Pets are Talking

Sebastian Redecorates

From time to time, I come across kitties that want to redecorate. They are nearly always male, and nearly always a wee bit snarky. 

Sebastian is one of these fine fellows. He knocks over his mom's stuff all the time. 

This is Sebastian with his buddy, Oskar. 

I asked Sebastian about the knocking over of stuff. 

I said, "Sebastian, why do you knock things over?"

He showed me a couple of cylinders. I thought maybe they were pillars of some kind, like very modern pillars that you could put a candle on top. It turns out they were cylindrical containers that Caroline uses to store binder clips and push pins. 

He said, "I don't like these. They should be in larger groupings, and in odd numbers."

 He showed me a cluster of 5 or so pillars standing together. They did look quite stylish. 

Caroline laughed when she heard this. She said that she always thought her cat was giving her interior decorating advice. 

I wonder if there's a market for cats like this, and also, I wonder if this is why my cat knocks jewelry off my dresser! 

Trixie's Not Sure What to Make of the Other Side

Trixie is a Southern Belle of a cat, the beloved kitty of Melissa. 

Melissa made the difficult decision to put her to sleep. Melissa called me. She missed her so much. Could I make sure that Trixie was all right?

Most pets cross over without a problem, but Trixie didn't.  Trixie didn't want to leave Melissa. She felt that Melissa needed her. Trixie was deeply anxious.

When pets have passed away, if they choose to not cross over, they are in a deeply anxious state, and their owners feel it. These are the owners that say, "I don't know why, but I'm not getting over this." or "I'm so sad. I didn't expect to be this upset."

This is not to say that it's abnormal to deeply grieve a pet. To be an owner of a pet that hasn't crossed over is to feel a deep state of anxiety, not just a deep sense of loss.

It's very rare, though, to encounter a pet that hasn't crossed over. 

Trixie hadn't. She didn't want to leave Melissa. Melissa needed her. She didn't want to leave.

I told Trixie that she could come back, in spirit, and help Melissa once she crossed over.  Trixie said, "Okay, I'm just going to say goodbye."

I emailed Melissa to let her know that Trixie hadn't passed over. Melissa said that she had a dream that she was fat and full and happy. This was healing for Melissa. 

Trixie on the Other Side

So, I checked in with Trixie a few days later. Most pets, on the other side, are filled with joy. Their spirits are light. Trixie didn't feel that way. She felt, well, crabby. 

I said, "You crossed over, right?"

She said, "Yes."  

I said, "Okay. What are you up to?"

She showed me a cottage with a passel of little old ladies playing cards. There was some light classical music playing. Trixie sat on an antique table. 

This, too, is VERY DIFFERENT, than the typical cat experience (which is full of cats and catching things, and being outside in beautiful weather). 

Trixie said, "My helper said that when I want, I can stop having a owner, but I'm not ready. I need an owner." 

I showed her how to visit Melissa on earth. She was afraid to jump down. I've never felt fear with a pet that's crossed over. Trixie seemed so alienated. 

So, I've been working with this modality called "Theta Healing". I go up to talk with God, and ask him to heal whomever I'm working with. It requires some deep meditation, but I am happy that I can do it. 

I went up to talk with God. I said, "God, Trixie needs help." 

God said, "Yes, she does. That's why I sent her to you."

I burst into tears. 

Please understand. I don't mean to say this in a conceited way. I mean to say that it is hard for me sometimes to believe that there is a plan or that there is a destiny or that we are called to do what we do.  It's hard for me sometimes to even believe that there is a God, although I talk with this benevolent spirit often. 

So to hear, "Yes, she does. That's why I sent her to you." was to feel a puzzle piece click into place. 

God said, "You need to tell Trixie that she can do whatever she wants. She doesn't understand this." 

Ah! Okay. I can do that. 

So, I went to Trixie and said, "Hey, you can do whatever you want." 

I showed her a few things that I thought she'd like. I showed her that she could grow herself up to 60 feet tall, or she could imagine and create bowl after bowl of food. I showed her that she could chase and catch things. I showed her that she could go to Melissa. 

It dawned on her that she could really do anything. Anything. Really. 

"I want to go to Melissa," she said. She was excited. 

I said, "Okay. You know how to step down."

"Yes," she said. "I do." 

And there she went. 

St. Francis of Assisi- An Instrument of Peace

Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint for caring for animals. 

St. Francis could talk with animals, so I feel a special affinity to him. He was also gentle and kind. I like that too! 

Here's the St. Francis Prayer 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

This prayer was first published in 1912, and probably was never uttered by the man himself, I find it a gentle reminder of what I'm supposed to be doing here.

We all come to different realizations about spirituality and religion. I hope that you aren't offended by me sharing something from my spiritual tradition.  

I'm a Universalist, which means that I find value in every spiritual path. Whether you experience the divine through prayer or through a walk in the woods or through your own powerful self, it's all good.  

Okay, so here's the song I sing on St. Francis' Day. It's a silly little song but I think it speaks to the universal holiness in all of us! 

All God's Creatures Got a Place in the Choir

All God's Creatures got a place in the choir.

Some sing low. Some Sing Higher.

Some sing out loud on a telephone wire.

And some just clap their hands, or paws,

or anything they got now.

Allie's emergency

Please note: All of the photos in this blog post are courtesy of Lisa Teso, an amazing Portland-based photographer. Thanks Lisa! If you need pictures, her site is here: Portland Child Photography

Katie and RIchie have a knack for finding super-cool spotted dogs. Their dog, Makani is a Visla and Australian Shepherd mix who is so fleet and fast that it's hard to count her spots. 

They started looking for a playmate for Makani, and found a sweet dog named Allie Pocket.

Here's when Makani and Allie met. 

They've since become buddies.

Allie's Early Days

Allie is about four months old. She was at a shelter from her puppyhood, then stolen by someone for about six weeks, then dumped back at the shelter. Then she was adopted by Katie and Richie.

In the same week that I heard about the theft of Allie from the shelter, I heard about a completely unrelated dog shelter thievery in another state. This dog was brought back and dumped too. Very disturbing. 

Allie Contracts Parvo

Anyway, Allie's new family had her about a week or so, when she got sick. During that time that she had been stolen from the shelter, she had picked up the Parvovirus.

Parvo is about 80% fatal in puppies who are not vaccinated, but only 20% fatal in those who have been vaccinated. 

She had been in the local hospital's ICU for a couple of days when Katie called me. Allie was to the point where she wouldn't even lift her head up anymore. It looked like the end. 

Katie said, "Could you please talk with her? I'm not sure that she knows what's going on."

I tuned into this little pup. She felt very sick, and she had the energetic distortion that comes when a soul is disconnecting from the body. I had only felt this a few times before, like when a friend's cat caught a baby bunny in the yard,  and we helped that bun pass over. 

Energetic distortion feels terrible to the communicator. It feels like you're touching a live wire. It's not a good sign of prognosis. 

She was also quite scared, though not scared to talk with me. That was an encouraging sign. 

Allie didn't understand why she was at the hospital or what these people were doing to her. 

She felt sick, but she thought that maybe these people were making her that way.

She knew that Katie was really upset, but she thought that it was because Allie had been taken away from her and put here in this place and Katie was trying to get her out. 

She missed her new family, and she thought that she'd never get back home to live with them.

She was giving up. 

I sat with her a bit, in my mind. I just gently sat with her, and then I said, 

"Well, actually, your body is sick, and these people are here to make you better, and when you feel better you get to go home to your mommy and daddy and Makani."

She said, "I don't know how to make myself better." 

I said, "You don't have to know. Your body will do that on your own."

She paused for a minute, and then she asked, "Do you think I will get better?"

I knew the odds against her were pretty high. But, I felt like she'd make it. 

I said, "Yes, I think so. I think you will get better and then you will go home and it will be very good." 

I sent her pictures of her playing in the yard with Makani, and snuggling with Katie and Richie. 

Allie said that she didn't like the smells of this place, and that she missed the smells of her family. I told her that I'd ask Katie to bring in a t-shirt or a blanket that smelled like them. 

Then I disconnected for a few minutes. I was feeling sick to my stomach from her parvo.

I tuned back in, to find a lighter, happier dog. She felt more hopeful. The energetic distortion was gone. 

Allie Turns the Corner

Allie made the choice to stay. She asked the questions and took the brave step of believing that she could get well.

That night, Katie visited and Allie lifted up her head, and ate some food. Katie gave her a blanket that she had rubbed all over Makani and Richie and herself. Allie buried her nose in it and soaked in all those good smells of her family. 

The doctors went ahead with a plasma transfusion.

Katie hired Ming and Candy at Reiki Fur Babies to provide healing to Allie.

Ming said that Allie told her how much she loved her mama. I burst into tears when I heard this. Sweet little puppy. 

Allie Goes Home

I didn't hear from Katie for a day or two, and then I got a note saying that Allie was home! 

She is still possibly contagious for the next 10 days, so they've cordoned off half their house, and separated these two bouncy dogs. 

But..Allie is home, and she is recovering and soon she and Makani will get to play together. 

Reading of the Week: Scruffy

This is Scruffy. 

Scruffy is kind and sweet. Scruffy is awesome.  Scruffy barks a lot. 

That's Trixie, there, in the background. 

Scruffy is a cairn terrier/ poodle mix.  You get this kind of dog when you want a challenge.

Cairn Terriers have iron wills. They like to get their way. They drive to closure.

And Poodles? Poodles are smart. 

So Scruffy's owners, Bridgette and Chona, did everything right with this dog. They trained and socialized her. They spend quality time with Scruffy.

But, Scruffy, you know, she barks a lot. So Bridgette and Chona asked me to help.

I have never heard a dog talk as fast as Scruffy. Nor have I ever seen a dog narrate her story with pictures so well.  It was like The Wonder Years.

Here's a snippet:

Bridget: Let's talk about barking at people outside. 

Scruffy: Oh my god, it's so fun! 

Bridget: it's fun? 

Scruffy: It's great. They see me. They think I'm awesome. Some walk by just to see me!

Bridget:  So, are you telling them to go away? 

Scruffy: I'm telling them, "This is my house and I am awesome!" 

Bridgette and Chona confirmed that their neighbors do, indeed, walk by to see Scruffy's little face in the window!

Dogs that are raised with love and confidence building activities are so quick to say, "I am Awesome." They know that they are a wonderful creature and they act accordingly.

What a gift we give our dogs when we do this for them. 

We're getting the barking under control at Chona and Bridgette's house, without limiting the extent of Scruffy's awesomeness. 

I'm back...

Thank you for being so patient with me. And thank you, clients of mine, that have asked me to talk with their pets in the past six weeks. I think I'm through my funk.

The statistics are still there.. Bad stuff is happening to animals every day. 

But... good stuff too. And as long as God sees fit to bring puppies and kittens and foals into this world, I'll be here to talk with them, and to bring peace and comfort and understanding to their owners. 

There are a couple of things that clicked with me in the past month, that made it okay to come back. 

A few weeks before my rant, I had put a request on "Help a Reporter Out" for positive stories about dogs. And the day after I published my rant, I got about 20 stories from people, saying "Let me tell you about my dog." 

Those stories brought me such hope. I'll be posting them during the next month on Olive's Heroes. 

Ed's Better

And then, remember Ed, my horse. My elusive and sweet horse, the one who doesn't trust anybody, including me? Remember him? 

He's not much of a talker. 

Remember his story? He was severely abused by his previous owner. He chose to deny his training and his gifts and ignore or fight all humans. So much so, that he narrowly escaped the slaughterhouse. 

And we've had four years to change this attitude, and very little luck. I mean, he didn't hate me. We were kind of friends. He liked it when I visited. 

I've struggled all summer with him. He is very happy in his field with his buddies. He has a new girlfriend. She's a palomino with some Fjord in her and the longest eyelashes I have ever seen. But, he didn't want much to do with humans, to the point where he had to be tricked and bribed to be haltered. I would reach out to pat his shoulder and he would twitch at best, and move away at worst. 

I've met so many kind horses, at peace. Horses that actually like people. 

I worry about what will happen to Ed should anything happen to me. Every horse should be ridable and somewhat amenable in case the person who pays their bills gets hit by the beer truck. Not that I'm planning on any beer truckage in my near future. 

So, I asked my friend, Sarah Tymeson, of Healing Horses, to work with Ed's energy. She worked on his energy at a subconscious level. I wasn't sure what to expect. 

She said that the first time she worked with him, he told her that he believed that all humans were evil. She asked him if he was willing to give up that idea. He said NO. 

The second time, she worked through a bunch of energetic issues with him. She told me that she got about half-way through his belief that humans were evil. She told him there were two kinds of creatures on this earth that pass for humans: humans and humanoids.  And that if he felt that humans were evil, okay, but did he know that Bridget was actually a humanoid?  He thought through that logic and said OKAY.

She told me this and I wondered what I'd see in his behavior. 

I carefully walked out into the field with my bag of carrots. He approached. He looked different. His eyes were clear and soft. He took a carrot out of my hand. He and his buddies crowded around me. There were about seven in the field, and they hadn't worked out their new hierarchy, so there were lots of hooves flying and teeth biting, and me yelling "HEY!"

Luckily, Janie, the barn owner brought out a box of apples, and everyone but Ed and his girlfriend went for them. 

Ed let me pet him without twitching. He followed me around the field, even when the carrots were gone. He let me scratch his neck and then he groomed me. He nibbled my shoulders and my arm. He chuffed my hair. He was at peace in my presence. This is what I've wanted for four years. 

I said, "Thank you, Ed." 

and he said, "You're welcome."

I said, "You know, Janie is a humanoid too." His head went up. He wasn't having any of that. 

So we're halfway there. 

Many thanks to Sarah for changing Ed's mind. 

If you are at a point with your pet where things need to change and you're not sure how to get there, try animal communication, try reiki, try other forms of spiritual or energetic healing, try respectful training. Don't give up on your friend. 

The right modality is out there, and working together with your pet, your relationship can strengthen.

And one more thing, If you need to work on yourself...work on yourself. There's no shame in that. 

Your animal communicator is back. I'm here for you and your pets, and I'm looking forward to a new good time. 

So, if you want to hear me talk to animals...

Check out the latest 3 Bitches Barking podcast:

http://www.3bitchesbarking.com

And then, tune in on Sunday for our next show. 

Pets Deserve Better (or why I haven't been writing in my blog)

So, it's been awhile since I've posted on this blog. I think this is because I'm thinking about the people-pet relationship differently than I was, even a month or two ago. 

I like animals. I love animals. I think they are funny. I think they are life-changing. I try to express all of that here. I think, also, that animals show us how incredibly flawed we are. 

I am tired of feeling like there are two kinds of owners in the world. Those who treat their pets as companions, friends, kindred spirits, and those who treat them like objects, annoyances, accessories, problems. 

Because those who treat their pets as companions don't need my skills so much. Sure, I can help, but with time, they are going to get the answers from their pets anyway. 

Those who treat their pets with less respect, they need me, but either won't hire me, or don't understand what I'm saying to them. 

My message, over the last year, has been enthusiastic and positive, but the voice inside me lately has been saying things like, 

"Jesus Christ, lady, telling your dog it's a bad dog over and over again at the dog park isn't helping any of us." 

"Since when is hitting a horse with a farrier's rasp a form of communication?"

"If you wouldn't say that your kid is fat in front of him, why are you saying that about your cat?" 

"Hey, asshole, breeding more Pit Bulls? What about the ones down at your shelter?" 

Granted, none of these are to my clients. My clients are wonderful, loving people. 

I don't want to preach to the choir. If you're reading my blog, you get it. 

I don't want to blast the rest of the world with my anger. People don't like me when I am angry. And if you don't like me, you are certainly not going to listen to me and treat your pet better. 

Pets Deserve Better

So, while I am rethinking my message, I've been working on some projects. 

I started Olive's Heroes to raise money and awareness about the awesomeness of dogs from rescues and shelters.  You can find it here: http://www.olivesheroes.com . 

I've been podcasting at http://www.3bitchesbarking.com.

I've been working, providing intuitive counseling to people. This is interesting. You can read more about that here: http://www.bridgetpilloud.com (Definitely check out my blog). 

And I'm still working with animals and teaching animal communication. I'm not leaving it. I'm just trying to figure out how to take a message to the world about the value of pets. 

Because Pets Deserve Better.

 

Shitty Little Dog Syndrome

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE little dogs. I was just talking to two sweet little guys tonight at the Hotel Monaco. What I don't love are dogs that suffer from Shitty Little Dog Syndrome. 

These are bitey, snarly and rude. 

On Thursday Night, I presented a 5-minute slide show about how You can Stop Shitty Little Dog Syndrome. 

Here's video of it. It's hard to tell sometimes what I'm saying. And one slide, you can't see what it's about, just some guy in a swimsuit. On that slide, I'm telling people to not confuse Shitty Little Dog Syndrome with Distorted Sense of Entitlement (that appears only in humans). 

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this little, silly video. 

Click here to see it: Bridget's Presentation

My little Buddha just ruined my rug...

You hear it all the time, right? 

Animals are special. Animals are holy. Animals are evolved spiritual beings. They're here to show us our purpose. They're here with a message for the planet. 

It is hard to keep this in mind when your little Buddha has just done his business on your new rug. 

Why this dichotomy? 

Pets are like people. When pets are born, a wise soul merges with a new body. This body may be a perfect fit, with a brain predisposed to a wise countenance, letting the soul shine through. 

Or, not so much. 

Animal Communicators can talk at the soul level or at what I call the person-to-person conversation level. 

At the soul level, we're talking with the soul of the animal. We may be talking about purpose or learning or past lives or God or philosophy, etc. 

At the person-to-person normal level, we're talking about what they like to do and what behaviors they'd like to get rid of. 

It's easiest to direct connect to a soul when the animal is in heaven, because you don't have the body run interference. 

I know an animal communicator who once sniffed to me that she only talked with the animal's higher power. 

That's great, but it's not the higher power that just did that your rug. 

Some animal communicators can also talk with your pet's angels! I only do this when I'm trying to get as much information as I can on a lost or dying pet case. I figure that the angels are there mostly for your pet's soul's benefit. They have enough to do without having to talk with me!