In my last newseltter I wrote about the animal reading I had done for Joie with Dawn of Animal Voices.

I contacted Dawn because I was concerned and frustrated with what seems to be reactive barking with Joie, especially out in public when we visited our local farmer’s market earlier this month.  Joie is not aggressive with other dogs, but her reactive barking, to me, feels out of control. I say this because I couldn’t seem to distract her or calm her down when she saw another dog, of which there were plenty at the market. We both got home and were exhausted. I wanted to cry.

Part of my reason in having her experience the market was to see if she was ready to be there with me a few Saturday’s this summer that I’ve signed up to be there with a booth to sell my books.

Having evolved spiritually myself (and still doing so) and understanding that issues in life can’t be dealt with if the core of a challenge is not first dealt with, I feel the same way in regards to animals. Contacting Dawn to give me some insight for Joie felt like the right thing to do.

From the reading, Dawn felt Joie has some trauma from when she was younger along with some emotional issues that seem to be lodged. We aren’t sure if it has to do with her paralysis or not. The plane ride to come live with us when she flew with the rescue volunteer was traumatic for her. She is also still adjusting to us and she is not quite sure how to be a dog.  She feels nervous at times and needs to feel more grounded. My heart ached hearing all of what she was sharing.

Dawn suggested more silly play with Joie to establish a connection. She also suggested meditation, and perhaps inviting Frankie to join us in the meditation. Joie shared that she knows I’m still holding onto Frankie. When Dawn said this I couldn’t speak because hot tears came to my eyes and my throat tightened. While I’ve made great progress moving through the loss of her, a part of me holds on to what was. Joie senses that.

As the conversation came to an end, along with giving thought to Dawns suggestions, I  thought of my Reiki training which I became attuned to a little over a year ago.  I haven’t practiced it since then. Part of the reason being my own lack of self-confidence in believing I could do this for animals.

As I moved through feeling sad and realizing Joie won’t be joining me at the farmer’s market, of which Frankie was so pivotal, I began to open up to realizing Joie is going to teach me new things. My Reiki book, Reiki for Dogs by Kathleen Prasad called out to me once again, so I refreshed myself on how to practice.

It is suggested to start with four consecutive days of 30-60 minutes.  Our first session was yesterday and I just finished up another one with her today. Yesterday she laid at my feet the whole time and at one point I felt compelled to gently and lightly place one hand on her upper back and one on her lower back.

Today she laid off to the side, but like yesterday, took many sighs and closed her eyes often. About half way through the session I asked Frankie if she wanted to join us. Nothing at first. Then I saw in my mind a warm, white light move down Joie’s body, then back up again and then Frankie was there, nose to nose with Joie as if she was greeting her. I felt hot tears come to my eyes.

Frankie then lay down beside Joie and I felt myself wanting to cry. Not out of sadness, but out of joy for the deep compassion and love Frankie has for others. I could feel her comforting Joie in her own way, letting her know all will be okay. I was there, with both of them, smiling, and felt my heart overflowing with love.

Like yesterday and today, at the beginning of our Reiki session, and at the end, Joie and I looked into each other’s eyes and held our gaze for a good minute. It makes my heart tingle once again thinking about it.

Tomorrow is another day of Reiki and then again Friday, so I’ll keep you posted on what continues to transpire. But as I said in my newsletter, tuning into our dogs is also tuning into ourselves. It is reaffirming for me that our pets really do mirror us.

REIKI:  Meaning “spiritual energy,” Reiki is used worldwide to support physical, emotional and spiritual healing, and is the perfect complement to traditional veterinary medicine.