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Pets not only save lives…they heal lives.
Read on to learn about miraculous stories about our furry friends!
Toby makes himself right at home after being with our family one month. Amazing fact: Toby can carry 2 tennis balls in his mouth!
We have all heard stories about animals saving peoples’ lives.
Animals can also help you heal on your cancer journey.
I am speaking from experience. We are a “pet family” who tend to frequent the local rescue shelter and have a hard time saying “no” to these loving animals.
Cat Saves My Life
We rescued Meeko, a grey tabby cat, after our black cat went missing. She seemed lonely so my youngest son and I visited our local animal shelter to find her a companion.
An orange tabby instantly came up to me and started rubbing himself on my leg purring. Instantly, I knew he was the one! My son affirmed that “Reo” would be our newest family member.
I believe nothing in life is an accident. Reo was definitely not an accident!
Even though, my husband did not appreciate the surprise cat that awaited him when he arrived home that evening…Reo turned out to be the cat that saved my life.
Fast forward from Reo’s rescue in 2012 to the year 2016…we had moved into a new house and Reo had a tendency to not always use the kitty litter. This is also something that was not a mistake.
I trained Reo to use the kitty litter by rewarding him with a treat after using the litter box. Thank you, Mr. Pavlov!
Meet our rescue cats, Reo and Meeko. They became “lap cats” after my cancer diagnosis.
Reo got in the habit of waking me up at 3 AM with his rather loud “muraw-muraw.” I would wake out of a deep slumber, stumble down the stairs to the pantry and award him after his duty was done.
In the wee morning of May 2, 2016, Reo didn’t let me down. He woke me up at 3 AM like clock work and I ran down the stairs after him.
This morning, however, I fell down the stairs throwing out my shoulder and tearing my hip labral and gluteus minimus (How many of you knew we had a gluteus minimus? I am quite familiar with the gluteus maximus!).
The injury brought me to my doctor. At my appointment, I realized that I had missed my woman’s physical 6 months earlier.
An appointment after school was let out for summer was scheduled. Being a school counselor, it is difficult to miss this time of year. Anyway, I was “healthy as a horse” and had no worries about the upcoming physical or my health.
My woman’s physical found the lump in my breast which led to my breast cancer diagnosis. My doctor shared had I waited much longer, I wouldn’t be here today.
Reo is credited for saving my life! He served his purpose by getting me into the doctor before it was too late. Ironically, Reo no longer wakes me up at night to use the kitty litter (he uses it on his own now).
Dogs Can Sniff Out Cancer
Another amazing story and interesting fact…dogs have been known to “sniff out cancer.”
The following story was written by Leah Ingram and can be found in The Costco Connection July 2018:
“There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that pet dogs have reacted, in some way, to various cancers on their owners, despite not being trained to do so. It is likely that they are smelling the cancer cells and reacting to something ‘different,'” explains Dr. Jennifer Essler, of the PennVet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Diane Hood’s newly adopted dog, Teva, was definitely reacting to a spot that Hood thought was of no concern. Within a week of bringing her new affenpinscher home in 2008, Hood says that Teva started paying extra attention to Hood’s left leg- even through bluejeans. “I thought it was just a freckle,” says Hood, who lives in Sequim, Washington.
Nonetheless, with Teva, now a registered therapy dog, persisting, she went to the doctor to have it checked out. Teva’s sensitive nose had smelled squamous cell carcinoma, which was then safely removed.
Pets Have Healing Powers
Our pets not only save lives…they heal lives.
Oshie is our black lab rescue dog. We rescued Oshie at 4 months old at the same shelter as Reo. Oshie is a fun-loving dog who wants to play, play, play and gets along with everyone! His playful energy is contagious and you cannot help but feel uplifted around him.
Meet Oshie…our fun-loving rescue dog!
Toby, our golden retriever, came into our lives about 2 years ago. Our neighbor (we use that term loosely in our neck of the woods as they live about 1 mile away) was walking on the road by our houses when my son and I were biking. We stopped to talk with him. He had his 3 golden retrievers with him.
One of the Goldens sat on my foot and looked up at me with his gorgeous brown eyes. They seemed to say, “Take me home.” I mentioned to my neighbor that his dog would make a great therapy dog.
He hesitated for a bit surprised by my statement. Then, my neighbor shared that he had posted Toby at the local grocery store that morning to be given away to a loving home.
His relatives could no longer keep Toby as they had health issues. Toby had been living with his family for about a year. His family wanted to keep Toby but understood having 3 large golden retrievers takes a lot of care; especially when you have a busy family.
They did not want to give him away but they knew it was best for Toby. Toby is a special dog.
Toby loves to be around people. He is usually seen with two tennis balls in his mouth!
This was an inconvenient time to adopt Toby because we were not living at home due to our house fire. After a family meeting that evening, we agreed to make Toby part of the family. Our neighbors were very understanding and kept Toby for about two more weeks to make it work for us.
Toby has been a saving grace on my healing cancer journey! He was not with me for my first diagnosis, but, he was for my second diagnosis. What a difference Toby’s presence has made!
He understands my moods and what I need. Toby rarely leaves my side and has taken on the role of my body guard. Toby does morning yoga with me, naps with me, and he is always game for a belly rub or playing ball.
A bonus is he makes me laugh whenever I look at him…who wouldn’t find a dog with a mohawk funny!
Pets are one of the easiest ways to boost your mood, your endorphins, and your healing with their loving spirits.
When I am feeling down, Toby’s presence instantly calms me & lowers my stress level. Less stress on your body means your body is able to heal!
What is even more amazing is Toby has become a certified therapy dog! I have prayed for a therapy dog for years. Oshie simply does not have the disposition of a therapy dog (he failed doggy training). Toby and I plan to help at our high school where we had two students commit suicide last year.
Toby’s healing is much needed not only for me…but for our community and school!
The Healing Spirit of Pets
When I think of our pets…one word comes to mind…GOOFY!
They are so DOG-GONE funny (pun intended)!
Goofy leads to smiles, smiles leads to laughter, laughter leads to increased endorphins, happy endorphins lead to healing…what your body does best when the setting is right!
When you put your body in a positive state, you are giving your body what it needs to heal. Step aside and let ‘er heal!
Pets are one of the easiest ways to boost your mood, your endorphins, and your healing with their loving spirits.
Their love is unconditional and they are ALWAYS happy to see you when you arrive home.
Oshie and Toby sharing their love!
Not only are pets known to save lives…they are able to help you on your healing cancer journey.
Consider rescuing a pet or volunteering at your local shelter to get your “pet fix” if you are unable to adopt a pet.
The love from our furry friends will fill your love tank, get your endorphins singing and your body healing!
Affirm: I lovingly take care of my pets and they lovingly take care of me!
