Newsletter Article

By Lexi and Mike Hayden

A few years ago, we began volunteering to walk dogs at the local Humane Society. This led to an interest in fostering and rehabilitating one dog at a time, rather than spreading our energy among large groups of dogs for very short periods of time. Both of us had lived with dogs for a good part of our lives-including the third member of our family, Shakti, a 4-year-old Shiloh Shepherd. Fostering showed us the important role Reiki plays in the rehabilitation process, as illustrated by our first three foster dogs.

The Tough Guy: That was Buster Brown's reputation. He never backed down and was quick to protect himself in the face of real or imagined slights. The strategy had backfired, though. He'd been labeled by the staff as "hard to place" and possibly even (that dreaded word) "unadoptable." As the weeks turned into months, Buster Brown languished in his run. Toughness and hope drained from him until, in the end, he gave up eating and even responding to humans who approached. This is the condition in which he entered our home.

The Wallflower: Jade's run was the third on the left as you entered the corridor. Eagerly, she raced to the front of the run whenever a potential family opened the corridor door, wiggling her small body mightily and barking nonstop. "I'm here! I'm here! Notice me! Pick me!" Ironically, it was this very enthusiasm that put adopters off.

"Aggressive," they would muse. "A barker," they would mutter and walk on down the corridor. Jade was cute, in a desperate sort of way, if you looked past the hyper efforts to please and be noticed. A Katrina dog, she was so afraid of thunderstorms that she had been found one morning by the staff wandering her corridor, paws torn and bloody, having somehow cleared the six foot, wire-topped wall of her run during a nighttime storm. Yet the little wallflower had never given up hope. Her desperation to be liked and to please was evident when she came to us.

The Optimist: Cody had seen his share of ups and downs in his four years of life. Somehow he had wound up homeless, wandering the city streets. Picked up by animal control, he was miraculously saved from near certain death when spotted by a volunteer who rescued Golden Retrievers, and subsequently adopted out. A few weeks later he was back in the same animal control kill shelter, surrendered by the very owner who had adopted him from the rescue organization. Rather than face embarrassment at having to return him to the rescue, this person had dropped him off at animal control, reportedly because he "pulled on the leash" when walked.

Cody's heart had been cracked. Not broken, because Cody was the quintessential optimist, but badly damaged. In his wanderings, Cody had contracted heartworm, body mirroring spirit. He came to us with a smile as big as a carved pumpkin and a determination to survive and get on with this thing called life.

Rehabilitation and Training

When a dog has experienced heat stroke, its body temperature must be lowered very gradually and carefully monitored so it doesn't drop too rapidly or too low. The risk is that the dog may go into shock, become hypothermic, bloat or experience other serious complications. Conversely, if a dog has experienced severe hypothermia, it is dangerous to attempt to raise the body temperature too quickly, as it can be both painful and possibly lead to system shock.

Similarly, when Lexi, in her role as trainer, receives a foster dog, she is careful. Rather than immediately providing an overabundance of the elements that have been missing in the dog's life, she slowly proceeds to right the listing body-mind-spirit ship. Carefully, she restores equilibrium and balance to the dog's life. Food was not forced down Buster Brown's throat, but rather offered in small amounts from her gentle hand, accompanied by positive encouragement.

Jade was not smothered with toys, kisses and affection upon arriving at our home, but was slowly shown that she was in a safe haven, protected from life's storms. When thunder boomed outside, Jade was in the room with Lexi. Rather than being comforted when afraid, Jade saw Lexi going about her business, taking no notice of the turbulence outside. When it was time, Lexi began to work on transforming the phobic behavior into relaxation and calmness. She worked on replacing the old ways with a new balanced and calm way of being.

The challenge for Cody was to temper his can-do spirit, allowing the exercise that his vet deemed appropriate while still reinforcing his optimism. Lexi did this by devising a regimen of non-strenuous training emphasizing the mental rather than the physical.

No description of the rehabilitation process would be complete without describing the part that Shakti, our dog, plays. We believe that Shakti is a healer of high order. She acts as a role model, shares her positive energy and gently helps to coax her houseguests out of behavioral habits that are counterproductive to their well being.

The Role of Reiki

The role that Reiki played in the rehabilitation of these three foster dogs illustrates the principle that Reiki flows where it is most needed during treatments. Mike has the sense that for each of these dogs, Reiki healing was concentrated on a different facet of the body-mind-spirit triad. For Buster Brown, Reiki assisted in healing a damaged spirit. In Jade's case, the emphasis of the healing was on helping to remove fear from the mind and restore confidence. Cody's mind and spirit were strong, but his body needed repair, and Reiki energy assisted in that repair process.

However, the role of Reiki in the fostering situation is even more profound. As stated in Kathleen Prasad's book Animal Reiki, "Reiki transforms the understanding of what is possible within the human/animal relationship. Reiki brings healing not only to individual animals and people, but also to the human/animal bond, thus healing the interconnectedness of all living beings." Buster, Jade and Cody had suffered at the hands of humans. Reiki helped each of them regain their trust that humans are a species with whom they can cohabit and share life happily.

Buster Brown, Jade and Cody now live in their forever homes. Videos showing Lexi with them when they were well on their way to complete rehabilitation can be viewed by clicking on these links:
Buster Brown: www.busterbrown.webs.com
Jade: www.jade2love4ever.webs.com
Cody: www.codygolden.webs.com

About the Authors:  Lexi Hayden is a dog trainer and member of the International Association of Canine Professionals.
You can contact her at Lexi-Hayden@comcast.net.

Mike Hayden is a Reiki practitioner (animals and humans) who received his Animal Reiki Training with Kathleen Prasad.
You can contact him at Michael-Hayden@comcast.net.

Shakti, a Canine Good Citizen, has earned three Trick Dog Certificates and has her own website complete with a blog, links to her YouTube videos and much more.
Visit her website here: www.shaktishiloh.webs.com.

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