Reflections of Rescues

Part 1

By Kim Howatt on January 1, 2024

Reminiscing

This photo represents 4 rescue dogs that we have had in our family. This collage is day 1 photos, the day they joined the Howatt family.

Zam came into our family in February 2010 at 3+ years old. We took Payton & Vinnie to our vet for their annual physical, and Zam was wandering about, suddenly jumping into my lap and resting her head on my chest. Our vet just smiled and handed us a leash, LoL. It took her quite a few years before Zam opened up and showed her hilarious personality. She has taught me so much about resilience. Zam is incredible, and I am in awe of her dedication to making others feel safe and happy.

Biggs came to us one December, another rescue gift from our vet. He walked into our home, found his way onto the couch, and it was as if he’d been in our family forever. Three days after Biggs joined our family, we headed out for a Howatt family weekend getaway. Biggs walked right in and did his own introductions as if he already knew the family, LoL. The worst part about Biggs? He was middle-aged when he arrived in our home, and life with him was far too short. Our challenge with Biggs was his health challenges and how to support him through his downtimes.

Jango was born into rescue on July 26, 2013, and his joining our family has helped change the course of my life. He is my reason for doing what I do to support dogs and their humans. Life with Jango has brought me to my knees many times over. I have spent years blaming Jango’s rabies vaccine reaction for his behavior challenges, releasing myself from all responsibility while taking on all of the guilt for causing his illness. Our life together is beautiful today. We are finding our way forward together. Jango is my soulmate. Our challenges are many, but they are beautiful gifts as well.

Zorii Bliss was born into rescue in May of 2020. We were not looking for a new puppy, and we went to see the litter simply for some puppy love and socialization. The entire litter of 8 was black tri, and we couldn’t tell them apart. Every time we asked which one was interacting with us, it was Zorii Bliss. She was clear in her desire to be with our family. Zorii was my first known animal communication. Zorii is an extra happy soul but her lessons are extra intense, just like her personality. I feel inadequate at times, yet I would not trade these experiences for the world. She is my guide and my way forward. Her communication with me changed the course of my career.

Reflecting on Emotion

As I write this, a flood of memories comes rushing back into my consciousness. I replay these memories in detail. A perfect exercise as 2023 comes to a close. Each year seems to pass faster and faster, as we fly down the tracks of this exhilarating life with our hair blowing back, tears leaking from our eyes, and laughter bellowing out to the Heavens. I watch these memories in my mind clear as the day they occurred. It is as if I am watching old-style reel-to-reel movies with that unmistakable sound the projector makes as the movie plays. I feel all of the feelings as the emotions run through me once more. They are fresh yet they feel like an old friend as well. On the one hand, I am nostalgic, but on another hand, I feel repulsed by my reactions and responses to how I have handled certain parts of my life with our dogs. I allow myself time to process what I am feeling, as if I was experiencing it once more. The hurt. The anger. The frustration. I seem to be stuck recalling all of the "bad" things.

Isn’t it easy to make excuses with our rescue dogs?

We LOVE to use the fact that our challenging dogs were rescued as an excuse for why life isn’t perfect, for why they act out of sorts. We don’t think to include ourselves in the story, even though we have a leading role in that home movie. We simply dismiss our responsibility, watching from the comfy seats in the viewing section.

I am not bringing this up to make anyone feel bad who has a challenging dog and becomes emotional. I have spent many years doing that to myself. Nope. Not my goal.

I want for us to become a part of this beautiful story that is unfolding with our furry companions. Get up from that chair in the viewing section and join the cast of your movie. It is time for us to embrace all of the moments, not to try and forget them.

Each moment is an integral part of who we are becoming. We are one with everything. No matter how insignificant an experience may seem, we are an important part of it.

We are playing the role of a lifetime with our challenging dogs, and it is time to own it! We have so very much to offer one another, and the movie will end perfectly, though keep in mind that not all movies have a Hollywood end, and that, too, is perfect.

One important idea to consider is why do we always ask why? We get stuck on the WHY when we desire to FIX something... when we deem an event to be bad or wrong. (I am the QUEEN of asking why, LoL) - If you are like me and continually search for why everything happens as it does, then I welcome you to the past! The why obsession leaves us mired in the past while we also worry about the future. When we desperately want for things to be different because they are uncomfortable, then we are no longer starring in our movie. We are once again watching from the viewing section. We are watching our past and trying to understand the plot.

A friend was getting the WHY question from his son constantly, and for a while he played along, answering his son, entertained by the variety of subjects. After a time, the question of WHY was such a constant barrage each day that it was making my friend exhausted, so he changed his answer . Instead of answering the question in detail as he did before, his response became "Because Reasons". Dad, why is the sky blue? Because reasons. Dad, why do I have to eat broccoli? Beacuse reasons. Dad, why do my teeth fall out? Because reasons.

This story hit home, and when I find myself wanting to know WHY, I simply respond to myself as my friend does. It reminds me that it is time to leave my seat, stop watching my movie, and rejoin the cast once more in my starring role.

A Tiny but Important Speck

When I write this --> Our lives are co-created with all of life. <-- What are the thoughts that come into consciousness? Agreement? Disagreement? Eyerolls?

It is most likely different for each person reading this post. I don't write in a way that you will agree with me. In fact, I want to write thigns that you disagree with. I want to provide my perspective. My opinion. It is simply information. Absorb it. Dismiss it. All of the responses are relevant to your story, and also to my story and to everyone's story who comes across this article.

We are all connected. Quantum Physics calls it entanglement. Caroline Myss calls it a Sacred Contract. Others call it a Soul Path. No matter your preference for title or definition, the thing that is the same within it all is that we don't do one thing in our lives that doesn't affect the whole. At first, this concept was for me a huge weight of responsibility. Every human, every animal, every plant, every star, and so on. Whew. Then I realized we are all in the same boat, and I realized that my responsibility only went as far as me. Well, this wasn't nearly as heavy of a weight.

When I feel humiliated at a behavior my dog expresses, this is my humiliation... not theirs. In fact, as an animal communicator, I often am asked to speak to the animals about stopping a behavior that the human doesn't like, and just as often the response from the animal is different than anything that was expected. Simpler. Straightforward. I now understand the humiliatino I feel is simply a reflection for me. It is personal. It is my own feeling. I have the power to heal it. If I stop watchin my movie and join the cast.

We only see one tiny perspective in the whole of life... imagine if we could see the perspective of a single cell as it exists within us. A red blood cell would have a view as if riding in a car or down a water slide while a skin cell might have a vision of the outside world and a cell in our lung exists in the dark yet. feels a constant breeze, LoL.

We connect with souls in our lives for mutual benefit. We connect with those who have something to offer to us, and vice versa. Every interaction, no matter how brief, holds meaning. Important meaning and we do not need to know the WHY of it.

Life within Life within Life

We are blessed with opportunity, not cursed with struggle. Once we understand this concept of co-creation, everything changes. Every thought, every choice, and every action ripples out to the cosmos and changes the very fabric of life. The breeze blowing through the trees changes the shape, form, and direction of the leaf while the leaf changes the shape, form, and direction of the breeze.

We are never supposed to be ok with feeling icky. We are meant to invite icky into our lives, get to know icky, and learn that icky is a beautiful part of life just as love is. Icky and love are the same. Icky is love and love is icky (for whatever reason, this has me laughing out loud to read it back).

Finding the beauty in the icky begins with our playing our role. Watching our beautiful rescue dog companions is a great place to start because they are not thinking about past challenges and the lack of love where they came from. They are just relishing every moment of their life in this moment, with you.

As an Animal Communicator and Animal Wisdom Alchemist, my role is not only to share the wisdom and insight of the animals through my interpretations and experiences but also to encourage the sharing of wisdom, insights, and experiences that others have had in their life for this is how we shift and evolve together.

Love & Light
Kim

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The Raidho Canine Way®

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This article is for entertainment and information only. I am sharing opinions.

If you are ready to strengthen your bond with your dog beyond all you dreamed possible, then let's work together! I offer several one-to-one options, a community on the Circle platform, and the Canine Co-Creators Adventure is an absolutely incredible opportunity where we work with a small group of like-minded dogs and humans over an 8 week period.

raidhocanine.com is where you can read more details!

Love & Light,
Kim - Animal Wisdom Alchemist

Igniting our own inner power through the innate wisdom and insights of our animals

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