Dusty: R.I.P.

Dusty was brought into BARC Shelter some months back. He was returned after being in a home for ten years, apparently because he was urinating outside of the litter box (to my knowledge, that didn't happen in the shelter). He was given medical attention, great food and treats and an incredible amount of love and care from the BARC staff, vets and volunteers.

From the first day he was brought into the shelter, he was one of the most loving beings I have known, with a heart constantly emanating love and reaching out to share it. He was always ready to come out on a lap for cuddles, and in my case, for Reiki and TTouch as well. I felt him to be a very deep soul, and there was something that felt otherworldly as well, as though he was a sweet angel that had come to earth for a short while. As much as people gave to him, he gave back three times as much in pure love and light.

As time went on, it was clear that his health was waning, and so I began to spend even more time with him than before, feeling him absorbing the Reiki energy from my hands into his body, stretching out and letting go, feeling my being merging with his as the energy flowed.
The shelter people and vets did what they could to help him with medication, fluids, diet, etc. Though he rallied for a while, the past week or so he began to take a nose dive. Yesterday when I was at the shelter I spent a couple of hours with him on my lap, the warmth from my hands being absorbed into his body. I shared Reiki energy with him and did gentle TTouches going down his body, feeling him r-eI spoke to him softly and told him that it would be all right, that I knew he was trying to stay for the benefit of all the people who loved him, but that it was ok for him to let go. At one point he completely stretched out on my lap, laying his head down, some of his energy starting to let go. I knew he was tired, and his time was soon.

Later on that day the decision was made to let him go. Everyone was so sad, but knew it was his time, and was the right thing to do. We all said goodbye to him, and let him know he would be able to be at peace now. I pictured him with light and angels all around him, a bright, warm light.

Thank you Dusty, for being the selfless, generous, beautiful being you were and are, you will live forever in my heart. And thank you to all the BARC staff, vet staff, and volunteers for giving so much love and care to him. xoxoxo

TTouch Training in Dayton with Debby Potts: Dusty

Last week I did my fifth TTouch training in Dayton, New Jersey with Debby Potts (http://integratedanimal.com/), who is a fabulous instructor. Each TTouch teacher I have had has been wonderful, and each one has their own specialties of knowledge, adding another dimension to what I know about TTouch. Debby has such a huge amount of knowledge to share and also has a great sense of humor, which is always appreciated!

Above is a picture of Jude and her dog Dusty. You can see from the picture how bonded they are. Jude was in my last training in Dayton with her three dogs, and this time she focused on Dusty. Dusty has come a long way since the last training, and made great strides during this training. Both Dusty and Jude taught me a tremendous amount this training. I am so thankful for this.

Dusty is reactive to other dogs and to people, so we all made sure to be very conscious and considerate, not staring at him or approaching him head-on. When we touched him and worked with him, Jude had a muzzle on him to make sure everyone kept safe.

The second day, Debby showed us one way to get a dog accustomed to having someone other than their owner touch them. First, Jude began to do TTouch on Dusty.

Then Debby joined Jude and they both began to do TTouch on Dusty together. This really was a magical moment. Both Debby and Jude were SO in the moment with Dusty, and in synch with each other as well.

Dusty grew more and more relaxed as they both worked on him, and was very responsive to TTouch in general. He went from a sitting position to lying down as they worked.

Later in the training, we went outside to do leash work with the dogs. Dusty was extremely cooperative and a setup with two points of contact worked like a charm for him. I had the opportunity of walking Dusty on a leash a couple of times, and felt I only needed to hold the leash very lightly, as he was responsive to very light signals vocally and with the leash. Before long, I felt completely in synch with Dusty, as though were were completely connected. I walked him in various directions around orange cones and stopped intermittently, doing some TTouch on him, to which he was very responsive. I did slow zigzag touches down his body and down his legs, as well as abalone touches on his body and ear touches.

After the second time walking Dusty came a very big learning moment, which fortunately turned out OK. Jude, Grace Ann (one of our wonderful teaching assistants) and I were talking and I was holding Dusty very lightly on the leash. All of a sudden, I felt Dusty jerk and pull with incredible strength and before I knew it, I was on the ground and Dusty had broken free from me and he and one of the other dogs, Chanhiya (who is also a reactive dog), were entangled in a dog fight where the two dogs looked like one dog and there was a lot of growling and noise. Fortunately Grace Ann stepped right in and helped break up the fight and luckily both dogs were all right. I was a little black and blue as I had ended up face down on the ground but I was more concerned to see if the dogs and people were all right, which fortunately they were, other than being shaken up. Jude gave us (including Dusty) Rescue Remedy, which was much needed and appreciated.

This was a huge lesson to us all to keep aware and in the moment at all times, and to keep our peripheral vision active, particularly when we are dealing with reactive dogs. I will certainly never forget it! I apologized profusely, as I really felt bad that I had not been as vigilant as I should have been.


Below, you see Jude and Marge walking Dusty in the graveyard which is adjacent to the training area a while after the scuffle. Fortunately, Dusty seemed to be calming down at this point.

There is a very special type of connection with an animal that happens through TTouch. With all the animals I do TTouch on, I feel that there is a part of them that touches my heart in a unique and profound way and stays with me forever. I certainly know this is true with Dusty.


Thank you Jude and Dusty, I really appreciated working with you and learning from you!