So many times I have been inspired by stories people have told me about how their pets have helped them heal or came into their lives at a particularly difficult time.
There is no doubt that they have a certain "something" that we lack. Dogs seem to know when you're coming home, even if its a different time every day. I have tested this and silently crept in to my house only to find the little furry mind-readers waiting and wagging. There were no car door slams or windows for them to spy on me through. Just pure love on four paws. I'm sure cats are even more aware but they don't want you to think they care so much!
So, are they psychic? Are they just more able to focus than we are? Are they less distracted by the world around them? Are they more closely connected the the Creator than we are, or all of the above?
Pets know when you are sick and curl up on your lap or your bed in support. Animals are sensitive in ways we do not yet understand. Dogs are employed to find bombs, drugs and missing people. Many different species are helping us as service animals. I've even seen a pygmy horse assisting a wheelchair bound human! Are they so full of pure energy that they just really want to help us?
Now, how can we tap into this? Perhaps all we need to do is love them back and that will open the pathway, the flow of healing. We know that laughter is the best medicine; that smiling actually releases endorphins (those healing, stabilizing hormones). I've heard that petting your cat can do the same thing! All of this used to be "hocus-pocus" but is now backed by science.
Anyone who has pets will tell you that they can be very funny! They seem to do it on purpose. They are very fast learners and it is possible that they just enjoy our laughter or feel the response as pleasant, but I think they know exactly what they're doing! I had a pig once who would tug on my pantleg cuff and try to get me to chase her around the barnyard! (Which I, of course, did.) She was a character!
I would like to take this a step further. I think it is no accident that animals come into your life at the perfect, divinely directed time. Those of us who believe there is a grand scheme to the Universe, a Divine Design if you will, would not find this to be a stretch. Maybe the critters are even in on it! They seem to show up "by accident" or "needing a home". Even if you go out seeking a pet, you never know who you'll find and at precisely the right time. All of my dogs, cats, birds, turtles and barnyard adoptees have come to me unexpectedly. Are they dependent upon us or are they here for us, in support of us?
Animals not only help heal us individually with their comfort and companionship, but they might save the next generation as well. I am very concerned about kids in this society not learning empathy. They are bombarded with disturbing images in the form of bloody, violent games, music and movies that I believe callous their feelings and make the occasional horriffic crime seem commonplace and expected; sometimes even funny. If the "bad guys" are heroes and cruelty to humans and animals is justified how will they learn compassion?
Animals on the other hand cannot help but teach us patience, (when they have an accident on the rug), forgivness (when they come running right back to you after you trip over them or step on their tail). Loyalty is demonstrated when your dog guards your children and the yard. Responsibility is a huge lesson sometimes difficult to instill in the "young'ns" without the help of a hungry, doe-eyed furball anxiously waiting to be fed.
Horses don't take any guff from you, bees are amazing communicators, monkeys show us a sense of community, cats have mastered "the art of self ", ducks will eat anything you give them and not complain (unlike kids)! Bears take their naps when they're supposed to, birds of a feather flock together! (Just threw in that last one to see if you're still awake!)
Animals can heal the world if we let them! The world sure needs some healing, so let's listen to them!
