Owner's 'focused' positive intent may help family pet fight cancer

A few weeks ago “good dog Otis” became a bit lethargic. Furthermore the “world class” bagger stopped eating. Sure, as with many older dogs, Otis had been under the weather from time to time. Being a dog’s dog, Otis would often dig up indescribable culinary treasures and snack on them as if they were five star gourmet treasures. The old Rottweiler cross was not a picky eater.

At first he would leave half his food in the bowl. He no longer hung under the dining room table insisting on licking a dinner plate or two, after the completion of that afternoon or evening family meal.

This out of character behavior would progress to little or no food intake. And yet Otis appeared to be gaining weight. Yes and no, his midsection was bloated, but his upper body, neck and head appeared to be shrinking. Although concerned, I’d viewed him in the yard a couple of times munching on something funky!

Perhaps he’d thrown off his delicate epicurean pallet by ingesting a goffer or two.

After seven or eight days of little to no change, I decided to call the local mobile Veterinarian. Otis had a history of benign (fatty) tumors, this time I suspected the worse. Perhaps an ingested bone was blocking the small intestine, or a growth had blocked an ingestion or digestion process. On his walks (shorter and shorter) I noticed that Otis had difficulty defecating. I had noted no movement in days. And although he continued to drink water, he had stopped eating! His breathing was staggered. His mile walk had shorted to just a few yards before turning home.

To say that Otis is guarded at to the Veterinarian is an understatement!

At 13; 91 in human years, the old boy had become a bit cantankerous. As with his owner, he had limited personal interface with the medical profession. In this case Dr. Bonnie Burns was a very kind dog lover, so Otis cautiously greeted her and her assistant with a slow wag of the tail and a raise of his now graying muzzle.

Prior to this unexplained episode of uncharacteristic self-deprivation, thanks to prescribed Levothyroxine (thyroid medicine) and Meloxicam for joint pain, the old dog still enjoyed a relatively pain free, happy existence at Oregon Orb House. As designated Orb spotter, Otis kept very business sniffing game trails, barking at the crows, and chasing a favorite squirrel or two.

He without reservation hated the overcast of a Eugene, Oregon winter. Indoor moping was his norm for this dark time of year, but something else was going on here.

Dr. Burns was concerned as to Otis’s declining physical condition as well as the obvious excessive bloating of his abdominal region. She decided to draw some fluid, and perform a blood panel.

The news was not good! The fluid drawn from the abdominal cavity was primarily blood, indicating a tumor on the spleen. After draining 100 c.c. of the fluid, Dr. Burns relieved enough swelling to facilitate a touching (read) of the inflicted region. This exam prompted a painful yelp from the otherwise uninterested Otis. The prognosis was not a positive one.

At Otis’s age what was discovered here was generally considered to be a preamble to death. There was a very high probability that Otis had a malignant tumor on the spleen, which if removed would most likely spread cancer cells throughout his body.

My options as his master were limited to doing nothing, a $3,000 surgery, or doing nothing!

I thanked Bonnie, paid her mobile Vet fee while graciously encouraged her exit. After all, she was making good dog Otis more than a bit anxious. I came to the realization years ago, that my dog understands most if not of all that is said. And what’s lost to him in words is readily perceived through his reading of emotionally emitted vibration. You could cut the air with a knife as the Vet backed her van off the driveway. Not a happy moment.

It was then and there that I decided it was not time for my dog to leave the planet.

His adventure here was not over, and I as his human friend and keeper, I was not ready to let my pup go to the other side!

My mother Gwen had lost her dog (Lady) of 15 years to a kennel cough brought home by a stray. A mere three days had passed, and there was no room in the family for more dog- loss related grief and sorrow.

The following is an account of Otis’s recovery process.

Anyone that has read me knows that I’m a believer in “the possibility of all things possible!”

Although not a religious person, I do hold a strong belief in spirituality, a higher power than myself and the unlimited power of positive thought. I’ve reached this stage in my personal evolution through experiencing the best and worst that humanity has to offer. I’ve let (most) of my own inborn and programed negativity fall by the wayside in my ongoing quest for personal enlightenment and peace of mind.

The power of prayer: On the leave of the Veterinarian I returned to my dog now lying in shock on his favorite doggie bed. I turned him on his back and laid my hands on the right and left side of his bloated belly. I prayed to my higher power (God) for the benefit of my dog friend. Explaining that we as a family were not ready for Otis to leave the planet, I asked for his stay to be extended.

I then focused all of my energy and positive intent to the damaged area. I noticed that the area was extremely heated. I focused the power of positive intent and energy (Chi) through my hands; place on and over the area for several minutes. My dog acknowledged this energy transfer with a lick or two. He intuitively knew what I was up to. Years earlier I had reduced several lymph node tumors by this same method.

Within minutes of laying hands on the dog the heat in the area subsided! Dogs normally run 4 to 5 degrees warming than humans. In Otis’s case, his temperature registered 2-3 degrees above normal, indicating an infection.

I then offered Otis a small piece of cooked chicken. He ate it! This was the first food accepted by him in over a week.

On day 2 following the death watch, Otis woke in a hungry state. As noted earlier, he hadn’t ingested food for 8 days or so, and in the process had lost 8 pounds. A dog that had previously weighed 108 L.B. at his prime, now weighed a mere 92 pounds. Otis eagerly finished off a bowl of cooked rice and chicken. Not his usual fare, but I was happy to see him eat it!

That evening I would once again “lay my hands” on Otis accompanied by a few encouraging words. His adopted (human) mother was out of town for the week, so Otis was allowed to sleep on the master’s bed. Not a usual practice at Oregon Orb House, but in this situation an acceptable accommodation.

A couple of times during the week I thought Otis to be dead! He was sleeping very hard, sometimes with his eyes open, and his breathing had been labored. Much to my relief he carried on!

On the third day of his recovery Otis bounded out of bed and wanted outside. Call it what you will, for me this was nothing short of a small yet very powerful miracle. It is said that “God” loves all creatures. The proof now walked in front of me as Otis bounced out the door and headed for his first visually verified bowel movement in two weeks.

Granted, after a few short days, Otis is not quite 100%. But for one that was handed a death card by his Veterinarian, he’s doing pretty damn well!

For me Otis’s recovery is a living testament to positive affirmation, the power of prayer and how it directly relates to positive intent. Granted, my experience may be an exceptional one. But I don’t believe it to be exclusive to me or Otis. Life force and what we label as nature is full of wonder and wondrous events.

Man has relayed energy and intent to an accepting party for hundreds if not thousands of years. Who are we as so called modern man to dismiss the practice as “non- scientific; wishful thinking; nonsense!

I have gratefully experienced and accepted the healing energy transfer of acupuncture, acupressure, manipulative chiropractic adjustment and Reiki. Why should the direction of life force be any less effective as transferred to a human of animal through a willing participant’s hand?

We humans have many gifts and abilities given to us from birth. We need only to open our minds to the “possibility of all things possible,” to exercise the healing power that lies within.