Animal Therapy

"Animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." 

~Pythagoras~ 

Those who know me, know I believe that animals are just as much a part of our lives as children are. They are living creatures we can bond with and nurture and provide us with endless joy and support. In 2006 , I earned the Animals Care Specialist Certificate from PDCI (now Ashworth College).  All my life, animals have been both a responsibility and a source of comfort and healing for me.  

Currently I have a 7 year old female brown tabby named Savannah.  She is my emotional support animal and diabetic alert cat.  I've had her for over 6 years of her life.  The way she came to me is a story I think is worth telling.

While I lived in Tucson, Arizona, I began going through a patch of deep depression.  I had left behind all my cats and my dog had been given to his previous owner because the stairs were getting too much for him..  My lovely partner said she would get me a cat and so the search began at the shelter.  There we held and asked about older cats but decided to go with a beautiful little buff colored tabby kitten.  His eyes hand't even changed colors yet. He was a ball of energy and reminded me of one of the cats I'd left behind.  I named him  Ty-Foon.  As sometimes happens with animals, he chose his human and that was my partner.  So we looked again.  

That is when I found this older kitten, very scrawny, huddled up in her cage.  The volunteer said she purred all the time.  I held her for about 20 minutes and decided to take her to the play room.  She seemed very sleepy and as I examined her (Yay animal care training). I noticed she had some sores. So I scratched lightly and most of the scabs just fell away, it was clear they were not flea bites or hot spots. I asked where they had gotten her from and the volunteer said she was found in the desert (the Sonora Desert). Then I got to her back feet.  I noticed something like a thorn sticking out of her ankle and as I tugged at it, (the kitten purring the entire time) I was shocked to see a large cactus spine emerge from this tiny kitten.  I found three more of these spines, each about 2 inches long.  No wonder she purred all the time!  She was in pain.

Between her emaciated state (barely 4 pounds at 7 months old) and finding the spines in her feet, I decided the kitten simply listed as "brown tabby" was coming home with me.  As with all good shelters, they required she be spayed before coming home. Shortly after coming to my home and meeting the other cat, Savannah (named for the arid grasslands her brown undercoat reminded me of) began to run and jump and climb.  She ended up creating a hernia from her spay surgery.  After an expensive repair surgery, she was finally able to come home for good.

This is where things take a turn.  I had been diagnosed with diabetes and had a strict schedule of taking medications. Sometimes I would be really ill and this intuitive kitty came and snuggled up on me.  Sometimes I would forget to take my medications and she would come and tug on my elbow skin until I woke and took the medication.  She still does this and goes to my insulin and medicine  bags and makes sure I am awake to eat a regular intervals.

Savannah has saved my life more than once by alerting me to low glucose levels.  But she doesn't just help heal the physical. She has been helping with the emotional since she came home with me.  Shortly after I adopted her things in my relationship went bad.  For a long while the only thing that kept me going was the fact that I had this beautiful, affectionate, playful little animal that needed me to take care of her.  When I am anxious or sad, my now 12 pound cat, will come and lay along my ribs, hip and thigh like a weighted blanket providing a soothing sense of pressure.  She purrs and is warm and I can feel her breathing and that soothes me.  

She is not the only animal in my life that brings me peace and joy. I watch my dad's dogs now and then.  His Miniature Australian Shepherd is a ball of wiggly energy but she is also very cuddly and likes to lay her head on me.  His American Bull Dog mix is 90 pounds of joy that is also very sensitive and smart. He loves to get scratches and lean against me.  Some of the places on his body feel like suede and that is a soothing sensation.    My sister has two amazing dogs that love to see me and a beautiful Russian blue cat that is occasionally willing to rub against me.  But I love her rats the most.  While they look very different from the ones we had growing up, these girls are the most affectionate, intelligent animals I've come across in a long while.  They even gave me a thorough bath yesterday (just my hand but it was a cool sensation).  They bring me joy and make me feel like I have a purpose.

Even wild animals or animals that are typically viewed as emotionless can be fascinating and comforting.  I have had the privilege of being around snakes, cows, cats, dogs, reptiles, turtles, fish, a caracal, sheep, goats, chickens, deer, horses, camels, elephants, wolves, pea-foul, parrots, and even young tigers.  I have touched, held, or fed all of these animals (yes even the fish).  I have also had the honor of being able to observe wild animals like deer. moose, elk, coyote, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, owls, hawks and eagles, cranes, Herons, javelina, horned toads, ravens and others. I find watching and interacting with these creatures to be comforting.  It an be entertaining, exciting, scary and so intriguing to watch the way these creatures move, play and socialize. 

Even on my craziest, mentally overwrought, stressed out days animals are able to focus me, soothe me, and bring a smile to my face.  

In Genesis, the Bible made man stewards over the animals.  This means we are caretakers of them.  I think while, animals often need our help and we are responsible to make sure we do not abuse them or misuse them, we are often being cared for, in return, by our animal companions.  Whether they are our own animals, our friend's or family's animals, or wild animals, they give back to us in ways that medication and therapy cannot.

So the next time you are lonely or upset, check out some animal videos, watch and listen to the birds and squirrels, pet a friends animal or go to a shelter and spend some time with the animals there. (Shelters need volunteers to walk and socialize their animals.) Let the animals in your environment heal you with their antics and energy or let them give you a purpose by becoming a caretaker of animals and a friend to wildlife.

Any time someone tells me "It's just an animal."  I think of all the ways animals hep us by being our food, our clothing, our protectors, our pest control, our entertainment, and our dearest companions.  Healing comes from many sources.  I have found some through animals. I hope you do as well.