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Dog’s death was not owner’s fault

An interesting story was recently made known to me; so I thought I'd share it with you. I have a client who is a massage therapist. She helps me out with my back whenever I'm in need, and I help her out with her dog when she's in need. Well, whether it was coincidence or divine intervention, it turned out that we began this bartering relationship about a week before my back went out (which is a story all unto itself. . ., it involves a birthday, rollerblades, and a baby -- you figure it out!?!). This story was relayed to me during the course of my back treatment, which involved rest/ice/and anti-inflammatory medication interspersed with massage to remove the knots and muscle tension in my back and periods of hydro-thermal-massage therapy (aka - hottub with water jets built into the seatbacks) and stretching. My back's in great shape now thanks to Kris from Healing Hands. A good friend of Kris had a 1 year old medium sized female mixbreed dog. One day she let the dog out as she normally did, and the dog went off exploring back in the woods surrounding her home, also, as it normally did. However, on that day, she did not return. Searches were unsuccessful and the shelters didn't have her, so after a few days she decided to call in the help of psychics. The people she called refer to themselves as `animal communicators' and claim the ability to receive messages from animals telepathically. She called 4 or 5 of these people in various locations throughout the country. Of this group, one reported receiving messages from her dog which, in retrospect, seemed to be on the right track. The communicator, Maria Austen from Pottstown, PA, told Theresa (the dog's owner) that she was "close by, on or near her property" and that she was "in a hole and couldn't get out." A few days later, Theresa called on Maria again, and this time the psychic was not getting any signals at all. Theresa's search continued in desperation accompanied by a turbulent storm of emotions and thoughts which will invariably accompany such a loss. Here her dog was involved, which many people often care for and love as though it were their own child. One can only imagine what a person goes through when they actually "loose" a child. But for Theresa, this was just as devastating. With the help of her friends, she finally found the dog two and a half agonizing weeks later. The state in which she found it did not help matters. She was found beneath a low lying branch of a tree in the woods behind Theresa's home. She was dead. Her collar was on the ground next to her, and her body had already been decomposing for a while. What exactly happened can only be left to speculation. There were no visible wounds or signs of trauma. Unfortunately an autopsy was not done, so the cause of death remains unknown. Were the early signals of trouble and subsequent lack of signals received by the psychic accurate reflections of this dog's struggle and death. Who knows? What my friend/massage therapist Kris did know, is that for the last few months her friend Theresa has been wracked with GUILT, and Kris reached out to me in a search to help her friend in need. I instantly offered her this solace. There is no way she could have, or should have, anticipated this course of events. After all, the dog had made a regular routine of going off on daily treks through the woods. This is something that virtually all dogs love or would love to do if and when given the opportunity. If it were the first time she was allowed to go off on her own, such personal guilt might be understandable, but in this situation no blame or fault is justifiable. In times of loss, our souls struggle to make sense of situations. All too often raised to assign blame and fault to things, whether to ourselves or others, we often miss the mark. Regardless of what mysterious chain of events transpired to end this dog's life, that is now in the realm of history. Nothing can change it. The only thing that matters now is what you do about it now. Do you think your departed friend looking down on you from her new home wants to see you suffer? I think not. What lives on is the love you shared, and this is what must be cherished and held above all else. Yes, mourn her physical loss, but celebrate the love you shared which will forever have its place in your heart. And be thankful that you have good friends who are willing to share your pain and extend their help and support in times of need.