Will Heppy See Ghosts on Halloween?
Once in awhile my English Springer Spaniel Heppy looks up the stairs and wags her tail in a friendly greeting. But, there is no one there. What does she see or hear? Bacall, her sister, will bark a greeting long before a visitor turns into the driveway. Neither of the girls have slept in the spot favored by the senior Springer, Cagney, although she crossed the Rainbow Bridge almost a month ago. Are animals psychic? Do they possess senses that alert them to people and things we do not see or hear? Pet grief counselors counsel that there is a “phantom pet”. This is a pet that can be glimpsed and/or heard by owners soon after pet loss. Halloween can be a sad holiday and a haunting experience for our pets as well as pet owners. Dr. Michael Fox calls these unexplained phenomena “psi-trailing”. Cesar Millan says dogs communicate through energy. And, Fox believes this process is the result of a higher state of sensitivity. “The mind can “feel-see”–using the whole body to receive and transmit”, he writes. Fox calls psi-trailing “a sixth integrative sense which lies latent in all of us to be rekindled as we rediscover our kinship with all life and the true brotherhood of mankind.”
Whether or not we believe in the spirit world of positive and negative forces and energy, Halloween is a holiday we should share with sensitivity and extreme caution–especially when it comes to our pets. It’s not just chocolate and raisins and glow sticks and costumes we need to fear when our pets are involved.
Fox also believes that the closer the attachment, the more vulnerable and responsive the animal will be to his owner. He calls this relationship “sympathetic resonance”. Cesar uses layman’s terms and calls it “balance between people and dogs”.
Dr. Fox believes we must be cautious about prescribing animals for the emotionally handicapped since animals will be harmed. If the owner is depressed, angry, paranoid, over-dependent, or insecure the animal may also feel rejected, afraid, anxious, and/or uncertain. It may become a fear biter or develop diseases ranging from epilepsy and heart disease to cancer.
Note: It was interesting to find a connection between the views of Michael Fox, English-educated veterinarian, and the understanding of Mexican ex-groomer/now TV famed dog whisperer, Cesar Millan. It is as if they speak a universal language in their kinship with dogs and life. Both are worthy of our respect as they seek to help us make the world a better place. By the way, I met Dr. Fox in Williamsport when he was invited to speak there by the late Margaret Meghan, then president of the Bald Eagle Kennel Club. No one ever said no to Margaret!
A MONSTER LIST ON LONG ISLAND: A VETERINARIAN HOPES IT BECOMES CONTAGIOUS. Suffolk County has just passed legislation creating the nation’s first animal abuse offender registry. People convicted of animal cruelty within the county have their names placed on an online list of offenders that is accessible to the public. The bill’s sponsor argued for the registry based on evidence that found animal abusers and those convicted of domestic violence are often the same people. The bill was prompted by a recent increase in animal abuse cases, including that of a mother who forced her children to watch her torture and kill kittens and dozens of dogs and then bury them.
Oct 31, 2010 | | Uncategorized