The Animal Reiki Handbook, by Kathleen Prasad and SARA Members

As the leading Animal Reiki educator in the country for the last several years, Kathleen Prasad is a silent but very powerful revolutionary in the field of holistic healing for animals. Her previous book, Animal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal the Animals in Your Life, co-written with Elizabeth Fulton, was the first to address this cutting-edge topic, and it remains the best.

Kathleen's latest mission is to support animal-loving Reiki practitioners who would like to ease the fear, stress, anxiety, grief, and sense of aloneness and helplessness that is experienced by dogs, cats, horses, and rabbits who, for various reasons, no longer have a home of their own, and are confined behind bars. Most are scarred; virtually all are scared.

With a scarcity of financial and human resources, shelters and sanctuaries are usually able to offer little more than kindness and the rudiments of physical sustenance to the creatures in their care. The animals' emotional and spiritual needs are mostly unmet.

Until now.

With other like-minded colleagues, Kathleen has founded the Shelter Animal Reiki Association (SARA), to not only teach an understanding of energy healing, but to provide a standardized approach to implementing professional Animal Reiki programs in shelters and sanctuaries, and to document the effects of this gentle intervention, not only on the animals themselves, but on the people who devote their days to caring for them.

The Animal Reiki Handbook: Finding Your Way With Reiki in Your Local Shelter, Sanctuary or Rescue, is the group's down-to-earth primer on how to introduce the practice of Reiki into a shelter environment, and what to expect from both the captive cats and dogs and the volunteers and staff, many of whom will be unfamiliar with Reiki, and even skeptical of the usefulness of this modality, whose benefits flow unseen.

According to The Animal Reiki Handbook, Reiki "can maintain health and well-being on the physical, mental and emotional levels, induce deep relaxation and stress relief, accelerate healing in sick or injured animals, or animals recovering from surgery, help reduce pain and inflammation, help reduce behavior problems and aggression, help animals heal from past mental/physical trauma, complement conventional and alternative therapies," and even "support the dying process."

And perhaps most intriguingly, it is the animals themselves who control the Reiki treatment process, "taking only the amount of energy they wish to receive."

The challenges of bringing Reiki into a shelter environment are formidable, and The Animal Reiki Handbook addresses them with realism and compassion. Not only are there noises and interruptions that require the practitioner to stay centered and calm, but there are aggressive dogs, terrified cats, and suspicious horses who may initially want no part of what they perceive as unwanted and even threatening intervention. And in certain shelters, there is always the possibility that the animal who is receiving a Reiki treatment today may be euthanized tomorrow.

The Animal Reiki Handbook deals with all of these situations with grace, and ultimately, with a gentle reminder to the practitioner that, "You are there to create a healing and harmonic energetic space, not only for the animals, but also for anyone and everyone who is within that space and open to healing." It is wonderful to contemplate how the quiet clarity of those called to work in shelters or sanctuaries as Animal Reiki volunteers will truly transform the lives of everyone within the range of their healing intent.

Talk with Animal Reiki Expert Kathleen Prasad during the August 31st "Conversations with Animal Authors" Teleconference

The next "Conversations with Animal Authors" teleconference will feature Kathleen Prasad of Animal Reiki Source, who will discuss her new book, The Animal Reiki Handbook: Finding Your Way with Reiki in Your Local Shelter, Sanctuary or Rescue, during a free hour-long call-in event on Monday, August 31st at 9:00pm (EDT).

Kathleen Prasad has been a full-time Animal Reiki teacher since 2002. In addition to The Animal Reiki Handbook, she is the co-author of Animal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal the Animals in Your Life, and has written many educational articles on animals and Reiki for holistic publications around the world. Kathleen's work has been featured in The Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Animal Fair, The Whole Dog Journal, Dog Fancy, Animal Wellness Magazine, Equine Wellness Magazine, and Natural Horse Talk Magazine.

From my own experience as a student of Kathleen's I can attest to her compassion and effectiveness as a teacher of how Reiki can be used to help and heal animals who are experiencing pain, discomfort, stress, or illness, or who are approaching the end of their lives. Kathleen's quiet presence unfailingly radiates a feeling of peace to both animals and people.

If you would like to learn more about Animal Reiki, and about the Shelter Animal Reiki Association, you can join the call by dialing 616-347-8100 and entering PIN #1063739. Long-distance charges may apply. If you can't be on the call but would like to hear the interview, I'll be posting a link to the audio within a few days after the event.

The Magic of Music for Pets, by Janet Marlow

It seems intuitive that music which sounds soothing to us, would also have the same effect on our animals. But is that true?

Well, yes and no, according to Janet Marlow's short primer, The Magic of Music for Pets: How to Use Music for the Well-Being of Dogs, Cats and Horses. Janet is an internationally known composer, with a special expertise in designing acoustically appropriate environments for dogs, cats, and horses. As she explains in The Magic of Music for Pets, "music for human listening does not guarantee behavioral calm and a soothing environment for animals."

This is true, in part, because dogs, cats, and horses (the animals most thoroughly studied by Ms. Marlow) are capable of hearing different frequencies than we are, and are most comfortable when sounds are within their optimal hearing ranges. Horses have a hearing range between 55 and 33,500 Hertz (Hz), which is similar to ours, while dogs (67 to 45,000 Hz) and cats (45 to 64,000 Hz) are capable of hearing sounds that are considerably higher.

So how can our knowledge of our animals' sound sensitivities help us to design music that will enhance their lives? It's here where Janet really excels, describing the process she used to create her CD series, Relaxation Music for My Pet and Me, and Relaxation Music for Horses: "When composing, I place the music in the register or octave range best suited to the animal. The final stage of the production is to digitally position the frequency range of the music directly in the middle of their hearing comfort zone to avoid any extremes that would cause an animal stress or make them flee from their resting place."

Based on my own observations of my Springer Spaniel, Tish, I can attest that Janet's techniques worked amazingly well in Relaxation Music for My Pet and Me (Volume 3). Within a few moments of my turning it on, Tish gravitated to the room where it was playing, and was soon fast asleep!

The earlier Relaxation Music for Dogs and Cats volumes apparently achieved the same results when Ms. Marlow tested them at veterinarians' offices, local shelters and rescues, grooming parlors, and private homes:

"I could see that dogs were resting within 5 to 7 minutes. Cats that were
out of view in the home came into the room with the music and curled up
to rest. . .Rescued dogs at the kennel diminished their anxious barking.
The recovery area at the veterinary hospital had a pleasant feel to it
and the staff commented to me that it helped them feel calm as well."

Similar effects were noticed when Janet played her Relaxation Music for Horses compositions at local stables. I found it fascinating that she modeled her equine music not on classical motifs but on country music, based on anecdotal reports from horse people who had noticed that their horses seemed to enjoy listening to Country Music stations when the radio was on in the barn.

Because the music in Janet Marlow's Relaxation series for animals has been composed and recorded with such care and awareness, it can be profoundly useful in easing the stress of separation anxiety, for example, or during thunderstorms, or for animals who fear getting into cars or trailers. These sensitively created CDs are a gift of peace for both animals and their people.

Talk with Janet Marlow, Author of The Magic of Music for Pets, during July 28th Teleconference

The next "Conversations with Animal Authors" teleconference will feature author and composer Janet Marlow, who will discuss her books, The Magic of Music for Pets: How to Use Music for the Well-Being of Dogs, Cats and Horses, and Zen Dog, during a free hour-long event on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 8:00pm (EDT).

Ms. Marlow is an internationally renowned composer, author, and authority on acoustic environments for dogs, cats, and horses. A recognized expert in the field of pet relaxation, she has appeared frequently on Animal Planet. She has studied the effects that jarring volumes and frequencies have on animals' mental, emotioal, and social behavior, ad has documented her results. Her series of CDs, Relaxation Music for My Pet and Me and Relaxation Music for Horses, have sold worldwide.

If you would like to learn more about how animals experience sound and how you can use music to enhance the quality of their lives and ease stress, you can join the "Conversations with Animal Authors" call by dialing 616-347-8100 on Tuesday, July 28th at 8:00pm, and entering PIN #1063739. Long-distance charges may apply.

I'll be posting a recording of the teleconference on this site, for those who can't participate live.

Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs, by Sharon Sakson

On a cold day in early April, 2003, I drove to Westchester Medical Center in New York to visit my sister, Janice, who was dying of liver failure. I didn't know that then, but I understood that she was gravely ill. Janice didn't have much of an appetite, and her memory was failing, and I can't remember everything we talked about during the last hours I spent at her bedside.

But one memory will never fade from my mind. It was when two smiling therapy dogs came into the room to bring some comfort to my sister. For those fleeting moments, Janice smiled and seemed to come out of her fog, even laughing with delight as one of the dogs jumped right up in bed with her, audaciously licking her face. Such is the power of dogs to bring joy into a person's life. And it is stories like these that Sharon Sakson has so eloquently told in her wonderful, life-affirming book, Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs.

Sharon chronicles the way in which dogs can literally save people's lives, whether they are recuperating from debilitating illnesses, suffering from undetected cancer, fighting unseen enemies in wartime combat, living with the ever-present threat of an epileptic seizure, wracked by unrelenting pain, plagued by plunging sugar levels from type II diabetes, or trying to live with dignity and independence while compromised by sight or hearing disabilities.

Ms. Sakson has an artful ability to grab her readers by telling them about one particular dog, and how he or she transformed the life of one individual person, all the while providing scrupulously researched sources and documentation to buttress some of the seemingly unbelievable successes of these remarkable canines.

Some of her stories are heartwarming, such as the one about "Mr. Gruffyd Babayan," an odd-looking, one-eyed Brussels Griffon who, as part of Westminster Kennel Club's Angel on a Leash program, makes weekly visits to Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan, in his role as an "Animal-Assisted Therapy Dog" to lend encouragement to children who have cancer, and heart failure and leukemia and broken bones. He's a particular favorite among physical therapists who have trouble getting their young patients to start walking again, after surgery. Mr. G.B. has an uncanny knack of being able to motivate children to get up and try to do what they think they can't do.

Other stories are groundbreaking, such as the fact that Bonnie Bergin at the Assistance Dog Institute (now The Bergin University of Canine Studies) figured out that dogs can actually be taught to read, in addition to the more than 90 verbal commands they can learn:

"For a person with a handicap, it could be useful to tell the dog, 'Exit,' and
have the dog look for and locate the appropriate sign, and then go there. The
same would be true for 'Restroom' or 'Park'. . .

So Bonnie wrote the words, 'Sit,' 'Down,' and 'Stay' on big sheets of paper,
and set out to teach her own dogs, Lexus and Keila, to read.

'It was straight classic conditioning,' Bonnie says. She showed Keila the Down' card, and asked her to lie down, and gave her a reward. Within one lesson, whenever she showed the word, Keila lay down. Lesson learned. Keila could read.

Using that method, she got the two dogs up to a 20-word vocabulary. An
unanticipated thing started to happen. The dogs started to learn new things
even better than they had before. They seemed to be able to conceptualize
and problem-solve, traits that would make them of even greater use when
placed with a person with a disability."

One of the most fascinating chapters in Paws & Effect is called, "If You're Sick, I'll Let You Know," in which Sharon tells the stories of dogs who seem to have a natural, uncanny ability to predict when a person is about to have a seizure, with near 100% accuracy. Ms. Sakson acknowledges that:

"How dogs detect an oncoming seizure in a human remains a mystery. Some
trainers and researchers think they detect subtle changes in their owners'
behavior or movements. Some think they can sense the 'aura' that precedes
a seizure. Or maybe they are aware that the brain waves of a person about
to seizure are substantially different from normal. But most researchers are
arriving at the opinioin that what is at work here is the dog's incredible power
of scent."

And there's growing evidence to show that dogs can actually be taught to recognize an impending seizure because the affected people give off a powerful smell that is undetectable to the human nose, but easily perceived by canines, who are believed to be able to detect scents 10,000 times better than a person, according to Dr. Jim Walker, head of the Sensory Research Institute at Florida State University. Trainers are now successfully attempting to harness this canine characteristic to educate dogs to detect not only epilepsy, but even ovarian and breast cancer, by sniffing the breath or urine of afflicted patients.

Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs is a great read if you're a dog lover, but it might be even more compelling if you're a skeptic about what dogs can do. Sharon Sakson has written a magical, inspiring set of stories that left me wishing for more.

Talk With Sharon Sakson, Author of Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs, during June 29th Teleconference

The next "Conversations with Animal Authors" event will feature Sharon Sakson, who will discuss her book, Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs, which was recently released in paperback, during a free-hour teleconference on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 5:30pm (EDT).

Ms. Sakson is a writer, journalist, television producer, Whippet and Brussels Griffon breeder, dog show judge, and Pet Life Examiner for Examiner.com. She is also a passionate dog lover and an intrepid investigator of the canine character and how dogs affect and change the lives of the people who love them.

If you'd like to learn more, or participate in the discussion, you can join the call by dialing 616-347-8100 and entering PIN #1063739. Long-distance charges may apply.

If you'd like to hear the interview, but can't participate live, a recording of the call will be posted on this site within a day o

Interview with Jenny Smedley, Author of Forever Faithful: Dogs That Return

Jenny Smedley is a well-known and highly regarded author, animal intuitive, past life consultant and angel communicator, based in the UK. In addition to Forever Faithful: Dogs That Return, she is the author of at least nine other published books, including Pets Have Souls Too, issued earlier this month by Hay House.

Jenny graciously agreed to respond to my questions about her intriguing book, Forever Faithful: Dogs That Return, reviewed here yesterday. She is pictured here with "Ace," the subject of that story.

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Maureen: Jenny, your book Forever Faithful: Dogs That Return tells the wonderful story of how your dog Ace came back to you as “KC.”

Many of us have longed to have a beloved animal companion come back to us. Is there anything a person can do to encourage an animal to reincarnate, or is it entirely up to the animal’s spirit?

Jenny: I don’t honestly think you really have a choice – it seems to happen naturally with those animals you share a special bond with. However, I think what you can do is to enhance the bond. You can do this like it says in the book: by tuning in and making a special effort to feel your pet’s energy and to notice when they seem to be reflecting yours.

Maureen: In your case, you were definitely not looking for another dog when you found KC, but an amazing sequence of events led you to her. How can we attune ourselves to have an open heart, and an open mind, so that we will recognize opportunities to be reunited with our animal companions in new bodies? And how will we know for sure that it’s really the same animal, when we meet him or her?

Jenny: I think this kind of spiritual openness comes naturally when you develop in any area of spirituality, and there are many paths that lead you there.

The very first thing I would do is to learn to meditate, because this is the key to an open mind. You can do it alone, or with the aid of a CD, or in a class of like-minded people – whichever suits you best. Then practice as much as possible. On top of that, read books that you’re drawn to, whether they be about angels or past lives – whatever draws you. Play with crystals and possibly divination cards – anything that gets your spiritual side thinking and moving. If you do get a sign or a message, put skepticism aside, and see where it leads you.

Maureen: One of your interesting discoveries was that animals who reincarnate do not come back as mere clones of their prior selves. Their reincarnation is a progression of their soul’s journey, and as such, we need to recognize that while the “new” animal has the same spirit as the one we knew, his or her habits or temperament or knowledge may not be identical to that which was embodied in the “old” animal. Can you elaborate on your experience with this?

Jenny: Though underneath it’s the same soul, it will be in a new physical body, with all the limitations or special talents that body is capable of. There is also a possible change of breed or even species, so for instance if you have a cat that was once a dog, the cat characteristics will occasionally be a bit "dog-like," etc. Be open to that.

You’ll find also that sometimes the pet will seem to have total recall of their past life, and at other times their personality will show new traits. KC knew everything that Ace knew, and recognized the people Ace knew, but she also had a new puppy perspective on fun, and as she’d had a better start than Ace, she wasn’t so timid. Having said that, there are times when she is nervous of the same things Ace was, but with no current lifetime reason for this.

Maureen: You also learned that even though Ace’s spirit had been reincarnated in the body of KC, you could still communicate with Ace! That was a new concept for me, and I’m sure it will be new to many of your readers. Do you feel that you are still in touch with Ace, even though KC is here, with you on earth?

Jenny: Absolutely – she still comes to visit in spirit. This is because all of us, human or animal, leave our greater part in spirit all the time. Our human/dog/cat, etc. part is very small compared to the whole. I find it of great comfort because this means that you and your beloved pet are never really apart, because there is always a part of each in spirit to be reunited with, even if their physical self is on the earth-plane. Likewise babies and young children who die are never really alone without their parents in spirit.

Maureen: At the end of your story about Ace and KC, you talk a bit about how we can hone our telepathic connections with our animals, and you describe the channel we use to connect as communal energy, explaining that we are all connected to everything and everyone on the planet. How can we better develop our capacity to communicate with and enhance our ability to be energetically in tune with animals we know, and even those whom we don’t know?

Jenny: By recognizing that energy travels between us and our pets, and that we can’t hide our mood from our pets like we can with people.

Start by trying a bit of telepathy. Be in another room from your pets and mentally call them to you. You’ll know when it’s working, because obviously they’ll come. Then mentally ask your pets what they’d like to do and see if they send you an image of it. If you don’t know an animal, just sit quietly without looking at him or speaking to him, and project a very calm mood. If the animal adopts the same mood and perhaps comes closer and sits or nuzzles you quietly, you’ll know they have accepted your energy.

Maureen: I loved your discussion of the fact that dogs are reflective of their person’s mood, attitude, personality, and mental state of mind. So much so that you attribute many of the behavior problems we observe in dogs to imbalances in the people they live with. You say: “the more badly behaved a dog is, it means the more unhappy their owner is, deep inside.” Animal communicators are well aware of the extent to which animals can mirror what’s going on with their people. How can we help our animals by working on ourselves?

Jenny: Use your pet as a barometer. Observe their behaviour and then look inside yourself. Deep within, where perhaps even you couldn’t see them, you’ll find your inner feelings. Most of us, most of the time are like a swan, all serene on top but paddling like mad underneath. So, for instance if your pet is being hyper-active and apparently "naughty," try calming yourself, slow your breathing and physically relax. After a few minutes you’ll find your pet is resting quietly. This is always the right energy to project, so work on it.

Maureen: And finally, you mention that you and your husband gradually evolved away from eating meat, as you developed a deep awareness of the suffering endured by animals who are raised to be killed for food. My own path is quite similar to yours, in that I no longer eat meat, and the seeds of my choice not to do so were planted while I lived on a farm where lambs were routinely slaughtered each fall for food. Have you found that your honoring of animals’ souls by not ingesting their flesh has changed you energetically, or taken your ability to communicate with them to a higher level?

Jenny: That’s a very good point, and yes I would agree on both counts. I am feeling animal’s thoughts more, but it’s especially noticeable with injured wild animals. An injured bird for instance, if you pick it up, will normally view you as a hunter (forward facing eyes) and so will assume it has become your prey and often go into shock and die. I no longer have that problem. Wild birds that I find injured remain quite calm and bright-eyed when I handle them.

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