Dog Whisperer In Training

I've been thinking about what makes my dog walking "services" unique? Or what I mean when I say "Dynamic Dog Walkers".

I settled on this: Imagine taking a walk with...whoever you would take a walk with. Your friend, your Mom, your partner, yourself. There is a dialog happening. There is communication. The beauty of the outdoor environment you are walking through bonds you to whomever you are walking with. Be it around a lake in Lakewood, CO against a backdrop of snowcapped mountain tops; or along the neighborhood streets of "Ali'i Heights", near Magic Sands Beach in Kona, at night, in the tropical rain… The visual scenery, the smells, all the sensual elements of your environment will bond you and your walking partner, because you are sharing in its beauty. 

Sometimes you chat, and point out whatever you see to one another. You laugh, you talk. And that is what makes walks with other Humans so special. But a walk with a dog is a more primal thing. There is definitely communication happening. But it’s taking place on a "deeper level", some might say. As communication gets more “primal”, it plays out more and more through the energy of the Physical body, rather than the energy of the Intellect. Tonight, when I ran with Lili, we were simply in synch. We didn’t have to talk about it or even think about it. Our bodies were leading us. But I don’t mean the “physical body” as something opposite of or separate than the “spirit body”. I mean it all as one in the same thing. In other words, the more primal we ‘get’ – the more spiritually connected we are to the deeper workings of everything else, that lives and breathes and moves via a heart that beats.

For me, walking dogs is a spiritual thing. I learn new things abut dogs – about who they are, how they operate, how incredibly tuned in they are to the parts of you that you feel the need to keep hidden from the rest of the world. Being with dogs – animals, really – is healing. That’s no secret to anyone who has ever loved, and been loved by, and animal.

When my Mom was sick, and then when she passed, I went through the most painful time of my existence, to say the least. A time when I thought my physical body might simply stop working, as the result of the devastation. Of the loss. Thank GOD – I was walking dogs during that time, in Denver. Had I been still been working at Seattle’s Best Coffee, being forced to face the public every day, I just wouldn’t have made it. I was so blessed, to be getting paid enough to support myself, (with my very few bills and very low rent), just by taking care of people’s pets! I always said, and still believe, If you can’t believe you’re getting paid to do what you’re doing, then it’s the right thing for you to be doing! The animals’ company was a gift to me, and that got to be my job. They were all, quite literally, angels. They – as much as anything or anyone on earth could – absorbed some of my pain. And in return, gave me Love. A little relief. The ability to breathe in the midst of suffocating grief.

What I am trying to say, is that I don’t “just walk dogs”, (whatever that means). The “Dynamism” comes into the picture when the spiritual dimension is added to the equation. When I am walking with dogs, I am also listening to them, bonding and communicating with them, loving and enjoying being with them in the fresh air. Working our muscles.  

I certainly don’t claim to be any kind of “pet psychic”. But I will say that I see myself as a “Dog Whisperer in Training”. Cesar Millan,  Jane Goodall, John Lilly, Marc Bekoff, Roger Fouts…These are my heroes. They are ALL animal communicators. They are all spiritual leaders alike.

I can’t say that I am at Cesar’s “level” yet – of calmness, assertiveness, centered in leadership. This is why I say I am in training. But I do feel that I have an EMOTIONAL connection with animals, which is why, intuitively, I “jive with” their behavior and energy. I am learning more about them all the time! Every time I am with a dog, I try to celebrate them for exactly WHO THEY ARE. I mean as individuals, but also – not as kids, not as adults, not as teenagers - not as humans. As dogs. I think when you consciously connect with ANYONE on that level – human, dog or otherwise - you will get to know the “Truest” version of who the other is. And then that same part in You – your Truest Self – will reveal itself more and more, because you learn to see in yourself, what dogs see in you. They see the best in you.  I know that dogs – all animals - make me want to be the best person I can be.

Yesterday, Toby did a professional photo shoot, of me with five of my favorite dogs, for my soon-to-be Dynamic Dog Walkers, Inc website! It was WAY FUN, and the pictures came out beyond incredible. I want so badly to share the photos and video footage now. I may not be able to help myself, and might post one or two in a blog post or something; a preview. But the rest, I am going to reveal only when the website is finished. This will be my reward, for finally getting this DONE – getting to share yesterday’s pictures with all of you!