Author Nancy Crowe

‘Am I making my animal sick?’

Nancy Crowe
Image by Mirko Sajkov from Pixabay

You’re in the thick of a stressful time, and now your animal friend is sick or has developed a puzzling behavioral issue. That’s hard enough.

Since the link between illness and stress cannot be denied — nor can the link between you and your animal — you may even wonder if you are part of the problem. Did the animal take on your stress? Were you so distracted that you didn’t notice your pet was having problems?

“Am I making my animal sick?” is a question I’ve heard from friends and my animal communication clients. I’ve heard it from myself, too.

Before you go down this rabbit hole (I’ve been there; would not recommend), remember that the first person to talk to is a licensed veterinarian. Take the opportunity to learn and make recommended changes in your pet’s diet, environment or routine.

For that matter, this could also be a great time to top up your own coping skills. Exercise, for example — more dog walks, barn time, or cat play sessions — could benefit both of you.

Benefiting both of you is what this is about.

When I’m communicating with an animal, he or she will often show me stress in the household or barn. That can come through in, say, the image of a person angry or downcast. It could also be the sound of raised voices or just a heaviness I can feel in my chest.

Animals may not understand what’s going on, but they feel it. Some animals are afraid, perhaps for good reason. Most want to help.

Bentley, a 12-year-old Westie mix, developed digestive issues just as his person, Aileen, was grieving a huge loss. The vet prescribed medication and a change in diet. Still, she wondered if her stress had exacerbated his condition. “Am I driving him nuts?” she asked.

That notion hadn’t occurred to Bentley, who showed me a grey fog surrounding Aileen and her heart intact. “We’re doing this together,” he told me. They both have continued to heal.

It reminded me of when I feared I was making my tiger cat, Idgie, sick. I took her to the vet, we began treatment for her hypothyroidism and I took some important steps to heal myself and my life. On the night before her thyroid surgery, instead of the usual worrying I sat down to at least try a meditation. She curled up in my lap and purred. “OK, I think you’re starting to get it,” I heard before she drifted off to sleep. She inspired me to take better care of myself as well as her, and we enjoyed several more years together.

I’ve never had an animal tell me their person’s distress made them ill. What they tell me instead is that they and their beloved humans are tackling stress, illness and whatever else as a team. They can’t solve your problems (though your shepherd dog would gladly try), but they will sit, stand and walk with you every step of the way. That may be the best medicine of all.

A year of wonder in animal communication, meditation

Nancy Crowe

There is such beauty in our animal friends. You know that already. Many, if not most, of the animals I’ve been blessed to work with this year in my animal communication and Let Animals Lead meditation practice appear in this short video.

In 2024, Indiana experienced some amazing beauty in the sky as well — the solar eclipse in April and at least a couple of Northern Lights displays. A few photos from these are included as well. 

Thank you to Camp Red Cedar for the cover image of the aurora borealis above the camp grounds; Chandu Prem Lal for the stunning capture of the eclipse behind the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Monument; Heather Hoffmann for her beautiful scenes of the Northern Lights; Jenn Andrew for her photo of me at the pasture fence and everyone else who sent their best.

Even bigger thanks go to all of you who trusted me to listen to and hold space with the horses, dogs, cats, goats and other creatures in your lives. I look forward to doing even more in 2025.

Majoring in English: Five real-world reasons

Nancy Crowe
Mary Oliver and Robert Bly were two of the writers I photographed during the 1989-1990 Butler University Visiting Writers Series, the year after I graduated. (Turns out the English Department still had a use for me.) But my favorite is this extra shot of, from left: Shirley Daniell, English Department secretary; Dr. Grace Farrell and Professor Susan Neville.

I started college in 1985 knowing only that I loved books and literature and could write well. Advertising? Public relations? Journalism? Teaching? It all swirled together in an abstract of future possibilities. Even at 18, I think I also knew a lot would depend on what job opportunities presented themselves when I finished this four-year marathon . . . and that the future does funny things to your efforts to prepare for it.

Since I grew up in the newspaper business and worked on my high school newspaper, journalism would have been a natural choice. However, when I entered Butler University, the journalism department seemed in danger of being eliminated and its students were understandably uneasy. The English department was all stability, warmth and great books by everyone from Julian of Norwich to the poets and novelists who visited.

A liberal arts education was more fashionable back then, but I still got the invariable questions. All were some variation of: “What are you going to do with it?” More than one person suggested business as a double major. Or I could at least join a sorority for the connections and a place in the university’s social order. (I did neither.)

What I did was intern for a couple of local publications, help Dr. Jim Watt grade freshman writing exercises, and write a bit and edit tons more for the college literary magazine, Manuscripts. I got to read and study great literature and practice the art and craft of writing. I also had a wonderful assortment of faculty, staff and fellow students challenging and supporting me.

Did my career path become clearer as graduation drew closer? Nope. Life kept happening. Such is literature and life. We react, respond and try to make sense of the world as it turns and shifts. Some of us write about it, or we study how other people write about it and what that means and why. And if we confuse the daylights out of everyone by the time we’re done, so much the better. (Just kidding. Mostly.)

Here are five great reasons to major in English — or be glad you did. These are based on my experience and observation; academic advisors, parents and other advice-givers may say otherwise. As always, individual results may vary.

1. It’s highly flexible and applicable. The communication and critical thinking skills you will develop by majoring in English will benefit you in all kinds of work environments. Internships can give you valuable experience in specific areas such as teaching and journalism. If you find you can’t stand a particular line of work, you have plenty of other options without changing your major.

2. It works as a single or double. You can combine an English major with a major or minor in another discipline. For example: Double major in English and engineering (and have fun moving between those two worlds) and become a technical writer who can actually explain mechanical stuff to English majors.

3. It puts the ball in your court. What you do with an English major and how it pays off (whatever that might mean) is really up to you. There is no prescribed career path for a student majoring in English; you are free to create your own. Some paths are more financially rewarding than others. Some are more suited to your gifts, talents and life circumstances than others. So you get to start by applying your critical thinking skills and creativity to your own life.

4. It allows you to see through eyes very different from your own. You will read books, poems, essays and plays by writers from throughout history, all over the world and many walks of life. Read the ancient Greek poets and see how a civilization comes together. Read Alice Walker and learn about resilience in the face of racism and male domination. Read Mark Twain and learn how a person takes the world’s woes and incongruities, but not necessarily himself, seriously.

5. It’s an important work in progress. Piecing together your classes, extracurriculars, internships and whatever else your college years bring is a great introduction to piecing together your life. Studying literature and learning to form and express your own ideas is not a bad way to tell, and live, your own story.

Blessings on the journey.