Pet Therapy

Pet Therapy

Witches have black cats. Dogs are "man's best friend."
Hamsters and gerbils are cute as they can be, and some
people even like snakes.

I picked Frankie the cat up from the pound last week and
carried her to her new home. She immediately ran for cover
under the bed and wouldn't come out for 24 hours. When she
began tentatively venturing out she would run back whenever
she got spooked, often just because someone was walking by,
leading to the conclusion she may have been previously
abused. A couple of times now she has let me stroke her and
scratch her head and then I get my reward: the magic motor
of her purring starts and doesn't stop, that is, until she
runs back under the bed again. Thank god she came knowing
how to use the cat box.

I just found out on the Internet that back in the Middle
Ages during the holocaust of women and gays they designated
"witches," they also perpetrated a huge massacre of cats.
The Church was afraid of these "familiars" of the so-called
witches because it was believed that cats had psychic
powers and could help perform spells. There was even a dog
that was tried and hanged as a witch in the Salem witch
trials. When you look deeply into Frankie's mysterious blue
eyes, you can almost believe they were right -- she knows
something we don't.

Pets seem to have been put into our lives for one purpose
and one purpose only: to love and be loved. There's plenty
of well-documented research that being around animals
reduces people's stress levels, lowers blood pressure and
even helps us live longer. Animal assisted therapy has been
used with at-risk teenagers, folks in nursing homes, AIDS
patients, and heart attack victims. I got a call recently
from a prospective patient who wanted to know if I had a
"therapy dog," which was the first time I'd heard the term
(and no, I don't, although I'm thinking about training
Frankie). On a brochure for an expensive recovery center I
got in the mail they list "equine therapy" as a treatment
modality which really means, it makes people feel better to
ride a horse.

I guess the gist of this is that lonely people everywhere
could benefit from owning a pet. There's something about
that unconditional love that's harder to get from flawed
human beings. Also, here in LA, it's a way that people shop
for lovers -- going to the dog park to meet other dog
owners. It's easy to talk to someone with a dog, right? No
ulterior motive other than just being friendly. Guess we'll
need to get them to set up cat and gerbil parks for
everyone else.

© Catherine Auman 2008

About the Author:

Catherine Auman, MFT is a spiritual psychotherapist based
in Los Angeles, Calfornia. She has advanced training in
both traditional and alternative methodologies based on
ancient traditions and wisdom teachings. Visit her online
at http://www.catherineauman.com

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