Loving my new life
Posted by lisa on May 2, 2009
This was the view from my bed as I was enjoying my coffee this morning:
Click to see the northern pike on the line
Fergus and Smitty were so excited to be going they jumped all over me in bed. This is a picture of Ferg in the boat with us the other day:
Ferg modeling his Outward Hound life jacket
Though his tail is down in this picture, so he must have been momentarily nervous about something. There are lots of dogs on the lake, and we get told off a lot as we make our way around. We’ve also made some doggie friends on our walks.
I still don’t have a single new client in CT, but the non-work life part of life is pretty great. I’m going to be lecturing in equine anatomy and physiology at Bancroft School of Massage Therapy (where I was certified), which is also pretty great. I just need to get on the stick on the massage side of things.
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After long silence…
Posted by lisa on Apr 21, 2009
I am finally back. I’ve made a few changes (as if quitting your business job to work on dogs isn’t enough!) that will hopefully allow me to keep up with my blogging obligations.
Our new backyard
I moved to CT, where the dog massage logs are coherent. A little house on a lake, where the pups can swim and we can hear ourselves think. A ranch, which I thought was important to have for Fergus as he ages.
I live close enough to maintain my practice in Metrowest Boston.
And I took some time off from pet sitting, dog daycare and dog walking ( an enjoyable way to pay the bills, but even more time-consuming than my old office job) to get Lively Dog’s house in order, which I couldn’t find the time to do, as I get my little lake house in order. And part of that is blogging.
So, please stay tuned… upcoming posts include Facilitated Movement (TM), a new modality combining massage, energy, cranio-sacral, myofascial release, and Brain Therapy (TM). I’m learning it from its creator, Theresa Gagnon, and I’ve done some pretty cool things with it. Also upcoming massage workshops I’m giving, my foray into horse massage, and I’ve tried a few new behavior mod products that I want to share with you.
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Use the power of shopping for good
Posted by lisa on Nov 20, 2008
I stumbled upon this site today (via cuteoverload), where you can purchase products that are tagged either People Positive, Eco Positive, Animal Friendly and/or Supports a Cause. I’ve linked to the pet products section of worldofgood.com. I especially like the dupioni silk/hemp collar…
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I rescued a human today.
Posted by lisa on Nov 19, 2008
This is at least a year old, but is making the rounds again so I thought I’d share it with you.
I rescued a human today.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.
I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.
I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn’t be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.
I didn’t want her to know that I hadn’t been walked today.
Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn’t want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn’t feel sad about my past.
I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone’s life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.
I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.
Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.
I would promise to keep her safe.
I would promise to always be by her side.
I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.
So many more are out there who haven’t walked the corridors.
So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.
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Move forward… fall back
Posted by lisa on Nov 9, 2008
I have a number of elderly canine clients, and it’s very gratifying to see them perk up after a few weeks of massage and Reiki. Increased range of motion, increased energy… you get used to seeing constant incremental improvements. You might even start to think you are pretty damn good.
Then the day comes when there is no improvement. Maybe things are even a little worse than last week. The gait is a little off. Or the muscle tone just isn’t the same. Perhaps there is a simple explanation; perhaps it is a passing thing. Or perhaps… the continual improvement isn’t sustainable. Perhaps the decline is inevitable.
It’s hard moving past that sentence. I feel foolish, but I hadn’t really considered it before. I’ve held a client and given Reiki while she died, but this is different. Her ills were acute, beyond my power to affect, and all I could do was try to make her passing easier for her and for her family. When I have a dog where my therapy is working, I feel effective, like I can make a difference. I’ve got a handle on this. Then suddenly I don’t… it’s a feeling of panic– I should be able to fix it.
In school they taught us we have to learn to manage our clients’ expectations, which in the animal care world means their owners’. I think it might be more of a lesson to learn to manage my own expectations. I tell myself my session goal is for the animal to feel better going out than he did coming in. I really don’t expect miracles, though sometimes they happen. It’s this slow, steady, reasonable success that becomes addicting, that leaves a hole when it goes. Ego, I imagine. Attachment. I should let it go.
That’s too easy, too pat. If every time I saw an old dog decline I thought, “Ah, but this is life. Very sad.” I would miss those opportunities where the lost progress can be regained. Alfie is one of my early clients, from my school days. You can read his story and see a picture here. In a nutshell, he’s a nine year old border collie with a history of Lyme disease, hypothyroidism, and a frisbee spinal injury that left one hind leg partially lame. When I met him he was in a downward spiral of listlessness and decreasing mobility. He responded well to Reiki and eventually massage. I cleared out his major energy blockages and went to work trying to improve his muscle tone and his sense of where that leg is in space, so he would drag his foot less. His mood improved dramatically and his mobility increased a little at a time. I bought him a small, soft frisbee that I could throw directly to his mouth, so he wouldn’t have to jump. After each session we would have a little game as a reward. Then, about a month ago I noticed his muscle tone decreasing in both legs. His foot was dragging a little. He doesn’t like deep massage so there was only so much I could do there. My initial thought was to increase the frequency of sessions but that wasn’t workable. I tested some structural integration techniques I’d been studying, and started thinking the dark thoughts that began this post.
A couple of weeks later his owner told me that his fur was thinning and getting greasy. She had found a few sores on his skin. He was more lethargic. She was going to go to the vet to get his thyroid medication for hypothyroidism tweaked. Weak muscle tone is another of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. In the future we’ll know that it’s one of the first to turn up for Alfie and get him to the vet a few weeks earlier. In the end, his dose was doubled, his skin started clearing up, and today his muscles felt pretty good to me. During our frisbee game I saw him really fixate on the frisbee for the first time. It’s the look border collies give to sheep. I think I’m going to have to schedule a bit more time for frisbee in future sessions.
So, the lesson is… I don’t know. Fight hard to keep ground gained, but let it go with equanimity when it can’t be kept? Learn to recognize when that point is reached? I will remind myself that my ultimate goal is not to make the Alfies young again, but to make them the best dogs their bodies and health will allow them to be.
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Venturing out into public
Posted by lisa on Oct 24, 2008
I will be at Pet World, in Natick, MA, this weekend, from 11am to 1pm, giving massages to benefit their Pet Shelter. There will also be a microchip clinic, also for charity. Stop by and see me!
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Article on Stress in Animals
Posted by lisa on Oct 24, 2008
The LiveScience blog has a good article by Clara Moskowitz, on how stress affects animals. In addition to all the stressors of their normals lives in the wild or in captivity, they can pick up the stress of the humans they live with. Stress has both positive and negative physiological effects in animals, and inspires a desire for comfort food! From the article
In both humans and animals, stress causes the body to release adrenaline and cortisol hormones. These chemicals cause heart rate and respiration to speed up, and suppress the immune system. Stress also clamps down on the reproductive system, reducing libido and reproductive hormones, which ultimately increases the risk for cardiovascular disease.
All these all-too-human effects have also been measured in animals.
Wilson’s subordinate rhesus monkeys, for example, have disrupted reproductive cycles, are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease than dominant females, and seem to show up with higher rates of infection and illness.
“Stress is adaptive to a certain degree, but after a while it’s really maladaptive,” Wilson said. “One of the first things to be affected is the reproductive system. Yeah, it makes some evolutionary sense that you don’t want to reproduce if you’re in danger. But when your reproductive system shuts down, you have all these secondary effects, like increased cardiovascular disease risk, which are really maladaptive.”
Read the whole article here, and remember that massage triggers the relaxation response in humans and animals.
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Massage Event at WetnoZe
Posted by lisa on Oct 19, 2008
I traveled to Quincy, MA this weekend for a massage event at WetnoZe Pet Concierge on W. Elm St. What a cute place! They specialize in small dogs, so I was coated in Shih-tzus and Cavaliers at all times. The dogs really seem to love it there.
There is a nice pic of the event on their blog.
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Save A Dog Shelter Contest update
Posted by lisa on Oct 9, 2008
Thank you! Save A Dog is now 99th in the nation, 3rd in the state! I heard, but don’t know for sure, that there is a prize for keeping the #1 in the state position for a week. See yesterday’s post for how to help by voting for Save A Dog.
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Shelter Challenge for Save A Dog
Posted by lisa on Oct 8, 2008
I’d like to ask for a little help. For my massage internship I worked with the Save A Dog rescue, massaging their dogs that were in isolation before adoption. I’m very grateful to them for the opportunity, and I’m glad I could help the pups sleep better at night in the kennel. I still volunteer with them because they are such a good group, and a really well-run rescue.
The Animal Rescue site is having a vote for your favorite shelter challenge. Grand Prize is $25,000, which would be a great help in finishing off their new shelter they are building right now. Save A Dog is currently ranked 158th nationally, 5th in MA. Please vote for them.
All you do is go here, put “Save A Dog” in the shelter name (optional), “MA” for the state, and “Framingham” for the town. Then click vote when it takes you to the new screen. I thank you!
The Animal Rescue site is a great place to visit every day and click for free food for shelter animals. They also have cute stuff for gifts, and each purchase helps the animals.
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