Just the Weather
We know that people can have emotional and physical responses to changes in their environments, so too can our pets. Imagine an area you consider your own space being torn up, a temporary fence being put up, a mechanical malfunction causing the temperature to rise inside your home, the addition of temporary air conditioning units and fans being used, and the noise level increasing as a result. Now add to that environmental myriad of events, that your elder canine buddy (the leader of your pack) goes away for a few days to keep him safe, your human family goes on vacation, and your typical routines are disrupted.
How do you think you would handle it? Would you be calm, crazed, frustrated or possibly ill? In the human world we may say there is a lot of drama taking place. What about in the animal companion world?
For one dog, she discovered that her world was flipped upside down when all the above took place. Unlike her other canine sister who took things in stride, she did not digest all these changes well on an emotional level which triggered a variety of physical responses from her digestive system for the first few days. An additional unlikely reaction took her to the elder male feline for support and guidance as the only other alpha in the household.
As a pet companion visiting with the animal beings, even knowing a few of the changes does not automatically equate to understanding every aspect of the way the pets will respond when I show up. Think about it, often our muscle memory is linked to ongoing situations, repeat actions, typical routines, our vehicle, the route we take to get somewhere, and even the people in our lives. Now one or more of these components changes – what action or response you may normally take is out of alignment…your buddy isn’t there, your home doesn’t sound the same, the temperature is different, and who you would ask is not there. This dog’s muscle memory was in essence tied to her buddy who has always been there and the routines they had together.
From my perspective, it is good to know that this is her unique response for any similar future conditions. Not that we ever want to see our pets, kids, family members or friends sick or not behaving as they normally do, but it gives us a baseline. A quote by Pema Chὅdrὅn describes this situation and similar ones well, “We are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” We do not ever know what will land on our path, nor the length of time it will be there, but like the weather it will eventually pass.
We all hope that those in our life will take changes in stride or go with the flow as the saying goes. Yet we actually do not know ourselves, how we will respond until we come face to face with it on our own path.
In the case of my canine friend, she faced and overcame the weather along with her other animal siblings. For me, it took some observation, compassion, and understanding on my own as well as in connection with her people. I also incorporated some out of the box ideas in the form of frequency music, energy, and filling the absent elder pup’s bowl which provided a normalcy to the routines. I also utilized my intuition to help them all get beyond the bump in the road.
