Love and a dog
Love and a dog
I’ve got my jacket on, Camille’s leash in my hand and the little wiggle butt is sitting as pretty as she can, gazing up at me, grinning. I lean over to clip the leash to her collar and I am overwhelmed with the connection that she is making with me. Her sparkling eyes open wide to take in as much of me as she can. Her mouth opens into a wide grin. Her nostrils flare and tremble as if in sensory overload. Her ears are in the exact right position to clearly emote the feeling of being absolutely totally, head-over-heels in love with me. I need to pause to let this absolute adoration and appreciation wash over me.
I am sure I am responding in kind. I can feel my face blush with heat. As I smile and the sides of my mouth draw back, I feel my ears shift. I feel my eyes widen; and then close slightly as my face softens and turns dreamy.
This is what love’s infatuation feels like. This is what the songwriters of my parents’ generation wrote about. It’s gooey, sweet, and amazing. I remember back when I was a teenager and wished I could feel what love feels like. I’ve felt it with just a few people. I feel affection with most dogs. Today, with Camille, I hit the big jackpot. We both did.
It was an amazing moment of pure joy. I clipped the leash onto her collar and we headed out the door. The intensity of the moment was over. The ripples of that stone dropped in my pond still continue to circle out.
I think to myself that I am so fortunate to have discovered a profession in which I can experience the feelings of being loved, respected, honored, and appreciated, by all my clients every time.
Last week I showed a photograph of a little Puggle named Roxy. She was leaning back with her little head turned up, gazing at me. One does not have to be a professional animal communicator to understand what she was telling me. She said as clearly as can be, “We are connected. We are on the same page. You are helping me. You are sharing your soul journey with me. Thank you.” Then, she spoke in a Cat dialect, saying, “You may continue.”
I am humbled by the permission that dogs freely give me.
I am humbled and honored to be able to share this skill set with my PetMassage™ students, as their instructor and as their mentor.
A couple of days ago, Camille refused to eat her morning meal. Her tummy squeaked and grumbled throughout the morning. The evening before, while she had gnawed on a deer femur, I sat on the floor with her, collecting all the shards of bone that she broke off. So of course, we were concerned she might have ingested some that I missed.
Energy Work for Dogs
Her normally smooth soft coat had an oily quality and was coarse to the touch. I thought about Lola, who we just lost a few months ago. She’d had the same kinds of qualities in her coat. She was old. Camille, on the other hand, is a robust healthy and happy four-year old. Camille’s chi was temporarily compromised. I sat with her, holding her, assessing her, assisting her.
I thought: exercise is a good way to help the body. The systems that Camille needed to get back on track all needed boosting. A walk in the park would stimulate her Digestion, her Endocrine System, her Respiratory System, her Cardiovascular System, Vestibular System, her Neurological System, and especially her System of Chi flow.
We took a walk on a mile long winding path through a flat prairieland. Every ten minutes she would squat and strain, squat and strain. All she could excrete was a few drops; a few greasy drops of poo. Other than that, she appeared happy. Her tail was up, her eyes were bright, she greeted other dogs as she always does, and every new scent aroused her curiosity. It was a great distraction, though…
Camille was obviously uncomfortable and out of balance. I gave her types of modalities that we teach in the PetMassage™ Advanced Level Workshop: Healing Touch, the Pain Drain and combined them with Positional Release. She calmed. She relaxed. She slept. The palm that I rested on her abdomen heated up to the point where I felt it was on fire. So I absorbed it and discharged it. Her belly felt cooler. The fascia under her coat slid, caught, and let go into a lovely release that I felt opening in my heart like a spring blossom. She yawned and stretched. She slept. As she laid there in my lap, I discovered imbalances in her chakras and breathed them toward more robust movement.
Nama-Stay, Sit, and Down
She still had no appetite for her evening meal or water. Anastasia was concerned and prepared her some oatmeal, a favorite food. When that was refused, Anastasia added warm coconut oil. Still, there was no interest. I reminded her that Camille occasionally fasts for a day. Our little boxer girl gets massage, eats organic, exercises and meditates daily, greets everyone she meets with a smile, and does cleansing fasts. Yes, she does.
Her tummy squeaked and rumbled through the night as she slept. The next morning she was back to normal. Ran outside for her morning ablutions, secured the perimeter of our yard, and raced inside to inhale her breakfast.
We had done everything we knew of to help her. We offered her support to restore her balance in the form of affection, caring, and energy work; plus the time and space to self modulate.
Time, Space, and Energy Work to Wellness
As well as the PetMassage™ energy work to wellness, she needed the time and space. She had her own sense of time, and space. When whatever she needed was integrated to her satisfaction, she expressed to us just how much she appreciated our support. Camille looked up at me again with love filled eyes that said simply, “Thank you.” Then, with a smirk, she said in Cat, “You may now resume what you were doing.”
PetMassage Positional Release
You could continue to read about practicing PetMassage™ with these blogs or, you could learn to do it. This is a fabulous way to live a-making. I invite you to visit our website to register for workshops or learn at home with PetMassage™ books and DVDs.