09-17-10

Today, Piko and Kili and I walked the long and steep route. They both did great. Up until this point, I would take the two of them just around one block, then take Piko home and take Kili back out to run. Then we started walking two square blocks instead of one. And today was the first time since her hurt his leg that we've walked so far.

I'm trying to really focus on his leg, and helping it to heal. Mostly encouraging him by reinforcing even his smallest strides with tons of praise and pets!

The small strides he's taken thus far include - well, still very tentatively using his back left leg. I believe his leg is healed enough for him to slowly start using it. I think he knows that to some degree; but has perfected the "tripod giddeup" so effectively, that he wonders why even bother with the useless fourth leg.

So I'm starting to come up with subtle ways of pushing him to use that leg. I want to point out that, of course I am sensitive to the limitations on his knee imposed by the surgery. However, I think the best thing we can do is focus all of our energy on his healing, and help him by trusting that he has the strength to participate in his own rehab.

Today, I had the dogs walk on my right side. I realized that, by moving so that I was positioned on the side of his bad leg, all of the sudden, there was something "over there" (on the left side) that kind of infringed on his space. I did that because it shifted his own awareness to that side of his body. I want to remind him whenever I can that he needs to use that leg!

I have been thinking more and more lately about the fact that I come from a family stocked with Spiritual Healers. My Papa - grandfather on Mom's side - is - as I always say - like the Real Gandalf. He is a radiant spirit, extremely powerful, overflowing with light. And emanates the kind of strength you see in the Great Whales: Giant amounts of strength, very powerful and empowering. But gentle; and always radiated through an inner filter of Christ-like Love. My Mom was that way too. And I've been thinking more and more that I, too, have the spirit of a healer. I just have to shift all of my energy to focus on realizing that potential. I have to take every opportunity to practice healing in any way I can. Volunteering at the Humane Society has been a real milestone. It is painful to subject oneself to the tragedy of it all. But instead of focusing on that, I am trying to cram as much Love into each minute I have with the dogs as I can. It is only twenty minutes out of my day. But to the dogs, it means everything. That statement alone is heartbreaking. But I would rather fill those twenty minutes with as much Love and Light as I have in me, so as to "give" it to them, than not to do anything for them at all. Today I bathed a sweet little blue heeler-Aussie mix named Ashe. That meant attaching his leash to a post and giving him a shampoo in the hose. It doesn't sound all that glamorous. But I used the opportunity not only to clean his fur, but to massage his muscles, and wipe the goop out of his eyes, and tell him what a special dog he is. The one on one time is good for us both. That aspect of it makes me feel really good. And - if I ever hope to master my "dog whispering" skills - I need to learn how to work with all different kinds of dogs. In all different kinds of situations.

When I am in the yard with them, and with my camera, I follow them around while they sniff every square inch of the Bark Park. I try to get their attention, but they are on sensory overload, which turns their attention span into about 3 seconds' worth. So what I am trying to do, in a fifteen or twenty minute period of time, capture a little piece of their individual personality. I am trying to catch a glimmer in their eyes, that shows the perfect beingness of each one of them. And in order to catch it, I have to see it in them first. This means I get to know each dog very quickly, and very quickly realize that every single one of them deserves the best home a dog could ask for. I can only hope that communicating their sweet little souls through photographs, can and will make a significant difference.

To close this post, I will return to what I was saying about healing. I want to do it. I want to get to the point where my Mom was...pick up where she left off on this plane, when she ascended to do even greater healing from where she is now. I think the most critical part of "training" to be a healer is BELIEVING that you Can! That you ARE! We all have it in us, it simply must be developed over a lifetime, gaining power little by little, until you get where my Papa is today. He is as wise as Buddha, as kind as Jesus and as magical as Merlin.

My way of healing will be of dogs and with dogs. I will somehow facilitate animals healing people, and people healing animals. Only goodness can come from that symbiosis. Right now, I am consciously focusing on transmitting major blasts of healing energy toward Piko as he heals from surgery, and all the shelter animals, as they await their fate. No matter what - since dogs are healers by nature - we can rest assured that where they're going, their righteous souls will exist eternally in bliss.