As a pet companion I have experienced several times when pets have pushed past their own perceived characterizes to help teach a person what they need to hear in the moment. On day one of any new pet assignment, it is about listening to your animal companions with my ears, eyes, what I am feeling or sensing in my body and the thoughts that come quickly in as nine out of ten times it is from them. They too are beginning an inventory list of who I am through my energy, smell, and what they sense about me….

Whether the death is a companion animal or a person, many of our animal friends respond very similarly to us in dealing with the passing of a loved one as well as in other sometimes unexpected ways. I recently met a lifelong friend’s senior canine six weeks after the passing of my friend’s husband. Both my friend and the canine are working through the challenges…

The many versions of play according to a local canine friend came through on a recent outing. When we think of this activity in regard to them, it often comes associated with a ball in a backyard game…

During my last blog, I wrote about the more introverted or reserved cats. I would like to share an experience from my perspective with a family of feral kitties that I had the opportunity to meet…

The mysteriousness of cats for many people is the way they choose to not venture forth into contact with us when we walk in the door. They experience so much in the form of vibration. We as a species tend to walk in fast, purposeful ways with heavy steps….

There are those that saunter about until a special scent catches their attention – and then look out as you could get knocked off your feet! Some can spend fifteen minutes sniffing all the aromas of a neighborhood field like a delicious smorgasbord…

Now introduce a puppy who at times he is teaching about various forms of play, what is allowed versus what’s not in doggy terms, and even ways to defend herself. I am seeing the patient big brother side that did not show up in the other interactions, but I can also see the other little kid brother appear when he is tired, or he is missing…