dogs
A Letter To My Beloved Dog
Precious Elizabeth, it has been nearly two and a half years since you left your physical vessel to live in another dimension. I know you didn’t want to go and held on long past your time – selflessly, because you had such an enormous love for me that you didn’t want to leave me.
Always my protector, I know you couldn’t imagine that anyone other than you could be as fearless and courageous as you were during all those heartfelt times, throughout the 16 years you took care of me. I adored you and you showed your love every day in countless ways. No matter what you were doing, you always dropped everything, anytime I asked you to come to me.
Well, all but that one time!
We were rocking in the willow chairs on the far end of the portico. It was late in the afternoon, on a perfect spring day. I was relaxing in my chair, and you were asleep in your rocking chair next to mine. A big, brown bear then decided to sniff out the contents of the garbage bin at the other end of the portico. Before I had even spotted the bear, you had already leaped from your chair, apparently having smelled the enormous varmint’s odor. You flew at him as if you had wings, in order to chase him away – so protective of me you were.
The Karma Of Animal Cruelty
Our cats, dogs and all the other wonderful animals we call our pets are like tiny buddhas. We receive wisdom from them in so many ways. They never use words to convey anything, only feeling. If we are in-tune with them, and watch their behavior, we get a sense of how they are feeling.
Venturing into the Akashic record, to read for my clients, I have come to understand that much of our karma is based on how we not only treat ourselves and other humans, but also our fur friends and every other living being on this planet.
And in my experience, karma seems to bear an especially heavy weight when it comes to the animals. To my knowledge, those who abuse and mistreat animals will pay a severe price for it in their spiritual growth and soul evolution. In fact, many people return in a next life as the very animal they hurt, and will experience the same, or worse infliction they put upon that animal.
Animals are creatures of God, messengers of Love. They are here to teach us how to co-exist with each other with compassion and unconditional love. They show us how to share space, heal with touch and communicate telepathically. Some cat owners, for example, will tell you how their cats begin to circle around them and purr whenever they are meditating, or engaging in other forms of spiritual practice, which heightens their energy frequency and spiritual awareness.
Miracles Are Real
Our first family dog was a lovable, crazy beagle. She was the light of our lives and I adored her so much. She also reminded me of the power of intention and that miracles happen in our lives every day.
She was only six years old when she started showing signs of back discomfort. It was wrongly diagnosed and she was put on muscle relaxant medication, but it got worse. Eventually she could not move at all. That morning she screamed and was in so much pain, it was unbearable. I begged the vet to refer me to the specialty animal hospital.
I needed to do all I could to save her life. She was part our family and I couldn’t imagine life without her. So, I rushed her to the city, once I got the referral. When I walked in, carrying her, she was seen immediately by a neurologist. Thank God for him. He took one look at her and sedated her, as she was in so much pain. He then did a brain scan, to see what the problem was.
The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan showed she had a herniated disc in her neck. The MRI also showed a piece of bone that had somehow broken off and had moved into a dangerous position. Fortunately, the vet said the cervical spine was the better place, rather than lower back, to have this kind of problem, as treatment and recovery in this area is more likely to be successful.
He did add, however, that the little piece that had broken off was too close to her spinal cord and had moved, so he could not get to it during surgery. He would have to leave it where it was, since he was not able to reach it. He said it may cause her some discomfort, but nothing more. He said it was possible it could shift over time, but hopefully would not cause more damage.
So, I said yes to the surgery. I just had to have faith.
Choosing Peace Over Conflict
There will always be moments in life when we have to choose between peace or conflict. This was the case for me just yesterday.
About half an hour prior to the incident, I had taken my dogs for a walk in the countryside surrounding my home. Adjacent to the pathway we walked, there were a few men working in the field. I didn’t actually see them, but their car was parked up close by, and what I assumed was their lunch had been perched in a plastic bag in one of the olive trees.
Knowing that the curiosity of my dogs would be stirred by that bag of food, I kept a beady eye on them, particularly the two that were off-leash. Thankfully, the only thing my youngest dog appeared to be interested in was someone else’s medium-sized dog that was also in the vicinity of the workman’s feast. I’d assumed that this dog was with the workers, but on taking the same route this morning, I realized that he belongs to the actual farm there.
So, yesterday, after the walk, I was outside my house, when the worker’s car pulled up to my fence. Two young men got out and one of them asked, “Why did you allow your dogs to steal the old man’s bocadillo (a sandwich made with Spanish bread)?”
“They didn’t steal it?” I replied.
“Oh, but they did,” he said. “My friend here saw it happen!”
I took a moment and thought about how to handle this situation in the most peaceful and spiritually aware manner. It wasn’t such a big deal, but obviously the old man felt that he had been robbed.