I may have told some of you about the sale of my house back in PA falling through due to mortgage problems with the potential buyers. One of the things that made me look to the Rehoboth Beach area again was that sale falling through.

After I heard the news from my realtor, I was a bit distressed, to say the least. I wanted to reach for a snickers bar, but didn’t have one in the house. Probably a good thing.

What I did have is April and Shyla, my little bichons. Unless you have pets, you probably have no idea what I am referring to. My girls came over to me, one on either side, and we shared our sad little moment together. April made me feel loved with her kisses and Shyla allowed me to rub her belly. For Shyla, that was a big thing at that time.

Ben William said, “There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.” And I agree.
The love from my girls brought me around pretty quickly and I went on to do what needed to be done with the change in moving plans—notifying the would be landlord, changing the requests for utilities, letting my helpers know that everything was on hold. And then, start unpacking.

Of course, that non-sale turned out to be a good thing, because I re-evaluated my plans and ended up here, where I was supposed to be.

Pets can do wonderful things. They can sense what our emotions are and they react to them. Feel down, they know how to bring you around…a little extra loving or maybe play time or a walk. In a good mood and they are ready for anything fun. Sick? They know how to lie quietly as you get better. That’s exactly what April & Shyla did after the accident last spring. They made my limited movement a little easier to put up with.

Simply put, they are great companions.

But our animal friends do many other things too. Have you seen what therapy dogs can do for autistic children? Sometimes through therapy animals, autistic children can express feelings that are impossible to express in other ways.

Or how a visit to an elderly home by a therapy dog or cat cheers up the residents? Many times is gives them a reason to continue going on. Many of these homes now have “resident” pets.

Do you know the benefit horse therapy does for special need children? The joy they express while riding is amazing to experience.

It is a proven fact that our good hormones rise when we are around animals, and it doesn’t take long at all. Our pets enrich our lives.

And how about all the ‘working’ animals and what they do for us? They open doors and drawers for the disabled. They notify the deaf when a phone rings or someone is at the door. They help guide the blind and pull wheelchairs.
Reading to Dogs is a program to encourage kids to read, often kids who have problems reading will gladly read to a ‘listening’ dog.

There is another program that helps to rehabilitate prisoners by teaching them to train shelter dogs. The dogs are then ready for adoption and the prisoners are changed for life.

We all have heard of the stories how a dog or other pet saves a family by alerting them about a fire or other hazard. There are many other types of incidents where an animal has saved their humans by their alertness. Sometimes at the expense of their own life….

And there have been other incidents where animals in the armed service have assisted in hostile situations. There are several programs to bring these “animal soldiers” home as many are still in hostile areas. Police dogs are used for many things, drug and chemical weapon identification. Search and rescue is another very important gift that they give us. Some animals have been trained to detect illnesses like cancer or alert for potential seizures.
Dogs are amazing. I’m sure cats, and all other sorts of animals are too, but I know dogs.

There are many books & movies about animals and all they give to us. True unconditional love. Dozens of books abound about the stories behind service dogs, shelter dogs, military dogs, police dogs and ‘house’ dogs and the lives they save. One great book is “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein. It’s told from the dogs’ point of view and the spiritual insights you will find very interesting.

Here is a reading from the Science of Mind magazine with more about this relationship we have with dogs: If you have rescued an animal, you may be able to relate:

My name is Murphy, and I have asked Rev Bob to let me talk to you. Rev Bob thinks I am a rescue dog and that he saved my life. He thinks I am a twelve-pound Lhasa Apso. He needed to think he saved me because he could not save himself. He suffered from the condition of ‘separation.’ The truth is that he felt closer to me than God. I think I was able to help him because he saw the spark of God in me. Bob had fallen asleep, and I was on the path to his awakening. Often, people in his state of mind come to rescue shelters. They think they are there to rescue an animal and don’t realize that they are there to be rescued. They look through the cage doors at discarded lives and don’t see that they have discarded their own. They don’t see the invisible prison in which they live.
Bob had slipped from a ‘being’ into a ‘doing’. Living in a state of doing had robbed him of a great deal of his life. When we lose sense of beingness, the heart beats with less vitality. Eventually, life’s warmth seeps out and is replaced with apathy. Fortunately, Rev Bob had a God awakening. I love the Dog in him, and he loves the God in me. I just wanted you to know what the unconditional love of a dog can do.

Wise words from Murphy.

Many time I have seen a statement along the lines of ‘there’s a reason d o g is GOD spelled backwards. Think about it.

I have my own rescue story. Many of you are aware that I use an animal communicator to chat with my girls. Kelly McGinley does a wonderful job getting messages back and forth between Shyla, April and myself. It’s a way for me to feel as if I have an understanding between the three of us.

I’ve used a communicator for many years now and with many of my dogs. It is a wonderful way to make sure you understand what is going on with them in every way. So, it was with a communicator that I found out that my one Bichon, Graycie, had brain cancer back in 2007. I was already familiar with cancer as I had completed my first 5 years of breast cancer remission.

Speaking to Graycie through the communicator, we figured out the extent of her cancer and what Graycie wanted as far as her treatment was concerned, which was; no treatment. Just keep her comfortable, because the cancer was extensive.

She told me what to look for when she was ready to go and that’s what we did. And when it was her time, she and I spent some close time together before helping her over the Rainbow Bridge.

But another thing we learned while communicating was that Graycie took that cancer for me. Instead of me developing cancer again, she took it. She said it was important for me to complete my mission, to continue on with my Spiritual Journey.

So, I’m here today because of Graycie. Do I believe this, yes. I personally know people who have gone years without cancer only to have it return and in some cases, lose that battle.

I love that dog and miss her very much. She, more than any of the other dogs I have had or fostered, taught me unconditional love. And how to give that unconditional love to others.

Sometimes I wonder if how we are with our pets is our Truth and what would be different if we showed that US to everyone? I certainly try to be unconditional to everyone, but know I’m nowhere near what our pets are when it comes to that.

Erica Jong said, “Pets come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new pet never replaces an old pet; it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many pets, your heart is very big.”
SO what’s the message here? There are at least two very important ones that I see: The Power of unconditional love is one, and the reminder for us to recognize and honor the gifts that are given to us, no matter where they come from and no matter what form.

Here are some more suggestions from our canine friends:
Live in the moment, Overcome fear with love, Don’t hold grudges, Play every day,
Jump for joy when you’re happy, Accept yourself, Enjoy the journey, Drink lots of water
Be loyal and dependable,

Give your pets an extra hug today when you go home.