During the time I was taking an Animal Reiki Correspondence Course with Kathleen one of the options for a homework assignment was to work on an insect. Since most of my time is spent working with dogs, cats, and birds I set my intention to work with a butterfly. Not only did I want to work with a butterfly I wanted to work with a beautiful, large, yellow butterfly.

So for two days I set my intention and it seemed as if butterflies were appearing all around me, yet not one of them was yellow nor would any of them come close to me. On the evening of the second day as I was relaxing on my back patio with my three dogs to my delight an exquisite large yellow butterfly appeared in the distance and began to come closer to me.

I communicated to the butterfly that I would like to offer her a Reiki treatment if she would like for me to and she only needed to take what she was comfortable with or none at all. The butterfly started circling around my body and flying within arms distance and finally came to rest on the patio floor about 3 feet from me. I took this as a yes that she indeed wanted Reiki. So I kept my distance and proceeded.

She stayed in that position for 20 minutes only moving to inch closer to me, eventually ending up about a foot from me. One of my dogs, Tony, became very curious and he came and sat down by my side. I asked him if would also like to send her Reiki and he began to also give the butterfly Reiki. This was such a wonderful experience to be in that moment of giving Reiki to the butterfly with my dog working at my side. I knew, in essence, they were actually teaching me. I felt very honored to be in their presence.

It was such a beautiful circle of unconditional love that I knew I was really the one receiving healing on such a higher level. Our time together came to an end when children in the neighborhood began to play and frolic outside arousing the attention of my dogs. The butterfly took to flight, but not before flying around me and actually brushing the side of my face with her wing. I knew she was thanking me and I was overwhelmed with such joy and gratitude for being allowed to experience this. She then flew to a branch on a tree and remained there for the next twenty minutes without moving. I felt certain she was resting after her Reiki session.

I thanked her for allowing me the gift of giving her Reiki and I also thanked my dog, Tony, for all his work. It was so amazing to be able to work with a butterfly and to also work with my dog at my side. The both were showing me and guiding me to go even deeper in my work. I was truly blessed by this time of healing.

Felecia Calaman Childress

I think  that when you speak to any Reiki Practitioner who has worked with animals, they can always tell you about an animal who has helped them on their Reiki path. I feel blessed to write this months blog  as it’s about my beloved dog Megan.  She was my Reiki teacher and taught me so  many things. Sadly I had to have  Megan put  to sleep three weeks ago, it was such a shock as she had been just diagnosed with a tumour which was inoperable.

Megan came to my home at an early age, from someone who did not want her. At that time I was not into Reiki so unfortunately she could not benefit from the wonderful energy. It was when she was around five years of age that I found Reiki and was attuned to level I.  As clear as if it was yesterday I remember her showing me how much Reiki she would like. I remember returning from my level I Reiki and how she would not leave my side, I knew she could sense this new energy and was keen to be part of it. I offered her healing and she loved it, but when I offered her healing the day after she refused it and did so until my Reiki Level II. Again she followed me around the house waiting and looking for healing which again I was delighted to offer. Over the years Megan always refused Reiki except when ever I had been attuned to a new Reiki level. I always respected her wishes even though I would get disheartened by her refusals. (I was so keen at that time, finding it hard to understand why an animal would refuse this wonderful energy but she taught me so much about how important it is for an  animal to choose and wish to be part of a Reiki healing. Forcing Reiki because you think it is for the animals good is not the right way to approach Reiki)

I wrote in my last blog about how whilst doing attunements Megan refused to leave the room and just seemed to soak up all of the beautiful energy. Looking back, I feel perhaps I should have taken more note of this, as it was a rare thing for Megan to do. She was always so definite about what or what she did not want. I have to say that I do feel guilty as I did not see the signs and notice a change in her behaviour. When I look back now and think about it I can see a definite change in her demeanour. She would not leave my side, which I thought at the time was because she enjoyed having me at home. Her last nine weeks were spent with me as I had just had an operation. She loved having me at home and was the happiest I had seen her. I saw no signs of her tumour, my sister who had come over from Ireland in fact to help me convalesce had said how well she looked and it was the best she had seen her looking in a long time. A week before she had to be put to sleep  she started to go off her food and seemed unstable on her feet. I took her to the vet and the feedback from the vet’s still remains a shock to me, my beautiful dog was very ill and would need to be put to sleep. From that diagnosis she went down hill almost immediately, it’s almost as if she hung on until the last day of my sick leave. Being a Holistic Animal Practitioner I felt so guilty and lavished her with Reiki, Bach Flowers and Aromatherapy oils, hoping against all odds that there would be a miracle.  How could I have missed the signs of her tumour? I spend so much of my time offering Reiki to other animals  going the extra mile to help them, not being there for my own dog has been tough to come to terms with.

Megan was put to sleep on the 21st of  June, I stayed with her and gave her Reiki for 30 minutes, being there for her was so important. She trusted me so much and lay quietly as the vet had instructed. It was so emotional but I tried to remain strong as not wanting to worry her. As she breathed I watched each breath, each one more laboured. The Reiki was really helping her as I felt the energy was very strong, I believe I helped her to come to terms with her death, as she took her last breath I felt her spirit leave her body. That was such an amazing feeling as I knew her soul was somewhere beautiful.

My family were devastated, especially my younger son, he refused to believe that she was dead. I phoned the vet to see if I could take him to see her body. They were lovely about it and let him spend some time with her, it is so important to have closure for both humans and animals. I also brought Tara my other dog to see her, she sniffed her a few times and I knew in that moment that she had acknowledged the death of Megan. Dogs grieve and certainly Tara has been, she has been open to Reiki every day and it is only now that she seems ready to move on.

Megan taught me so much about Reiki, she taught me to respect each animal and to treat each one as an individual. Reiki is a gift and animals are  here to teach us. If only we can listen, we will be amazed by what we will learn.

…posted by John Sawyer

It seems that Animals in Distress has a never-ending supply of teachers to show up and give me my lessons. Every animal I work with has something to teach me. Sometimes it takes me a while to get the idea, but that’s never the fault of the teacher. It just means I wasn’t paying attention!

My latest “mentor” is a senior black Chow dog named Tulip. She arrived at AID a few weeks ago badly matted with some physical injuries that needed tending to. She is now sporting a lion cut, but her coat is growing out and will soon be back to its full glory.

Tulip is very shy around people she doesn’t know. That would be me. When I first met her, we decided I would take her for a walk. Tulip went outside with me, but made it clear she was not going for a walk with just anybody! She did her best to get around behind me and stay there while eyeing me suspiciously.

We went back inside and she reluctantly stayed with me as far away as the leash would allow her. I knew she would not like being closed in the introduction room with me, so we stayed in the hospitality area near the front desk. She was quite happy to see Lori and other kennel staff as they came by, but kept her distance from me. After a short while, I turned her back over to Lori.

I know not to take it personally when an animal reacts this way at first. They are not sure what I’m all about and given the history some of them have, it’s not surprising that they’d be leery of anyone new. Typically, it takes a few sessions in cases like this for the animal to decide I’m harmless and possibly even beneficial!

We had a couple sessions that went pretty much the same way until last week. I realized that I was trying to get Tulip to accept Reiki, which is exactly the opposite of what I should be doing. It’s all about creating a healing space and inviting the animal in, as opposed to continually offering Reiki like a treat they don’t want to accept.

Last week I sat in the hospitality area with Tulip and simply focused on creating a healing space, a Reiki bubble, if you will. My attention was on Reiki flowing into the bubble instead of on Tulip and what she was or was not doing.

Tulip stopped trying to be elsewhere and sat down at the end of the leash. Over the next 15 minutes or so I got a half dozen hearty yawns out of her, which was a clear indication that she was relaxing and accepting Reiki. She even lay down once or twice for a minute or two.

Lesson learned! Going forward, I will create the space and let Tulip decide what she wants to do with it.

I recently had the opportunity to give a SARA presentation to a local humane society animal shelter.   We tried for several weeks to coordinate my schedule with the schedules of the Executive Director and her right hand person.  I met both of them a couple of months prior to our meeting and I also attended their volunteer orientation.  We were  happy to finally set a date to discuss Reiki and the SARA program.

The presentation lasted about an hour and they both were very excited about Reiki and the benefits it could bring to the animals and the shelter.   Since neither of them had experienced Reiki for themselves I offered to give them each a mini Reiki session.  It lasted about 10 minutes each and both commented on how relaxed and peaceful they felt.  I could feel the positive flow of our meeting.

Prior to the meeting we talked about offering Reiki to some of the dogs.   They decided it would be best to bring one of the dogs into the very big conference/training room that we were in.  The wanted to try it with the dog out of his element.  The assistant went to get the “dog that had some issues”  and the ED was called out by one of the staff momentarily.

This is when my mind started on a wild race with all of the “what ifs”- the control- the preconceived ideas of what it should look like-I thought we would be in the kennel with the dog- I feel pressure to perform-and on and on.  WHOA–slow down cowgirl as I pull myself back in.  It is amazing to me, given the opportunity how many scenarios my mind can create in a matter of seconds!  As I sat in this big conference room alone, I gave myself  Reiki, I sent Reiki into the room-which already felt wonderful from the Reiki I gave the humans just minutes ago.

The assistant brought in a male Pit Bull mix breed that destroys everything and anything he finds.  He is anxious, a bit nervous and not quite ready for adoption.  The ED is sitting at the table across from me and the assistant is on the floor at one end of the room.  I have already explained to them the way we offer Reiki with SARA.  The dog is free to roam in the room and I allow him to come in and out of the Reiki space I am creating and take the amount of Reiki he needs. 

I make my self comfortable in the chair as I close my eyes and began to offer him Reiki.  I can feel immediately the Reiki flowing from my hands and know he is accepting it.  However, he is pacing around the room, sniffing every chair (about 20 of them), every corner and nook.  He is breathing heavy.   He comes over to me for about  30 seconds and places his head on my lap and paces off.  Eventually, he makes his way over to the assistant and plops beside her. 

Again, my mind wants to go on it’s tangent of how this should look and what he  should be doing.  What are the humans thinking?  Do they think I am crazy sitting here with my eyes closed and my open hands resting on my lap, appearing to be doing nothing.  I come back to focus on the Reiki, by silently saying the dog’s name or chanting a Reiki symbol.  I trust the Reiki is happening (I can feel it, so I know that it is) and allow it.  He continues to lay, roll and play beside the assistant.  There is a sense of peacefulness in the room.

Just as the animals take the Reiki in the ebb and flow, so does my mind.  In the 15 minutes I was with the dog I would “worry” and then come back and allow.  In the end I received much validation from the humans on the incredible difference they saw in the dog.  As they put it, “they never saw him so relaxed and at peace”.  They thought it was  amazing.  I too found it to be amazing, because I was concerned of how he appeared to be anxious.  I had never seen the dog before to know his typical behavior that was now apparently transformed.

We  plan to introduce Reiki in the shelter in the near future, as they have made many changes and want to slowly introduce  another change.  My lesson from the dog is to just “TRUST”the Reiki.  I am grateful for all the animals that continue to guide me and help me to just allow rather than do!