We’ve got a two-week trip to Mexico coming up and my biggest concern is making sure my horse, two cats and guinea pig are looked after well while we’re away.
But taking care of my animals while I’m away, doesn’t just involve meeting their physical needs. What about their emotional needs, their anxiety over where we are, why we’ve left, and when (if ever!) we’re coming back?
We cannot just assume that animals understand these things, or that they won’t notice, or care. Or assume that they’ll be fine until we return.
As many people have already experienced, animals can experience severe distress and even anger (cat peed in your suitcase, or dog diarrhea’d around your house lately?) when we go away.
Horses may not be able to express themselves as strongly as house pets, but you can be sure they can experience the same fear or anxiety if we just take off without letting them know where we’re going, why we’re going and when we’ll be back.
So HOW do we communicate this to our pets in a way that they can understand? Animal communicator Nedda Wittels has made an excellent step-by-step instruction sheet that you can download here that will show you exactly how to communicate your vacation (or business trip) plans to your horse or other animals both before you leave, and while you’re away.
As Nedda writes, “When clients have used these techniques, they have consistently reported success. Here’s the true story of the woman and her bird who motivated me to develop these techniques.
Kathy has many birds and a regular helper to take care of them. While visiting Hawaii, her helper called to say that Pidge, a rescued wild pigeon, had stopped eating. Kathy asked me what to do. When birds stop eating they can sicken and die very quickly. I gave Kathy the “While Traveling” instructions, which Kathy immediately began to use. Kathy’s helper saw a change in Pidge the very first time Kathy used the technique: Pidge became more relaxed and began to eat. Everyone was relieved and Kathy was able to enjoy the rest of her trip while “visiting” Pidge daily.
Whenever Elaine took a 3-day weekend trip with a friend, her cat, Marie, would ignore her for 24 hours after she returned. I suggested Elaine follow the instructions for “Before You Leave”, telling Marie where she was going and with whom, when she would leave and return, and about Marie’s care while Elaine was gone. When Elaine tried this, for the first time ever Marie didn’t “scold” Elaine when she returned. Instead the cat greeted Elaine as if she had been gone only a few hours, rubbed against her legs, sat in her lap during the evening, and slept with her in bed that night, all of which was their normal routine.
If you have to be away on a trip, give these methods a try. You may find that not only are your animals feeling better about your being away, but you, yourself, may feel more comfortable with the idea of traveling and leaving your animal family members at home.”
Thanks Nedda for shining your light and sharing your gifts!
Jini Patel Thompson is a natural health writer and Lazer Tapping instructor. She began riding at age 2 in Kenya, and got her first horse at age 8 in Alberta, and so continues a life-long journey and love affair with these amazing creatures.
