I am lucky to speak to animals that are loved. For some, that wasn't always the case. Tania from Paws Restart, sent an image of a beautiful dog and said 'Hamish is such a damaged boy and incredibly stressed, I am not sure how to help him'. She has been rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming dogs for years and has stepped into so many heart breaking situations and known what to do, but she reached out for Hamish.
The mission of facebook.com/Pawsrestartrescue is:
To be the voice of dogs that have no hope. We need to pause, to stop the pain, to stop the abuse, to stop the neglect. We need to restart with hope, passion, patience and love. Rescue, rehabilitate and rehome.
Hamish shared immediately that his world felt chaotic - everything moving really quickly in all directions. I knew this was not his present moment reality - he was safe at a caring foster home. I asked if he could step out of the chaos and he flashed up a image of him pausing - looking calm and tired. We spent a short time together as I surrounded him in unconditional love.
Short communication sessions seem to work best for animals that struggle to feel safe. When we reconnected I asked if he could share anything to help his foster carers. He shared 'Don't look at me' and an image of him choosing how close he wanted to come. He also shared a mind movie of his head whipping round, expecting a threat to sneak up from behind him and being very small and far away - staying safe through distance.
This isn't a story of instant transformation. Hamish's story is about where to start and releasing all attachment to the outcome. Unconditional love may sound too simple to be effective, but it's at the heart of all I do. To be of most support to him, I have to let go of any need for Hamish to feel better and keep surrounding him in love regardless of what he shares or not. He gets to choose now. Before he didn't get to choose much at all and even a human gaze felt threatening. The mammal in him craves connection, yet his experience tells him to fear closeness.
As I am typing this, I am surrounding him in love and will do so every time I think of him. Pity doesn't help him and neither does disgust for how he has been treated. Love has the best chance of helping him find some peace and the curiosity to give human connection another go. When an animal shares flashes of them in a relaxed state, I feel they are inviting us to believe change is possible. He's surrounded in hope, passion, patience and love, so almost anything is possible.
x Suze