Several months ago I was having a phone conversation with my friend Lynn about things we stress and worry about. She was giving me examples of the type of things she worries about and included the statement, “I worry about whether I should have my dog's eyes taken out…” Now there’s a sentence I’ve never heard in all my years, so I interrupted her and asked what she was talking about! Lynn explained that two years before, her six year old Basenji, True, had developed a degenerative eye condition and was gradually going blind. True had undergone extensive testing and veterinarians were unable to find any underlying cause so they attributed her condition to immune mediated disease. Tests did reveal that the degeneration in sight was the result of damage to the nerves caused by extremely high pressures in her eyes (glaucomic events). The vet felt the pressure must have been causing True discomfort, probably something like having a constant migraine. There was also extreme inflammation in both eyes causing redness and further discomfort. The vet prescribed steroids and anti-inflammatory oral medications and eye drops.

While the steroids and anti-inflammatories helped some to reduce the pressures, True continued to experience spikes in pressure which continued to damage the nerves until finally True became completely blind. At this point the vet felt that continuing with steroids was not the best course of action and recommended either removing True’s eyes or giving her injections in the eyes that would ultimately deaden the mucous membrane where the pressure built. While neither treatment would heal the underlying cause of her disease or restore her sight, they would resolve the pressure issue and relieve the pain she was experiencing. Had he given the injections before True went blind, the injections would have caused blindness. Lynn chose to try the injections because she did not feel that removing the eyes was a good option. Shortly after True received the injections, I spoke with Lynn and she told me it would be some time before they would know if the injections did the job and she was concerned that while the pressure issue might be resolved, the underlying cause, i.e. the immune mediated disease, was still an issue. There was no noticeable change in True’s demeanor: she was still basically a couch potato and not playful. I offered to give True long distance Reiki treatments, since she is in California and I am in Michigan.

We scheduled the first session at a time when Lynn was home with True so she could tell me how True reacted during the treatment. While I was sending Reiki to True, the word “despair” came to me very strongly. I chose not to tell Lynn this at the time because I knew it would upset her, she was doing everything she could for True and I felt confident the situation was going to improve. When I spoke with Lynn after the session, she said True had been in her usual vegetative state the entire 30 minutes. I took this as a sign she was accepting the treatment, particularly since she’d sent me a message as to how she was feeling emotionally.

Lynn also told me that the morning after the long distance session, True jumped onto the edge of Lynn’s bed which she hadn’t tried to do for 3-4 months because she had difficulty judging the height of the bed. Lynn took this as a good sign that her spirits were lifted and she felt better after the session. True was also more excited about going for her walk that morning, another encouraging sign.

I next gave True 30-minute sessions four days in a row while Lynn was at work. We spoke at the end of the four days and Lynn reported that the only change was that True had jumped up on Lynn’s lap one day (while True normally will sit very close to be petted she does not sit on Lynn’s lap) and that morning ran back for a toy as they left for their walk, something else she had never done. I was pleased because these seemed to be signs True was feeling more playful and must therefore have been feeling more physically comfortable. An interesting event was that for two days out of the four I did sessions for True, I felt pressure on my eyes! This is something I had never experienced before or after and I felt I was being gifted with feeling what True had been experiencing for the past two years. Such long-term, constant discomfort would certainly be cause for despair.

I continued giving True Reiki sessions twice a week and during that time Lynn reported subtle changes in True’s behavior. In one e-mail to me she said True “seems to want to run a bit in the morning and she's not sleeping as much -- she stays awake between the time I come home and bedtime. She's also a little more cuddly and wants to be petted more. I do think she's more comfortable than she was a month ago.” Later, Lynn reported she wasseeing definite changes in True's behavior. True was taking more interest in her toys, sitting with Lynn more instead of in a chair across the room and hopping and skipping more than she'd ever done, like she was really excited about stuff, be it a treat or going for a walk.

A month later, the vet confirmed that the pressures in True’s eyes were within normal limits and True could be taken off the steroids. True still had inflammation in the eyes for which she was to receive anti-inflammatory drops.

This was wonderful news. When I started working with True I wasn’t sure what would happen, since I had never before tried long distance sessions on an animal, only on humans. I continued with the Reiki treatments and Lynn has reported the redness caused by inflammation in True’s eyes is reduced and she continues to be more playful and alert. True’s response to the treatments gave me the confidence to try long distance sessions on many other animals, and all have had positive results!

I will continue to give True sessions every other week to maintain the excellent progress that has been made so far. The reward in knowing an animal who was in pain and seems to be now pain-free is really immeasurable.

About the author: Nancy O’Donohue is a Reiki Level III Master/Teacher in Fennville, Michigan who treats humans, pets and horses in southwestern Michigan. Please visit her website at www.LakeshoreHealing.com.