If you’ve been to a farm recently chances are you have encountered a fly. In my work with Joy, a young Morgan horse, I certainly did! I observed Joy in the pasture swishing her tail and stomping her hooves to shake them off. I saw myself: impatient with the fly, irritated by the never ending buzz in my ear, swatting at it, just trying to get a little peace. I could insert many different words for “fly”, of course.

Actually, I began thinking about the fly factor one day while sitting outside with Abe, a little terrier, new to Rutland County Humane Society. As I was holding the Reiki space for Abe I was being dive bombed by a fly. Abe didn’t seem to notice, but I was getting more and more irritated as the fly buzzed around my head. I found it difficult to concentrate and to refrain from swatting at the intruder.

Something I stress when teaching a class is the importance of focus. When we are focused, the energy flows freely and we are completely present for our client, be it person or animal. We become the energy and move with it. Irritation and constant movement (i.e. swatting) disturbs the session and creates a less than ideal situation. We are not honoring the animal when we are distracted.

When I was with Abe I began using the precepts to bring myself back into the space…

• Do not anger-the fly is simply being a fly.
• Do not worry-the fly won’t hurt you.
• Be humble-honoring all creatures includes the fly.
• Be compassionate to yourself and others-use this opportunity to deepen your focus, include the fly in the session and remember: the fly is just being a fly.

Approaching the situation with the precepts freed me to allow the fly into the space. Following that with Joshin Kokyu Ho breathing calmed me and removed my irritation. Abe was provided with a much better treatment.

Coming next: At One With The Mosquito.

Just kidding. That’s impossible.

Kelly McDermott-Burns
SARA Teacher

I had been asked to reduce my work hours by one day each week and the following week I received a letter in the mail from my local RSPCA advising I had been accepted for volunteer work and could I start next week. The Universe was telling me something. My “real” work was just beginning, volunteering one day a week at the RSPCA.

My first day volunteering at the RSPCA was very busy cleaning cat and rabbit cages, offering Reiki as I went. And then Kim, the dog trainer/behaviourist person asked could I go and see the dog quarantine area to offer Reiki as there were some problem dogs. As I entered the dog quarantine, I wondered where should I start as there were so many needy animals, it was difficult to choose. So I stood in the middle, grounded myself and offered Reiki to all the dogs at the same time to see who would accept it. Within minutes, all dogs had stopped barking. The messages of “What have I done to be put here?” just flooded towards me. These poor animals were all carrying so much guilt thinking they had done something wrong to be put in prison. This is so common amongst shelter animals, even those that have been formerly mistreated.

Then there was Rusty, a four year old red healer cross who was just quivering from fright with his tail between his legs. He was extremely underweight and had a “Caution, Dangerous Dog – Do Not Enter” sign on his cage. Rusty, together with his house mate, Chloe, a three year old German Shepherd cross, had been rescued from an extremely abusive home where affection, respect and enough food were unknown. Rusty tried to look at me with his orange eyes but was too frightened. However, he did tell me he was misunderstood.

After finishing the Reiki treatment I went and saw Kim, who mentioned that Rusty was on the Put To Sleep list due to his behaviour problems. I told Kim that I received the message he was misunderstood, and as so often happens when you think a Reiki session has finished, Rusty was continuing to send me more information: he was a truly gentle dog but was very misunderstood and carried so much guilt as to why he was in prison. I conveyed this to Kim, stressing he was really gentle if given the chance and that I was not frightened of him at all. Rusty would not look at you directly, but put his head down and looked at you indirectly with his orange eyes. This was Rusty’s way of protecting himself from physical abuse.

Kim was amazed that I could “pick up” such information and agreed to give Rusty one more chance.

The next week I gave Rusty more Reiki and this time, he no longer had his Dangerous Dog sign on his cage. The RSPCA staff were amazed at the difference in Rusty as Reiki had never before been given to the shelter animals.

By my third week of volunteering, Rusty had graduated from Dog Quarantine to the normal, healthy dog section! Rusty was definitely NOT on the Put To Sleep list now! The difference in Rusty was a joy to behold. Rusty was running, barking and playing with the other dogs and had put on some weight. Rusty was up for adoption!

Unfortunately the weeks passed without anyone showing Rusty any interest in adopting him. He had grown into a beautiful, strong boy with very wide shoulders but he could look somewhat threatening to people who were not familiar with his breed. When I visited the shelter, Rusty would look at me with such a happy face and his happiness was payment enough for me, but he needed a permanent home.

Then one week Rusty was not there. I was devastated! What had happened to him? As I can only volunteer one day a week, I tried to find Kim, hoping she would know. When I asked where was Rusty, Kim had the biggest smile on her face. Rusty had been adopted! A lady who owned a mango farm in far away New South Wales, approximately 2,500km including two States and Bass Straight away (one of the roughest stretches of water in the world!) from Tasmania, Australia, had seen Rusty’s profile on the RSPCA adoption website and fallen in love with his eyes – those little, squinty, orange eyes!

She had travelled all that distance, but needed to know that Rusty was indeed the dog for her. This was a woman who needed to receive a sign that Rusty was her dog, that Rusty would choose HER, not that she chose Rusty. Apparently Rusty did choose her, he walked slowly up to this lovely woman, sniffed her, walked away again and came up to her three times before he placed himself against her legs for a cuddle. The woman was thrilled, Rusty was indeed HER dog. But, because she lived in another State of Australia and we could not physically do a property inspection, it was doubtful the adoption would go ahead. Thankfully Kim pleaded Rusty’s case and explained no other person had shown any interest in adopting Rusty and Rusty had obviously chosen this woman as his forever person, the adoption went ahead. Rusty is now running free on a mango farm in New South Wales, over 2,500km away from Hobart, Tasmania, being the true gentle dog I always knew he was.

There is also a happy ending for Rusty’s housemate, Chloe. My daughter, Tracey, and her paraplegic partner, Darren, adopted Chloe after a name change to Charli-Chloe, as my daughter has a cat called Chloe. The three of them took to one another straight away, and now Charli-Chloe, Tracey, Darren and Chloe the cat, are one very happy family. Even though Darren is in a wheelchair, not once has Charli-Chloe tried to escape from the car, as it can take Darren some time to arrange his wheelchair and get out of the car. Charli-Chloe even helps to open up the gate to let Darren in the yard. After an abusive life, Charli-Chloe knows she has a loving home and is no hurry to leave.

The RSPCA in Australia has a policy of only putting to sleep those animals that show extremely bad behavioural problems with no prospects of rehabilitation or if it is kinder to put the animal to sleep due to severe illness. Because Rusty was declared a dangerous dog and could not be rehabilitated, he was going to be placed on the Put To Sleep list. Reiki prevented this.

Wendy Williams
Reiki Master/Teacher
and RSPCA Volunteer

My favorite places at Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) are the cat rooms. I truly enjoy watching the comings and goings, the different personalities, and the fights and love fests as boundaries are tested and friends are made. Offering Reiki in a room with many cats can be challenging with these distractions and it is important to maintain focus during a session.

Before cats get to the cat room at RCHS they are held in kennels in the intake room. Here they are kept from the general population as their health is checked out or they await spay/neuter appointments. The cats in this room are both surrenders and strays. Usually, there is a mix with a maximum of about 15 cats. Cats are in varying degrees of stress in this room; many times they are hiding in a box or behind a towel draped over the front of the cage.

As much as I enjoy the cat rooms with their freedom to move around, I love offering Reiki in the intake room! Often, these cats are very frightened and Reiki is very soothing for them. It is also soothing for me. I find that I can go to a deeper place in this room as I don’t have cats jumping on and off my lap or worse–a cat fight!

Recently, I sat in the intake room. All the kennels were full. One had a towel over the door and I couldn’t see inside. One kennel had a box which appeared to hold a cat. Several cats were meowing and moving around in agitation. One was pushing against the cage front creating a loud rattling noise.

I like to visit each cat individually to say hello if they aren’t shy. After doing that, I sat on the other side of the room and began breathing deeply. When I felt centered, I spoke quietly without looking directly at any of the cats. After letting them know what I was up to and telling them they didn’t have to participate, I began.

Almost immediately, the room began to settle down. I waited a bit and then checked in discreetly. Some cats had gone to the back of their kennel; some came up front and were staring at me; others were dozing. The sound of many cats purring has a sedative effect on me and I found myself going deeper into my meditation. After about twenty minutes I looked up. I could see two cats were behind the towel. They were peeking around the edge. I could see one eye and one ear on each! Next door, the cat from the box had come out and was eating!

Most likely, I will meet these cats again in the general population. Often, cats who received Reiki in intake come right over and jump in my lap in the cat room.

Kelly McDermott-Burns

STAR

Being able to work with so many animals at Remus has been a privledge and an honour. Recently, with the help of many other Reiki practitioners we were able to help a shetland pony called Star. She is a beautiful pony who I have worked with for over three years, with such an out going character. She would often get me into trouble when I would be offering herbs to the other ponies, she’d sneak up behind me, catch me un-awares, cause me to drop the  bowls, so she could munch merrily on her favourite herbs. She caught me out every time, how ever well prepared I thought I was. Bless her little cotton hooves.

Just after Christmas she became very poorly with acute Laminitis, it was so painful she found it very difficult to walk, she’d spend most of her day in her stable lying down. During this time, I have been very fortunate to have other Reiki Practitioners join my team of healers, each week there are about two or three of us available to the animals to offer group healing. Star was one of the ponies that we always spent a  lot of time with. She loved the Reiki and soaked it up like a sponge, she would lie flat out on her stable floor, mouth open, eyes glazed taking in as much Reiki as she could. Offering Reiki to Star was always a pleasure, there is something so satisfying when watching an animal enjoy reiki.

Over the weeks it became obvious that her quality of life was very limited. She had become too ill to leave her stable, too ill to interact with other ponies and too ill to move around. Yet she was a fighter, her eyes always so bright, her character always so defiant, she was a pony who truly had a love of life, even though it was so compromised . After the Reiki sessions, we would see improvements where she would stand up and walk around, she would eat and drink and seemed very positive but she would then settle back to lying on the floor. During this time, she had been diagnosed with an abscess on her pedal bone, which added to her pain. This however healed very quickly due to the Reiki sessions. The Remus vet had been very amazed at how quickly it had healed, considering how poorly she was.

As the months passed, her health carried on deteriorating , the vet came one Thursday to see her a few weeks ago and it was decided that she would have to be put to sleep on the Monday. We were all so upset as we had all grown so attatched to her and could not imagine going to Remus without seeing our beautiful Star. Sue put a message that evening on Facebook to ask Reiki healers to send healing to her, every Reiki healer I knew wanted to save Star,  with special thanks to Brenda for sending so much Reiki to her.  A Reiki healer called  Alison also spent over two hours offering Reiki to her on the Saturday. I went to say my goodbyes too with great sadness and a heavy heart, Alison and myself both feared that this would be the last time we would see her.

On the Monday I received a text from Sue to say that the vet had not put Star to sleep as she had been far too well! We were all so happy that our beautiful Star was OK and was able to fight another day. I truly believe that something very special happened that weekend. Star had been surrounded by Reiki, she had been  caressed and had  been able to bathe in the beautiful energy that had been sent or offered to her. She has continued to improve week by week and is now able to spend time with her pair bond Tango from whom she had been separated. She has her mojo back and is taking the world by storm, Star is back shining brightly, brightly, brightly…..

After several unsuccessful attempts to introduce reiki into my local animal shelter I was frustrated. I so wanted to offer the healing benefits of Reiki to the shelter pets – what to do? Divine intervention took over.

In my local food store was a flyer for Homeward Bound, a local dog rescue organization that “showed” their pets on the sidewalk in front of the local PetsMart. I decided to give it a whirl, went to the next showing, approached the registration table, introduced myself to Tamara (the manager) and asked – Can I offer Reiki to these dogs? There will be no charge. I want to help these dogs get adopted.

“What is Reiki?”, she asked, “and what can it do for these dogs?”

I gave the explanation and the manager was all for it. “I don’t know anything about Reiki but if it can help these dogs, go for it.”

So, my wife (also a Reiki Master) and I proceeded to do the work. As we worked we gathered small crowds of potential adopters, Homeward Bound personnel, PetsMart customers and onlookers. What we did not know right away was all the dogs were fostered and their foster “parents” were in the crowd.

After several of the dogs were treated the foster parents introduced themselves and said they were amazed at the behavior and other positive changes that were taking place right before their eyes. In addition, Tamara also observed the changes in the dogs and asked if we could come next week.

Reiki proved itself. We were in!

George Belev

Level I Reiki and Animal Reiki Class at Happily Ever After Animal Sanctuary

I had the privilege of teaching a Level 1 Reiki and Animal Reiki class with eight volunteers and staff at Happily Ever After Animal Sanctuary’s Green Bay Adoption Center near historic Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. After creatively planning around the NFL playoff schedule and other sanctuary events, the final class session was held on February 5, 2011, the day before the Packers won Super Bowl XLV. Even with the excitement and anticipation of the Super Bowl the next day, we successfully completed the class and received a valuable, basic lesson from five beautiful cats.

The lesson taught by the five cats is that we want to allow each animal to choose how they wish to receive Reiki energy at that time. For a guided treatment, the cats were brought into the small room where the class met. The class sat in a circle, and we created our Reiki space to include the area inside the circle. Each cat responded to the Reiki energy differently.

Two of the cats almost immediately chose to jump up on the laps of the four people sitting on a futon couch, with one lying directly on the heart center of one of the class members offering Reiki back to her. The other three cats wandered around the room for a few minutes, with one of them eventually joining the two on the futon. Another cat continued to walk around the edge of the Reiki space, and finally lay down under the futon where we could not see him. The other one jumped up on a cat tree that was just outside the Reiki space curiously watching everyone in the circle – he was experiencing the energy, but not yet ready to fully join the circle. Each cat was accepting of the energy, but chose to receive from a different place or from a different person.

I want to thank these five cats for helping me teach my class this basic lesson in offering Reiki to animals – allow each animal to choose and each will likely choose differently.

Following are a couple of comments received from the class:

“I just really thought the way you taught the class was wonderful. You were so organized and structured, but at the same time, the class was actually relaxing to attend! I just really feel confident that I can DO this – now I just need to make more time. I have no suggestions – other than to keep doing what you’re doing.”

“I thought the class was fantastic…..You made the class fun, fast paced enough but not too fast. Loved the stories that helped me relate to what you were teaching.”

Ann Noyce

It was Christmas Eve and I had been asked by my husband to go out and buy vegetables at 5am for our Christmas Dinner, as I drove to the supermarket I heard Christmas Carols playing, the roads were icy and I had a real feeling of happiness and Christmas Cheer. Fighting my way through all of the crowds  I managed to purchase what I needed and afterwards sat in my car for a while reflecting on my mornings work . It was at this time I thought of Sue at Remus and wanted to send her a text wishing her Happiness at Christmas and to ask her how she was. I had been flat out at work for the last few weeks and had not been able to get to Remus to offer Reiki to the animals, and have to say I had been feeling a little guilty about it.  Sue as usual was up very early and said that one of the horses was suffering really badly with Laminitis in the cold spell that we were having and may have to be put to sleep that morning.

Instead of making my way home I drove straight to Remus, I was the first one there and had time to marvel at the beauty of this place. The snow was deep in the fields as the sun glistened against the snow, I could hear the animals stiring in their pens waiting for their breakfast to arrive. The energy was calm, beautiful and serene.  Sue arrived shortly after and we spoke about Bimbo, Laminitis can be brought on by the cold weather horses can get stressed and this can aggravate the condition. Bimbo also suffers with metabolic syndrome which can be caused by too much food and too much sugar in the food and being stabled too long. It is a syndrome which Remus Horse Sanctuary are experts at treating, understanding and have a great knowledge and depth in this field.

I entered the stable with Sue and saw Bimbo laying down, as he tried to get up he had difficulty moving his left back leg. I noticed  high up in the corner of the stable a heater. I asked Sue about it and she said it had just been fitted recently to help Bimbo in the cold weather. In the stable too was Ruby another Shetland  who is Bimbo’s pair bond. I am sure that in their life time they had spent very few days apart. Their relationship was strong and if Bimbo was to be put to sleep today Sue felt that it would not be long after that Ruby would follow as the shock to  her system would be too much to bear.

I stayed with Bimbo and Ruby and offered them Reiki, the energy was very gentle. I often wonder, when the energy is so gentle if they are receiving the Reiki but always remember in my heart to ask that they receive what ever it is that they need at this exact moment in time. After a while Bimbo started to munch at his delicious breakfast and Ruby moved around the stable. I just felt that by filling the stable with Reiki energy each pony could choose. Some times when I offer Reiki, the reaction is so clear to see but often too the reaction is so very subtle. It is at these times that I have  no place for  ego as I think what’s best for Bimbo,  it is just for me to ’Be’ and to trust that Reiki will go to where ever it is needed. After about half an hour a knock on the stable door, indicated for me to stop as the vet had just arrived. I said my goodbyes to Bimbo and Ruby and felt such sadness fill my heart. Leaving Remus that day, the reality of what they have to deal with on a daily basis hit me, the scale of responsibility and care of the animals  is enormous.

Driving home, with everywhere filled with the magic of Christmas Eve I prayed for a miracle, I did not feel I was being greedy I just felt it so unfair for Bimbo to be put to sleep. As I entered my home laden with vegetable bags Sue phoned and said that Bimbo was able to fight another day. Yay! My angels where listening to me that day.  I have been to Remus every week since and have offered Reiki to Bimbo and Ruby, always the energy is so gentle. Bimbo looks so much better, he will need to have an operation soon which Remus are trying to raise money for, but his future at this very moment in time looks bright.

by Caroline Thomas

Remus Healing Group

Over the last year and a half, I have been lucky enough to meet other Reiki practitioners. It was through these various meetings that I decided to set up a healing group following the SARA principles. My group meets once every two months; due to some of the practitioners having to travel from a far. We are all of differing experience and backgrounds, but we all have a deep love of animals and we all want to give something back to these wonderful creatures.

As was usual we met at Remus last Saturday afternoon, armed with coats jumpers and scarves,  it was  very cold! We like to, meet at this time as it is just after the animals have been fed and watered. Normally they are all settled in their fields or shelters by this point. We like to have a chat  before we start offering Reiki, as it is a good time to catch up on what each of us has been up to. If we are lucky and have time, we have a cup of tea and sit with Timmy the cat who likes to be stroked and loves affection. I feel this is a time for us to become grounded and to release any stresses that we may have, at this point we set off to help the animals.  As Sue was on holiday this week, she had already texted me a  list of the animals she would like us to work on, so I knew which animals to offer Reiki to without interrupting the staff, these are  usually the animals who are most in need.

There were five of us altogether, however the total number in the group was eight. We decided that we would start with Billy  a horse who was almost starved to death by his previous owners.  He has food issues and is usually outside during the day, but due to stomach problems he had to rest in the stable. We decided to offer reiki as a group as we all felt he was in need of a lot of energy, and so we asked for his permission.  At the start Billy 3 was very calm and watched us  intently as we stood outside his stable offering Reiki. After a while he started to breath heavilly, it was almost as if he was releasing built up emotions and feelings. I felt that he did not like spending so much time in the stable, and would rather be outside eating the grass. He eventually settled and became calm, I have found that the healing time in a group is a lot less than if reiki is being offered by an individual. It is important to ask the animal for permission as group healing can be quite intense, in some cases the animal will move far away as the energy is too strong. It is so important for the animal to be in charge of their healing.

We then offered reiki to Apollo who is a beautiful grey mare. She had been kicked by a horse and had a lot of stitches to her bottom. Again we stayed as a group and offered her healing. She immediately turned her bottom to us and stood there for a while, taking in the wonderful reiki energy. She then turned to face us and started to ‘weave’ above the fence post. This surprised me as two other horses had shown stereotypical behaviours during a healing earlier. It was a little distressing to watch but we all felt that because she was having a group healing  her deep rooted issues were coming to the surface quicker. To our surprise when we all turned around to leave, a group of goats in the opposite field had glazed eyes and were resting their heads against the fence, all completely chilled, obviously taking in the reiki too. It was a very funny sight to see and made us all laugh.

Our third Reiki session was with Bugs, a horse who has chronic arthritis and is in a lot of pain. I have offered her reiki many times before and was not surprised to see that as soon as we offered reiki she came over from the middle of a group of horses and moved up right against the fence to where we were standing.  She soaked the reiki up like a sponge and became dreamy and chilled. During her Reiki session she drank quite a lot of water, Nicky who is a qualified crystal therapist decided to ‘charge’ the drinking water with the crystal fluorite which is good for bones. Bugs drank even more water and at one point almost put her hoof in the water tank.

During the afternoon we split into smaller groups and offered reiki to as many animals as possible which included Cocoa the cat and Bimbo, Star, Casey and Marley the horses. It was a good time to walk around in the energy of Remus to see where the horses were being put to bed and how immaculate, warm and cosy each stable was. The tireless work which never ends at Remus is amazing to see, the love and attention given to each animal is a blessing.

The thing about offering reiki in a group is that inevitably each person takes on some of the wonderful healing energy. We finished offering reiki and said our goodbyes. We were all chilled, calm and a little tired. We agreed to meet again on the 12th of December, before the Remus’s Carol Service starts, it will be a time to meet, offer reiki and to eat mince pies!

by Caroline Thomas © 2010

My shelter, the Animal Protective Foundation (APF) of Scotia, NY in cooperation with the Schenectady (NY) Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) sponsors the Pet Guardian Program. Basically, the APF takes in pets belonging to battered, abused or otherwise compromised women who seek shelter at the YWCA. The APF provides for the care and feeding of these pets in a secure environment, accessible to the women and select APF personnel. As the Shelter Animal Reiki Association (SARA) representative at the APF, I approached APF management and proposed that Reiki be offered to these animals. The APF agreed and granted me and my wife (also a Reiki Master) access to these pets.

As we entered the room used for housing these pets, we found two dogs (one female about two years old and one male about six years of age) and a Cockatiel. Randomly my wife selected to male and I took the female, named Queenie Sue. She took one look at me, six foot and 200 pounds, and became extremely agitated, barking and running around the pen. I assumed that I resembled the abuser in some way and Queenie Sue wanted nothing to do with me. My wife had to problems offering Reiki to the male dog. Given Queenie Sue’s greeting, I thought that a distance treatment, to start, might be the best way to go.

I went outside the room, into the hallway, and offered Reiki to Queenie Sue. I sensed that the offering was being accepted but did not go back into the room. My wife completed her treatment and met me in the hallway. She indicated that Queenie Sue had relaxed and was taking a Reiki nap. I returned in a few days and repeated the distance treatment on Queenie Sue. After about three to four distance treatments I ventured into the room and was able to offer Reiki to Queenie Sue directly. In fact, I was able to get her out of the pen and into my arms.

My wife and I continued to offer Reiki to both dogs and the bird. We were subsequently told by the APF that all three were surrendered to the APF by the owner (she could no longer take care of them), put up for adoption and all three adopted.

George Belev

I went to the zoo last week with two animal communicators who have extraordinary gifts. We visited Popcorn Zoo in Forked River, NJ spending time with an exceptionally compassionate man, John Bergman, who has been involved with the Humane Society for over thirty years and has helped create the zoo over this span of time as a variety of exotic and other animals came under his care.

I am completely indebted to the two animal communicators, who wish to be anonymous, for this brief submission and my sister, Agnes, who took pictures during our visit. I am going to let the conversations between the communicators and the animals tell their own story with an occasional picture. Enjoy!!

I am going to depict the conversations as received from Communicator M who is very attuned to what animals wish to communicate and Communicator K who has the gift to speak to the animal and be understood by them.

One of the first animals we met was the camel, Princess. It was a very hot and humid day and she had severe arthritis in her legs. She was just baking in the hot sun. And just looked totally thirsty

K: [Encouraging her to get some water] You must get some water for yourself.  Get up and get some water!

M: You fetch me some water please.

K: No, I can’t get inside to fetch you water, you must get up yourself.

M: [Slight movement of the head looking over at the water.]

K: You need to do better than that.  Go load up for the day.  [All to no avail – effort just too much.]

An Emu was strutting up and down along the cage and we were wondering what she was up to.

M: I want the red box people. Where are the red box people? [No one in our party had any red box filled with popcorn.]

People eventually came with popcorn but she did not have an interest in them as they offered her popcorn.

M: Look at how pretty I am!!

As she continued to strut up and down along the fence.

M:Where are the red box people?

Seemingly she just wanted admiration from the Red Box People.

Next we visited a horse.

M: I want some carrots!!

K:  I will go and find some carrots for you.

Later K told the manager about the horse’s wish for carrots who got in touch with one of his staff to get her some carrots.

M: My butt itches!

Bob the Macaw parrot was in a beautiful large cage at the office entrance and where the previous dedicated owner still visits him. He had often let him out of the cage when he was doing his work in the garden and one day the parrot had flown into a tool shed and somehow dislodged some tools which caused him serious injury and one of his wings needed to be amputated.

M: Things came crashing down. Things came crashing down. And they took my wing.

K: No one took your wing. When things came crashing down it injured your wing and it  had to be amputated.  This is what made you better.

Greta was a breeder who had all her puppies taken away from her and who escaped. She was brought to the attention of the Humane Society and John found it very difficult to catch her. It took many weeks and much patience. She was very distrustful of everyone. John kept her by his side in his office and she has become very attached to him.

M: She is afraid that you will leave her. When you go home at night she is very fearful that you will not return.

Later the Manager wrote us and told us Greta was feeling more comfortable every day.  He had more staff walk her so that she would get use to others but still does not like to leave his side. But he did have her with another dog and she was able to keep her focus on that dog and-not where he was. Those things seem to be the key and-he thinks he has found her a forever home.

A chicken was walking around the zoo grounds looking for peanuts.

M: Where are the peanuts? [Looking for peanuts although it is making her feathers fall out.]

K: [Trying to give her popcorn.]

M: That’s popcorn. Where are the peanuts?

K: Referred to her as a rooster.

M: Quite insulted. [M tells K that she’s a chicken.]

K: Referred to her as a chicken

M: Still insulted. [Oops! She wants to be referred to as Miss Hen.]

K: Only when she was called Miss Hen, did she look at K.

Just three weeks previously the lioness, Nyla, had lost her companion, Porsche. She was seriously ill and when they decided to do X-rays and blood work to determine the extent of her illness and a possible way to treat her, she died in the process.

M: Porsche wants to thank you for letting her go.

M. Nyla just wants security and sameness – doesn’t want any changes right now.  Does not want a new friend now.

Cesar is from the same family as Dante, another Tiger in the Zoo. He was in need of special care which he was able to receive at a sanctuary at Texas A & M before coming to the Popcorn Zoo where he continued to improve daily.

He is the youngest Tiger at the Zoo. Many kids were surrounding the fence where Cesar was and just being kids but Cesar was not happy with them. He began pacing up and down along the fence.

M: I don’t like things thrown at me. [Kids were throwing popcorn into the fence.]

M: Nervous at the loud, high voices of the children and was pacing because the noise stressed him out.

He began to eat the grass by the fence

M: I need to calm my nerves.

DANTE

Another tiger nearby was inside on this hot humid day and we called for him to come out.

K: Come on out and take a a swim in the pool. There is a nice breeze out here.

M: It is cooler inside

At first we thought he had air-conditioning inside, but later found they had fans.

Later the manager John came out and called to him.

Amazingly he came right out and up to the fence.

M: You are on the wrong side.

There were two fences, an outside fence and an inside fence. John then took us between the two fences and Dante laid down and put his body right next to the fence where John could scratch his back and neck.

M: [He then purred.] Thank you very much.

After John left and we had come back out of the fence space between the fences some children began to mimic sounds of a tiger or lion roaring.

M: I don’t sound like that.

What a great day. We were all so grateful to all the animals and especially to John Bergmann, manager of the zoo. He was so helpful and gracious to us and wanted the e-mails of the animal communicators to keep in touch with them when needed. And what a validation of the wonderful work he has been doing in the zoo. No animals even hinted at any issues concerning their care.

Bill Stevens