Animals are miraculous gifts to us. The power of an animal’s love, intuition and wisdom is greatly underestimated—whether it’s an ape that not only understands but also responds to sign language or a special cat that made the news by instinctively knowing when its nursing-home residents were about to leave this world. Then there’s the dog that helps its therapist owner detect abnormalities in her patients’ bodies and the story of the amazingly brave elephants that impulsively knew they had to save themselves by moving to higher ground when a devastating tsunami hit the west coast of Sumatra.
Animals have been our spiritual companions since the dawn of time. Humans have honored them throughout history, as can be seen in those early drawings on the walls of caves—man and dog hunting side by side. Egyptians have treated cats like gods, American Indians have honored many different animals on totem poles, and the elders in the tribe would teach the children about the importance of each living thing.
Long before I got my little dog Koda, a friend gave me a refrigerator magnet with a quote attributed to Anatola France. It speaks volumes to me:
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains un-awakened.”
Never have truer words been said. Animals help us let go and forget about the past, and help us remember that each day is a new opportunity. Whether they have fins, feathers or fur, two legs or four—they touch our lives as well as our hearts and our souls. They love us unconditionally and teach us to play, to be in the present, and most important, to live in the now.
Animals are such healing creatures. Amazingly, dogs can detect when seizures are about to occur in their owners, and studies show that animals help lower our blood pressure, increase longevity after a heart attack, and even detect cancer!