If you’re a dog owner, you’ll know that their particular needs and wants usually come up high on the list of house priorities. This is even more true of terriers, a breed which is generally pretty independent and not a ‘human pleaser’. They’re much more concerned about, in no particular order, walks, food, and playing. Then something happens when you’re ill, your feisty little dog becomes the perfect companion. It happened almost straight away. I’m not sure whether he could smell the cancer – certain breeds can do this – but they definitely know that you need their support.
For almost a whole year, my dog Sammy followed me around everywhere, he lay on the rug next to my bed, sat next to me on the sofa, and generally behaved as if his most important job was to comfort me and help me get better. I will never look at him in the same way again, and every time he is naughty I remember his incredible kindness, and generally forgive him everything!
The cat didn’t fare quite so well. Just before my diagnosis his skin started to get really bad. Endless trips to the vet didn’t resolve the issue. In my darkest hours, he started to look even worse – scaly skin with open sores and threadbare fur. He almost became a physical representation of what was going on inside my body. When my friend Christine came round – a Fire Prayer healer (see previous blog) – she explained that the cat was absorbing my illness to help me, and would get better once I started to get better. She placed her hands on the cat to try and relieve its skin discomfort.
It’s been a year now since the beginning of my breast cancer treatment, and six months since it finished, and the cat is now looking like a normal cat again – he’s regained his weight and his fur is looking shiny and healthy again. Did it absorb my illness? If he did, I am so grateful to him. He had just been an outdoors cat who had arrived in our garden looking for a home – given his selfless acts, he now has special status in the house!
Never underestimate the intelligence and sensitivity of your furry friends!
Healing Paths 