Tag animal communication

Ready to adopt again?

Nancy Crowe

In my experience, there’s no right or wrong amount of time to wait before adopting again after you’ve lost a beloved animal. The challenge is to respect yourself and your grief while being willing to be surprised. 

Years ago I lost my much-loved Idgie, the sweet diva of a tiger cat who inspired my journey into animal communication and healing. The pain was, in fact, like the proverbial gut punch. 

A few weeks afterward, I read about a horrific local animal cruelty case in which fireworks were tied to a kitten’s tail. That kitten received treatment, foster care and a loving home, but something opened up within me. I realized how much I wanted to give another kitty a home. And Idgie had trained me so well.

At the city shelter, Kathy and I met several kittens, but none seemed especially interested in us. Maybe now wasn’t the time after all, I thought. Then the volunteer brought out one who was about to go to a satellite adoption center. The four-month-old black tortoiseshell kitten prowled around the adoption counselor’s office, trying to figure out where she was and why. Then she came and sniffed both of us, accepting the pets we offered.

When I sensed the kitten was open to it, I picked her up. I commented on the gold streak between her eyes that seemed to stop and resume on top of her head.

“Doesn’t it look like God came along with a paintbrush?” the volunteer said.

I held the kitten so that we were eye to eye. She reached out with one tiny black paw and patted my face. We’d been chosen.

Did the joy of welcoming Lucy erase the hurt of losing Idgie? No. Lucy succeeded Idgie, but did not replace her. One being cannot truly replace another, and there’s no sidestepping grief if we are to love fully. While I continued to grieve for Idgie, my heart filled with gratitude for the love she had given me. That love enabled me to recognize the connection with Lucy, who needed a home as Idgie had.

A few takeaways, as long as you’ve read this far:

• Pay attention to your intuition. A lightness or sense of joy generally indicates a yes; a heavy, sad sensation a no or a not yet.

• Stay with your grief long enough, however long that is, for your heart to open to a new and unique animal companion. 

• Remember the animal chooses, too; pay attention to the way a prospective new companion responds to you and how you feel. 

Whenever you and your next animal companion find each other, you are both signing on for a beautiful, painful, and totally worthwhile adventure.

 

 

Happy dog going for a walk

Talk with your dog before a walk

Nancy Crowe
Happy dog going for a walk

Dog walks and dog park visits get more comfortable as fall temperatures move in, yet cooler heads often do not prevail when behavior problems arise.

Here are a few simple animal communication techniques anyone can use to get an outing off on the right paw.

• Before you grab the leash or even spell the W word, calmly sit or stand with your dog. In your mind, picture what the two of you are going to do: putting on the leash/halter, going to the dog park, walking down the sidewalk in your neighborhood. With all of that, picture how you expect her to behave. 

• You can tell her in words, too, but say and picture what you DO want (keeping her attention on you, for example) instead of any behavior you don’t want. You’d be surprised at how readily all of this can be understood by an animal … especially if it’s consistent. 

• Keep checking in with your dog during your walk or dog park visit, holding these same images of what you DO want in mind as you enjoy your time together outdoors. Keep your phone in your pocket unless there’s an urgent reason not to. This outing may be a tiny or obligatory part of your day, but it means the world to your dog. 

To keep yourself, your dog, and others safe, check out these good-citizen tips. You probably know the basics: Carry bags and pick up your dog’s poop. Keep him leashed and close to you (with a trainer-approved leash, not a retractable one). Prevent him from injuring himself, other animals, or people. 

If you do experience problems, even and especially if someone else brings them to your attention, please don’t hesitate to work with a trainer. There’s no shame or judgment, only a desire to improve the quality of life for your dog, you, and anyone you may encounter. A good trainer can help you work wonders, especially if you get a referral from someone you trust. It’s really never too late, in your dog’s life or yours, to develop better habits. 

I’m happy to help, too! Both Let Animals Lead® and animal communication can be very useful in resolving behavioral issues, easing transitions, and giving animals and their people a “reset” during stressful times.

(Image by MAKY_OREL from Pixabay)

An itch, a scratch and a real doorbuster

Nancy Crowe

This is Tuff, a 23-year-old quarter horse I work with regularly in my animal communication and Let Animals Lead® practice. He’d been scratching his itchy back end against his metal stall door, popping the door loose at least once.

Please scratch on the post instead, his carers requested. I passed that along and got only a sigh, but for the next month or so I didn’t hear about any more door busting from the humans.   

One day I was at the other end of the barn and heard a rattling thunk, thunk, thunk. All I could see was Tuff’s door bending into the aisle with each scratch.

I hurried over and asked Tuff to stop. He did, then proceeded to take a very splashy drink of water. (You know you’re in the right line of work when getting dribbled on by a huge mammal makes you laugh.)

Tuff’s itch was treated and a staff member put a butt-high brush in his stall for those inevitable scratching needs. He was reportedly doing better about leaving his door alone. Then what did he do the next time I stood outside his stall? I’ll tell you what I did – I stepped out of the way of the stall door bending into the aisle.

Maybe that was Tuff’s way of telling me to cut the conversation and get on with the calming meditation. Next time I’ll try that. Or I may have to explain to him why he has something worthy of a medieval Scottish castle in place of his stall door. Stay tuned.

(Photo by Nancy Crowe)