FAQ for Lost Animals

 

When an animal is lost, it's important to remain calm and optimistic but to also understand the challenges involved in searching and locating your animal companion. It's important to remember that our animals have their own journeys, life lessons, and karma and that not all animals will be found, or are meant to be found. 

 

"When we argue with reality," Byron Katie says, "we only lose 100% of the time." 

 

Having worked with hundreds of lost and missing animals for twenty years, I have noticed that often when people either clear things up in their own lives, or let go the reigns a bit in their hard-hat search for their animals and pushing against the stream, and trust, surrender and drop attachment to the outcome, their animals turn up, or there's a sighting, or they have a profound dream about the animal. In general, loosening our grip and dropping expectations, at least, relaxes us and lessens our suffering. 

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Trust what? Trust that the universe is working for you, not against you. And life is unfolding for the highest good of all involved. Perhaps difficult to grasp when we're grieving, but if at some point we are able to but only get a glimpse of this inner truth, we realize that all of us are being guided, none of us are traveling this journey alone, and its often through tragedy and sorrow we find our greatest blessings. 

 

Sometimes we need to step aside and allow our inner guidance and wisdom to step in. I once tracked my own animal in this way; by relaxing and listening to where my intuition navigated me. I "was guided' unexpectedly onto a dirt road. Listening to our hunches (Divine guidance) is not so easy to do when we are caught up in a whirlpool of emotions. Sometimes looking at our situation from a bigger perspective helps to keep us calm and tuned-in to the subtle whispers of the universe. Surrendering and accepting doesn't mean giving up. Nor does it mean that our animals will appear at our doorsteps when we do surrender. Accepting means understanding that our animals have their own karma and life lessons. Surrendering allows us to continue our search with less attachment and more trust. Our resistance, panic, and angst can block information from flowing in. And can create more stress for our missing animal companion.

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Many people seem to find their animals through Divine intervention. When we remain calm we hear, and pay attention, to our hunches, which is Divine guidance. As Sara did when her cat Freda was missing. Four communicators, including myself, were communicating and getting visual descriptions and dowsing directions, but after three weeks, all of us were stumped. Then one evening Sara's boyfriend decided to paint inside the house. The smell was horrible. Angry, Sara decided to leave the house with her son. Where could she possibly go?  On a "hunch" she decided to put some things into her storage unit five blocks away. As she was rifling through the boxes, she heard a yowl. Wondering what a feral cat might be doing in her storage uni, Sara investigated. The cat was Freda. 

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Sara had been certain that Freda ran out the door when the movers had arrived three weeks prior. We can imagine how shocked Sara was upon realizing the movers had unknowingly packed Freda in a box and loaded her in storage with all the other boxes.

 

Never had Sara dreamed of going to her storage unit...Her boyfriend doesn't usually decide to paint in the evening on a whim. How did Sara suddenly decide to go to her storage unit "out of the blue?"  No coincidences or accidents. All neatly planned by the universe. This is Divine intervention.

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My meditation on Lost Animals, Healing the Heart, helps us to let go and keep our hearts open when we are experiencing loss. It's especially beneficial when a missing animal is nearby but refuses to come home. Often, after this meditation, the reluctant animal will return. I have seen animals appear on the front porch after the person cleared their mental clutter and resistance, the day after the meditation. You can also do the Golden Cord meditation to keep you connected and receptive and to bring calm to both your companion and yourself. This mediation is equally beneficial when an animal is nearing their transition.

 

Please keep in mind, that every case is different, and there is no magic formula that will bring your animal back if it is not the animal's karma, your karma, or either of your souls' journeys. I believe in soul contracts (read below). And no matter how painful any situation may be, there is a blessing that appears when we are ready for our higher learning. There are no accidents or coincidences in the universe.

 

WHY DO ANIMALS LEAVE HOME?

Animals leave home for many reasons. Some choose not to return. Some go off to die, to spare you the pain they know you cannot handle. One elderly dog left on a snowy day, never to return. She made it very clear to me and said, "I want Bill to know I'm not coming back." Her body was never found, even though we tracked her to a nearby home where she had been sighted.

 

Weezer had been taken in when he was feral. He was ill and survived, but the illness left him crippled. His person hand-fed him for several years. When he got older, he decided he wanted to be a free cat. Despite his handicaps he escaped and lived the next year roaming the neighborhoods, refusing to be caught or return, until he died on his own. This was his choice.

 

One client's cat left when her offspring was killed by a car. The cat was grieving, (or perhaps mirroring her person's grief) and no longer wanted to stay in the home without her son. She returned on her own when she was ready, two months later.

Some animals leave because of chaos in the home or because of unresolved issues that you need to work through. One woman's cat returned several months after the woman finally made the decision to leave her husband. Another cat left when her feline housemate became ill. Perhaps she intended (consciously or as the higher workings of soul contracts) to give her person some space and time with the sick cat. When the sick cat died one year later, the woman's  "lost" kitty returned. In these cases, when your animal is nearby but refuses to come home, the energetic, clearing meditation, Healing The Heart, is what I recommend which may help to open a psychic space for your animal to return.

 

Some animals leave because they want the exercise or become bored in their yards or indoors. Be sure to walk your dogs daily, and consider installing an outdoor enclosure for your indoor cats, if possible. I installed one with an open ceiling. A  barely visible, loose, plastic netting wraps around poles in the ground. The top curves inward so the animals cannot jump out, and predators cannot jump in. I rent and still assembled one, attached to my front entrance so the cats go in and out as they please, but are safe. the enclosure can be taken down if you move. Indoor cats are usually bored cats. Make sure they have a feline companion. All animals need fresh air, dirt to roll in, the feeling of the sun on their backs, and wind in their faces. But if they roam, it is always a huge risk.

 

Some animals are chased from their yard, run so fast without paying attention, and find themselves lost and unable to find their way home. The most common calls I receive are from people who either have just recently moved, have given their animal to a friend to care for temporarily, have left their animals with sitters, or "someone" left the gate open.

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CAN YOU TELL MY ANIMAL TO ANSWER ME WHEN I CALL HIM?

Animals can certainly be asked and encouraged to answer when called. I have seen many people find their animals this way. However, when an animal is extremely scared, hiding, in survival mode, and too afraid to be seen or too afraid to answer you, they can remain silent, even when you are standing inches away from them. Animals are not robots and just like us, when scared, they will not overcome their fear just because we ask them to. Others, however, put their fears aside and make a brave run for home or finally answer you.  In the Freda and Sara case above, Feda didn't answer until she was desperate, as others had already been inside the unit and Freda had not made a peep...until she was ready.

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If a communicator feels your animal is trapped, especially a cat, you must search the same garages more than once, and search every nook and cranny.

Dogs also hide or will not answer or approach you. A greyhound named Emily was finally found. But when her person approached Emily, she ran the other way. When an animal has been gone for a while their feral instincts can kick in, and they will not always respond or they may run away from you––no matter how strong your bond with them may have been. Nancy, Emily's person, had to turn her back and walk slowly away. Soon, Emily joined her at her side, and Nancy was able to slip the collar over Emily's head.

Lisa wasn't so fortunate. Her dog refused to approach her. Lisa set several traps, and finally caught her dog, after forty long days. 

 

I can help to calm and coax your animal to be seen or to make noise, but the animal is the one who ultimately decides what to do. 

 

I FOUND EVERYTHING YOU DESCRIBED, BUT MY CAT WASN'T THERE.

Unless the animal is found, we never know for certain if the description location and dowsing direction were correct. But with that being said, sometimes the animal is there but is hiding. When afraid, they become silent and will not answer. When out for a while their feral instincts kick in, they go into survival mode, and will not come out. Sometimes, they have moved on by the time to arrive to the location. One person's cat was in her own backyard for three weeks and was never seen. The person had to set a trap to get her.

 

Another reason is that I may have picked up on past energy. Or, I could simply be off-track.

Although I set my intention to communicate to an animal in the present moment, there have been times when both past and present energy comes in simultaneously––as in this story of Lucy, a kitten:

Dowsing had shown me that Lucy had wandered Northwest of her person's home, less than two minutes walking distance. Lucy described a green or red house with latticework and yellow wildflowers, located nearby. She showed me a child but also said no one had picked her up. The next day I talked to Lucy again. This time she showed me a brown house shaped like a barn, only this time in the Northeast direction. This was confusing. The only thing I was certain of was that Lucy was enclosed and could not get home.

Laura, Lucy's person, walked one minute in the Northwest direction and found the greenhouse with red trim, latticework and yellow lilies growing on the property. It was a B&B. Lucy, however, was not there. Discouraged, Laura was about to leave when suddenly the owner of the property popped her head out of the window and said she recalled seeing the kitten following a young boy home. She told Laura the boy’s street address, which was almost one mile away in the Northeast direction. Laura continued her search based on the address this woman had given her, and she finally found her Lucy a few homes down from the boy’s address. Here Lucy was being cared for at a brown house which Laura said looked very much like a barn. Lucy had shown me many aspects of her journey; past and present.

 

WHY DO COMMUNICATORS GET DIFFERENT INFORMATION, AND WHOM SHOULD  I BELIEVE?

1. Different sides to the coin: If more than one communicator had worked on the Lucy case example above, the first communicator may have seen the B&B. The next communicator might have seen the kitten following the boy and may have concluded that Lucy was outdoors. The next communicator may have picked up on the present location of the brown barn-like home, and gotten an entirely different direction and an interior location.

 

2. Past and present energy: During a remote viewing for Harvey, a lost Tortoise, three Viewers including myself did viewings to locate Harvey. He was finally recovered when someone called after seeing the woman's post. And this is how we were able to get the following feedback.

I had seen Harvey traveling through an area and out to a road.

Filip, the second viewer, saw Harvey in a pond.

Tania, the third viewer, saw Harvey with people.

As it turned out...Harvey did indeed walk through the area I described for it was the only route to the road. 

Harvey was then picked up by a couple at the side of the road who brought him to a pond. After driving away, they recalled that Harvey didn't have webbed feet. He was a land tortoise! So the couple returned and took Harvey with them. 

I had seen the beginning part of Harvey's journey.

FIlip had seen the intermediate part of his journey.

And Tania had viewed Harvey in the present moment (the most important info) 

 

It is difficult sometimes to ascertain whether the energy that one is perceiving is past or present energy. This is also true when tracking roaming dogs. They can show us a multitude of images. In Lucy's case, the past energy (where Lucy had started out) was important. If it were not for the property owner of the B&B (who knew the boy but had scolded Laura for trespassing), Laura would not have known the boy's exact address. If I had just described the home where Lucy was found and said it was one mile Northwest, this may not have been enough information for Laura to find her cat, (unless Laura posted signs and was fortunate enough to have received a call from the people who had taken Lucy in ––which is how many people end up finding their animals.) It was another example of Divine intervention that Lucy was found; the auspicious appearance of the B&B owner at the exact moment Laura was on her property. 

 

So much of this work is left in the hands of the man behind the curtain, and completely out of anyone's control. A communicator can provide valuable and useful information, but can not guarantee results because of the complexity and nature of this work.

 

Even though we are feeling desperate and devastated when our animal is lost, it's important not to make demands of the communicator. Every communicator receives and perceives information differently, it's important not to discount anyone's findings when the findings are not what you want to hear, or seem unlikely. Listen to everything, take action, and cover all your bases. And always listen to your gut. Anyone of us (communicators) could also be off track and wrong. We never know.

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3. Interpretations: Every communicator also interprets the information they receive differently. In my testimonial about Patch on the Lost Animal Testimonial page, I had seen what I interpreted to be a tunnel. While their did happen to be a tunnel involved, the tunnel was not something visiible to the person searching for her cat. What I had actually perceived to be a "tunnel' was a drain pipe. Perhaps from Patch's perspective, it was a tunnel. Also, in the same session, I had seen a red barn and sensed horses. There were no barns in urban Orange County California. However, the person later found a red schoolhouse nearby that had been converted from a red horse stable (another example of picking up past energy) There are many examples such as this. A comunicator's visual data may be spot on, but his or her interprtation of that data can be misleading or inaccurate. There are many layers of information that flow in simultaneously.  I always tell my clients to search with an open, creative mind and don't disregard anything.

 

DO YOU HAVE A MAGIC WAND?

Nope.

Sometimes I gather detailed information, yet there are times when the information is vague or not enough to find your animal. This depends upon how willing and able the animal is in conveying the information. And also the mindstate of the communicator (stressed, tired, distracted, etc) If  I don't feel I've gotten substantial information, I always do again. If an animal is trapped, may see only darkness. Sometimes if a cat is being chased and runs into a shed without having time to observe what the outside of the shed looked like, he may not be able to describe it.

Remote Viewing can sometimes help here. When cat Jack was lost, he only showed me darkness and a glimpse of what looked like a metal shed. I did a Viewing and made a list of more descriptions. The person found her, next to an old, abandoned, metal train car in the empty lot next door. Jack had shown me darkness because he was hiding in a hole.  If I am not Viewing, I am usually seeing from the animal's eyes.

 

Here is an example of the complexity of tracking a lost rescue dog:  I received different surroundings from the dog each time I did a session. The dog was traveling near the hills of Griffith Park in Los Angeles. I kept hearing, “I’m on a circular path.” Indeed, he was sighted heading back and forth from the park, from the woodsy hills to the trafficked streets below. Every time I described an area, he would not stay there long enough for anyone to catch him. It was also difficult to pull out detail, since there were few notable landmarks on the wooded trail. Only when he was exhausted and starving, about two months later, did he allow himself to be caught. 

 

I use this example to demonstrate the nature of this work. Please do not call with expectations of me leading you to your animal’s doorstep. Sometimes this happens but is not usually the case.

 

Challenges arise for both communicator and client, and it is important to remain optimistic, yet realistic. I cannot tell an animal to wait on the corner at eight o’clock p.m. because you will be there to take him home. Animals are not robots. When lost for a while, their feral nature kicks in. If they are hungry or scared, they will keep moving or hiding. Remember, animals also have their own agendas and reasons for leaving and sometimes for not returning. We (you and I ) are not in control of the outcome.

 

The most important point here is this:  Finding lost animals is not black and white. There are often many distractions and events that interfere. There are many twists and turns. It is not always one smooth road to follow. Although the road can certainly be smooth and has been for some people, it is not usually the case. Put your expectations in a proper perspective. Remain open and ready to receive. Search with a creative mind and do all you can. Then let go and allow the universe to step in and guide you. Try, as painful as it is, to trust that everything is happening for the higher good of everyone involved. Drop blame and guilt. And believe that your animals, like yourself, have their own karma and life lessons to learn. We can only do what is humanly possible when trying to locate our animals. The outcome is not up to you or me.

 

CAN YOU JUST TELL ME IF MY ANIMAL IS ALIVE?

I do my best to determine whether an animal is alive in his or her body. There have been times that I felt an animal to be very much alive, and received a detailed description of their location. The animal was found, but not alive. And there was one time when I did not feel a life-force, and mistakenly assumed the animal had passed.

Perhaps animals do not realize they are dead, or perhaps they know they are, yet still feel very much alive in their spirit body. It appears, from my experience in talking with animals who have passed on, that the transition between life and death is subtle. That being said, there have also been times when I have had no doubt when making this distinction. In the bigger handful of cases, I would say I have been correct, but then there is always that one case that can creep in and turn my certainty upside down. No one can ever be 100% certain unless the body is in front of us.  

 

Don't be angry at a communicator if your animal is thought to be dead, and later strolls gingerly in the house. Be grateful, instead. 

 

SOUL CONTRACTS

I believe we have soul contracts––agreements we make with one another and with our animal companions before we take birth. And that we perhaps agree to the experiences in our lives, as painful as they may be, for our spiritual growth. Or perhaps we agree to learn certain things in our lifetime, and then "unconsciously" attract those people, animals, and situations into our lives that will teach us what we agreed to learn beforehand. There are no accidents or coincidences. There are often unseen blessings in every situation, even though events may play out in our lives in ways we did not consciously want or ask for. 

People, who also believe in soul contracts, usually realize we have choices, that neither us or our animals are victims, and that the event may be part of the soul contract we have made with that animal. With this understanding, we can drop blame and guilt, accept responsibility, and create less suffering for ourselves.

For those who don't believe in soul contracts, we still need to let go, surrender, trust and accept the circumstances while searching for our animals. Especially when your animals are not found. Although this may not be your personal belief, we can still find solace and opportunity for growth when we let go and accept, instead of grasping at what we cannot change or blaming ourselves or others, which creates more suffering in our lives and keeps us trapped in a tunnel of pain. This won't help to bring our animal home.