Crystal Rainbow Moonstone
Anyone who has shared his or her life with animals knows that a special, unique unspoken language occurs. It's really our original language, how we communicated at birth. If a feeling or a situation was extreme, we expressed out loud in the way that we knew how, yet the rest of the time we were quite content in this unspoken world of energy that usually fulfilled our needs. Our parents were truly communicating with us telepathically.
It is no different for the animals. Animals communicate with us, and with each other in many ways. They have the ability to connect to humans intuitively, and they have their own body language. They learn to respond to a few words in their species' specific expression (barking, meowing, growling, neighing, snorting, etc.). Domesticated animals have more of a human vocabulary than wild animals that communicate more telepathically with pictures.
Each sound and each body movement an animal makes means something. They express joy, fear, happiness and sadness by the way they act and the sounds they make. Dolphins and whales, for instance, use sonar and high-pitched whistles to speak to one another, and even to their handlers when they are in captivity. Birds have different songs and chirps. Cats purr, growl and hiss, dogs bark, whine and growl, and all species have body language that is characteristic of what they are trying to express.
Anyone who has ever watched the wonderful programs on Animal Planet can tell you that elephants and other species mourn their dead, mother bears get impatient with their cubs, and baboons are affectionate and loving with their young. Sadness, impatience, love--these are all emotions that some attribute only to human beings. And yet, as scientists continue to study the various species of animals and how they communicate, they realize that they are not discovering anything new. Animal communicators and healers have always known that emotions are not just for people. Communicating and healing are not confined to humans interacting with the various species on this planet on various levels. Many animals are able to understand their humans' emotions, and even experience and become affected by the same emotional challenges their humans are experiencing. Animals are also able to heal their humans through their innate healing abilities.
It is well known that an animal companion is good for the physical body as well as the soul. Animal companions help relieve stress, lift us up when we are down, and seem to know our every mood. They are the epitome of unconditional love. They give children the opportunity to learn responsibility and respect, they keep the lonely company, and they serve humanity in special ways.
Dogs for the visually impaired have a special intuitive connection with their owners. These remarkable canines are able to sense danger and alert their owners to foreign objects on the sidewalks. During the World Trade Center disaster, one dog in particular led his visually impaired owner down the stairs through debris and fire to bring him and others to safety. Dogs and cats belonging to hearing impaired owners have been known to awaken them to alert them to a fire or a burglar. I have even heard of monkeys being able, without any special training, to assist those who have lost the use of their arms or hands, through sensing their humans' needs. They have been known to travel great distances in order to find their "lost" humans. And when we are angry, our animal companions are not sensing the tone or loudness of the voice as much as they are the emotional vibration emanating from us. But it is not just our vibration they are sensing. They are also reading our body language.
A significant study shows some animals do possess the ability to reason. Remember Koko, the gorilla who has learned sign language and asked for a kitten? Koko and other animals demonstrate that they are able to communicate their needs and thoughts. Many generations of "Kokos" are now communicating with their trainers all over the world and subsequent generations of primates who have been taught to sign, are now teaching signing to their offspring. They also reason, although not on such a highly developed level as their human counterparts. We humans just have to learn to understand them.
There was a baboon in a zoo in Europe that had learned to escape his habitat after his keepers have locked it down for the night. After several attempts to catch the animal in the act, they finally discovered that he was hiding a piece of wire between his gum and lip. After the zookeepers would leave, he would use that wire to pick the lock on his cage and walk out! This is cognitive reasoning and thoughtful creativity, an expression that was once attributed only to humans. Of course, primates are the closest animals to humans. As intelligent as they are, I don't think you would find a dog that could pick a lock. They don't have opposable thumbs. :)
Knowing what we do and learning more and more every day, we simply cannot take animals for granted. They are here for a purpose and share our lives for the experiences we encounter and lessons we learn, the most important lesson being that of unconditional love.
Let me share my lesson in unconditional love. Three years ago, I adopted Crystal, a Chinese Crested puppymill mom. She had been over-used for breeding and lived most of her life in a cage with little or no human attention or affection. She was rescued from death row at a local shelter by a rescue organization. Although she is probably about thirteen or fourteen years old now, hard of hearing, and is blind from cataracts (her eyes look like rainbow moonstones), she is the most loving creature I have ever encountered. I believe she is making up for lost time, but she sure is a blessing to me!
Crystal Rainbow MoonstoneA couple months after I adopted Crystal, I
was bestowed another blessing--I learned that another little Chinese
Crested, a Terrier-Coated Powder Puff (a coated counterpart
of the hairless variety), had still not been adopted, so I adopted
Wizard--aptly named because of his magical nature, Merlin-like
wisdom, and beautiful mane. Nothing is known of his history, but
he was believed to be about 8 or 10 years old at the time I adopted him. He never sought out lap time or affection, something he probably had never experienced. In the short time he has been part of our family, he has become a little lover! He has decided that snuggling, laps, hugs, and kisses are really very nice! Previously quite anti-social, he now loves going for walks and meeting up with all his new friends. He and Crystal were foster-mates so they already knew each other and Wizard was also happily welcomed into our home by everyone, including the cats! Unfortunately, Wizard was with us only 2-1/2 years when he succumed to liver failure. He joined his friends at the Rainbow Bridge on April 3, 2007. He was the best dog ever and we all miss him very much!
Wizard
They say of Chinese Cresteds that, like the popular potato chips, no one can have just one! They also say they are addictive. I can attest to that. Let me introduce my third, Fergus (spoken with a Scottish brogue). He is fourteen years old, blind, arthritic, and slightly hard of hearing, but he is truly a lover! His elderly mom passed away so he was released to our foster home in Wisconsin. When I first saw his picture, I felt such a strong connection that I knew I had to find a way to bring him home. So I flew up there and brought him back to Florida. They say the old folks retire to Florida for many reasons, well, it's done wonders for his arthritis! Since Fergus grew up in a loving home, he didn't come with the emotional baggage rescued animals often do, aside from being uprooted. He has settled in beautifully and was also welcomed by the rest of my animal companions. The cats still haven't quite figured out what he is. An elf? A fawn? A gremlin? The model for Brian Froud's goblins? Fortunately, they are a pretty non-judgmental bunch.
Sadly, on September 1, 2007, Fergus left us to join his mom, brother, and friends who had gone before him to the Rainbow Bridge. He has left a huge void in our lives and in our hearts. Bless you on your journey, my sweet little man!
Fergus
And let me introduce two more Chinese Cresteds who came to me right before Christmas of 2006. Directly from an Amish puppy mill in Ohio come Lily and Fawn, named after two of Disney's fairies whose bios suit them to a "T." Lily is 2 years old, lived in a cage, and had already had at least a couple litters. Fortunately, Fawn had not been bred, but is only about a year old and already had been badly sunburned which left her with severe skin damage. Both have congenital defects from poor breeding, and had both suffered broken bones that never healed properly, all too common occurrences in puppy mills. With love, good food, love, good care, and love, these two little faerie-folk have settled in beautifully with the rest of the family. Fergus had even let them sleep with him, an honor previously bestowed only to Gabriel, my cat who journeyed to the Rainbow Bridge right before they arrived. These funny little rascals have really brought a great deal of joy to our family and may look forward to a life of luxury!
Lily Fawn
What goes on in puppy mills all over the country is horrendous treatment of animals, congenital inbreeding, abuse, and other atrocities too numerous and sickening to print here. Who do the puppy mills sell their puppies to? Pet stores. So the next time you consider adding an animal companion to your family, please consider a rescued animal. There are rescue organizations such as this for all breeds, kinds, types, and species so no doubt you will find the perfect companion. While they often come with emotional baggage, love goes a long way to help them make the transition from a shelter to a foster home, where they are treated like part of the family, to your home. Dogs are especially grateful creatures and mine have shown that over and over again!
Since Lily and Fawn joined us, so have three more seniors who are now leading a life of luxury. While we miss Wizard and Fergus, I try to see their journey as making room for more who need a good, stable, loving home where they will never have puppies again!
I am an animal communicator and can help you achieve a better understanding of your animals of any kind. I will do an animal communication session for a donation of $50, a portion of which I donate to Rescue Alliance. You will receive a full report of my session with your animal(s). It makes no difference whether it is in person or from a distance. A photo of the animal is very helpful, along with some information about the situation or issues you wish to address. Please feel free to contact me for more information or click on the convenient PayPal button below. Once I have received notice of your donation, I will contact you for your question(s) and photo(s) of your animal(s).
