Creating a Calm Space for Two Terrified Dogs

A couple of new dogs, a shitzu and a small black and white spotted Chihuahua, arrived in a very terrified state at Social Tees shelter the day before yesterday, and are in a room in the back as it is more quiet, and is otherwise inhabited by a few very mellow cats. I asked if I could go back there and just see what could happen.

As I opened the door, the dogs ran out barking at me. I crouched down on the floor with my back to them, making myself very small. I stayed very still, mostly silent, only once in a while said something calming in a very soft voice. I didn't make eye contact, only watched in my periphery. They continued to run around and bark for a while, and I continued to stay still.

I have to say here, that I was putting myself at risk putting myself in such a low position, as these dogs could so easily bite me if they wanted to. I was purely following my intuition and fortunately this approach turned out to be very successful and there was never at any point even a threat of a bite from them.

Very gradually, the Chihuahua began to check me out. First he came up and gave me a sniff, then ran away. Then he came back and rubbed his nose against me, agan ran away. He did this a few times, each time making more body contact with me. The Shitzu kept his distance but watched everything the Chihuahua was doing and began to come closer. The barking subsided. Then the Chihuahua began rubbing himself against me like a cat, walking back and forth, rubbing himself, nose first and then body, against me. Little by little I began to do a few strokes on him with the back of my hand, then some abalone touches on his body, and before long he was nuzzling into me and I was doing TTouches pretty much anywhere on his body. In the first clip above, you see him sitting w/his back against me, and I am still not looking at him but doing TTouch on him as he faces away from me.

In the second clip, you see me doing more TTouch on the Chihuahua, and the Shitzu is spread out on the floor, playing around and generally looking much more relaxed than when I entered! I say in the second clip that I think the Chihuahua has a little trouble walking - that's not exactly accurate, he definitely can run around like crazy, but he seems a little stiff in his legs. I'm not sure how old he is, I'll have to check that out. When he gets more comfortable with me, I'll have to try some work on his legs as well as his body.

I didn't want to overwhelm them so I left the room after a while, but I did come back a couple of times to check in and do some more TTouch on the Chihuahua. I didn't want to push the issue with the Shitzu, I feel he will come to me when he is ready. The shelter owner went into the room later, and said that the dogs seemed to be really turning around. I look forward to working with them more!

Mika and Mischa in the Window, and their pal Mr. Robinson

Mika and Mischa are two semi-feral cats who I have been working on for a few months. They came in EXTREMELY scared, frozen in their litter box (they do not bite or scratch though). I have offered them a lot of TTouch and Reiki, and other volunteers have been kind and patient with them. Recently we transferred them from their cage to the window, with a few other cats including the ultra-friendly Mr. Robinson (so-named as the male version of Mrs. Robinson, referencing "The Graduate" because he is an older fellow who loves the ladies), pictured above. Their first go-round they remained pretty scared there, so we put them back in a cage for a few days. On their second try in the window, they appear to be more comfortable than they were before. The shelter is also a lot less hectic in general at this particular moment, as many dogs were just adopted, so that is good for them.

So I can fully interact with the cats, I climb completely into the caged-in window enclosure. This is a very interesting experience on many levels. For one thing, I am glad to be able to have more full contact with the cats, to be able to hold one on my lap as I squat in there, etc. I can also have some idea of how it might feel to be in there. Though it is exposed to people looking in, there is something that feels safe in there, what I expect might feel safer than some of the cages at least on the lower level, as you are out of reach of any dogs and there is more space inside there than in the cages.

Mr. Robinson is an older gentleman kitty and couldn't be more friendly. He insists on rubbing against my arm and hand, so most often when I am doing TTouch on Mika and Mischa with one hand, I have the other arm and hand wrapped around Mr. Robinson, as he likes to be enclosed in a big hug. I expect his relaxed nature must be helpful to the other cats in the window.

Mischa usually comes up to me when I am in the window. He especially responds to connected clouded leopard touches down his body, and Noah's marches with the back of my hand down his body. I usually do work around his head and mouth as well. Here he is getting sleepy and ready for a nap.

Mika (below) is still more shy, and might do a little hiss in the beginning, but I speak to her softly and once I touch her on the head, she calms down. She especially responds to raccoon touches around her forehead, ear slides and zigzag touches down her body. Last time she was in the window, she trembled a lot and was quite frightened but she appears to be much more at ease this time around. Here she is looking straight at me after some TTouch.

I often also offer these two Reiki while I'm in the shelter, and sometimes when I am outside of the shelter as well, especially to Mika as she tends to be more fearful.

I have a special place in my heart for these gentle little souls and am hoping for them to have a forever home soon :)

Visit to Homeless Cat Network Shelter

During my recent trip to the Bay Area, I had the pleasure of going with my sister and mother to visit the shelter of the Homeless Cat Network. Cookie and Marilyn, two of the many dedicated volunteers who do so much for these cats showed us around, told us about the shelter and introduced us to the great kitties there. I was referred to Cookie by Holly at the TTouch office, who is always so kind and helpful. Many thanks, Holly!

Below are a couple of photos of the shelter where you can see the general layout. Most of the cats are kept in large enclosures which each house 3 or so cats. There are a few smaller crates for kitties who are on medication or who must be separated from the others for one reason or another. At different times of the day, different groups of cats are released into the central area to play and socialize. Each day there are two shifts of volunteers who come to the shelter to clean up and to socialize the cats. There are lots of soft surfaces for the cats to lie on: beds, cat condos, towels, etc. and the shelter is kept absolutely spotless due to the ongoing very disciplined cleaning on behalf of the volunteers. The level of generosity, thoughtfulness and commitment to these animals which was shown here was so lovely and very impressive.

Besides the center, there are volunteers who feed a feral cat colony and who take some of the cats out to adoption events etc. There is also a special playdate time on Sunday to focus on socializing particularly the more challenging cats. There are 11 volunteers for the Sunday playdate. Five are Reiki 1 and the other five were recently attuned to Reiki 2. Four volunteers have taken classes on Ttouch for cats. They always bring other personal skills to share with the group. The playdate time is a great idea, as it gives a time which is completely dedicated to TTouch and Reiki, as sometimes the other maintenance tasks in a shelter can take up quite a bit of time and energy. It is lovely that the volunteers are able to share this work with each other as well.

Cookie and told us about the cats, especially about some of the more challenging cats, who have become so much more at ease and friendly after Reiki and TTouch. It is always so lovely to see what can happen with this work. Below, here I am with Cookie (left) and Marilyn (right), and the beautiful kitty here is Calvin, who is about to be adopted.

And below here I am with Calvin, what a love he is.

Please visit the Homeless Cat Network website (http://homelesscatnetwork.com/) and check out their page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Homeless-Cat-Network/54047121725?ref=ts) as well, and you can contact them if you wish to pay the shelter a visit, volunteer, etc. Thanks ladies -- and I wish for forever homes soon for all your lovely cats.

Luigi

Above is one of my sister Katie's cats, Luigi. Luigi has a very big personality and is a sweet, lovable guy, as well as being incredibly smart and interactive. I did TTouch and Reiki on him for quite a while the other day, and he continued to follow me around for a good deal of the rest of the evening while I was at my sister's apt.

I am doing a short demo on him of zigzag touch, and what I call "knuckle on the noggin", but what is really a circular touch I do with my thumb instead of my fingers. This is not an official TTouch, as I have never seen Linda or others use their thumb instead of fingers, but I have found that when doing TTouch on the forehead of a cat, it works very well to stabilize my fingers behind the cat's head and then do the circular touch (doing a circle and a quarter) using the thumb on the forehead. Doing these touches on the forehead is very relaxing for cats, and also works very well for humans. I do these touches on my human companion, Jeffrey, when his mind gets too busy in the middle of the night, and quite often, moments later he is snoring away.

Beach Morning in San Francisco

Hi folks, I'm in San Francisco and am near a wonderful beach near Crissy Field where people can let their dogs off-leash so they can run and play to their heart's content. Today this lovely dog, instead of bringing the ball back to its owner, laid it right at my feet, and I was only too happy to continue to throw the ball for him over and over. What a charming creature he is, and it did my heart good to see him having such a good time. Of course I asked his caregiver if it was all right if I played with his dog and he was perfectly happy about it. Every time the dog broght the dog right to me, rolled it to me gently and then did a play bow to let me know he was ready to have it thrown for him again. Eventually, he met up with a couple of other dog friends and went merrily chasing them down the beach. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun felt so good. What a lovely morning!

Gigi and friends, and Gigi inhabits my dreams

(Above, Ray on left, Gigi on right, Below, Gigi)

Especially since I have begun working more intensively with animals, they often visit me in dreams, or appear in my head as I wake up or go to sleep. One of the cats in the shelter has appeared several times this way.
Her name is Gigi, and she's a sweet little kitten about three months old. Many times the animals which we take into the shelter arrive needing medication of various kinds, because often these are the animals which the kill shelters would otherwise euthanize. Gigi and her two cage-mates, Ray and Layla, have colds and ringworm, which we are treating with medication. I offered Reiki and hands-on healing to these animals connect with them in hopes of helping their bodies achieve more balance so that they may heal more quickly. Gigi is a very friendly kitten, coming right to the front of the cage all the time, nuzzling in my hand, so I could not help but connect with her right away.
After giving the kittens their medication and some wet food, I held one hand directed at Ray and Layla, and the other directed at Gigi, and began to send them healing light. I began to feel energy pouring from my fingers. Ray and Layla, who were cuddliing together, looked even more cozy and closed their eyes. Gigi, who is usually active and rubbing herself against my hand, laid down on her side, as I felt a golden energy passing from my fingers to her body. That image and that feeling is so strong in my visual and feeling memory right now. It is an image I can return to at will and can help me if I'm at the shelter and having trouble focusing (which can happen, as it is busy, and sometimes hectic there).
The next morning, as I opened my eyes, I saw Gigi come running up to me in my mind, so full of life. It really took me by surprise and was such a lovely feeling to wake up to. When I saw her and her friends later, I could really feel them welcoming and absorbing the energy work.
A few nights later, one of the long-time volunteers at the shelter, Marisa, helped me to give these three a medicated bath to help with their ringworm. Though Ray was a bit difficult to get out of his cage because I think he was startled as we had just put some shredded paper in his cage, all three seemed to really enjoy the bath, as we got the water just the right temperature and it was as if they were getting a gentle massage from Marisa and me in the warm, soapy water. This is another sense memory that remains so strong, feeling their bodies relax as we cleaned them. After we dried them off, they looked lovely, and I think the bath really accelerated their healing process as well.
That night, Gigi again appeared to me, this time in a dream, and she was doing forward handsprings over and over. She was so joyous! It was as though she was thanking me.
Over the past week or so, I have continued to give them their medication and work with them with Reiki and energy healing. Different days, I connect with one of them more than another, and each has shown me a different place where they would like me to put my hands. With Ray, he seemed to want me to hold my hands over the lower part of his body, near the base of his spine. And there was one day where I felt a particularly strong connection with Layla, a lovely black and white long-haired kitten, who has had a particularly stubborn patch of ringworm on her face. I held my hands slightly over her shoulders and began to feel intense energy passing back and forth between my hands and her body. I stayed there for quite a while, I could really feel her absorbing the energy into her body, as though she was craving it so much. She looked straight at me with a look that felt like thank you. The next day, I felt a tangible shift with her, and her fur has begun to grow back now on a particularly stubborn patch of ringworm on her face.
Though they all have a ways to go, I have noticed a shift with all three, and felt so much gratitude from them. Here's to their continued healing!

Vanessa the Hairless Rat

All kinds of interesting people and animals come into Social Tees shelter, and yesterday was no exception. A man named Gus came in with his hairless rat, Vanessa, who happily stayed on his shoulder as he walked around. One could see right away how connected they are with each other. (above and below, Gus holding Vanessa off his shoulder for a better look at her)

I had never seen or held one of these creatures before, and Gus was kind enough to let me hold her. When she was first in my hands, of course she was rather unsure of a new person. Her skin felt rather hot to the touch, was rather loose and was different than anything I've felt before.

I slowly began doing some little raccoon touches and clouded leopard touches down Vanessa's body, and felt her start to relax into my hands right away. I showed Gus what I was doing as well, in case he feels like trying it on her.

Many thanks to both Vanessa and Gus for allowing me this very new TTouch experience! It's always so interesting to try TTouch on a new animal.