I met Katy in August 2009. Her family’s beloved Dachshund, Cinnamon, had passed in March and the family needed closure. Cinnamon was available for communication from the spirit world, and was very compassionate and loving in her words to her mom and her doggie companions. After communicating with Cinnamon, I worked with each of the remaining doxies in the home, helping them understand their grief and addressing the one or two other topics that came up.
Each of the three doxie-girls was mourning the passing of Cinnamon in her own way. The additional topics for each of “the girls” were interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them all… but Katy’s story captured my heart.
Katy
Katy had some grief, but only a portion of her sadness was related to Cinnamon’s passing. Yes, she missed Cinnamon, but there was something more. She was timid and a little melancholy and her confidence was low. The topic for Katy was her regular (and annoying) barking and yowling. Whether in the house or in the yard, she would suddenly start barking for no obvious reason, often staring out into space blankly.
When I asked Katy about the barking and yowling, she said “I have to do that because otherwise I’m invisible! Being vocal is the only way that I know I can be seen and won’t disappear.” This was an interesting perspective which her mom and I both had to ponder. Her mom commented “we do see you and we love spending time with you Katy, so why do you leave the rest of the family and go sit by yourself?” Her answer reinforced her earlier comments about being invisible, and the rest of our conversation illuminated the depth of her self-esteem issues.
At this point, Katy’s mom shared her experience of Katy since coming to their loving family seven years prior: Katy was adopted at four months old, and never seemed to totally integrate into the family. She would remove herself from the other dogs after a short period of play, would go out in the yard by herself for long periods of time, and in all the time she had lived with the family, she had never accepted the regular invitations to sleep on the family bed with her humans and the other dogs. To all of this, her rationale was that she had “reached her limit in expending energy to keep herself visible,” even though in every case her isolation was self-imposed.
Her mom and I talked with her at length about how welcome she is in the family, how loved she is, and how much the family appreciates her own unique self and would love to get to know her even better, if she would allow herself to open up. Katy helped me identify a couple of flower essence remedies which she felt would be helpful in supporting her emotionally in the next few weeks. I thanked Katy for being open and honest with us, and we ended our session.
Angel
About six weeks later the family scheduled another animal communication consultation, this time to help them welcome a new little girl-Dachshund into the family. Before meeting Angel, I was thrilled to receive an update on Katy and her doxie-sisters since our first communication session. Katy’s inappropriate vocalization (barking and yowling) had decreased considerably, and in the first week after our consultation Katy had accepted TWO invitations to sleep on the bed with the family! In every way, the family was seeing a more confident, outgoing, and happy Katy.
The newly adopted Angel had her own story to share. Within days of coming to the family she had become very ill with pneumonia and irritable bowel syndrome, and her depression was palpable. She had been in two foster homes since being relinquished by her original family and her ability to trust and love had diminished to nearly nothing by the time she came to her new forever family. When I was introduced to Angel her short-term and long-term prognosis was still uncertain. She had been out of intensive care for just three days and I felt strongly that we needed to help her regain a will to live. Katy to the rescue!
The Dachshunds’ mom suggested that we ask Katy to take an active role in nursing Angel back to health and to show her the ropes once she was feeling well. Darling Katy, who just six short weeks prior was questioning her own viability in the family, said – quite enthusiastically I might add – “I’m ON IT! Leave Angel to me. That’s going to be my new job!”
Sure enough, the update in the next consultation in mid-November was astoundingly positive. Angel’s physical health, demeanor and zest for life was improving daily. Angel said “I’m 75% good and will be 100% very soon.” Her re-found joy for life glowed from within her. She had become “Katy’s little shadow” as their mom explained, and the piddle pads that had once carpeted the living room because Angel refused to go outside without extreme coaxing, were gone. Katy had something to say too – she was *thrilled* with her job of helping Angel learn her way.
Today, just four months after I was introduced to this remarkable family, the once-timid Katy with very low self-esteem is full of life, fully integrated into the family and relishes playing with the other dogs and humans. She is sleeping on the family bed every night, no longer isolating herself, and she barks only when a squirrel or cat happens by and catches her attention. The “wall flower” has become the center of attention and her job of mentoring Angel continues to be performed with expertise, love, and enthusiasm.
Written with permission and input from the loving mom of Katy, Angel, Danke, Clove, and Cinnamon.
