I met this blind man who got a dog (a guide dog for the blind) from my colleague.
Coming along with her as she introduced the two and trained them to work as a team was so interesting for me to observe. Mostly because the man claimed himself an animal communicator. He had a rabbit and a parakeet. The parakeet spent most of his time hanging from the key hole or a door handle and occasionally flew over to land on her man’s head. Anyone could plainly see the strong connection these two had. The way the man spoke about his parakeet was more emotional than I’ve ever seen anyone ever speak about a parakeet.
I was never particularly excited or impressed when someone said they were an animal communicator. Animals, just like humans, can express their thoughts through body language and even more so than we can. In the last month or two I have heard a few stories that have slightly altered how I look at that, but it’s still not something I applaud. For me it really comes down to the person – I feel that a lot of people just say they can understand the animal and, instead, say what they think the animal is feeling or thinking. Or exaggerating it.
So this man lives great with his animals – the parakeet flies freely through the apartment (only going in her cage “when she feels like it”), the rabbit hops around his feet, and the dog snoozes on the floor when she’s not on the job. Everyone gets along just fine. A few days ago I got an update on this little family: the parakeet had died! She died right in the man’s hands. He said that she had passed on because she knew that he was now in good hands (because of his new dog) and that she could finally leave, knowing he’d be safe. (Believe it or not, it’s sweet none the less.) The man said he kept getting the parakeet’s name and the dog’s name mixed up the days before the parakeet died. Which makes the whole story just that much spookier. A dog replacing a parakeet to become a man’s “guardian”?
It’s a crazy story (and thought), but I found it so touching. Why not view our animals as our guardians and us as theirs? In any case, his animals surely feel the loving, comforting energy coming from him, and that is what I love about this – it’s what counts! (Below is a picture of his parakeet on her favorite perch.)