How Our Pets Assist Us

After all these years, I continue to be in awe of the positive impact animals can have in our lives. I have always believed animals come into our lives to help us to learn and grow but each time I witness it, I am no less astounded by it, no less humbled by it.  

In my work with animals and their guardians, I continue to see evidence that our animals know what type of assistance we need . . . and then they give us the opportunities to learn and grow in those areas. 

Sometimes the lesson comes by an animal experiencing medical issues as a way for us to learn something that will help us in our own personal growth. My dog Lucky can be single-handedly (pawedly) credited with just about everything I learned about holistic medicine, alternative healing methods, the mind/body connection, etc. She is the reason I explored all those areas - not because she was able to say "Hey mom, check these things out!" I studied all those areas of healing because I was determined to help her recover from some deep emotional wounds that were showing up as medical and behavioral issues. Given all that I learned through our journey together - eventually it morphed into a new line of work for me - as an energy healer and an animal communicator. 

I have had clients who learned to give themselves permission to take time out to be still and stop "doing" all the time . . . a notion they were able to embrace after they realized their animal wasn't healing from an injury or recovering from a surgery because their animal couldn't stay still either. 

There was another client who didn't believe in herself or have much confidence . . .  she ending up adopting a horse that had confidence issues. Through the implementation of various training methods and fun/learning activities, she managed to help him develop a lot more confidence in himself. It was after she accomplished that it was easier for her to see the ways she wasn't very confident either. Fortunately, she wasn't deterred because she already had worked with her horse on gaining confidence so the path was more clear regarding the steps she could take to empower herself more.

Sometimes, the guardian may not be very good at setting boundaries and they end up adopting a pet that pushes the limits a LOT. The animal will act like they need clear boundaries that are consistently monitored. Once the guardian has "practiced" setting and maintain boundaries with their pet and experienced positive results, it is far easier for them to set boundaries with the people in their lives.

Sometimes that opportunity arrives in what appears to be a "behavioral issue" with the animal. They are even willing to look like the "bad guy" for a while, for the sole purpose of helping us learn something or seeing something in ourselves. As an example, my own boy Kino had an issue of barking at dogs, people and anything else that moved when we were out in the car. It unnerved me to the point of not wanting to take him out in the car (which was one of his most favorite activities) because nothing I did training wise was making a difference in the behavior. Then one day it dawned on me . . . he was just showing me how I acted in the car. I didn't behave very well either.  LOL! I was easily frustrated by other drivers and could be quite vocal about my feelings (whether it was cars not using their turn signals, cars riding on my bumper or cars making unsafe lane changes in front of me that forced me to slam on my brakes, etc). I vowed that day to behave better when I was out for a drive. The great news is that once I improved MY behavior while behind the wheel, Kino's behavior improved as well and our car rides became a lot more fun. While it may have been difficult while we were going through it, in the end both of us were much happier. 

Whenever a new client calls me about a problem they are having with their animal, the first thing that comes into my mind is "I wonder how the animal is trying to help their guardian grow." Since they are often trying to help us, I always stay open to that possibility.  

I think I will always be in awe of animals - for the selfless way they set out to help us be better versions of ourselves. Do you think your animal is trying to teach you something or show you something about yourself? What is the first thing that comes to mind that you've noticed about your pet? Do you see any way they might be mirroring things that could assist you as well?