It’s Sophie’s Time For Love

Sophie, an x-racer, was adopted once before, and then surrendered back to the Greyhound Rescue Group due to her shyness and inability to adapt. Her adoptive parents sited her inability to get used to the noise level in her environment as the main issue. The foster parents that cared for Sophie after her return to Greyhound Rescue had Sophie only 3 weeks when Chloe and Paul adopted her. She had remained fearful and skittish during her entire time at her foster home. Sophie’s foster parents handled with her in a very caring and gentle manner.

“Sophie is terrified of fast movements, going through doorways, taking treats from my hand and she’s very frightened of men in particular,” says Chloe. “Paul and I want to know how we can help her trust us and feel more comfortable. We wonder if past experiences may be contributing to her fear issues.”

Being that we were not physically in the same space, I introduced myself to Sophie by imagining that I was sitting on a White Light Blanket in the middle of a beautiful field of wild flowers. I opened my heart to her and showed her that it was safe for her to join me. She hesitated, and I could feel her anxiety rise up from my belly and into my heart. I asked her if she could share why she felt so much anxiety. 

I saw Sophie in a boot camp for dogs. “Boot camp” was a metaphor for how she was treated during her racing career. It was a hard place to live with expectations that felt unattainable most of the time. There were rules and regulations and no room for emotions like love, compassion, innocence or happiness. The metaphorical boot camp had bunk beds lined up and Sophie had a trunk at the foot of her bed. All of her emotions, except anxiety, were locked in the trunk. She did not have access to any of her other feelings.

“It looks like you have never had access to your emotions,” I said sympathetically. “Would it be possible for us to go back to the time before you were born?” 

We viewed Sophie in her mother’s womb with her siblings. Her mother was also a purebred racer and she held the same anxiety in her body that I felt from Sophie. Sophie and her siblings were “baked” in their mother’s fear and anxiety. As with Sophie, her mother was not seen as the beautiful and loving animal that she is and therefore she was also incapable of experiencing love and nurturing her pups. Anxiety was transferred ancestrally from mother to daughter.

As we began to establish our relationship, Sophie trusted me enough to move next to me on the White Light Blanket. Together we opened the trunk at the foot of her army bed. Sophie took a deep breath in as she saw all her other emotions folded neatly in the treasure chest. I could feel her heart open as she tried on the feeling of love. My eyes teared up as Sophie felt true love, perhaps for the first time in her life.

While on the White Light Blanket, I talked to Sophie about self love. I told her that the events from our past do not define us. As a Reiki Master Teacher, I am able to use Reiki for distant healing. Sophie accepted this gift and soon relaxed. She was experiencing the feeling of peace and she surrendered to the love that surrounded her.

I yawned several times during our session which is always an indication that the animal is releasing stress and tension from their body. I felt Sophie’s spirits lift as we neared the end of our time together. Chloe and Paul reported that Sophie got up off the floor and stretched when we finished the Reiki share. Then she went and laid down closer to Paul.

Three days after our session, Chloe called to tell me that Sophie has become more responsive and relaxed especially with her – but also with Paul. She’s wagging her tail more and she gives her play bow and greyhound grin more often. Chloe said that two nights after we talked, Sophie was visibly more relaxed and HAPPY – half closing her eyes and even showing a crescent of pink tongue poking out of her mouth like a cat does when it purrs.

When I check in with Sophie now, she says she feels a sense of relief and a knowing that she is in her forever home. As Sophie put it, “This is where I live now.” She means this is where I live now physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Sophie is so grateful to be in a loving home with her humans, Chloe and Paul.

Photo by Juan Gomez on Unsplash

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash