Lessons from Sugar

No matter how many animals I work with, I never cease to be amazed at their innate wisdom and the lessons they can teach us.

Sugar

One of these teachers is a beautiful dog named Sugar that I had the privilege of being able to offer distance Reiki to over the past couple of months. She’d had a really tough year, first having TPLO surgery to repair a torn cruciate and then having an emergency splenectomy and being diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma cancer just months later.  As anyone who is familiar with Hemangiosarcoma knows, it’s a ruthless and aggressive type of cancer that affects the blood vessels and once it takes hold, there are very few options to even try to slow it down, much less stop it.

Sugar’s mom asked me to do some distance Reiki sessions with Sugar to help her quality of life and help keep her more physically and emotionally balanced as she fought back against her cancer. Often with distance Reiki sessions, it can take a couple of appointments to feel deeply connected and to get the animal to fully understand the process and be open to exchanging Reiki energy with me, as it’s usually not something that they’ve ever experienced before. But with Sugar it was like she immediately knew that I was there to help and she couldn’t wait to take in as much Reiki as she could so that she could do her best to heal.

Our sessions were often filled with intense moments, and she instinctively knew exactly where she needed the energy to flow on any given day. She was very exact and had a purpose to the Flow. And while I do not claim to be an Animal Communicator, as any Reiki practitioner with experience can tell you, it’s often impossible not to pick up on feelings or images that the animals want you to know about. Sugar clearly let me know that she was doing everything within her power to stay strong for her Mom that she loved so much, and that she wasn’t anxious or afraid – she was simply determined and was going to live each day as fully as possible.

Each session with Sugar was very different, but also the same in that she came into our exchange with such an open heart and was so willing to connect without any restraint. It was powerful and I felt deeply honored each time that she chose to trust me so fully.  While I never met her in person, I still got to feel as though I knew her on such a deep level.

Sadly, my friend Sugar died shortly after our last session together. Her mom made the incredibly brave and difficult choice to euthanize her when she took a turn and started struggling to breathe. Her condition changed so suddenly and her little body could no longer keep fighting the good fight.

I will miss working with Sugar and sharing our energetic connection but I am comforted by the fact that she was strong and determined until her very last day – never afraid or anxious because she knew that she was so loved and always had her Mom by her side. I also like to believe that she knew that the Transition that we all must make from this life someday is not something to fear. It's just part of the ongoing cycle that we're all part of.

She fought so bravely right until the end.

Sugar loved going on adventures with her Mom

What I will remember most when I think of Sugar is how well she represented the inherent wisdom and intuitiveness of animals. We spend so much of our lives with our pets thinking that we have the ability to control their lives and protect them from harm. But in reality, they are their own independent souls with their own path to walk, and while we can do what we can to surround them with all of the resources they need to be safe and strong and healthy, we can only control so much. In our Reiki sessions together, Sugar knew exactly what she needed and she embraced the opportunity to connect with that Universal Energy so she could support her own healing – in body and mind. Sometimes healing looks different from what we hope it will, but to leave this world happy and unafraid is an amazing accomplishment and a blessing. That’s exactly what Sugar did.

Thank you Sugar for sharing your time and wisdom with me and for being such a brave and loving soul. You will be forever loved and missed by all who got to be part of your life.

Godspeed sweet girl.