…posted by John Sawyer

Last month, I introduced Larry, a senior boxer dog with advanced cancer. Not unexpectedly, Larry has since made his transition leaving behind more lessons for those of us privileged to offer him Reiki.

A week or so after my previous post, I was visiting AID as usual. I noticed Larry going outside with another volunteer. Larry loved to go outside in the courtyard between the dog and cat wings. He would “investigate” the area, soak up the sun, and of course, make sure that those coming after him were aware that they were on his territory!

The volunteer took a blanket with her for Larry to lay on. I tended to my “regulars” while she and Larry were outside. After a half hour or so, they came back into the building. I was holding little Lucy, the long-haired Chihuahua, at the time, so couldn’t go over and greet Larry, but he looked directly at me and I got the sense he wanted to spend some time together with me. I resolved to do so on my next visit.

The following week, I asked to see Larry. We had a nice walk around the courtyard after which we sat in the hospitality area and “helped” Lori go through old medications to discard those that were out of date or for animals that were no longer at AID. Larry watched Lori intently while occasionally backing into my hands and soaking up Reiki. His curiosity about Lori’s activities was typical Larry while his acceptance of and even request for Reiki was not. I wasn’t surprised given his “message” to me the previous week. It was interesting how much energy he drew during our session, especially compared to our previous meetings.

Lori and I both knew Larry’s time was coming sooner rather than later and Larry was evidently preparing himself for his transition. As always, he was accepting Reiki on his terms and in his own way. The decision was made to call the vet and have her come out the following week to assist Larry’s journey home.

When I arrived that Thursday afternoon, Lori told me Larry had gone home that morning. It was a beautiful day so they were able to take him out to the courtyard he loved so much and free him from his broken down physical body.

Lori and another staff person reported that Larry was very peaceful and obviously ready to go, demonstrating his awareness of his eternal nature. He knows he will have many more rides on this merry-go-round so he easily accepted the end of this journey.

…posted by John Sawyer

Larry is a brindle boxer of indeterminate, but apparently advanced age. He came to Animals In Distress several months ago riding in the bed of a pickup truck along with another dog with whom he’d been wandering in a rural area nearby. An elderly woman saw them and ordered her sons to go get them before they were hit by cars or otherwise harmed.

Larry and his traveling companion had obviously been dumped out in the country and had no idea where to go or what to do. It’s fortunate for them that they were seen and brought to AID. Both were emaciated and full of sores. They were taken for veterinary care and afterward, with the love and support of the AID staff and volunteers, began their healing process.

Larry did well, putting on weight and gaining a healthy shine to his beautiful coat. Then, after a time, Larry began to limp on is right foreleg. X-rays and other tests determined that he has bone cancer which has spread to his lungs and elsewhere. He now has a pronounced bulge in his right shoulder that continues to grow. The cancer is aggressive and resistant to known treatment methods. The vets gave him a very poor prognosis and estimated he would live another three months.

I began working with Larry shortly after his diagnosis. After being introduced, we went into the introduction room to get better acquainted. Larry was interested in me for a few minutes, but then was distracted by conversations and laughter going on out in the reception area. I quickly learned that Larry is a very curious fellow and likes to know what’s going on at all times!

It’s not unusual in the beginning of my relationship with animals at the shelter for them to be interested in Reiki for a very short time. Many of them grow to enjoy it more as time goes on. Others love it from the first moment and soak it up. Still others are receptive at first, but then make it clear that they have better things to do that receive Reiki.

My first session with Larry was perhaps 5 minutes. He was becoming more agitated and clearly wanted out of the room to go see what was going on out in the reception area. So, out we went and Larry thoroughly investigated the situation.

After several sessions that played out essentially the same way, I came to the conclusion that Larry simply wasn’t receptive to Reiki. I stopped seeing him on my weekly visits and focused on other dogs and cats that were referred to me by the shelter staff. I always ask about Larry and the report iss always the same: he’s doing fine with regular pain management and is as curious as ever.

One day one of the shelter staff, a Reiki student of mine, pulled me aside and told me of an experience another of my students on the staff had had with Larry recently. She had been sitting with Larry in his run petting him and had gone into a sort of meditative state. She felt Reiki begin to flow through her and realized that Larry was drawing Reiki energy! She said she felt a wave of sadness pass over her and had the feeling that it came from Larry. He continued to draw Reiki for a few minutes, then it stopped.

Clearly, Larry had set his own criteria for his Reiki session. It was completely in his control, as it should be. My student had created a healing space and Larry chose to enter it, albeit for a brief time.

I was reminded when hearing this story of how we as practitioners must remember to simply create the healing space and let the animals choose to enter it or not. I had to admit that I had not done as good a job of that as I could have when working with Larry. I had let my expectations that he would gradually accept Reiki more readily take precedence over my primary task. Larry had been trying to tell me not that he wasn’t interested in Reiki, but that he wanted it on his own terms in his own time.

All the animals, our own and those we work with, are our teachers. It is our obligation to honor their wisdom and acknowledge their spiritual being. If we may offer them Reiki, so much the better, but that is for them to decide.

…….by Jodie Brenner

I noticed during one of the Reiki I classes at Synergy Animal Hospice that  the Sheriff’s department had placed a pregnant mare and two other horses on the shared property of the Animal Hospice.

We were told we could offer Reiki to the horses, but we were not allowed in the gated area, which led to their locked paddocks.  The second day of class we offered Reiki to the horses and positioned ourselves  along the back fenced area.  The wire fence was about 8 feet tall and the horses could see us and actually touch us if they came down to that part of their paddocks.  The horses seemed very curious and accepting of 5 people offering them Reiki.  We felt the pregnant mare was totally immersing herself and her unborn baby in the Reiki.

A couple of weeks later one of my students, who is also my friend and I went to the property, we went to the same area in the back of the paddocks and sat on the earth next to the fence.  We both were totally in our Reiki space and could feel the energy vibrating as all three horses were licking and chewing and doing the involuntary head bobs.  She only had her new Reiki hands for a couple of weeks and was amazed at the heat and energy she was feeling.

I was distracted when I heard a truck coming up the driveway to my left.  It was a member of the Sheriff’s department, most likely coming to feed the horses and check on them.   My friend and I looked at each other wide eyed as if  “Oh no”.  Although we had permission to be there and it was my understanding the Sheriff’s department was aware that “people may be offering Reiki to the horses” I still felt like I might have some explaining to do:).  We watched him enter the locked area and begin to throw hay into the three paddocks.  The horses did not seem to be in a hurry to eat and slowly began to move towards the now filled hay tubs.  We wondered why the man did not acknowledge us, surely he could see us.  My friend said “maybe the Reiki makes us invisible” we both quietly laughed. He walked towards us to the water pump and began to turn it on.  He was  about 20 feet from us and still did not appear to see us!  My friend said “Hello”  he looked around and then spotted us on the ground.  After his reply of “Hello” I felt I needed to add something so I said “we are with the Animal Hospice and are giving the horses Reiki”  he replied “oooh, OK,  well have a good day”  he continued with his chores and then left.

We laughed as to wondering if he knew what Reiki was or if he thought we were just a couple of crazy women sitting on the earth looking into the horse pens and humming:)

…………….By Caroline Thomas

The hardest thing about volunteering at a Rescue Centre, is to see  the new animals who come in; having been rescued from the worst situations imaginable.  Sue at Remus is amazing,  saving these animals, giving them a forever home, where they can feel safe and loved.  Recently at Remus four beautiful ponies were rescued, each one having experienced a terrible past.  Of these four, the pony who captured my heart was Bracken, a beautiful dun mare whose body was ravaged by starvation and neglect.  She was so emaciated, having being rescued from a field with hardly any food, water or shelter.  All of the other ponies were in a similar situation,  it is so sad, that these amazing animals had suffered so much.

The first part of my journey, was when Sue e-mailed photographs of the ponies to me. This was  so I could concentrate on sending them Reiki, after seeing the photographs of the ponies, I felt very drawn to making a crystal grid out of Rose Quartz. When making a crystal grid it is important to cleanse the crystals first, then lovingly place them around the photograph in a symmetrical order, imagining each crystal connecting to eachother giving off a healing energy. Rose Quartz is the crystal used to heal a broken heart. Offering distant Reiki to Bracken was a very rewarding way of connecting to her,  as I  work in the week and I am only able to get to Remus at the weekends.

The first time I saw Bracken, I was shocked and upset by how emaciated and weak she looked.  As is best practice at Remus, Bracken was in a quarantine stable. She was with Abbey, a young horse who had been rescued at the same time.  Both horses had a large stack of hay each, I watched them for a while, waiting for them to finish eating. It quickly became apparent that these horses were never going to stop; both had their heads down just focusing on eating as much hay as possible. For them it could be their last meal, or so they  must have thought. These horses had been almost starved to death before being rescued by Remus.  I decided to stay quietly in the back ground and allow the reiki to flow. The thing about animal Reiki is that not all Reiki sessions go as you think they should. It’s important to have faith that Reiki will go to wherever it is needed;  always being for the greater good.

It was very sad to hear a couple of days later that Bracken had taken a turn for the worse and had and lost around 30kg in weight. This is a lot to lose, considering she was so emaciated to start with. It is often the case that animals survive in the most difficult of circumstances, only for their bodies to shut down when they feel safe and warm. Over the next week Bracken became weaker, sometimes falling over in her stable. To make sure she did not hurt herself she was never left alone, Bracken was cared for by a rota of volunteers and staff, each having their own special way of making her feel safe and cared for.

I have a healing group at Remus that meets once every two months using the SARA principles. On 6th of February 2010, I was lucky to be able to offer Reiki to Bracken with another wonderful Reiki Practitioner. Sue had asked us to spend as much time as possible with Bracken as she had now stopped eating. On entering the stable, I felt a pang of sadness for this beautiful pony, she looked very weak, having had a difficult night the previous evening falling in her stable. She had hurt her eye and her walking was very unstable. Myself and the other Reiki Practitioner offered her Reiki for over an hour, during which time she started to eat, becoming more interested in her surroundings. As other animals at Remus also needed Reiki we continued to offer it to them, coming Back to see Bracken later. Bracken was a pony whose spirit wanted to live, but her body was letting her down.

On arriving at Remus the next day, Bracken looked even weaker. I offered her Reiki, usually I would stand back and let the energy flow but I could see that she needed her weight supported. She was very tired, her eyes closed as she received the energy. I asked my Angel guides for a miracle, I just could not understand  why this beautiful pony was getting weaker and weaker and  could possibly die. She was safe, and was very loved by everyone at Remus having the best care possible. Surely this was enough?

Life is not always as you hope. I received a text from Sue later that evening saying; ” I am so sorry to tell you, but Bracken has been put to sleep tonight, eating carrots, apples and biscuits. She was with our vet and ten other people”.  I would like to say, that I knew it would be my last Reiki session with her and that I had known that she was  ready to die. I didn’t sense any of that I am afraid. From this wonderful pony, I learnt s0 much about dignity and forgiveness. This gentle, knowing pony had opened up her heart to all at Remus.  Left to starve in a field for much of her life, at Remus  it was clear to see that she loved human company and was able to trust them once more.

When the post mortem results came back it showed that every organ inside was dying and that her intestines were shrivelled up – she stood no chance, her past had caught up with her. How can mankind treat animals like this and get away with it? 

…posted by John Sawyer

It’s been quite a year for me at AID. I’ve met and worked with many animals and learned from all of them. Animals are such wonderful teachers!

I wrote about Allie previously. Unfortunately, Allie made her transition several weeks ago. Her condition had worsened to the point where she was harming herself despite the best efforts to keep her safe. There was no joy in Allie’s life aside from the time she spent sleeping in the arms of myself or another volunteer. During our last session together I got the strong sense that she had had enough of the struggles and was ready to return her focus to the non-physical.

Allie’s transition was more difficult for me than usual. We as practitioners know that Reiki heals on all levels and always hope for a physical healing as well. At least in my case, I think the more “hopeless” the case is, the more hope I have that a “miracle” will result. Sometimes we get those miracles, and often we don’t. In all cases, though, there are lessons to be learned.

In Allie’s case, the most obvious lesson was to release my emotional attachment to her healing. I looked forward to spending an hour or so carrying a slumbering Allie around the shelter. I felt, or at least hoped, that our Reiki sessions were helping her to maintain status quo, if not make visible progress, but that was not the case, at least not on a physical level. I’ve come to the realization that the contrast between her Reiki naps and the rest of her life became so great that she could no longer abide the latter.

When we sleep, we are connected to our Source. I’ve noticed that older animals sleep a lot more and a lot more heavily which indicates that they are preparing to make the transition to non-physical. While they are sleeping, they are exploring the non-physical and coming to terms with their transition. I’m sure this same process took place with Allie and that she finally decided she had fulfilled the purpose of this chapter in her eternal life.

Honey was another Pomeranian I met briefly. I had seen her while working with Allie in the kennel wing one day. She was a beautiful buff color with bright eyes and a lovely energy about her. During one of my recent visits to AID, I heard that they had found Honey unconscious and rushed her to the vet.

Two days later I was visiting AID again and learned that Honey’s blood sugar had dropped too low as a result of her diabetes, but that she recovered quickly at the vet and was back at the shelter. They suggested I offer her Reiki and I spent about 20 minutes carrying her around the shelter while she soaked up Reiki. She appeared bright and perky and none the worse for her earlier ordeal.

As it turned out, that was the only session I was to have with Honey. She had a setback shortly thereafter and was taken back to the vet where she went into cardiac arrest. The vet staff was unable to revive her. A necropsy revealed a number of problems with her internal organs.

The fact that she was able to function so well given the internal mess she was is yet another testament to the ability of our animals to focus on the moment. Someone once said to me that animals compensate until they can’t any more which explains why they often seem fine, then crash suddenly. Basically, animals “press on regardless” as long as they are able, a lesson many humans should take to heart!

There were many bright spots this year, as well. I’ve written about Button, the little Jack Russell terrier pup who recovered from her broken back. I recently met Larry, a “senior” boxer and a delightful gentleman who was rescued off the street a few months ago. Larry and I have only had one short session thus far, but I’m sure there will be more.

Finally, to show that I haven’t neglected the feline contingent at AID, I spent time this year with many in the cat wing including Spook and Eli, the two paralyzed cats who occupy adjoining playpens and keep watch over the comings and goings in the cat wing. Their current project is the supervising of two guinea pigs across the hall from them.

Bogie, Silky, Jet, Robert, Chloe, Geraldo and several other cats live together in a room just off the infirmary. Bogie took about 6 months to decide I was a friend. He now accepts Reiki and petting for short periods of time when I come to visit. His favorite activity is laying in his basket by the window soaking up the sun.

The Cat of the Year is GT, a grey tabby kitten I found near a farm while on my way to the vet with two of my dogs one evening not long ago. I saw her cross the road in front of my car and it was apparent that she was having difficulty. She lay down on the grass off the side of the road and was still there when we returned from the vet an hour or more later. I took the dogs home, got the smallest carrier we had, and went back to see if she was still there. She was, so I picked her up and put her in the carrier. I called the vet and took her there.

Ten days later, she was declared healthy although she has some neurological problems probably a result of panleukopenia, a condition not unusual in feral cats. Her eyes had been pasted shut when I found her, but had cleared up as a result of medication. The vet believed her to be blind, but we have since determined that she can see, at least to some degree.

GT appeared to be about four months old, but had her adult teeth so was at least 6-7 months old. No doubt the lack of regular meals contributed to her tiny size.

AID agreed to take her in and she has been there several weeks now. She’s grown noticeably, plays energetically with her toys and has endeared herself to everyone. She has at least two people interested in adopting her so she will find a forever home soon.

Reiki has played a great part in all of the above stories and many more. Many more stories end happily than otherwise, in physical terms, because Reiki is an integral part of AID and the care of their animals. A number of the staff and volunteers have at least Reiki 1 and we will certainly add to that contingent in the coming year.

…posted by John Sawyer

I met Button a few days after she arrived at Animals in Distress. Button is a Jack Russell Terrier who at the age of 8 weeks suffered a broken back when she was dropped. Knowing Button as I do now, I’m sure she surprised the person holding her by wriggling, thereby causing her own injury.

Button was taken to the family’s vet who diagnosed her broken back and recommended that Button be put down. The family was in the middle of their own personal difficulties, but was not ready to give up on Button. They contacted AID.

AID often works with special needs animals, many considered “hopeless”. Button certainly fit that description! She was relinquished to AID and crated temporarily in the cat wing under the watchful eye of Spook, another of AID’s “hopeless” residents. Spook, too, has a broken back and has no use of his hindquarters.

I first saw Button during my usual weekly visit. She was huddled in the back of her crate. After a few minutes, she was able to get up and hobble to her food dish. Her rear legs held her upright, but were otherwise nearly useless. I offered her Reiki for a few minutes then continued to see my other “regulars”.

Button was seen by a veterinary neurologist and got some good news. The doctor said she would likely recover at least limited use of her legs! She was to have cage rest for two months to be sure she didn’t re-injure herself. Aside from that, we were advised to hope for the best.

Button became one of my regulars. I saw her every week for the next several months. At first, I held her throughout our sessions. She readily accepted Reiki and always seemed happy to see me.

She steadily improved to where she was allowed to walk on lead for brief periods. She was unsteady, as you’d expect, but became more active and more agile each week. She progressed from being held to spending our sessions on lead in the courtyard investigating the grass, leaves, sticks, insects and whatever else she could find within the limited area she was allowed to roam.

By the time her cage rest prescription was finished, Button was more than ready to be turned loose! For several weeks she’d been making it very clear that she was ready to boogie and we were putting a major damper on her enthusiasm! I told her to be patient, that I knew she was ready, but she had to humor the humans who were concerned about her.

The neurologist saw Button again and verified her considerable progress, but advised further caution just to be sure. Button begged to differ and looked for every opportunity to show us she was just fine, thank you very much! As you can see from the video below, she had gone from the sad little puppy I’d first met to the happy, energetic little ball of fire that typifies her breed. She had places to go, people to see and things to do!

I continued to see Button for several weeks after she had clearly recovered from her injury. She was much less interested in Reiki, being busy catching up on the time she’d lost, so I told Lori, the kennel manager, that it was time for me to focus on other animals in greater need. As much as I loved seeing Button, she no longer needed me.

I’m happy to report that Button was eventually adopted by an AID volunteer who was chosen from several applications. I’ll always remember Button, the “miracle” puppy, with appreciation and a smile!