In August, my closest companion, a Dalmatian named Fanny, died at the age of 15. She had a good life and a peaceful death and she is sorely missed. To honour her memory, we are dedicating the winter issue of the newsletter to our animal friends.

It is through Fanny that I began working with flower essences, discovering their many benefits for animals and humans alike. Over the last 15 years a great deal of effort has been placed on understanding the behaviour of animals so that we can treat them with greater respect and give them the loving attention they deserve. Although we say we “own” an animal, for me this means that we accept to be their guardian and to protect them. But they also guard and protect us in many ways, seen and unseen. So I prefer to think of us as friends. This newsletter will mainly refer to dogs, but essences can help all animals, dogs, cats, horses, wild animals, livestock, birds and fish.

Animals possess thoughts, feelings and emotions that are similar to our own, therefore it is not surprising that flower essences are as beneficial for animals as they are for us. Animals react very quickly to flower essences - often all they need to re-establish balance and harmony is a few doses of an emergency essence like Animal Emergency Care (Green Hope Farm), Animal Care (Alaskan Essences), Emergency Essence (Australian Bush) or Pear (Master’s). Giving an animal an emergency essence at the first signs of stress, agitation or illness can be a big help.

Energetic hygiene is just as vital for animals as it is for humans. Animals absorb our negativity and emotions, so it is important to keep their energy field and their environment clean and protected. Unexpected aggression and outbursts of violent behaviour that are out of character may be the result of pent up negativity which the animal discharges through destructive physical activity. Outburst (Green Hope Farm) addresses this issue and helps an animal to discharge negativity in a benign way. Blackberry (Master’s) and Spinach (Master’s) help purify animals who absorb negativity from their “owners”. Any of the purification and cleansing essences used for humans can also be used for animals. Particularly sensitive animals or those living in a perturbed environment benefit from Golden Armor (Green Hope Farm) which is an effective protection from sound, electro-magnetic, astral and emotional pollution. Space clearing essences such as Clear Sky (Fleurs de Vie), Espace Spray (Terre & Cosmos), Space Clearing Mist (Australian Bush), or Purification Spray (Alaskan Essences) will be beneficial to both you and your animals.

When you bring a new dog home, New Beginnings (Green Hope Farm) or Bottlebrush (Australian Bush) can help him adapt to his new surroundings. The emergency essences mentioned above are also useful to relieve the stress and fear of change. If you already have animals at home and you are introducing a new one, give these essences to all the animals in the household.

New puppies will benefit from Sturt Desert Pea (Australian Bush) or Grief and Loss (Green Hope Farm) to deal with the sadness of being separated from their mother and litter mates. It takes a while for some animals to get used to each other or to any significant change in their environment - they may exhibit signs of jealousy or begin marking their territory or soiling the home. Grape (Master’s), Raspberry (Master’s), Jealousy (Green Hope Farm) and Spraying (Green Hope Farm) are some of the essences that can help resolve these problems. Slender Rice Flower (Australian Bush) might also be useful as it encourages group harmony and will help the animals to get along together.

Taking time to properly educate your dog is an important investment that will reward you many times over. We are using the “clicker” training method with our new puppy (for more information on this training method, visit www.clickertraining.com). It is based on rewards for positive actions rather than punishment for wrong ones. Essences are useful to help establish good communications between you and your dog (or any animal you are educating): Green Spider Orchid (Australian Bush) and Caretaker (Green Hope Farm) help establish an intuitive, telepathic link between animal and “owner“ and should be taken by both. Bush Gardenia (Australian Bush) and Wedding Bush (Australian Bush) help create a better relationship between animal and human, and Red Helmet Orchid (Australian Bush) will help your dog accept you as the “Alpha” member of the pack (your family).

Flower essences can be extremely effective in dealing with anxiety, nervous habits, obsessive behaviours and various fears and phobias. One of the best essences for these issues is Anxiety (Green Hope Farm). The emergency essences mentioned earlier are also useful. It is useful to note that an animal’s behavioural problems can often be a reflection of problems or disharmony in your own life.

Tomato (Master’s), Pineapple (Master’s) or Dog Rose (Australian Bush) give courage and confidence to fearful, timid or shy animals. Neediness (Green Hope Farm) helps an animal who is over-anxious to please or who wavers between self-confidence and resentment to find his balance and right relationship with his “owner”. Show Cats (Green Hope Farm) encourages balanced self-expression for animals, both in and out of shows. It helps shy animals blossom and very assertive animals find appropriate poise and restraint.

Many behavioural problems are caused by “separation anxiety”, particularly if you leave your dog home alone most of the day while you are at work. Separation (Green Hope Farm) will help your dog deal with this situation as will Waratah (Australian Bush). However much these essences might help, no dog enjoys being on its own for long periods of time, contrary to cats who are much more independent by nature.

If an animal is sick, essences are a useful complement to any medical treatment. In addition to the emergency essences, Arnica (DEVA) helps in case of physical injury, while Consoude (DEVA) calms the nervous system. Try Immune Support (Green Hope Farm) to energetically reinforce an animal’s immunity, and Brunelle (DEVA) to stimulate the healing process. Essences such as Recovery (Green Hope Farm), Macrocarpa (Australian Bush) and Banksia Robur (Australian Bush) help a convalescing animal to regain his strength and enthusiasm for life.

As animals reach the end of their lives, Transition (Green Hope Farm) or Transition Essence (Australian Bush) will help prepare them for death. Other essences dealing with fear, separation and loss may also be useful, not only for animals but for their human guardians as well.

It is tragic as well as incomprehensible, but animals are sometimes abandoned and abused by humans. Many of these animals bear emotional scars from their experiences, and may develop certain behavioural problems such as: fear of being touched, lack of socialisation skills, cringing and hiding, depression, and odd phobias. Abandonment and Abuse (Green Hope Farm) can help an animal overcome these experiences and the resulting trauma.Orange (Master’s) and Waratah (Australian Bush) address depression, Grey Spider Flower (Australian Bush) calms terror and panic, Flannel Flower (Australian Bush) is for animals who do not like being touched. Bluebell (Australian Bush), Little Flannel Flower (Australian Bush), and Sunshine Wattle (Australian Bush) can help abused animals to open up and trust in humans again. Tall Yellow Top (Australian Bush) and Kangaroo Paw (Australian Bush) help animals who find it difficult to settle into new homes or get along with other animals.

To choose the right essence for your animal, observe him closely. Use your common sense but also your intuition to assess what he might need to address both his physical and emotional state. Be aware of what is going on in your own life that might be affecting him.

There are several ways to administer essences to animals. You can put several drops directly into their mouth, on the pad of their paw or the outside of their ear, twice a day. Take care to rinse the dropper before replacing it if it touches anything outside the bottle. You can also put drops in an animal’s water. If other animals drink from the same bowl, either the essences will also help them, or they will pass through their energy field unused.

On a slightly different note, I would like to introduce the concept of animal communication. Many of us are sure that our animal friends understand us when we speak to them. What we are discovering is that they are also capable of “speaking” to us ! To understand what they have to say, we need to re-discover our telepathic ability to receive the images, sensations, and emotions that animals use to communicate among themselves and with us.

If you are interested in learning how to communicate with animals, you might consider attending one of the courses offered in France several times a year by Laila del Monte. Laila lives in the United States but was raised in Europe and speaks fluent French. To learn more you can visit www.lailadelmonte.com or the new French site www.communication-animale.com. You can also contact Barbara Armstrong, one of the coordinators for these activities in France, at barbsinbox@hotmail.com or by phone at 03 84 81 59 25.

Animals are our friends and healers. They often mirror back to us what we need to see about ourselves. They give us their best, and they deserve the best from us in return.

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