The Pat Primer
You could call me Ms. “Therapeutic TLC ©",
or you could call me the Human-Animal Bond Lady, or you
could call me “Dr.
Flora Fauna ©”, as my dearly departed friend
& mentor Lynne would call me.
However you would view me, you would quickly see that my
work is to uncover the spirit of the Elemental Animal &
to gain
a deeper understanding of the Human-Animal Bond.
This web site, & the information contained within, are
designed to take you on a journey to define & to connect
you with, the value & importance of what I call “Therapeutic
Tender Loving Care” (Therapeutic TLC ©) &
its place in a program of total health & wellness care
for your animal friend & for you.
Integrated Animal Care
In terms of the field of animal health & wellness, we
have moved beyond supplying our pets (or fellow athletes,
as is the case with our competitive canine & equine
partners) with good diet, housing, exercise, basic veterinary
care & love.
My entire philosophy &
practice is based upon the “wholistic” blend
of (a) classical animal behaviour & (b) the current
trend that we see in understanding each animal as a unique
& special being. It also includes the application of
an “integrated” blend of conventional &
non-conventional practices & therapies to support ultimate
health & wellness, on all levels. The level that I specialize
in, is the human & animal bond.
It should be noted here that the simple things that you
yourself can offer your animal friend & teacher on a
daily basis, learned through self-help books, workshops,
& through the various media & information formats
that we have at our fingertips in this modern world, will
serve as an essential & foundational basis for professional
therapists & practitioners to build upon in
the event of any emergency. It is my job to help you discover
& to use them.
How did I Get Here?
If you could have asked me a few decades ago what it is
that I’d be doing at this stage of my life, I probably
would not have answered with this. Who would have thought
that a child born & raised in an apartment, of limited
family resources, would go on in her adult life to garner
a few college diplomas, an interesting list of certifications,
& a long & varied roster of work & life experiences
that, all tolled, would lead me to this destination. What
it is that I can say is, just like that child who
collected leaves & shells & rocks & gave them
as presents to the people that I love, this essential adult
still gives the gifts of nature, & it is this that defines
me. I can sit for hours marveling at the form & function
of nature & be very content.
What did Nature teach me?
For me, in exploring the miraculous nature of our special
bond with the animals, I am able to define who it is that
is “me”, the essential human. It does not matter
where the animal spirits live that you come in contact with,
either in your own home or barn or in the cultivated or
wild landscape that surrounds you; they “are”
language. What I mean by this is that they are unencumbered
by the single most powerful construct of the evolution of
humankind, which is the language & form of civilization.
So it is, that we “speak” language, & animals
still remain true, throughout the process of domestication,
as creatures of Nature. They are a true & more straightforward
expression of Nature’s ecologically based genetic
codings.
We, as humans, as we have moved away from being nomadic
hunter/gatherer peoples to cultivate the earth & to
create cities & empires, have put great weight into
the creation of our spoken languages & the belief systems
that have been born of them. These belief systems have engendered
cultures which, in modern times, do not have any relationship
or bearing to the ecologies in which they are found. Indeed,
we have forgotten the natural roots from which our domesticated
animals & ourselves have come.
"How do I prepare myself & my animal friend for
the many challenges that we will face, either jointly or
separately, in
this life?"
This is where Therapeutic TLC © comes into the mix,
supported by choosing the right breed or breed mix, the
right individual within that breed, a well thought out schedule
of training (that's for both you & your pet), a planned
period of broad & specific socialization experiences,
a natural species based & breed based diet (tailor made
to meet the specific needs of that individual’s activity
level), & a big bunch of love, patience & understanding.
There are many ways to understand, love, touch, handle &
work with your animal friends that can balance & stabilize
their energies thus preparing them to be able to deal much
more effectively with the many major & minor stresses
that we place into their lives.
The Multi-Dimensional Animal Sensory System
I would ask you to think beyond the usual senses that we
commonly talk about (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch,
gut
intuition) which we usually relate to a particular part
of our physical anatomy, & instead imagine yourself
with four feet & a
tail. Eyes that see better, ears that hear better &
a nose that smells better. Your four feet are always feeling
the surfaces
underneath them & you move forward in life headfirst.
It is your head that meets what is coming up before any
other part of
your body.
Your head also carries many important tools for the defense,
nurturing, & nourishing of your body. This very same
mouth
that cleans your fur, & chews your food is also stocked
with weapons that you can use to defend yourself. It is
the same mouth that is so very expressive in the bonding
rituals with other members of your species-specific social
group, from greeting to hunting or grazing, mating &
caring for your young.
Your spine is oriented parallel to the surface of the earth
& your whole being is flowing with vital life force
energy that
echoes this different & special animal connection to
the physical world around you.
If you pause to really reflect upon what you have just read,
your journey of understanding & awareness has just begun.
Stress
Current wisdom, associated with holistic health & wellness,
agrees that if we are physically vital then we are more
prepared to handle the stresses brought on by our environment.
What if these stresses are ones that we are not physically
designed to handle; that are just not part of our dictionary
of body language? What if there existed a set of environmental
‘stresses’ somewhere that could, instead, help
us to be well; that are a necessary part of our dictionary
of body language?
This where the term "stress" by the design of
nature, versus the term "stress" by the design
of domestication, becomes redefined. A naturally living
animal’s day is fraught with stresses but these stresses
are built into the ecology in which he/she lives & are
the elements that, over time, built him/her, accompanied
by generation after generation of successful reproduction
& survival within that specific environment.
These "stresses" massage the physical body &
the spirit of the animal in a way that leads to a level
of vitality & "wholeness" that produces a
creature of beauty & wonder who assumes his rightful
place in his natural realm. Think of this whole dynamic
as a dance of movement, hormone levels, nutrition &
bonding providing the natural animal with his own built
in system of Therapeutic TLC. This language of necessary
stresses, that by his genetic coding that he fully understands,
is expressed with & in his whole being. Animals "are"
language.
What if we could simulate & stimulate parts of this
vitally renewing language, essentially by waking up the
parts of the
genetic coding that can distinguish healthy stress from
unhealthy stress? What if we could use this "language"
to our mutual advantage to desensitize the animal to some
of the built in stresses of domestication. To send a wake
up call to those parts of the coding that can strengthen
his body systems against the onslaught of the stresses that
we are not able to desensitize him to? We can.
The Blueprint for
Perfect Health
We can give those essential elements for health & wellness,
in any animal's system, a job. It may not be the original
job
for which he was designed but it is a job that will simulate
& stimulate a response very much akin to the job that
his body is
missing. For which his spirit is longing for in this colossal
challenge of domestication. There is a blueprint for perfect
health, & a very wise & amazing body intelligence,
which seeks to restore this blueprint to perfection at all
times. The sabotage comes in the form of unhealthy &
inappropriate stresses.
How do we do this? Integrative Care
We can use a lengthy list of appropriately applied integrative
modalities to relieve stress, ease pain & discomfort,
calm & reassure the animal, help digestive functioning,
help to restore a chemical homeostasis within the body,
help the animal orient
himself more effectively spatially within his environment,
& overall to help to maintain a steady temperament in
the animal under challenging conditions. We could call all
of these modalities "healthy stresses" that are
able to trigger a series of beneficial responses in the
body, & ultimately within the spirit of the animal,
in response to specifically designed disciplines of stimuli.
The list includes many easy to learn ways to help your pet
that you can use on a daily basis. This has been the journey
of discovery that has shaped my work.
What does such an approach contribute to my bond with my
animal friend?
Those of us who journey through life with animal companions
love them more than we ever could have imagined that we
would. We struggle to make the best choices for them with
respect to veterinary care, training, housing, socialization,
exercise & nutrition. What we generally do not do is
to take our relationship to the next level, that of Therapeutic
TLC ©. The reason for this is that the concept is as
new as the idea of the integration of both conventional
& non-conventional methods to achieve the ultimate in
animal health & wellness.
The time has arrived in the evolution of the human-animal
bond to begin to be as completely integrative with our care,
as
is ‘humanly’ possible.
"Eastern
philosophy and Western science could be a good marriage
without a divorce." The Dalai Lama.
