Reiki is utilized in a number of ways for animals to help provide comfort and healing of pets that are scared, nervous/anxious, stressed, injured/recovering from surgery! Individuals have discovered reiki for their personal pets directly or in conjunction with veterinarians, and many shelters are utilizing this “energy healing” for domestic animals being taken care for and prepared for forever homes.
Reiki healing is growing in popularity and awareness of a new tool used in Unlocking Your Pet’s Potential!
We are delighted to share this article by Reiki Practitioner Jen Carle which shares the stories of Sully and Patrick!
In addition to your journey here, we invite you to learn about and share info about World Animal Reiki Day and the Shelter Animal Reiki Association.
About Reiki
When I say the word “Reiki,” many people associate it with energy. That is absolutely correct, Reiki, translated from Japanese, means “universal life energy” or spirit energy. Reiki is a holistic approach to providing physical and emotional health and wellbeing to all who receive it. There are thousands of Reiki practitioners who aid in the healing of humans but only hundreds who work solely with animals. I am one of the few who found my calling, my life’s purpose if you will, working with animals.
Reiki is not tangible in the physical sense, it is energy work and is experienced rather than seen by the naked eye. There are no negative consequences to healing energy. The energy is loving and non judgmental and is only used where it is needed. Reiki Practitioners have a spiritual practice where they develop a connection to the spiritual energy, and they are able to serve as a conduit to the energy and share the energy with the client.
My Reiki Path
I became a Level II animal Reiki practitioner this summer after several years of trying to take the classes. I’d known about energy work for decades and had benefited greatly from acupuncture and laser therapy. I was fortunate to have learned Reiki at a time when my work and personal schedule allowed me to go out into the world and practice it. That would not have been the case had I learned Reiki four years ago, as was my intent, the Universe guided me here when I was ready.
In order to create a private practice, I needed to work with fifty energy receiving entities. I chose to work solely with animals. Thanks to my open minded contacts in the animal welfare world, I was able to share my energy work in shelters, with animal rescue groups, as well as share Reiki through distance sessions with animal companions.
I was welcomed warmly, although there was some skepticism, which was I was able to shift after my sessions. When offering energy to animals, I created a space where the animal could come and go at their leisure in order to receive it or walk away from it; it must always be the animal’s choice. I relied greatly on the help of the already overworked shelter staff and volunteers in order to help kenneled animals become less stressed in their environment and become more adoptable.
During the warm months, I set up space outside near the water. I created a bubble of calming energy and asked the staff to bring the dog into the area and let them leave it as they so chose. I didn’t want to hold onto the leash myself while holding space because the animal would not fully be able to come and go and absorb the energy as they needed. I told the staff that there were signs to look for in the dog to show they were receiving the energy. I asked them to look for the dog licking his lips, yawning, and passing gas. I also told them that when the dog ended the session and walked away, he would also go to the bathroom and be very thirsty. The handler wasn’t able to see the energy flow, per se, but they could see the results of the work because of the tangible signs.
Along Came Sully
It was during one of my shelter visits that I met Sully. He was a high energy dog who was increasingly frustrated in his kennel. He was rambunctious and playful, and he was also mouthy and jumped up on people. Sully was deaf which was a great survival skill in a loud shelter environment, but staff had difficulty communicating with him to correct his unwanted behavior. Sully had broken his leg, and for his own protection, he was put in a crate in his kennel.
I went into the room where Sully was being housed and offered him Reiki. I sat down with my back to his kennel and offered him calming energy. Sully was highly aroused and barked continuously. Through Reiki, I told Sully I wanted to help him.
He quieted down, and very clearly he intuited to me that he needed me to get him out of the shelter. The exact words that I grasped were “get me out of here.” I promised Sully I would do just that, but he would have to spend another day in his crate so I could get help for him. He let me know that he was very unhappy about that, and I used Reiki to wrap him in a bubble of calming energy to help him relax.
The next day Sully was driven to my vet. I was given an empty exam room where I set up a Reiki area. I sprayed lavender to help promote calmness and spiritually cleansed the room so any lingering energy of other animal patients would disappear. Sully was brought into the room, and when I signed “hello” to him, he grabbed my arm in his mouth and shook it. I calmly gave him a toy to play with.
He then began alternating between mounting me and jumping on me. I sat down quietly and concentrated on sending more calming energy into the room. After a few moments, Sully sat down next to me and put his big head in my lap.
I started to pet him. He was accepting of my quiet touch for a moment, and then he tried to put my hand in his mouth. His behavior was not at all malicious in intent; he was releasing pent up anxiety. We sat together for about 45 minutes. I was calm, and he was not. But he was no longer anxious.
Reiki For A Broken Leg
Sully was sent to a veterinarian for treatment of his broken leg while he was at the shelter. My vet and I opted to leave Sully’s leg alone during his decompression period. We didn’t want to add anxiety to his already aroused state. Sully’s leg was stable in his cast, so before we started our sessions, we would play with toys and work on commands using sign language. Within 24 hours of being at my vet, his mounting and jumping behavior was already reduced by 50%. He was still quite mouthy, so I gave him a bully stick to chew on during our Reiki sessions. To provide healing energy to Sully’s leg, I incorporated the use of an amethyst heated mat which was literally a mat with thousands of amethyst crystals wrapped in layers of fabric. Amethyst crystals had been used for healing physical ailments for centuries. Heated, the crystals brought immediate soothing to joints and tissues and allowed increased blood circulation. As Sully laid on the mat, I offered healing energy. Sully was completely still during the treatments except for the chewing of his bully stick. We worked together using the mat and Reiki about three times a week. Sully always laid quietly until he ended the session and would get up and relieve himself in the opposite corner of the room.
After six or so sessions, Sully lost interest in the heated mat and preferred chewing on it. When I quickly put the mat away, Sully sat beside me and offered me his broken leg. He wanted me to touch his leg and send healing energy directly to the spot that was broken. My hand would get bright red on a number of occasions as I felt the healing energy being absorbed. There were times when Sully would end the Reiki session and then restart it. He knew how to use the energy and how much he needed.
During this time, Sully no longer mounted or jumped on me. He rarely mouthed me, and he very clearly felt safe and secure in his “bubble of love” that we created for him. He was eager to please and eager to learn, and he loved his Reiki sessions. He did allow for x-rays, and the break was more significant than we had thought, so Sully wore his cast for about four additional weeks.
Six weeks and close to thirty Reiki sessions later, Sully’s leg felt healed. No more energy was being absorbed to the leg, and my hand was cool. It was a surreal feeling telling my vet that Sully’s leg was no longer broken without the benefit of an x-ray or medical degree to back up my announcement. It was the spiritual nature of Reiki that allowed me to feel the wholeness of Sully’s leg.
The next day, Sully’s cast was removed, and I began massaging his leg with a mixture of lavender and sunflower oils. The oils were for relaxation, and the massages were to promote regrowth of cells and tissues through touch and energy. The massages reinforced the loving bond I had with Sully, and he demonstrated other areas he wanted me to touch. This ended up being his entire body. I rubbed his head to his heart and his heart to his hara (belly). I rubbed his legs. I rubbed the pads of his feet. Even after his leg was no longer atrophied and discolored from the cast, Sully asked for his massages.
Reiki in the Operating Room
I went to the Mid-Atlantic Reiki Conference in November and heard a Shock Trauma nurse speak of how she was allowed to go into the operating room with consenting patients and offer healing energy during surgery. There are no holistic approaches that ever fully replace allopathic care. We need Western medicine. We need doctors and surgeons and nurses and medications. Reiki works with these professionals to speed up the body’s nature ability to recover. Reiki practitioners in hospitals are a welcome addition for both patients and the medical staff.
Sully was physically and emotionally a much changed dog than when I first got him. He was ready to be neutered, and I was present in the operating room. I offered healing energy to Sully, but I also offered energy for steady hands to the veterinarian and his technicians. Sully’s heart rate stayed the same during the thirty minute procedure, and the entire process from receiving anesthesia to waking from it took fifty five minutes. Sully woke up when he saw me sitting next to me and offered a lazy thump of his tail before settling back in for a nap. Sully’s surgery was a textbook case, and even the vet said he felt refreshed.
Reiki For Fear
Once Sully was healed from his physical concerns, and we could take him out of the vet setting, where he had been staying for eight weeks, it was clear that he had some substantial fears.
He crouched when he saw birds.
He barked and lunged when he saw trucks.
He also began to be afraid of people he did not know.
He was ready to move into a home and out of medical boarding because he was physically well. Emotionally, he was not ready for anything.
I needed to help Sully gain more coping skills, but I couldn’t do it on my own. Because Reiki is spiritual, it was suggested to me that I call upon Archangel Michael to release Sully’s fear and cut the cord of worry from his body. Michael is often depicted with a painted sword over a pinned down demon. He is portrayed as athletic and intense. He is sent to slay fear and ego. Sully needed this badly. While rubbing Sully’s belly with the oils, I called upon Michael and asked him to pull away Sully’s fear.
I felt a light glowing and a warm feeling surrounding Sully and myself. Something inside of Sully shifted. It was his fear moving. Sully became very gassy; he was literally expelling his fear. The next day, he saw a stranger and barked and lunged, but he quieted himself down. Again, I rubbed Sully with the oils and called upon Archangel Michael when I massaged Sully’s belly. My hand was guided from Sully’s belly and into the air, where Michael spiritually took the fear and cut it away. Sully looked at me differently. He had a clarity in his eyes I had never seen before.
I continued asking Michael for help. I introduced Sully to new situations, and while initially afraid, Sully knew he was safe. He did not lunge. He only barked, and even then, it didn’t sound forceful. With the help of Michael and Reiki, Sully was able to meet a new person and not be afraid. He postured briefly, and then he saw she had a piece of cheese. Sully looked back at me once, and then he went off with this stranger. This adopter.
I will be continuing to call on Archangel Michael and doing distance Reiki with Sully and his companion. Reiki knows where to go, and all animals know how to use it.
I feel fortunate and blessed to keep supportive and open minded people around me. I know that Reiki energy makes a difference in the lives of animals and their people. I continue to learn more from animals than I ever knew possible. While I very much know to stay in the present moment and to cherish each moment as a gift, I am also looking forward to finding out where my Reiki journey takes me.
Patrick’s Story – Reiki During Eye Removal Surgery
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I was at my vet dropping something off, when I saw a post on Facebook from a vet tech asking for prayers for her elderly dog who needed to have emergency eye removal surgery. The dog, named Patrick, was in surgery, at my vet’s office, at that very moment. I asked her if I could practice Reiki on him during the surgery, and she agreed. Her 16 year old dog had an ulcer in his eye rupture on the Monday before Thanksgiving. He had surgery to repair it but then had complications from the surgery on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The vet and human realized that, although risky because of Patrick’s age, he needed to have emergency surgery to have that eye removed.
I was brought into the operating room just as Patrick fell asleep under general anesthesia. For the next hour and a half, I held space and offered Reiki energy to Patrick to heal, to the vet to keep focused and with steady hands, to the owner/vet tech to stay calm and grounded and to understand that this surgery was the best course of action for her beloved dog, and to the other assistants and students to keep a clear head and calm breath during the eye removal which was graphic but necessary. I heard voices during the surgery but did not process the words. I was too enveloped in the energy bubble I was giving and receiving. Once or twice I looked up when I heard an unusual beeping sound. No one seemed to pay the beeping any mind, so I closed my eyes and trusted that the sound I heard was normal in an OR setting. I intuited that the surgery was done, and Patrick was no longer given general anesthesia, so I gave thanks to Patrick, the room, and Reiki for allowing me to be a part of the healing process.
Reiki Supporting Patrick’s Human Companion
After I symbolically cleansed myself and gave continued gratitude to Reiki, I checked in on Patrick and his person. She was a vet tech, yes, but she was also Patrick’s companion, and they had shared many adventures during all the years they had been together. I showed her a breathing technique that was essential to me in keeping me focused and in the now.
Patrick post surgery
She thanked me and said she worried that she may have put unnecessary stress on Patrick. His ulcer ruptured and was operated on twice in five days, and she blamed herself. With the breathing, she was able to push away the energy of her spirit and stay grounded and remember that she did the best she could for Patrick. She felt her love for him and that, too, kept her grounded. With her permission, I sent an energy bubble in the shape of a heart around her and Patrick and left the hospital.
Patrick day 9 of recovery
The next morning, I checked in with her, and she said Patrick was up and walking around and had eaten a little breakfast. I reminded her of her breathing and added the Five Precepts of Reiki:
Just for Today:
1. Do not anger
2. Do not worry
3. Be humble
4. Be honest in your work
5. Be compassionate to yourself and others.
I also suggested that when she felt overwhelmed and unable to stay grounded that she watch Patrick. I told her to breathe with him if she could without hyperventilating or worrying that she was doing something wrong. My intent was to offer another way for her to feel connected to Patrick during his healing process.
Patrick’s Reiki Progress
Later that morning, I checked in with the veterinarian who performed the surgery, and he commented that he thought Patrick was having a difficult time with the initial recovery. I asked how long the typical recovery process from anesthesia was, and the vet stated 48-72 hours. I made a mental note that Patrick was eating and walking in less than 24 hours and held onto my intent that Patrick was making progress.
On the Monday following surgery, the vet read notes comparing Patrick’s first and second operations, and while Reiki was offered, Patrick’s heart rate stayed strong and steady the entire time. During the first surgery, Patrick showed an inconsistent heart rate that, while not worrisome, did require some adjustments to the anesthesia being given.
On the Tuesday after surgery, the vet confided in me that Patrick was recovering in half the time he was expected.
Five days, post surgery, Patrick was off all of his pain medications. Except for a bit of swelling and the sutures, he did not look or act like a dog who had a major operation. I was then offered the opportunity to practice Reiki for other surgeries in order to increase the healing process.
I feel fortunate and blessed to keep supportive and open minded people around me. I know that Reiki energy makes a difference in the lives of animals and their people. I continue to learn more from animals than I ever knew possible. While I very much know to stay in the present moment and to cherish each moment as a gift, I am also looking forward to finding out where my Reiki journey takes me.
For more information about animal Reiki or how to become an animal Reiki Practitioner, contact www.animalreikialliance.com.
Jen Carle is located in the Baltimore area. If you would like to contact her directly related to your pet click here to email her.