By: Hettie Basil Lighttower
Awe, yes….. more about pets! I’m so glad I’ve had good interactive response to this last couple of entries about pets. They do enhance our lives. They can even save our lives! I mentioned last week that they communicate with us. Do you understand your pet’s language? They talk through gestures, body language and behaviors. But what do they all mean? Most times hindsight is 20/20, meaning perfect vision and a clear understanding. Let me share a couple of stories with you that were sent in about pets communicating.
A reader sent: “Hello my dear, I just read your article on pets. Well, my cat Pippen, was trying to warn me that something was wrong with my heart! At night he usually slept outside in the hallway where he could see into my bedroom.” Often our pets will position themselves to be on the lookout for us while we are sleeping or doing something. You have probably noticed your cat or dog doing the same. In their world and mind they are always on duty these ones…. helping us to avoid danger.
She continues: “He had never made an attempt to come into the bedroom, but just liked to be able to see me from his ‘post’ in the hallway. BUT this particular night he not only came into my bedroom, but he came onto my bed. This ended up being the night before I had my nearly fatal heart attack! He had hopped onto my bed and was running across my back. He kept waking me up! I said to my daughter the next day and before the heart attack happened, ‘if he keeps this up I will have to shut my bedroom door’! And the reason I kept my door open in the first place is because he would always claw at it and scream to have me open it. So, there he would sit just in view in the hallway as long as he could see me, he was quiet. Long story short…. He was trying to tell me something was wrong. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance later that afternoon.”
Wow! What a story about Pippen! Pippen the rescued cat becomes the rescuer! But Pippen does more…. She continues: “My daughter said he was frozen in place on the spot on the floor where I laid when I fell over from the heart attack. She described that his eyes were so huge and he just stayed in the physical spot I had been laying. He would not eat or leave the area! She brought his food and water dish over to him there. When I eventually got home, he was skinny and still sitting there. I never realized he was trying to tell me something was wrong. He was trying his best to tell me, but I hadn’t had ANY symptoms of heart problems. As a matter of fact my stomach was bothering me. Guess what…. Your stomach is against the lower part of your heart. It had been my heart the whole time.”
This is an incredible story and account of a pet having a knowing and trying to communicate with us. First of all, he couldn’t stand the door to be closed. He had to watch her, but also over the house. So, he insisted the door to be open so he could do both jobs. He knew that she was going to need warned very soon and he had to be able to get to her! This story brings tears to my eyes. How wonderful are pets!!! We really do have to pay attention. Because changes or certain behaviors mean something. It is not our imagination. They really do have something to say. And your life could be dependent on them next. Will you get the message? And it is good to know that if you are feeling a stomach ache or indigestion, it really could be your heart having a problem. Go get it checked.
One more little story sent in: “Tommy the cat would always jump on my mom’s chest when her heart was going into atrial fibrillation. He always knew, every time and would go right to her. We learned to pay attention to him.”
A third reader says: “I enjoy your column so much. The last one about pets was so enlightening. I am a new pet owner as of three months. The article on connection with pets makes more clear why so many indeed love their furry friends!”
I don’t think I can add anything else to these three stories. Animals know so much. They just speak a different language. But interestingly enough, their language is UNIVERSAL, ours is not. They go by frequency and are very attuned. We could be too. It just takes a lot of re-learning for most of us.
Do you have a pet story you would like to share? It can big or small we will hear them all! Send in your notions and comments to [email protected]. I will include them in the next available column as per their arrival relative to the publication deadline of Tuesday by 12 p.m. of the same week. If you wish to be anonymous let me know. Kindness is contagious~*