Honey’s story
Whilst caring for my beloved Mr Eric (who was severely fear reactive when he came to me as a foster dog from Romania); I had a dream that one day i would set up a small sanctuary for misunderstood rescue dogs (and their caregivers). Many dogs with extreme trauma end up at risk of euthanasia due to the lack of resources and support available for them and their families. Well…, as a friend said to me recently the universe works in mysterious ways and although i do not have the resources to set up a physical sanctuary, it occurred to me today that in many ways my dream is gradually coming true …just not in quite the way i imagined it would.
Today was my second visit to a beautiful girl called Honey. She is a rescue street dog from Bosnia who met her human guardian angel in 2015 when she travelled out to Bosnia to help care for the street dogs. When Honey was found she had a deep open wound in one of her back legs and was totally emotionally shut down. However, in survival mode, and desperate for food thankfully she was discovered by the lady who is now her guardian and for whom it was love at first sight. Once home and as Honey began to trust that she was safe, the full extent of her trauma became apparent as all her anxieties came to the surface to be seen. She was extremely timid and fear reactive, and caring for her required the usual enduring patience, compassion, understanding and commitment that is so important to dogs such as Honey. Her family worked their life and routine around her needs and although tiring, Honey was doing well and making good progress. However, all this changed when the family adopted another dog and it was clear that she just could not cope. Previously her main anxieties were outside of the home, and inside she was happy and settled and coped with her human family leaving her to go to work. However, this all changed with the new dynamics, and Honey developed severe separation anxiety which meant that she howled loudly and constantly whenever left. Her caregivers were at their wits end and despite trying everything they could think of, and spending a small fortune on behaviouralist support, nothing changed. The stress began affecting everything including their health and relationship, and finally came to a peak when they were advised that their only option would be to have Honey put to sleep.
At this point Honey’s caregiver was of course desperate and decided to explore reiki. Following just one session her progress has been incredible. Honey led the session which as always went completely at her pace. She relaxed and released a lot of trauma and energetic blocks, and today three weeks on…, I was met at the door by a completely different dog. Honey was confident, playful and relaxed, and her family have been able to take her off all her anxiety medications. She is now coping absolutely fine with being left and I could feel the incredible relief and joy of her guardian as she told me the progress that had been made. The power of this gentle therapy never fails to blow my mind. Combining energy healing with mindful presence and animal centred care to meet an animal exactly where they are at, and to build trust and connection allows an animal to deeply relax, release energetic blocks and heal at the deepest level. Honey also seemed to have a physical problem with her mouth that was causing her discomfort, and this too has disappeared since her first treatment.
Today she greeted me like an old friend and very quickly settled into her therapy session again deeply relaxing and releasing. As always i feel so deeply humbled and blessed to be able to work with such courageous souls as Honey and help them release their trauma and pain and discover the life of peace that they deserve.
