Why Communication Follow Up And A Continuing Search Effort for Your Missing Pet Pays Off

When it comes to thinking that “too much time” has gone by, it just doesn’t hold true.

For the past nine months, I worked with a client living in New Zealand to help her stay energetically connected with her missing cat. In April, OSCAR decided he didn’t want to stick around for some of the personal dynamics taking place in their household.  The client had just moved into a new place he didn’t like AND she was experiencing the effects of a recently-ended relationship. The vibes weren’t so good at that point.  It was an emotional and transitional time at home. He wasn’t comfortable with any of it.

SO….he walked away. By all accounts, OSCAR instead chose to join with the large feral community that is widespread throughout that region.  For months, my client hiked and walked, traversing high and low through thick brush and country terrain, faring cuts and bruises and inclement winter weather, searching for him.  But he continued to evade her, expressing through communication a much more cavalier I’m-doing-this-now- and-you-can’t-make-me-come-home attitude. He wasn’t about to come back just because she wanted him to.  He’d adjusted to it, and this was now HIS time to live differently.

But the client was running out of time. She needed to move away soon, and, literally, was only now marking time waiting him to come home. When he still didn’t show after many months, she finally had to move to Australia to accept a job opportunity. She wasn’t sure she’d see him again.

We continued to communicate with OSCAR over the months that followed. During that time, he told us that she should take her opportunities too, just as he was taking his now by leaving home—and fulfilling his desire to “live freely and not be held back by something he could do nothing about.” (Notice the correlation between his situation and hers?) He insisted he didn’t want her to be held back by his choices. She hated hearing that from him, but that was what he wanted her to know. His advice to her was worldly and intelligent, and she listened.

Finally, she had to leave the country. But it didn’t mean that the search for him was over. She had a plan. Despite having to relocate thousands of miles away, we stayed in touch with OSCAR with follow-up communications for months afterwards.

With each follow up session, I felt a viable life force and that he was alive.

Flash forward to December—nine months later. Her relentless efforts to keep him current on the missing animal postings in New Zealand received a hit one day. Someone suspected that a cat hanging around their house for many weeks could be OSCAR. This family lived in her old neighborhood, about 15 minutes away from where OSCAR had left from. Despite being animal lovers themselves, the respondents only regretted OSCAR’S presence because he’d recently killed their pet rabbit for food and was now eyeing her guinea pig as the next target. His presence created some stress for that family, too, despite their willingness to keep an eye on OSCAR for her.

But think about it. Perhaps if he hadn’t been preying upon her smaller pets, they might never have responded. You never know the reasons as to when or why someone will respond.

Now living in another country, my client asked the respondents to send photos to visually verify if it was him. It was, indeed, OSCAR. Looking frazzled and thin, but positively identified. It took some more time to mobilize, but she contacted her ex-boyfriend, now living in the north, and asked him to fly down to see if he could retrieve him. He immediately responded and purchased a plane ticket for the reconnaissance mission.

Domestic cats often change dramatically when they make a big lifestyle adjustment to a more open life and without boundaries, by choice or otherwise. My overwhelming experience has been that, even if they are willing to come back at all, they will often still refuse the help. It’s like asking them to fit themselves back into a very confining space again after being in wide open territory for a long time. They feel very constrained in contrast. EVEN IF they want to come back in, they rarely do it easily or seamlessly.

At that point, we strategized about the details of the rescue mission. There are many things to consider, and people often underestimate the difficulty. They think that as soon as their cat or dog sees them after a long absence that they’ll just run and greet them with open arms, like some kind of romance novel with a happy ending. But the animals are often of a completely different mindset after being away from home for so long. Initial retrieval efforts are usually deeply disappointing, and more importantly, can ruin the chances of a successful recall.

But…that said, theirs actually evolved into the most beautiful of outcomes. His rescue event would embody a rare scenario for me, too.

A few days later, the ex-boyfriend arrived at the yard of the house where OSCAR had been lingering. Even though a long plane trip, he still fully expected he’d need to stay for a while until OSCAR got used to the idea of even letting him approach. He was ready for what might be a long wait.

But it wasn’t necessary. Tired and hungry, OSCAR now jumped at the chance to see him again and within minutes, allowed himself to be greeted, picked up and hoisted into a carrier. He was tired and ready to come in, despite his longstanding and frequently communicated don’t-tell-me-what-to-do-I’ll-come-back-when-I’m-ready attitude.

It was an unbelievable and unlikely rescue scenario for a cat that had been living as a wild man for the better part of a year! The ex-boyfriend next reported that OSCAR was immediately affectionate and wanted to bed down under the covers with him on their first night together, only coming out from under the sheets for some food and bathroom breaks. He had developed an abscess, so that would next be addressed before they would travel north again by plane. My client is also immediately flying back to New Zealand to reunite with OSCAR again.

I have learned that, with missing animals, all things are possible despite serious odds and lots of time gone by. No one should ever become discouraged or ever give up on them. I’ll say again, that, in my opinion, the biggest obstacle to their return is often only the hopelessness that people often fall into after much time having passed by. I strongly suspect there are many other “missing” animals living in other quarters, possibly even nearby, and perhaps in the midst of an alternate lifestyle until they are identified and located.

Both the client and I had stayed committed and confident of his status throughout. Almost a full year later, this missing animal case has concluded with intense joy and happiness for all of us. Lost animal work is difficult on all counts: It requires an understanding the need for longevity; the acceptance of all possible outcomes in between, and without positive proof as to whether they are still alive or not; and the willingness to traverse the emotional roller coaster that people feel while they continue to search. But there is NOTHING LIKE SUCCESS in such cases. This is the emotional payoff and why I will always to continue to help and be of service to anyone despite serious drawbacks.

The gest of it all is that my client 1) NEVER EVER GAVE UP HOPE OR STOPPED CARRYING OUT SEARCH ACTIVITIES AND POSTINGS, EVER, such as continuous missing animal listings, refreshing communications with neighbors and beyond; and 2) kept up the all-important communication follow-up work needed to ensure that OSCAR knew he was still cared for and had a way to communicate back to her his thoughts and wishes while on his journey.

OSCAR will be going back to northern Australia to live with the ex-boyfriend on a country farm-style property, still with open space…but this time, he’s got his person, resources and headquarters right back at the center of his life.

For me, it’s one more beloved pet home safe again and off my to-do list.

It certainly has been worth it.

Case closed.

I should make mention that OSCAR’S case is one of several positive outcomes for missing pets involving a long-term search and follow-up communication efforts.

 NEVER STOP YOUR SEARCH EFFORTS AND LISTINGS OR GIVE UP HOPE!

–Dana    1/1/2013

 Today I communicated with a dog that has been away from home for over 8 months. We continue to stay in contact while she is away. She comes from a great home and does not have a practical reason for leaving; she is happy with all of it. She left because she felt a calling within herself to take this journey. While most of the world is still stuck on the belief that an animal would never possess such elevated planes of thought, she continues to reinforce the primary purpose for leaving home. In our limited human view, it makes no sense that a dog would just leave like that. But they often say they have things to accomplish in their current life.

If there is anything I’ve learned about missing animals, it is that many of them know exactly what they are doing and follow their internal instincts to a very high degree. Perhaps it is not for us to judge or decide the merits of someone else’s choices.

She shares the following:

What have you learned about yourself in your time away from home?

To reflect back and know that I must be true to myself. The ultimate gift is the one I give to myself. I seek solace in this premise and must follow it. I seek refuge within my own spirit. It is an enormous responsibility to take but I feel this must be done. I speak the truth through you and you verify my existence just by listening. It is a long story but it is unfolding as I go. Do not miss the joy and benefit in it, it is mine to behold.

 I am grateful to her parents for accepting the greater purpose in it and not being emotionally  paralyzed by the particulars of the experience. They wait patiently for her and with hope. With this attitude, something can be learned from animals and their actions. Through communication, we understand the greater reasons  for her absence and her choice to follow them.

The lesson learned today simply further reinforces what they want to teach us about all forms of life on earth: that there is a reason for everything, and that we must have faith in the process that unfolds in front of us.

An abridged excerpt from the What Animals Tell Us web site cites the following distinction:

“People frequently refer to Dana as a ‘pet psychic’, but she  prefers to define herself as an animal communicator.  In our opinion, for in cases involving lost animals, a person with psychic ability is someone who may be able to identify navigational clues to assist you in locating your pet and perhaps contribute other additional  third-party information. But that type of information is not coming DIRECTLY for the missing subject. An animal communicator contacts the animal directly, and asks specific questions of them. They communicate with them in the first-person sense, rather than acquiring details or impressions of their whereabouts by intuitive sense alone.

We believe that one of the key aspects of your search is to know WHY an animal has gone missing. This can have a big effect upon HOW you conduct your search, or if any search should even be undertaken at all. Direct input from the animal as to their state of mind and emotions  may be even more important than any practical ‘actionable’ clues you may receive from such inquiries.”

Additionally, the term”psychic” is often frequently used  to describe many different kinds of “sensitive”people and skill levels. Because it is referenced under such loose and non-specific meaning,  a truly gifted individual may be grouped in with others who do not adequately represent the same profession, skill level, or ethical standards as they rightfully deserve to be. And because there are frequently NO distinctions made between the real ones and the not-real ones, the term “psychic” often loses its true meaning and value, and therefore, credibility among the general public.

An animal communicator is usually ALSO psychic in a fashion,  because telepathy is a form of psychic ability. But in our opinion, an animal communicator works in a more specialized kind of arena, directly connecting with the animal, rather than by way of external and indirect impressions coming from other senses. 

In a conversation with another animal communicator recently, he noted that while sitting in a vet hospital waiting room, he heard a dog tell him exactly what was wrong with him before he went in to see the vet. Long story short, he was exactly right, and in great detail. He’s been finding that when he hears these things from animals, he will try to alert their human who, if willing to listen, just may be able to avert a serious illness, or even death, if they act right away on what the animals share through him.

TRULY AMAZING! I am genuinely impressed and moved by his particular and special knack for what the animals tell him.

But there are many ways to serve animals and the world by way of communicating with them. As an animal communicator myself, I do not generally receive such pertinent or specific health-related input like he does when I connect with animals. So does this mean he’s got something “better” than I do? Is he “more gifted” than the rest of us?

 Absolutely not!

No one stands above another in this work. We all have different strengths and capabilities within the same field. My own strength lies in receiving messages from animals that are, generally, of a very high order. The spiritual part of them excels, it seems, when I am used as their conduit. They share their deeper reasons for doing what they do, or for why they were called back into spirit (if they have already passed over), or why they have really left home when they go missing. They are aware of their spiritual heritage, so to speak, and are not afraid to reference past lives or experiences to make their arguments for why they do what they do in their current form. Many communicators say they never get such distinct and detailed input from animals on those levels, ever. And I write it all down, word for word, now having acquired literally volumes of written material to share what they have said to us.

So, each one of us holds unique and one-of-a-kind sensitivities for animals and bring something special to their table and to the world. There are multitudes of ways to be of service to them. My belief is that the animals, and spirit, utilize our individualized personal strengths as they communicate through us, all of which are special and different. If we all received information the same way—and always the same thing—there would be no diversity within our field, nor need for any other empaths and mediums who are also of  great service to them. I also believe that the animals that need our unique brand of personal gifts always seem to find those of us that can connect with them in the way they need to be heard.

Animals need us in different ways and call on us as such. Just be confident of your own unique strengths, and the animals that need you will find you.

–Dana

The cat was adamant about being left to control the experience himself. He was not ready to go yet despite how bad he looked outwardly. He REALLY wanted to be free to make his own decisions about when to pass over. An excerpt from his transcript:

Well then, even if you look that bad, should she leave you be?

“That is the illusion, my dear, pure and simple. I am not stuck in any way, shape or form. It is not outwardly apparent, I know, but it is what I want. I wish to stay for now no matter what, ’til death do us part. My method and approach to my life is strictly my own. I do not wish for these decisions to be made for me. Please! All I ask is that I make the decisions on my own and in my own time.”

Have you decided to stay for awhile?

“That decision is mine, too, I am afraid. It is of paramount importance that I lay myself to rest and no one else.  I am pleased for her efforts, but really, truly…I wish to think and act on my own behalf. It is my journey alone and I wish to make it of my own accord.”

Despite the heartache of stepping aside during his process, she chose to respect his wishes. A few days later, she found him lying peacefully in the sun at his favorite spot by the fountain, gone into spirit. Although difficult to bear witness to his very personal process, she did not regret giving him the opportunity to complete his life cycle in the manner he’d wanted to.

“I am enamored by the dynamics here. We focus our attention on what has been lost rather than on what has been gained. We place merit on ‘finding’ something and yet so much else is attached to the experience.”

We, of course, still continue to search for our loved ones during their absence. But often, they have embarked on personal missions for reasons that are important to them. Their wish to better themselves while ”missing” should be considered–and hopefully respected–as time moves forward. Most of them are highly confident in their abilities to move through the physical  challenges of being away from home; they are often much better off  than we think.