WOOFS OF WISDOM FROM RASCAL

One of the advantages of communicating with animals is the deep spiritual lessons they offer if we are willing to listen. My lessons seem to grow more intense as my doggies age--a reminder our time on this physical plane is limited. 

Since my Rascal is at the old dog stage, you might have guessed the messages he offers are more deeply spiritual. This post is rather long, but I struggled with editing it and keeping the message intact. So I'm leaving the entire message. Though meant for me personally, I hope his "woofs of wisdom" bring comfort and peace to other pet parents living with aging furbabies. 

Woofs of Wisdom from Rascal

Just because I can't see through these physical eyes doesn't mean I'm blind.

I can still feel your love.

I can still sense your frustration that all your efforts to heal my physical body don't make me a young dog any more. And that's OK. Even when our physical bodies are gone, the love will remain. Our connection will still be strong. 

We have grown in this lifetime. You and I both made mistakes that have been corrected. Though you may know in your heart that dogs are more evolved than humans, we are still on a path of learning. We have our own lessons. Perhaps on a different level or in different ways, but still we want to learn and have a variety of experiences. 

You will have those experiences too when you evolve to the point where dogs are. And you will evolve. In spite of the frustration you many times feel that you'll never get things "right." What is right? Does that mean perfect the first time with no mistakes? 

We both know that's not the case. Learning means mistakes as we figure something out for the first time. Then it takes practice, though doing the same things over and over triggers your frustration response. 

Yes, look for a different perspective. Can you find comfort in repetition? Can habits become a sacred ritual that bring the comfort you so desperately want? A consistency that seems so illusive in the chaos of this rapidly changing world. The reassurance that your dream will become reality if that is truly what you desire. 

Enjoy the routine. Take comfort in what may seem mundane and a waste of time. 

Relax. Draw out those breaths and connect with a world beyond where you are right now. 

Step into your dreams and make them a reality. Make them real. 

And now you are anxious to go. To do. To accomplish. 

I'll be here for a while longer. So go. My love will be with you, as yours is with me. 

We will be together again. We will always be connected. 

LIFE WITH AN OLDER DOG

His eyes are clouded now, and sometimes he cries out softly, "Where are you, Mom? Don't leave me alone." 

He has always slept on my pillow--from the day he came to be with us. Others had given up on him, but he became part of our family of dogs and humans. 

Another doggie-being helped him heal; showed him how to trust again. He learned to make his way not with fear, but with confidence.

Many years later I became his seeing eye human. Not a burden, but an honor. 

Now that he is older and his physical body has challenges, he needs to know I am nearby. Or perhaps it is I who needs this reassurance. Put your hand on my belly and feel the steady in and out rhythm of my breathing. Touch my leg where the soft fur is growing back. Close your eyes and journey with me beyond this physical world. 

If I don't shy away; if I can step through my grief; if I can be still and connect with his spirit--I become part of the eternity of the Universe. That magical place where our hearts will always be connected. Where our souls merge in the utter timelessness of love. Where I can know the joy and peace of life with an older dog. 

I'LL HAVE A PEDICURE WITH THAT TUMMY RUB

A pile of Rascal's hair after
grooming and, yes, there's
still a lot of hair on the dog!

I didn’t know much of anything about Cocker Spaniels when Rascal came to stay with us. Nothing new there. I’ve brought home a number of different purebred and mixed breed dogs with little knowledge of breed characteristics. That’s not a bad thing, because I don’t have preconceived expectations, and the dogs will teach me what I need to know.

One thing I quickly learned was Cocker Spaniels have a lot of hair! Similar to sheep’s wool, but it keeps growing. We had a couple not very positive experiences with groomers, so I decided to get a pair of clippers and try haircuts at home. I like to have my Cocker Spaniel’s coat fairly short as it’s easier to keep him clean and bug-free. 

He is also prone to ear infections because of his long, floppy ears. Since he’s been abused around the head, he is very fearful of grooming in that area, but will tolerate it with love and tummy rubs.

Grooming can be a time-consuming task, but this also gives me special time alone with each furbaby. Rascal's style may not always be the prettiest, but I get most of the job done and he feels so much better afterward.

DOG-TO-DOG THERAPY

Stewart (left) knew how
to help Rascal (right)

Though he got along well with my other dogs, Rascal was terrified of most everything, and it was obvious he had been abused, especially around his head. His eyesight also wasn’t very good. You may have heard of people having wavy vision. That’s what was going on with him, so everything that approached him looked like a monster. Of course he was terrified, and biting was the only way he knew how to protect himself.

As I mentioned in one of my posts in May, my beautiful Stewart became Rascal’s therapist. Guess neither dog read the report that humans had basically thrown up their hands and didn't know how to help Rascal. However, Stewart knew what to do. Whenever Raz panicked and started biting at everything, Stewart stood over him and put him in a gentle headlock until Raz realized he was safe and no one was hurting him. When Raz calmed down, Stewart released him. It was amazing--and humbling--to watch these “therapy sessions!”

I don't think any human "intervention" could have helped Raz make such a dramatic change. He became a doggie who will stand up for himself, but isn't aggressive. As I mentioned in the previous post, that's been about eight years ago. Though he lost most of his eyesight a couple years ago--all but shapes and shadows, he says--Raz hasn't lost the lessons Stewart taught him. 

Dog to dog, miracles can happen.

THREE PAWS IN THE EUTHANASIA ROOM

DOGGIE HOST FOR JUNE:

RASCAL!

I bonded with the dog who became my Rascal prior to two adoptions that didn’t work out. I had picked him up from his neuter surgery, and he rode in his kennel in the front seat beside me and pulled lots of Reiki energy. When we stopped for a bite to eat, I let him out of his kennel and he touched his nose to mine. That became our way to communicate.

I don’t know for sure what went on in his adoptive home, but I saw him when he was returned to the shelter–he tried to bite our intake worker. After a day in the shelter, he settled into being a happy dog again.

However, with his history of biting, his chances on the adoption floor were slim to nothing. He had three paws in the euthanasia room when I asked the kennel manager to give me a few days with him.

That was about eight years ago, and Rascal is still part of my herd, sleeping on my pillow like he has from the first night in our home.