the horses and I slid off. Why, oh why, had she done that to me? Although I rode horses until I left for college and still ride horses when given the chance, I have never forgotten the fear that I felt that day when my trust and innocence was lost.

While in college and during my first 10 years of married life after college, animals – especially horses and dogs – were not of my realm. I was a business person, utilizing my mind in a capitalist society. My dear husband and I went backpacking and camping every chance we had, but our little peaceful home life was not to be disrupted by the chores and mundane demands of animals. Neither horse nor dog was to be a part of our clan.

At our 10-year anniversary, that utopian world ended when intuition and a desire beyond our control brought Jasmine into our life. A wiry haired mixed breed pup with unknown lineage but eyes that melted my soul consumed our very existence. We both had this need to make sure everything was done right. She was in training and on the best food. I took classes, decided to start an apprentice program under a dog trainer because taking a class once a week was not enough. Jasmine needed her education in being a good dog constantly, and I needed the reassurance I was doing everything right.

Oh, those insecurities were to ruin me. If only she could learn to roll over. Why, oh why, was her little tail tucked all of the time? What is wrong with her?

Then one day, I looked at her and she looked at me and we recognized ourselves in each other. My mind was quiet on this day, for in the stillness her thoughts became my own. She told me not to try to dominate her and control her every move, for she is here to teach me to let go and trust nature again. And Jasmine told me that Trixie, my shetland pony, had not forsaken me; she had only done my bidding when that vision of her taking me to the end of the pasture as I screamed in terror came into my mind. “Trixie and you were so connected in that time of quiet. She could only do as your mind had asked.”

A revelation came over me in that stillness. Jasmine was here to teach me, as all dogs are, like all living creatures and nature itself. I looked at her and her eyes softened and her tail raised from its tucked position. Love poured out from me, and Jasmine said to me, “Embrace that love, as that is what the Universe wants you to experience. That stillness abounds within us all if we can only quiet the background to hear.”

My cat Shelby had the best purr ever; when she really got going, you could hear her across the room. At night, she would lie in bed and purr, her warm body snuggled against me. She even purred in her sleep; her sweet dreams revving the contented little motor of her soul.

Shelby turned 14 years old in February, the same month her vet found a tumor in her abdomen. Because of her advanced age, the doctor was hesitant to operate. There wasn’t much I could do except try to keep her comfortable. For the next few weeks, I spent extra time with Shelby and tried to give her all the care and love she needed. She had to stay well medicated, but I was grateful to be able to have her with me a little longer.

In late April, Shelby’s health took a turn for the worse. She kept to herself more and more, the way animals often do when they are ill. She stopped sleeping in the bed with me at night, preferring instead to curl up in a corner of my room. My heart ached when I realized that I hadn’t heard her purr in weeks.

In May, Shelby stopped eating and could no longer walk to her litter box. I made the painful decision to put her to sleep. Before I brought her to the clinic on her last day, I took her outside with me and let her enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Shelby had been an indoor cat all her life, and she relished the soft green grass beneath her paws as she basked in the beautiful spring sun. She looked up at me and, for the first time in weeks, rubbed her face against my legs and purred. I was happy to be able to give her this sweet experience before she had to go.

A few nights after Shelby’s passing, I was lying in bed asleep when I felt her little body curled up next to me, and she was purring as loud as she ever had. I sleepily thought to myself, “Oh good, Shelby’s purring again. She must be feeling better.”

I woke the next morning and smiled as I recalled feeling Shelby next to me. I think it was her way of thanking me for giving her a loving home and for helping her to pass on when it was her time to go. Her body is gone but her soul is still here, looking on with love and purring her approval.

Four months after we lost our beloved yellow Labrador retriever, Taylor, to cancer in June 2006, we found a black cocker spaniel at the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, Minnesota. The card attached to his kennel at the animal shelter had only one word typed on it in the section labeled history: “Abandoned.”

From the moment my wife, Linda, and I met this little guy, we couldn’t get him out of our minds. We needed time to maturely reflect on such an important decision, so we asked the shelter to hold the dog for 24 hours. Then we drove home to have a “discussion” with the two cats and cockateil who would be affected by a new family member in our home.

They didn’t say much about whether or not a dog would disrupt their lives. Later, they expressed many strong opinions, mostly negative at first. Not having the heart to make the wiggly dog stay at the shelter one more night, we drove back to pick up the little fellow shortly before adoption hours ended.

At the checkout counter, where we submitted our paperwork requesting an adoption, a young attendant told us that this purebred cocker spaniel was physically in very good shape. He had been dumped at a different branch of this shelter outside the Twin Cities about a week earlier with another dog.

The couple that left him hadn’t provided any background, since they dropped him off after hours. They had left a note saying the dog’s name was Harley. The shelter’s veterinarian estimated Harley’s age to be around a year old.

Perhaps another name?

We brought Harley to our car and began to drive this nervous, uprooted little dog to the park before introducing him to his new home. When we stopped at a red light, a Harley Davidson motorcycle roared up next to us. Harley’s ears flailed back. He bared his teeth and glared at the biker, growling menacingly. Linda and I looked at each other and said, “This fellow does not want to be named Harley!”

So, what name did he want to be called?

As soon as we started to walk with the dog around Lake Harriet on this crisp autumn day, we discovered that he loves leaves. He chased, rolled and played with abandon in piles of leaves. As he trotted along the pathway, he watched, fascinated, when auburn, yellow, and pumpkin-colored leaves tumbled from the trees.

We named him Leaf.

Almost immediately after taking Leaf home, we realized that his past experiences had scarred him and indicated that he’d been abused. He unexpectedly bolted away upon meeting certain types of people.

One animal communicator thought that Leaf had been in a dreadful puppy mill. Many purebred dogs were sold from these awful places to pet stores, where people bought them without realizing that the pups had been treated inhumanely and might soon have behavior problems. Animal shelters are the sad recipients of many puppy-mill-pet store dogs.

Another animal communicator said that, with great shame and embarrassment, Leaf had admitted his darkest secret to her with the words, “I got left.”

It was obvious Leaf wasn’t accustomed to being inside a house, because he had no concept of indoors and outdoors. He certainly hadn’t met any cats. He tried to play with and sniff them like dogs. At first, Leaf didn’t seem to think that letting the cats have their space and quiet time was of high importance, but their claws and hisses taught him better.

The pain he felt from being abandoned ran deep. He constantly needed to be with either Linda or me. He would fall asleep and wake up disoriented with anxiety that escalated into full-blown panic attacks. His eyes would glaze over with fear, and he’d shriek with massive, wolf-like howls. We spoke calm, reassuring words of love to him. Slowly he’d return to us from whatever terror and neglect he’d relived.

Leaf begins to heal
Over the winter months and into spring Leaf became more secure in his new home, and the panic attacks lessened in frequency and severity. I identified with Leaf’s insecurities. Growing up as the child in a military family, I had moved from place to place a lot and knew what it felt like to have an uncertain future.

Without judgment and feeling mutual empathy, Leaf and I accepted the baggage we each carried into our relationship. Also, I was starting to heal from the pain I’d felt over the loss of our beloved Taylor, as Leaf and I became pals, buddies and playmates.

When I took Leaf to a dog park near our home, I watched him play fearlessly with other dogs. Linda began calling him Alpha Dog of the World. No matter what size the dogs were, Leaf always seemed to position himself as leader of the pack.

Despite whatever shattering experiences he’d had before coming to live with us, his confidence grew. His big ears flopped while he retrieved the balls I threw for him, and I felt great pleasure watching him become more carefree and curious. Life in our home seemed to be giving him the assurance he needed.

As the weeks passed, the love bond between Leaf and me strengthened. Initially, getting him accustomed to a new home with cats, a bird and house rules was a lot of work. Middle-of-the-night bathroom walks outside in below-zero temperatures became commonplace.

In the past we had always had female dogs. Now we were living with this teenage boy, who displayed a high degree of intelligence and had an agenda of his own. But through all the adjustments, he began to believe that we loved him. Unlike the frantic, terrified dog he had been only months earlier, by April 2007, he was showing his affection with kisses and play.

Feeling stressed? Lacking confidence? Aren’t getting enough rest? Put down that latest self-help book and behold the stealthy swami that is the cat. These sleek sages know how to expertly embrace a peaceful, present, and playful existence. When I observe my three fuzzy felines and the manner in which they “are,” I cannot help but pick up a few tips.

Ask for what you want. Load your life (or nine) with all of your desires and meow for more! The world is your toy basket – fill it full of your very own equivalent of catnip mice and feathers-on-a-stick.

Watching birds is an entertaining and relaxing way to spend a slice of time. Talking to the birds creates an even kickier encounter!

Stretch out in a spot of sunlight. Cats are the ultimate yoga masters, mastering such poses as Downward Licking Leg, Restful Reclining Reach, and Bending Bum-Bathe. I recommend the first two.

Bask in your own personal style – cats don’t worry if a tuft of fur is out of place or if an ear is turned inside out for several hours. Flaunt your fantastic flair!

Raucous play can be excellent exercise. Go ahead, burn a few calories by enthusiastically batting an aluminum foil ball around on the kitchen floor…you know you want to!

Be sure to eat lots of greens and protein, but indulge in a tempting treat now and again.

Create time for naps – curling up with someone else for a serene snooze is even better.

If someone flicks his tail in your face, don’t take it personally – find that spot of sun and stretch again. And then nap.

Detachment is key to happiness. If your food bowl is moved, adjust and find something positive about the new location.

Always trust your intuition. If a situation causes you to pause, for purr’s sake, jump in with all paws!

Practice presence. Offer the gift of your full attention to the friend who’s extended her paw in play and when you’ve moved on to patio-door-bird watching, enjoy every morsel of those moments. Look – a sparrow!

Unconditional love is what it’s all about. Cats love us when we feel great and adore us just as equally when we wear our cranky pants.

Cats are quite wise beyond their whiskers. Gratefully welcome the profundity of their purrs and their flair for frisky frolicking. Share a sunny spot with a cat for a few minutes and see if you don’t feel a little more centered. Looking to learn the secret to leading a happy and fulfilling life? The cat’s out of the bag – look no further than your four-legged feline.

Klondike came into my life when times were tough. Divorced and unemployed, I spent my days searching for work and fighting despair. To cheer myself up, I volunteered at an animal shelter twice a week. There I met a golden-red kitten who looked like a ray of sunlight.

” ‘Klondike’ is a name he’ll have to grow into,” the woman at the shelter said when I told her the kitten’s new name. That’s exactly what he did. Within a few months, he was a massive cat with gigantic paws and a jolly round face: a sweet and gentle giant.

Klondike and I were soon inseparable. He sat on my lap as I searched the classifieds and typed cover letters. His antics made me smile even when things seemed hopeless. When I finally found a low-paying job with long hours, I got through the day by picturing his face at the window when I got home. The evenings weren’t lonely with him next to me as I read. When I found him curled at the foot of my bed in the morning, the day didn’t look quite so bleak.

It was eight years before my life turned around. When I found an exciting job with a decent salary, I could hardly breathe. I didn’t realize then that the job would bring me not only a better lifestyle and new friends, but a wonderful man I would one day marry. My entire life was changing for the better.

Except for one thing. Three days after my job interview, Klondike fell horribly ill. Heartsick, I rushed him to a veterinary hospital, vowing to do everything to make him well. But the unthinkable happened. My ray of sunshine was diagnosed with feline heartworm. It was untreatable. The day before I started my new job, he died in my arms.

I wonder: Are humans the only ones born for a purpose? Or do all beings come into the world with a mission? Klondike appeared when my life was at its lowest. He gave me friendship when I needed it most and laughter when it was in short supply. He kept me going through the darkest nights – right up until my life began to change. I can’t help believing that he had a reason for coming to me: to help me through those hard years, until I was whole again. If that was his life’s mission, he accomplished it perfectly. Then, his purpose on Earth fulfilled, it was time for him to go home.

If there’s one lesson that we’re learning in 2009, it’s that we are all interconnected. And we are finding that we benefit by strengthening our sense of community and embracing a more open communications style with each other. Interestingly, more and more people are also finding comfort, solace and connection by including their best and most loyal companions – their pets – in their day-to-day communications.

What is animal communication? In a nutshell, it’s the process of sending and receiving thoughts, images, impressions and feelings using two-way thought transference.

How exactly do you go about communicating with an animal? If you’re of a certain age, you may remember the TV show “Mr. Ed” in which a wisecracking horse moved his lips as he conversed with his owner. Real animal communication is done at a deeper telepathic level. Just like a child absorbing his parents’ unspoken beliefs and attitudes, an animal can listen to your thoughts and be aware of how you feel. You’ve probably already experienced this…when your cat snuggles nearby to offer comfort when you have the flu; when your dog eagerly anticipates your arrival home after a long trip; when your parrot calls out your name to greet you in the early morning. They know better than us the illusion of separateness.

A point of commonality that animals have with humans is that their ability and willingness to communicate depends a lot on their individual personalities. While all animals are very telepathic, some are more cautious than others to let you into their world. Many are noble, calm and patient while others are hyper, anxious or timid. That’s one reason to initially try to choose a pet that matches up well with your own personality type.

The following are a few basic steps to follow when learning how to communicate with your pet:

• Don’t look directly at the animal. Many people think that they will pick up on a message better if you stare into their eyes. Quite the contrary! You’ll do better by closing your eyes and focusing on sending them your energy and love. In fact, they don’t have to be physically with you to hear you.
• Hold a vision in your mind’s eye of what behavior you want to reinforce in your pet. For example, visualize your dog promptly coming in from the yard when you call him. This will reinforce whatever words you are using to communicate your message.
• Respect the element of free will in every animal. If you’re a parent, you know that telling a child not to do what they want often strengthens their resolve to do it anyway. Listen to your pet and get them to work with you rather than, “Just obey because I said so.” Offer an explanation of why you are looking for a certain behavior.
• People tend to have different communication senses… they hear words or see visual images or feel emotions. Work with your strength when communicating with your pets and trust that you can receive answers in any of these forms as well.
• Oftentimes people pick up a response from their pets in a dream. A sick bird, for example, may appear to be happily perching again with its mate or lovingly acknowledging you by fluttering its wings in front of your heart. Don’t dismiss such messages as inconsequential.

A major benefit of animal communication is that it can give you valuable clues into the best course of care for your pets. Imagine being able to directly ask your pet these questions: “How do you feel? Is this the food that you like? Where are you hurt? Are you OK with having another cat in the house? Do you like the fit of this saddle?”

Animal communication is a complementary approach to proper veterinary care; of course, it is never a substitute. But communicating with your animals helps you understand their particular physical and emotional needs, as well as get a glimpse into their unique life purpose.

It can be said that animals are like us in wanting safety, a sense of belonging and an experience of love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and through it you can talk and listen to anyone or anything. As we accelerate in our understanding of interconnectedness and our world becomes ever more interdependent, communication with all forms of life is becoming accessible to anyone willing to keep an open mind and practice the art of two-way heartfelt communication.

Lori Swanson: sister, artist, pet lover

We didn’t even know my sister Lori was sick, much less that she would die suddenly. She was only 45, and although her lifestyle increased her chances of illness (smoker, drinker, sedentary job) it was by no means any indicator of the transition to come. She died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism, sitting in her living room chair, twenty-four days after 9/11.

My family is extremely close and we were planning a fall color train excursion in Wisconsin to celebrate my birthday, which had taken place four days earlier. In lieu of gifts, I had requested the train trip, with cake, ice cream and the happy birthday song afterward at my house. It was during the final planning stages the night before that she didn’t answer her phone. A neighbor reported that her house was dark. We sent the police over, and I got a call twenty minutes later that she had passed away. Just like that. No train trip, no birthday cake, no happy birthday song, no sister. Just like that.

She had no human children, but two Siamese cats more than filled those shoes. Beau and Cara were not litter mates, but they were born at the same time, from the same breeder. Their beautiful blue and seal point markings made them an extremely handsome couple and they had been cuddlemates since kittenhood. The coroner estimated that my sister had been dead approximately five hours before the police found her. Five hours. I often wondered what had gone on with her cats during that time.

Even though I am a professional animal communicator by trade, I had never talked to them specifically about what happened that evening and what they did during those five hours.

Since a stunning photo of Beau taken by my sister adorns the cover of this issue and it’s been almost eight years since her death, I thought it might be time to find out. Here’s what they said.

Photograph of Beau, by Lori Swanson

“Mom was just sitting down in the living room to watch TV and she was calling us to come sit in her lap. I (Beau) was doing the aloof cat thing but Cara went right to her. She always did. Just then there was some coughing and clearing of the throat and it was over. I remember there was one last gasp where it sounded like no air could go through, and that was it.

“Cara had had a premonition of what was to come and had been sticking real close to mom. I didn’t know if Cara was right and didn’t want to believe it, so I just went about my business with no special attention. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary before that night.

“It was a strange time. We sat on her lap a long time together, but then it was too weird because she was still there, but just not in her body. She didn’t know she had passed on and was looking for the TV remote. We were on her lap, and at the same time watching her rummage around the living room. She looked like a beautiful ray of sunshine, but more like a see-through thing than a person. We waited and then left, because it started to be too much for us. I went under mom’s bed and Cara went under the couch. She didn’t want to leave mom.

“After a while Cara came to me and we waited under the bed. Soon there was no more rummaging and we realized mom had left. The emptiness in the house was sudden and profound. We knew the exact moment she left. We hid deeper under and waited. By then we knew the family was coming.

“The police and another man came first, had a big talk, and took mom away. He put some food out for us and left. We stayed hidden and cuddled tighter than ever. We knew mom would be close by but couldn’t take care of us. It was a time of great worry.”

My family got there after the coroner had removed her body. The police officer wouldn’t let us go in to check on the cats, because it was an unwitnessed death. He told us he had put more food and fresh water out for them. He seemed like a very nice man and I remember thinking, “What an awful part of the job this was for him.”

I hadn’t really gotten to know Beau and Cara very well, because every time I visited my sister I brought my Golden Retrievers and the cats hid. They ended up in foster care, due to my utter shock and overwhelm, not to mention the fact that I already had five cats of my own. I finally came to my senses a few weeks later and ended up adopting them myself.

Beau was born with a sickly body and ended up succumbing to massive seizures a few years ago. When I took him to be euthanized, it was as if I were handing him directly to my sister.

Cara is still with me as vibrant and elegant as ever. We marked an interesting anniversary this last year as I have now had her longer than my sister did. But there is only ever one original mom.

The photo of Beau taken by my sister had been in my bedroom for years and I knew it belonged on the cover of this annual pet issue. I knew it was time to publicly honor my sister and her incredible artistic talent. I knew it was time to acknowledge the brilliant light that always surrounded Beau.

I knew it was finally time to ask what had happened that night. And I knew another chapter in the story of my sister’s death could be written.

It’s something of a paradox that I’m saying hello to the readers of The Edge for the first time, and writing about goodbyes. But when a topic is presented, I follow guidance and go with it. Such is the case this month.

In life, there are many different levels of healing we may choose to experience throughout its course (or not). Likewise, with death, there are more finite observations to be made, if we have the perseverance and the courage to look for them. I am not immune, as a healer, to such challenges myself.

During the course of an average year, many people contact me requesting long-distance healings on their sick animals, and that’s not unusual. I provide this as a service, and a long list of miracles attest to why I absolutely love what I do! I’m also a retired race horse trainer, and still ride two of my own.

Animals will mirror issues we have on an emotional level that will manifest in a physical or behavioral problem. Not only do they take these issues on for us, and help us process them, they do so by agreement. As humans, we have begun to re-define who they are in relationship to us, more cognizant of their incredibly important connection. One cannot fail to see that there is so much more they have to teach us.

Some of these animals I work on are not meant to stay on the earth plane very long. Transitioning from one reality to another is the normal course for all beings on this planet at this point in time. But that does not mean that acceptance is easy for those of us remaining.

One such animal was a 26-year-old TB mare that was visibly failing. Her owner contacted me and asked me to see what Tara wanted her to do. The response from the mare was not totally unexpected, but the degree of emotion that hit me was. I could hardly speak as I endeavored to tell her owner that the mare “longed for greener pastures.” This was not conveyed in linear dialogue – much as it was a visual picture accompanied by the most incredible love and gratitude for her life with her owner. I could not help but wonder if there was a mirror I was looking at for myself. I didn’t have to wait long to find out.

This type of experience is a constant with all animals I connect with. The love they convey is staggering! But, that is not usually all there is going on when this inevitable time comes for them. I know, from doing this spiritual work for nearly 15 years now, that sorrow can be very illuminating. The quantum view, or what is often called the picture under the picture, lends insight to so much more than meets the eye.

I recently learned that one of my own mares has cancer. But, beyond my personal grief has emerged something far more illuminating. I now have an expanded view beyond the obviously precious gift she’d been, ever since the frosty April morning she was foaled some 18 years ago. It’s clear that she is part of a cycle that’s coming to completion in my personal life. Her birth was a concession for a time when I was losing a way of life, a husband, and other things that were no less precious. Now, as some of those things are coming full circle, it’s clear that in nearing the end of her time here, she has triggered the release of residual emotion over those events that I had not been able to fully release. Processing the impending loss has done what time could not.

What this tells us is that no transition is haphazard. And without fail, there is always a reason they come, they live, they love, and they return to the Light when they do. I hope this helps soften your own experiences.

It was time. Kelly knew there was something wrong in her body. It was confirmed there was a growth near her heart. Acceptance of this fact seeped slowly into my consciousness. A hollow feeling invaded my belly, the feeling that takes hold of your stomach when it confronts loss.

My thoughts raced – to memories – through fears – to possibilities.

Kelly had been my constant companion for more than thirteen years. She greeted me in the morning with her wagging tail and followed me around the house, as if my every step were an adventure. If I even thought of leaving the house without her, she looked at me with those heartfelt eyes in such a way that I would inevitably grab her leash and we would be on our way.

Yes, Kelly was definitely one of a kind.

Trying to imagine my life without her in it was challenging. The only thing that saved me was a technique called EFT. Each time the fears and tears emerged I would start to tap.

EFT is a self-administered form of acupressure developed by Gary Craig. Instead of needles – tapping is used to stimulate the meridian end points, thus neutralizing any thought or feeling that accompanies the gesture. I wanted to neutralize any feeling that would prohibit me from spending my last days with Kelly in complete coherence. I wanted to stay open so that when the vet came to assist Kelly’s spirit in releasing her body, I could remain present. I wanted to treat her transition as a graduation, sustaining joy as I helped escort her into the light.

It worked!

This picture, taken 15 minutes before the vet arrived at our home, never fails to remind me that I succeeded. I did move beyond compassion. I was able to attain a state of grace and acceptance never before experienced. Since that time, I have not responded to my world in the same way. My heart changed. Its actual vibration was altered, as I gave every inner child time to express the feelings of grief and used EFT to neutralize her fears.

And because of this, I was able to gracefully let go of Kelly. Six days later when my next canine companion found his way into my heart, I was open to receive.

In my line of work as a medium and intuitive, I have found that pets are just like humans when it comes to being psychic. They all possess different abilities just like we do, and some don’t use it, just as some of us don’t. I am not an expert pet psychic, but if I need to I can tap into them just like tapping into another person.

But just like humans, they have boundaries, too. So ask them before you tap into them.

Most of my pets have had different abilities. I had a Doberman Pincher that was a healer. She was one of the best healers I know, above humans. When I was a child, if I was ever sick with a cold or had a headache, she would lay down next to me and put her head on my head. Within 15 minutes, my headache was completely gone – or if I was sick, it was only for a day.

Now I have a Pomeranian, and she has the ability to see spirits like I do. We make a great team. I first learned about this after an uncle of mine passed away. I knew he was in our house, in spirit, to check up on us. But what surprised me is that for the next couple days leading up to his funeral, my dog acted odd. She barked in the kitchen at what others saw as nothing, and she sat and stared at what others thought was just an empty spot.

A year later, I did my first ghostbusting. After I came home, my dog was acting the same way, but this time she acted very timidly. As we were getting ready for bed, she started growling at my door and then ran and hid under the pillows. I knew the visiting spirit wasn’t friendly, if it scared her. She was used to spirits and ghosts, and it took a lot to make her growl. So she tried to hide behind me, and I firmly said to the spirit, “You need to leave.” After that, my dog calmed down and went to sleep.

I have many conversations with her to this day. They can talk to us if we are just open to them. Here are some ways to open up communication with your pets:

• Let your heart open to them. Treat them as an equal and not just another pet. They can sense this, and it will draw them closer.
• Play with them or just take time to sit with them and tell them how your day went. Then, let your mind just be open to them. Odds are you will get some kind of response with them, either a physical one or maybe just a simple picture in your head. This might be their advice to you in some way.
• Tell them your secrets, hopes and desires. They are there for you, if you let them. Remember the old saying about a man and his best friend. Our pets want to be friends with us if we let them. They hold so much information that can help us. They are sensitive beings that feel the problems we go through; to them, they are going through things with us.
• Ask them for advice and become friends with them. Eventually you will be able to better understand their needs and wants – and your needs and wants.

Pets are truly a blessing in disguise. Live and learn alongside them, as we do with each other.

The other day I was talking to my dog, Java – telling her that I love her, thanking her for bringing immense joy and laughter into my life, and wondering what it will be like when she’s not on this planet anymore.

Java and I have spent almost every day together for the past 8-1/2 years. When I think of it that way, it’s no wonder we have a tight bond. She knows secrets nobody else knows, and we’ve shared experiences unique to just the two of us.

Magic happens when we connect with our pets on a spiritual level. It’s intimate and individual, and yet there’s a commonality. Think back on an event in your life and remember which pet was there to hold your hand, how they responded, and how you felt just knowing they were there.

Pets help mark milestones. When I look back, I had my childhood pets, my engagement dog, my marriage dogs, the dogs who helped me through my divorce, my single woman dog, and the dog who taught me the most.

Java is one of those once-in-a-lifetime dogs. When her time comes to move forward, what I’ll remember most is her never-ending joy and zest for life. She and I have a soul connection like no other pet I’ve had. When I feel upset, Java comes running to check in. When I’m in my joy, she jumps in full force to share.

We’ve created a dance together. Sometimes it’s still a little clumsy, yet it’s mostly filled with grace and wisdom. The more I engage with Java – something as simple as talking to her daily – the stronger our relationship becomes. I’m curious how deep we can go with our pets, and how deep they can go with us. I believe that when we open our minds and hearts to possibility, the animals follow.

As Java walks towards me, I notice her brown velvet muzzle sporting a dusting of grey. She peers at me with her stunning, chestnut eyes, and her soul meets mine. We can see through each other. As she moves in closer, I smile at how much the grey has taken over the brown, and I grin as I tell her, “I bet if I didn’t color my hair, we’d win a look-alike contest.”

I invite you to thank your pets for all they are, and all they’ve helped you to become.

I know animals are spiritual beings. Dogs have been some of my best friends since the day I was born (and probably before). They are always happy to see you. They will play with you when no one else will. They are the warmest, softest, kindest, most entertaining and cuddly things in my world.

I love watching animals interact with each other. I feel that making sure your dog has other dog friends is a very important thing. Before we got my dog Fancy’s new boy friend, Mr. T, we used to have regular sleepovers at my house with our dog friends Annie and Nellie. Every animal being is truly unique and individual, just like human beings. Their relationships with each other are individual, too.

I believe Fancy is the same soul as my dog Ricki, who died around 10 years ago. The coloring, markings and temperament are very similar. I’ve always wanted to learn to talk to the dogs. In my early twenties, I really started to search the psychic stuff.

Next, I tried to communicate with my dog through animal communicators. My dog Cleo was a very psychic shih-tzu. One time she amazed the communicator by showing the lady the view through her eyes. She showed herself walking around her building outside. I think she was trying to communicate about the poison in the yard. She also told me she wanted more room on the bed and that my boyfriends didn’t matter to her. She was there for me, and it was me she loved.

Through many dark times my dogs have been a bright light for me.

Cleo trained Fancy in before she left. She made sure Fancy knew exactly what was expected of dogs at the Eva household. Fancy learned well and added her own twists, too. She even licks my tears if I cry, which always makes me laugh or at least smile, totally changing my mood for the better. Alchemy.

Two years after Cleo died, I started thinking about getting Fancy a dog friend of her own again. I had an animal reading, and during our conversation I asked Fancy if she wanted another dog. She said, “Yes,” and showed the lady a whitish dog that looked a lot like herself. The lady said she just saw two white blurs running after each other in a long room. At the time I didn’t know anything about how I would get a dog. Having NO money had a lot to do with it.

I ended up fostering (free to me) two dogs (both from one home), adopting the sister out to an excellently nice home, through Midwest Animal Shelter, and keeping the other one. It was a great experience. Having Mr. T (Teddy) around has totally brightened our world. Fancy is more energetic and playful. Tug Toy is a 24/7 game at my house! Every night I sleep in a wonderfully warm dog pile. My favorite thing is to wake up to perfect little dog paws air running in their dreams!

My dogs are chemical free, eat organic food, and are treated with acupuncture, chiropractic and natural remedies as much as possible. Thank you to every animal for sharing the Earth with us!

Nowhere is God’s love closer to us than in the company of our pets. That is a bold statement. Since there is no record on file anywhere with such a quote from God, a lot of people have the mistaken idea that only they have the honor and privilege of being Souls. But pet lovers know better.

It is a spiritual principle that Soul comes to earth in many different states of consciousness – and even in many different body forms. And God loves us all.

Soul exists because God loves It.

While no one can offer indisputable evidence of that love by pulling a quote from some holy text, the proof is in the pudding. God’s love is all-encompassing. There is plenty to go around to all creatures.

The stories that follow only include cats and dogs to demonstrate that divine love. But don’t fret. God’s love also includes birds, fish, reptiles, wild animals, and even insects and smaller creatures still.

One night a sales representative named Niki had a dream. It was about two collies. Her recollection of the dream was a bit garbled the next morning, but she wrote down as much of it as she could remember.

At the dinner table the next day, Niki was surprised when two collies came to the kitchen door. She recognized them immediately.

They were the collies in her dream.

Niki opened the door. Both dogs greeted her like an old friend, and they seemed to be talking to her – trying to tell her something. They nudged her and made moaning sounds. But each refused all treats, food and water. She got a phone number off one collie’s dog tag and left a message for the owner to call her.

In the meantime, Niki grabbed a coat and boots and went outside to be with the collies. They jumped and danced around her, showing complete love and trust.

So she took them for a walk.

Walking up and down the street, she hoped to run into the owner, who might be looking for the lost pets. She tried some commands on them.

“Heel!” They obediently fell into step with her.

“Stay!” They stayed.

“Come!” Of course, they came running up.

Well-trained dogs, she thought.

Finally, the owner got her message and called back to arrange to pick up his dogs. When the owner arrived, he explained that home was three or four miles away. He was confounded when she told him how they had obeyed her commands. They’d never had training, he said.
The lost collies came to Niki’s door because they remembered her love from the dream world, where they had already met.

Can animals love? Highly evolved people accept it as a fact. They know it because of their better understanding of how God’s love actually works – due to their longer enrollment here in the University of Hard Knocks.

Yes, animals can love. There are too many such examples of animal behavior to doubt it. Love goes beyond instinct.

Although they are capable of showing love, animals – like many humans – can also show a strong dislike. That can change, however.

A mother took her two daughters to a pet store and returned home with a grey tabby kitten, Socks. All went well for several weeks. Then her son, who had moved to a new apartment where pets were not allowed, brought over his cat, Spook.

Spook took an instant dislike to the kitten. At every opportunity, Spook hissed and swatted at Socks, which soon produced a bloody nose.

In time, though, the two cats became inseparable friends. They did everything together.
Then Spook had a litter of kittens. Socks became a second mother to them: licking them, keeping vigil with Spook over them, even babysitting when Spook left for a drink, food, or just time off. Day after day, Socks stood in during Spook’s break times.

The family later came across an article in the newspaper about whether animals can love. With such a pure example of it in their own home, this family has its own answer. Could there be any doubt?

God’s love is sufficient for all.

I could feel the cat gently walking around my head on the pillow, pulling my hair ever-so-slightly. Deep in that last morning dream before waking, I realized I was lucid. I looked around and could see she was an orange and white, long-haired tabby. I just knew it was a she. I could hear her insistent meows. I blinked awake, smiled and thought, “Hmmm…this will be an interesting day!”

I stopped by the Corner Store on the Universal Studios lot where I worked to check on my cousin who had recently gotten a job there. He looked stressed. When I asked why, he immediately asked if I wanted a cat. His girlfriend had brought home three from the shelter the night before. So I asked if it was a female, orange and white, long-haired tabby. With a shocked look, he replied that it was. I told him excitedly, “She’s mine!”

Cheesepuff had been scheduled to be euthanized and was very ill when she was rescued, due to her Hollywood good looks, charm and innate sweetness. She hid for three days when I brought her home, but soon we became best friends. True to my dream, she liked to walk on my hair and meow to wake me up promptly at 6 a.m. every day.

Cheesepuff became my energy healing partner whenever she was allowed, respectfully lying under the healing table in the spot associated with the client’s chakra that needed the most attention. She did the same for me by sleeping next to or on top of whatever chakra was most depleted in me.

When I do distant healing work on people or animals, I often use a teddy bear as a surrogate, and Ms. Cheese (a.k.a. Ms. Chi Puff), was always drawn to the work, adding her energy in that sweet, gentle and sometimes fierce fur-person way, with louder purrs than you would think possible by a 6-pound cat. Sometimes she would enter my dream or wake me, letting me know I needed to send healing to the person we were dreaming of. Working while you sleep, too! Now that’s what I call full time!

Recently, my dear healing partner began showing signs that her transition time was near. We spent one fitful night with her mostly on my heart chakra. I awoke to hear her last purr. She made her transition on June 3, my Dad’s passing day. I look forward to seeing her again, in my dreams.

I have always shared my life with cats, yet nothing could have prepared me for the stray cat who found his way into my life, heart and soul. He showed up from nowhere, sitting squarely on my front steps, like a Romanesque statue.

Upon closer examination, he was a disheveled orange tabby cat with a severe case of ear mites, frost bite on his feet bottoms and a left eye cataract, which appeared to emit laser beams. Although he looked rough on the outside, he had an inner radiance and we had an undeniable soul connection.

In time, I named him Teddy – the name meaning “gift from god” – yet, to anyone looking in from the outside, he was anything but a gift. He covered everything in the house with a coarse coat of orange hair and was violent towards my other animals, making it necessary to keep him in a special part of the house. He figured out how to open doors by standing on his hind feet, holding his front paws together over the door knobs, then wriggling them back and forth. I had never seen a cat so adept at breaking rules, but his antics taught me patience and perseverance in ways I never imagined.

Teddy was extremely food motivated, too. One day, as I leaned over the kitchen counter eating my last bite of cheeseburger, it suddenly disappeared. I looked on the counter and floor below me, but it was nowhere to be found. I looked to my left and sitting on the kitchen counter was Teddy with his cheeks bulging out.

In a single moment, Teddy had jumped onto the counter, used one of his long slender paws to swipe my last bite of cheeseburger and scooped it directly into his mouth.

Over time, Teddy’s transformation has inspired my own personal growth and plans to create a holistic animal sanctuary. Once established, it will be the result of a typical barn cat, who in reality is one of my greatest teachers. Some people say those who love animals do not have enough love in their life, but often it is the opposite.

They are the ones who love and are loved the most.

Did you see that? That woman has a cat in the baby buggy! Yes, that would be me. After almost fifty years, once again I am pushing a baby buggy with a cat.

It all started on a cold winter day late February 1956, and my Mom was pregnant with her first child: me. Being almost eight months pregnant and needing a nap, Mom lay down in her bed where she was immediately joined by Limit, a black-and-white short-hair cat, also pregnant and in need of a nap. As Limit fluffed the bed making herself comfy and cozy next to my Mom’s big belly, my Mom was serenaded to sleep by loud voluminous purring and constant kneading from under the covers.

As Mom awoke from her slumber, to her surprise, Limit had given birth to a healthy litter of kittens! Oh how exciting the house must have been, full of new life and a human baby on the way too!

Shortly after I arrived home in mid-April, all the ruckus and crying noise confused Limit. Naturally curious, Limit had to check it out and found a little baby girl in the lacy bassinet. Obviously not a danger, Limit proceeded to carry each of her seven kittens to the bassinet and place them carefully inside, so all the babies were together. When the kittens were several months old, Mom and Dad made sure good homes were found for all of the kittens except one – a darling all-black kitten with a healthy set of lungs.

I had that little black cat my entire childhood. He was a very gentle soul, allowing me to dress him in my clothes; I remember I would get mad when Mom or Dad would take the clothes off my cat. But what I remember most was going for a walk with my Mom, over to grandma’s house, pushing the stroller with my black cat in it.

What a gift it was to be raised in a family that truly loved and respected animals. I’ve been blessed to live with at least one cat my entire life. My heart and soul would just not be complete without a cat. Grandma would always tell me that history repeats. Yes, it certainly does. Today, almost fifty years later, I am that woman walking around the lake with a black cat in the buggy!

Bilig, the Lipizzan

Shortly after 9/11, I had returned home to Minneapolis from Arizona. I had worked with a Tibetan lama who instructed me to work with the animals – particularly the horses. As a healer, I understood the message and set out to offer my healing services to local horse rescue farms. Since I was a child, I had always wanted to own a horse – however, life intervened, finding my house full of members of the canine world.

The world of horses is full of fun and exciting stories and adventure. I found a strong spiritual connection to these beautiful creatures, and I often sit in awe and admire their greatness of strength and character.

As time passed, I continued to receive strong nudges to look for my horse, yet I always found excuses to delay. The nudges continued. I would drive down the road and my head would spin to view any horse in a pasture. It truly began to feel as if I was looking for a horse – but which one?

Little did I know that Bilig was looking for me, too.

Her name is Bilig (Ba-Leek’), the Mongolian word for female energy; principle of wisdom and cunning. She was born Rona, a purebred Lipizzan mare. The Lipizzans are a rare breed originating in the 1500s from Austria royalty and made world famous by the Spanish Riding School and General Patton. Today there are only 4,000 Lipizzans in the world.

Bilig was born in 1991, and she has traveled to many parts of the U.S. in her role as a broodmare, producing four Lipizzan foals during the course of her years.

Divine Intervention interceded in 2004. Monty Roberts, known as the Horse Whisperer, was at the Horse Expo. I attended his seminar and won the door prize of his complete training kit! I had Monty sign his book and stated, “Now, all I need is the horse.” Well, to my surprise a month later I became the proud owner of a Lipizzan, also known as the mystical Unicorn/Pegasus. Remembering how in my childhood dreams a winged white horse would come and take me to magical places. I had found her and she had found me.

We have encountered five past lives together as old souls journeying through the eons of time.

It’s been five years in this life with this magical teacher! Now she has asked me to open a school offering healing/training services with horses, and my web site [www.7heavenmanege.com] is the beginning of our school as the journey continues….

It started innocently enough. The sign at Petco for adoption day…telling my husband, “I just want to look.” I meant it when I said it. I love animals. I love going to places where there are animals and spending time with them.

Then I saw her. She seemed to be calling to me. This beautiful 9-month old Siamese Cross with eyes of blue. I couldn’t get to her fast enough. I picked her up and she hugged me. She rubbed against my face and I knew she was coming home with me.

My husband took a little convincing but agreed, and it was a done deal – a deal I couldn’t complete fast enough. I just needed to know she was officially mine. I named her Shanti, which means peace. This is what she brings me. This is who she is.

That was about five years ago. Every day with her is a joy. My love for her runs deep – deeper than any other pet I’ve had and I’ve had my share. When I talk about her, I am so connected I can’t help but get teary-eyed. She stays close to me when I’m home, often following me around. She stands on her back legs and reaches up to me so I’ll pick her up. She showers with me (yes, a cat that loves the water) and sleeps by my head.

I’d never heard of a soul connection with an animal until I met Jodi Menke, a wonderful animal communicator and friend. She shared with me the different types of relationships people have with animals, including the soul connection, and said that is what I have with Shanti. Shanti has taught me a lot about intimacy because of our connection, something that doesn’t come easy to me.

Intimacy is something that I want desperately with others, but have also been afraid of for years. Through her, I’ve created deeper connections with myself and with others. Feeling that relationship with her has made it safer and more comfortable to connect with everyone on a deeper level. For that, I will forever be grateful.

My desire is to make her life wonderful every day. To meet her needs as she meets mine. To bring her joy as she brings me joy. To fill her days with love as she has filled mine. Isn’t that what life is all about, after all?

Dear EarthTalk: I don’t eat meat, for a variety of ethical and environmental reasons, and I’d rather not feed it to my cat, either. Do cats have to be carnivores? – John McManus, Needham, MA

Unlike dogs and other omnivores, cats are true (so-called “obligate”) carnivores: They meet their nutritional needs by consuming other animals and have a higher protein requirement than many other mammals. Cats get certain key nutrients from meat – including taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A and vitamin B12 – that can’t be sufficiently obtained from plant-based foods. Without a steady supply of these nutrients, cats can suffer from liver and heart problems, not to mention skin irritation and hearing loss.

Cats are natural carnivores and they need certain nutrients that can’t be obtained through plant-based foods. But some pet food and supplement makers say they have that problem solved | Getty Images

Of course, providing your domestic cat with a steady stream of its preferred prey is hardly convenient or humane – and cats can wreak havoc on local wildlife populations if left to forage on their own. So we fill them up on dry “kibble,” which combines animal products with vegetable-based starches, and meat-based canned “wet” foods, many containing parts of animals cats would likely never encounter, much less hunt and kill, in a purely natural situation. Most cats adapt to such diets, but it is far from ideal nutritionally.

Veterinarian Marla McGeorge, a cat specialist at Portland, Oregon’s Best Friends Veterinary Medical Center, argues that the problem with forcing your cat to be vegetarian or vegan is that such diets fail to provide the amino acids needed for proper feline health and are too high in carbohydrates that felines have not evolved to be able to process. As to those powder-based supplements intended to bridge the nutritional gap, McGeorge says that such formulations may not be as easily absorbed by cats’ bodies as the real thing.

Some would vehemently disagree. Evolution Diet, makers of completely vegetarian foods for cats, dogs and ferrets, says that its meatless offerings, on the market for 15 years, are healthy and nutritious, and, if anything, have extended the lives of many a feline and canine, even reversed chronic health problems. Claiming that most mainstream pet foods contain artery-clogging animal fat, diseased tissue, steroid growth hormones and antibiotics no less harmful to pets than to humans, its website posts testimonials from loyal customers who claim happy and long-living pets who look forward to their meals.

And Harbingers of a New Age, which makes “Vegecat” kibble and supplements that provide cats with nutrients otherwise only found in meat, says that its products allow owners to “prepare food in your own kitchen, choosing recipes that fit your lifestyle.”

The vegetarian pet debate is a contentious one among vegetarian pet owners and veterinarians and is one not likely to go away anytime soon. The best approach may well be to give some of the non-meat supplements and/or foods a try. If your cat won’t eat them, or does not do well on them, take kitty to a veterinarian for a check-up. You can always go back to what you were feeding her before.

CONTACTS: Best Friends Veterinary Medical Center, www.bestfriendsdvm.com; Evolution Diet, www.petfoodshop.com; Harbingers of a New Age, www.vegepet.com.

When a beagle spoke to me in a shelter seven years ago, I thought I was nuts. Hearing voices in my head, seeing things that most others don’t see – and having premonitions that manifest into reality – isn’t the best recipe in our society for being labeled as normal.

So, as most people would do, I freaked out, questioned myself and put my psychic abilities to sleep. That lasted about a year – until I heard my own dog, Java, speak to me. It was clear as a bell, so I knew I needed to do something about it or I would lose my innate ability forever.

Trust created transformation – really trusting what I was receiving and having the confidence to share it with others. Sounds easy, but it wasn’t. The easy part was to believe that being psychic was possible and having a desire for more. For years, my sister and I have been able to read each other’s minds. It happened frequently with other people I was close to as well, but now the animals wanted to share.

What has transpired over the years is my ability to trust myself and trust in Spirit for what I’m receiving. Whether I’m talking with animals, plants or people – living or deceased – there’s a level of confidence that has blossomed.

I’m a believer that we all have the innate ability to connect with plants, animals and people on many different levels. By living a healthy life of a good diet and exercise, learning to quiet our minds, having a spiritual practice in place and being open to possibility, great things can happen.

In my 41 years in Earth School, I’ve learned that being normal means living to my highest potential – using the gifts I’ve been given and sharing them with the world.

What gifts will you unwrap today?

Based on the book Saying Goodbye to Your Angel Animals

Although it had been a week since Kathleen McBride’s dog Tyler died, she couldn’t stop mourning. Unbidden tears came while she worked at her desk. Her boss, a young woman, zinged Kathleen with the words: "I thought you would be over that dog by now."

The woman’s callous remark left Kathleen speechless. She says, "I couldn’t begin to explain to her the enormity of my loss, so I didn’t even try." If it hadn’t been for the sensitivity of coworkers who offered their condolences, Kathleen would have buried her grief. And unresolved grief can lead to serious health problems later, even long-term physical or emotional illness.

With 63 percent of U.S. households having a pet, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association Inc.’s 2005-2006 National Pet Owners Survey, and 83 percent of pet lovers calling themselves their pet’s mommy or daddy, Americans have firmly entered the era of pets as members of the family. After pets die, people mourn them with an intensity that is similar to their feelings over a human’s death. Psychology Today’s website section on bereavement says, "The death of a pet will often mean the loss of a cherished family member and can trigger great sorrow. Other people may find it hard to understand such a reaction in what they may see as the loss of just an animal and they may, therefore, be less understanding of your grief."

In researching and writing Saying Goodbye to Your Angel Animals, we reviewed thousands of letters and stories we have received since founding the Angel Animals Network in 1996. We found that when friends, family, coworkers or members of a person’s church are dismissive or insensitive about the loss of a pet, the grieving person tends to withdraw. She then loses the comfort and release that talking about feelings would have provided for what may be one of her most painful life experiences.

Buried or unprocessed grief festers within a person and resurfaces as much as a year or more after the loss of a pet or human. If normal feelings associated with grief are repressed, the bereaved person can have a complicated grief reaction leading to clinical depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Loss and Life Transition in Fort Collins, Colo. In When Your Pet Dies (Companion Press 2004), he distinguishes between normal grief and clinical depression over pet loss. Wolfelt says that the person who has slipped into clinical depression no longer accepts support and does not directly express anger. These behaviors can result from being rebuffed or ignored upon turning to others for consolation.

How to help someone whose pet has died

Acknowledge: Let the grieving person know that you understand this is a deep and real loss.

Listen: Encourage a grieving friend to talk and remember. Don’t shy away from helping her recall memories of the final moments. She may have dreams of the animal saying good-bye or a lingering sense of the animal’s presence. She may believe she’ll meet her animal companion in heaven. These are common comments bereaved people make. Just listen.

Be Nonjudgmental: The bereaved person may have had to euthanize the animal
or make other extremely difficult decisions. Now isn’t the time for second-guessing
or raining "shoulds" on a person who may already be filled with
guilt and regrets.

Accept: Let the grieving person know that whatever feelings she has experienced before, during, or after her pet’s death are natural aspects of grieving.

Understand That People Grieve Differently: Some mourn longer or more frequently.
Some express their emotions through tears. Others don’t. Men and women grieve
differently. A survey by the University of Kentucky showed that men’s bereavement
takes longer, is less noticeable, and is processed by acting and thinking
rather than crying and talking about feelings, as women tend to do. ("How Men Grieve," by
Colin Allen, Psychology Today, September 12, 2002).

Honor the Animal’s Life: Help the bereaved person hold a candlelight or memorial service for her pet and share photos and memories with other friends and family members who loved the animal.

After an animal dies, buried grief becomes the poisonous air that a bereaved person continues to breathe. So when someone says, "My dog/cat/rabbit/horse died…" offer genuine consolation and understanding. The death of an animal companion probably means the loss of that person’s greatest source for feeling loved unconditionally.

My first response, in light of the fact that this edition features pet health, was to tell you all the ways I knew that you could keep your pets healthy. I would have told you to spend a little more and buy healthier food for them than you find in your typical grocery store. Look for food without additives or by-products. Don’t overfeed your pets. Follow the recommendations based on your pet’s weight. I also would have told you to exercise or play with your pets. Walk your dog at least once daily. Sit on the floor and play with your cats, with their favorite feathery toy, and brush them daily.

Instead, I write to you having just buried my buddy of 18 years, Seth, named because when I adopted him from a friend’s farm I was reading Seth Speaks. As I sit here, it’s still shocking that he’s gone. Despite the fact that he was a very quiet cat, rarely raising his voice above a whisper, in his absence the house is so much quieter. In his absence, I now learn that his presence was much larger than it had seemed.

Our new home
Seth was one of three cats who moved with me in 1995 from Northwest Missouri to Woodbury in the east metro. I loaded the rental truck with my belongings and towed my VW Fox. Seth, and the Siamese sisters China Cat Sunflower and Lady Madonna, rode in the car. I only checked on them once when I refueled in Des Moines, and they were huddled together. It was cold and snowy that October day. They were as happy to get to our new home as I was.

Madonna and China both lived 15 years, succumbing to cancer. Seth, a former farm cat who slept in a barn, was much hardier. The only sickness he encounted in his life was a pre-cancerous growth at the base of his left ear. Treating it with cesium, a trace mineral that alkalinizes the body, I mixed a bit of its powder and some additional vitamins into his food, and the growth disappeared. It did return once more, a few years ago, but my holistic vet at the Cat Care Clinic again prescribed cesium and it did the trick. Thank you, Dr. Sue.

In recent days
Seth died of old age. Cataracts were clouding his vision. Arthritis was making walking, and normal stretching and cleaning, very difficult. A sentinel who always slept near my head, Seth was not there in recent days. In the morning, I would find him sleeping on the couch where I left him the night before.

Cleo, a 5-year-old tabby who is the same age as Sunti, our gray-haired Korat (a Thai breed), used to eat alongside Seth every morning and lunch. On occasion, they would sleep together on the bed. Since Seth’s passing, Cleo has not been herself. She has not cried for food at the usual times. She has been silent. She has been aloof, napping by herself for longer periods of time. One of her nicknames, Thundering Herd, refers to her headstrong runs through the house. This week, she has not run. I know she is missing Seth. Just as much as I am.

But he is gone.

I cried when he passed. I remember lying his body down on the living room carpet so Cleo and Sunti would know that he had passed, that he no longer inhabited his body. I find myself looking out the back window toward the garden, his final resting place.

I also look at the bigger picture. Living beings are not their bodies. The spirit of the being, or soul, inhabits the body temporarily, and in time, it moves someplace else. In the greater scheme of how things are, the passing of a soul out of a body is just as natural as the breaking of an ocean wave, or a grain of wheat blowing in the wind. It is no more important than the dawn of a new day.The movement of new souls into bodies, and old souls out of bodies, is the flow of life.

And as much as we yearn for the past, to relive memories and recapture the moments that seemed to define our experiences, the only thing that is true is now. This present moment. And in this moment, as I type these words, Cleo is sitting near the open window looking at me like a Zen master. Perhaps a messenger of wisdom that only she can deliver to this dense one who cannot hear what is being said. She suddenly runs to my side and looks at me intently.

"Hungry?" I ask. She meows.

Dr. Sue Swanson, a University of Minnesota graduate and practicing veterinarian for 14 years, can testify to the overwhelming value and success of holistic therapies in treating her clients, cats who suffer from the full range of ailments that affect felines. She spoke with The EDGE in her office at the Cat Care Clinic in Mahtomedi, Minn., about her choice to offer holistic therapies and on the future of such care in veterinary medicine.

What inspired you to begin offering holistic therapies to cats?
Dr. Sue Swanson: I started using holistics on myself probably about eight to 10 years ago. Mostly herbs. I’m a gardener, so it was a natural transition to begin using them on myself.

I went to a conference about six or seven years ago where I heard several different holistic healers talking about everything from acupuncture to herbs. And then it dawned on me, “Duh, I could be using this on the animals, too!” But then it was like going back to school, because each species handles things differently. Cats don’t handle salycilates. Salycilates are found in things like willow bark. It’s what they make aspirin from. So anything with salycilates, like birch, feverfew and willow bark, cannot be given to cats.

So I had to go back and learn this. I overwhelmed myself initially, because there are so many holistic modalities, so I chose just a few things. At the time, I was taking T’ai chi, so the Chinese aspect of some of this interested me. I got into Western herbs, Chinese herbs and acupuncture. Those are the main things I use. I also do work with nutrition and flower essences now, and I’ve added Cranio-sacral therapy and Reiki, which I use on occasion.

And now my partner is a chiropractor, so I am now learning what to look for upon examination so I can make a referral.

Was there much information on holistic care when you were in vet school?
Swanson: No. When I was in vet school, Dr. Will Winters was the main holistic vet in this area. He came to talk to us for one hour during one day. And that actually turned me off to holistics for a long time, because he said you have to forget everything you learned in school and that there was no such thing as germs. That information was too radical for me then. So what actually got me back into them was by using them on myself. I knew they worked. I still do that to this day. I tend to use things on myself first before I give them to the animals. I want to make sure it is safe and does what it is supposed to do.

Are holistic trends being introduced now in vet schools?
Swanson: Yes. The University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine about two or three months ago announced that it now has a Division of Integrative Medicine. So the University’s vet school is upgrading. I believe they’ve hired a doctor from China to do acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

The university is just starting to get into holistics more because people are requesting it. What I’ve tried to do in the past two years is to be available myself as a referral for other veterinarians for the holistics. So someone would still see their regular vet but would come to see me for a holistic consultation once they have a diagnosis. And then I send them back to their regular vet for their routine care, with suggestions. Sometimes I will make such recommendations as no vaccinations or special diets. More vets seem to be open to that, and I am getting more and more referrals. I’ve gotten a few cases even from the U.

Let’s talk about vaccinations. Do you believe pets overall are given too many vaccinations?
Swanson: Yes.

Why?
Swanson: Most veterinarians are trained to do that, and in part I think it goes back to the pharmaceutical companies and to the schools that pets need vaccinations every year. Unfortunately, if you follow the dollar, that is the bread-and-butter and mainstay for a lot of veterinarians.

By cutting back vaccinations to every three years, that would seemingly cut out a significant portion of their income, and they’re afraid to do that. I did that several years ago and it didn’t impact my bottom line at all. It’s just a matter of taking that first step and going through with it. Even the university now is starting to recommend from one to three years for vaccines, so they’re waffling on that, but they’re starting to get braver and recommend every three years based on the cat’s exposure — outdoor cats probably every year, versus indoor cats every three years.

I’ve gotten to the point, too, where if cats have bad reactions to vaccinations, I’ll not recommend that specific vaccine. Or if I see cats with chronic, inflammatory processes, such as inflammatory bowel disease, cystitis, thyroid problems, I’ll recommend that they not get vaccinations. What I’ve been finding in a lot of these cases when I ask specifically about their history is that these problems start a month or so after vaccination or they have an aggravation of the disease process within weeks after getting a vaccination.

I had a classic case yesterday. The cat has symptoms of a mild upper respiratory infection, and every time it gets vaccinated, it gets worse. I’m pretty sure that cat is a chronic carrier of an upper respiratory problem. It may have even started from the vaccine. There’s no way to prove that, but every time it gets a distemper vaccine, its symptoms get worse for a significant length of time. So in that case, I say don’t bother with the vaccine because you’re doing more harm than good.

For most individuals, I recommend an initial series of just two; a lot of vets give three. I give a series of two shots initially, a month apart. They get a booster in a year and then every three years after that. Rabies is the only exception to that. The first one lasts for a year, after that it’s every three years. And even then, for cats over 12 to 15 years of age, especially if they have significant health problems like kidney disease that are associated with old age, we don’t stress them with vaccines after a certain age.

So I have been getting more and more conservative with vaccines, just because I find they stay healthier. And that leads me to believe that we’re doing a lot more harm than good with some of these vaccines.

Why should someone consider holistic care for his or her pet? What are the benefits of it?
Swanson: Holistic care looks at the whole animal, and it looks at healing the body, not just suppressing symptoms. We look at the whole animal: the emotional state, the physical state, the environment that it is in and the diet. We tend to look at the whole picture.

Western medicine doesn’t think some of these things have anything to do with the problem. Look at lawn chemicals. Even the University acknowledged in a study it did many years ago that such chemicals can cause lymphoma and other types of cancers in dogs, as well as in humans through exposure to those chemicals. So they’re starting to recognize it to some degree, but it’s not at the forefront of their thinking. It’s kind of a last second, “Well, maybe it was significant.”

I think holistics looks at a bigger picture for one thing, but I also think it is involved in helping the body to heal itself. It’s a gentler medicine, not intended to just suppress symptoms. Sometimes there is a need to do both Western medicine and alternative therapies. For example, with cats with tumors I’ve been helping them with cesium, but a lot of time before the tumor gets smaller, it gets bigger, so I have to give them Prednisone. These tumors were in areas that were pressing on the Central Nervous System, causing headache and disorientation and those types of symptoms, so in that case the Prednisone did help, and it also helped significantly with appetite. So that’s a case where I feel I can use the best of both worlds in integrating the two.

There are times in which Western medicines are beneficial, but I use them much more conservatively now than before I started using the holistics. So I still use antibiotics, but it’s usually with acidophilus and things to help detox the system. So I think I can work with both systems together.

I have personal experience of your recent trials using cesium, a trace mineral, to reduce the pH in a cat’s body to make it difficult if not impossible for pre-cancerous or cancer cells to flourish. Are there any other new trends you have been looking at?
Swanson: It’s not so much new trends but old trends being rediscovered. I’ve been doing some study of holistic cancer therapies, and much of this research that I’m reading about was done back in the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. The problem is, people who presented these ideas have been persecuted by the government, the Food and Drug Administration and other organizations, like the American Medical Association and the American Dental Association. That information has been suppressed and not disseminated due to fear of persecution by governmental agencies. That’s been the case in all of them that I’ve looked at, such as Essiac, an herbal formula that has been used since the 1920s and has helped thousands of people. A nurse in Canada, Rene Caisse, started using it, and she became too hunted in Canada so she even came down to the United States for a while.

There’s countless other examples — Laetrile, cesium, hydrazine sulfate — that have proved helpful. Hydrazine sulfate is a Western drug that is very good with restoring appetite. Cancer patients oftentimes don’t eat and lose a lot of weight. Hydrazine sulfate helps maintain the appetite, and it has a side-effect of tumor suppression in some cases. There again, this is a Western drug, but the FDA does not approve of it for that use.

I’m just starting to look into a lot of this information that hasn’t been released. It’s kind of a calling of mine right now to work more with cancer and some of the more grave cases that Western medicine cannot deal with.

Do you find that diseases you see in cats mirror what you see in people?
Swanson: It’s interesting because very often I’ll be examining an animal and say, “I think he has this problem…we’ll know when we get the blood tests,” and the owner will say, “Well, I’ve got the same problem.”

Animals are little mirrors that reflect a lot of what the owner has with issues, health wise or emotionally. I think it’s on many levels. Spiritually, I think these little guys are sent to us as teachers, and they reflect the lessons that we need to learn. And energetically, animals who live with owners who have a particular problem, such as a heart problem, will sit on the owner’s chest and pick up on that energy. As a consequence, sometimes I think they develop the same pathology by picking it up spiritually and energetically from the owner. I find that to be a pretty frequent occurrence. It’s too frequent to be a coincidence.

And in terms of diet, there is a lot of junk food out there for pets, just as there is for people.
Swanson: A big thing with holistic medicine, and one in which my views seem to be changing, is raw food diet. I used to be against them, because they can be dangerous when they’re not done in a correct manner. I can now help educate owners so they are doing it correctly, getting enough vitamins, minerals and nutrients with their diet. Also, using organic eggs helps to minimize the chance of getting something like salmonella, diseases they may pick up from unprocessed and uncooked foods.

But as far as dry food and processed kibble goes, unfortunately it’s a necessary evil in most cases, because most people don’t cook for themselves, much less cook for their animals. So what I try to do is direct people to the more natural foods without artificial preservatives and artificial ingredients, and don’t contain lower-quality ingredients like by-products. So I try to steer them in the right direction when it comes to diet.

I’m also finding that a lot of animals — cats and dogs — don’t digest and absorb the foods due to disease processes or older age. I use a lot of certain nutrients — vitamin C, vitamin E, lysine, and certain amino acids — to help different disease processes.

What would an owner look for in the case of a nutritional deficiency?
Swanson: They’re pretty subtle. Subtle changes in coat quality, in behavior, being less active, licking unusual things like the ground, your skin, metal objects. Licking or chewing unusual objects can be a sign of pica, which is mineral or vitamin deficiency. As a Western person, I might say, “Oh, that’s just a weird habit.” But in looking at some of these individuals, they have dry hair coats, or greasy hair coats, which can be a zinc deficiency. That’s where a general vitamin or mineral supplement really does help.

I really find a lot of differences between owners. A lot of them can give me a real detailed history, noticing that this has changed or the quality of that has changed or a subtle behavior change. It’s often not a gross disease process like vomiting or diarrhea. It can be that down the line, but what I’m hoping to do is pick it up at an earlier stage where it’s manifesting as subtle behavior changes or coat changes.

What have you noticed in terms of pet owners and the awareness they have of their pets?
Swanson: Since I graduated from school, two things have really stood out for me in terms of change. The pet has been elevated to a family member status, as opposed to just being a pet. That was starting to happen 15 years ago and it has continued. More and more people see their pet as a kid almost.

The other thing is the trend toward holistics. Granted, I tend to be drawing in those types of people, but in talking to colleagues they are getting more questions about holistics, whether it’s an herb or nutritional supplement or that type of thing. Overall, I have received more inquiries and there seems to be more awareness and understanding. When I say we should use this, this or this, people don’t flinch. They often say, “That’s great.” So I notice that the use and request for holistics has become more accepted by my clients — and by other veterinarians. When I first started, other veterinarians looked at me like, “She’s gone off the deep end.” Now, some of them are expressing a genuine interest, but they just don’t have the time or confidence to explore and get more knowledge about it.

What do you recommend for pet owners who want to explore holistic therapies? That they try things with their pets or just consult with you?
Swanson: Both. My knowledge is limited too and there’s always new information coming out. That’s why I have all these books on my shelves as a library and a reference for people to use, as well as for my own use. I do encourage people to read or to surf the net, which can be a good and bad source.

Is there anything we haven’t spoken about that you’d like to share about our pets and our care for them?
Swanson: Animals are not only little mirrors of us, but they’re sentinels, too. They will come down with diseases and problems with environment toxicities much earlier than we will. I’ve had several cases that stand out, whether it was bad water or it was a chemical or something in the environment that was a toxin that could be damaging to people, too, especially if there are kids involved.

I think it’s important for each of us to look at the big picture of the environment and the impact of some of the things we are doing to ourselves and the environment, with all the multiple chemicals, the paints, everything from the floor sealants to the furniture that outgases formaldehyde — and carpeting. We’re surrounded by toxic chemicals. The key is to become more aware of that, and to help make pet owners more aware of that. Animals are much more sensitive.

Dr. Sue Swanson can be reached at the Cat Care Clinic, 126 Hickory St., Mahtomedi, Minn. by calling (651) 429-4153.