Yesterday morning, Ember's breakfast portion was a bit smaller than usual. We had run out of raw food. The dry food was the usual amount. I figured it was perhaps ok because a pet parent friend of ours, suggested yesterday that Ember could lose a bit of weight. I pointed at my belly saying that it was in the family:-).
Yesterday morning, Ember's breakfast portion was a bit smaller than usual. We had run out of raw food. The dry food was the usual amount. I figured it was perhaps ok because a pet parent friend of ours, suggested yesterday that Ember could lose a bit of weight. I pointed at my belly saying that it was in the family:-). As I started to get engaged with a work matter, after feeding her, she did something unusual:
1. She dropped one of our many "rescued balls" (we find balls often in the park) next to me on the couch. Hm, does she want to play? Generally she immediately embarks on her nap after breakfast. I accepted her invitation to play a bit because it is always great fun. In the park when we engage in ball play she gets treats, for catching/fetching dropping.
- Then it occurred to me that she might still be hungry. She had noticed that there was less raw food.
2. She had also returned to her bowl but that does happen from time to time.
3. And she also looked at the coatrack which was very odd since we had a long walk as most of the time and just gotten back. She tends to look at her leash and harness hung up around walk time but obviously my coats are hung up, too.
Was she telling me to get my coat and go buy raw food?
Wow, just wow, Ember!
- I conclude she said to go get dog food.
- And perhaps she figured that if she engaged me in ball play, she would get treats which will make up for the smaller portion.
What did I do? I listened. I gave her more treats, and I was reminded to make sure to buy her raw food.
- I personally have made many observations since I embarked on my reflexology for animals path in 2010 surrounding Mowgli and Ember supporting the fact that animals are sentient beings, individuals, the ways they communicate, their intelligence, their spunk, etc.
As for animal communication: I will never forget the black bear mom signaling with a growl and eye contact with me - my eyes glued at the bear family's every move for an hour or so - that she and her four (!!) adorable cubs were about to leave the pine tree (very close to the deck we were on) and that she needed space to do so, kkrrr, she was giving us a friendly warning, just in case.
I immediately understood and it took her quite a while to manage her four cubs because they were so playful and not in a hurry at all to leave the area. I have since several videos of mom bears dealing with their cubs. Absolutely precious.
Because of our reflexology practice, my curiosity about Ember and animals in general increased. I find animals endlessly fascinating and they give me strength, hope, and so much joy. Who needs people? Just kidding. I am fascinated by people, too.
The reflexology practice is trauma-informed* (see link) and fosters Ember's connection to herself and also our connection to each other. We have come a long way. She had deeply entrenched trauma caused by early life abandonment, she was taken in as a stray by the Bowling Green Humane Society and came to New York in a van full of dogs with Muddy Paws and before we adopted her on November 26, and she had at least two foster families in about two weeks.
Thank you for reading,
Birgit and 🐾 Ember
Birgit Nagele, ARCB, LVCY, TCTSY-F, she/her
Reflexology & Yoga (chair)
Trauma-Informed Care
🐾 One Minute Reflexology for Animals/ICRPaws
https://icr-reflexology.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paws.pdf
*One Minute Reflexology for Animals was part of my final paper (2019) to become a TCTSY (Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Facilitator). The TCTSY methodology I have found can also be applied to reflexology, and has been applied to Weight Lifting (TIWL).
