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Ben and Quality of Life
Ben, his sister Tansy, and brother Cowboy, came into my life one day in early spring 1994. My neighbor came home and told her kids that she was driving behind a pick-up truck when she saw a carboard box come sailing out the window and three puppies tumble out of it and into the ditch. Well, the kids and I were off to find the puppies...
They were all black and white variations of what I think are springer spaniel mixes and were just about eight weeks old. Cowboy found a home right away. Tansy's name is indicative of her personality and she had a penchant for being an escape artist. Ben was a big, gentle, timid sweetheart. I wound up keeping the latter two.
Tansy and Ben had their special traits. I would go to work and come home and Ben was always in the fenced yard, right where he was supposed to be. Tansy could be anywhere. I was told her favorite thing was holding up the school bus every afternoon. And one day she was put under arrest (at the animal shelter) for chasing a neighbor's chickens. Then I learned Ben ran the neighborhood everyday, sticking his nose everywhere, (harmless enough), and had the smarts to jump back into the yard before I got home so I'd think he had been there all along. Tansy will be 15 years old this coming January 2009. Ben died of congestive heart failure on Labor Day weekend 2007 at the age of 13. The story of how Reiki impacted his quality of life follows.
I received my Reiki level II attunement in November 2006 and began giving Reiki to Ben who had been diagnosed with CHF years earlier. I wasn't documenting then and so my notes are sparse but for stating that he is "receptive" to the energy and "responds well". The fact is is that Ben would 'ask' for Reiki, every day. He would look at me to catch my eyes, nudge me and position himself, curling up into my lap, for a session. He loved it.
The disease seemed to be progressing with louder and more frequent coughing even though he was taking the maximum dose of diuretics to pass the fluid. He was beginning to show signs of tiring of the persistent ordeal and it was affecting his mood. He had lost his zest for life. After several Reiki sessions, which never lasted more than a few minutes each, the frequency and intensity of his coughing lessened. His attitude and physical energy were being impacted in a positive way as well. It seemed to help him from becoming 'spaced out' and disoriented and he began to find his enthusiasm for life again. On December 19, 2006, I noted that "Ben's sessions are continually powerful" and "I haven't used symbols as of yet".
December 23rd and 27th - "Ben, this past weekend, shocked me with his strength when he jumped up at me. Wow! I hadn't felt that from that little guy in quite some time. He is jumping atop his dog house again and looking around with enthusiasm - like he used to. He doesn't cough much and when he does, it isn't quite as deep. I gave him Reiki today using the level II symbols. He showed me his heart and wanted my hand there. He prances around when he walks, tail in air, with all the exuberance of a puppy. Quite amazing. He stands steadfast and looks at me with his eyes open and fixed with hope/anticipation of more Reiki each day."
Then on the 29th - "Ben shocked me this morning. He brought me a tennis ball and stood over it. I was amazed, threw it and he chased it - twice.... until Roy (another of my dogs) intervened wanting the ball for himself. Ben hasn't shown interest in chasing a ball for all of his 13 years!"
The 31st - "Ben not well, hunched over, walking slow, his eyes looking up at me from a droopy head that he appears to not be able to lift - maybe his last day." Of course, Ben had been under regular veterinary care. I was told that with CHF, the best case scenario is that one day, their heart will stop and they'll just fall over in a painless death. This was not Ginger's fate a year earlier. A big golden retriever that had alot of fear as her breathing became labored. So I was vigilant with Ben.
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Then, New Year's Day 2007, "in the afternoon, Ben just fine just as he was when I checked in on him at 1:30am. That spell seems to have passed".
January 7th - "Ben still fine".... and on the 8th - "Ben is lively and shows interest in tennis balls on walks, although he hasn't chased any again. Tonite, when we sat down to do Reiki in our usual spot, he wanted to be up and running around, totally disinterested and absolutely completely opposite behavior from when he would curl up and lay in my lap and seemed like he couldn't get enough and was succumbing as a victim of the disease".
January 10th - "hardly any coughing for the last few days - springy and lively in the snow."......
on the 26th - "coughing less frequent and shallow".
February 9th - "Ben doing wonderfully well - acting as he has always acted in life - prancing, tail held high, inquisitive, sensitive, not coughing very much, and it's shallow."
March 14th - "Ben got wounded from a dog bite. He had saliva all over his back and some red skin. In front of his left shoulder was a round hole the size of a nickel opened right down to the muscle and bleeding. I was glad it bled to clean it out. It wasn't profuse and stopped on its own. I trimmed away alot of fur and rinsed it with peroxide. I had seen wounds like this before and figured it would be our ritual - 2 or 3 times a day for the next few days until it closed up - hoping that it wasn't a tough spot to heal. I thought I would say the Reiki symbols aloud as I tended the wound, fully expecting to do a more complete hands-on later on in the day. In about half an hour, it was weeping droplets of blood. I left it alone and Ben to rest. A few hours later, I wanted to check it for more peroxide and our Reiki session and the hole had completely closed! Completely knit itself back together. I couldn't believe my eyes!!"
Ben continued on to be happy and enthusiastic about life until the Sunday morning of Labor Day weekend. He was out doing his normal sniffing routine in the yard when his heart stopped. It seemed to me to be the best possible ending.
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