Can Animals have PTSD?

Can pets have PTSD? By logic, most of you will say yes. If you have fostered rescue dogs, you know some of them respond to different stimuli and may be afraid of loud noises. Very few are as centered and grounded as a dog who has always known he has a home. I have talked to thousands of rescue animals now and actually have been amazed that most pets know that the shelters are a place that is a transitional space.

The pets I talk to are loved enough to have an Animal communicator called. Most of them know they have a forever home and are loved. However, some of them have experiences before they came to their forever home that are traumatic and stay in the muscle memory. They have things that have happened that are still attached to their energy field.

The reason pets get PTSD are very similar to the reasons humans experience PTSD:

Hint: These are also things to avoid having happen to your pet if at all possible.

• Separation from their human family due to hurricanes, storms, or any reason the people and pets become separated.
• Traumatic loss from the family leaving them alone & abandoning them somewhere. Every dog I have ever talked to blames themselves for being left- usually stating it was their fault they couldn’t keep up!
• When animals are killed in the shelters, the spirit of those killed are lingering as ghosts making the situation even more uncomfortable. (Pets see ghosts easier than humans do).
• Too early separation from their mother, for whatever reason. For feral kittens, separation from their feral colony.
• Being shuffled from one rescue place to another, without knowing if they get to stay in a genuine effort to find the pet a new home.
• Not getting along and fighting with other animals in the shelter or a foster home.
• Not having enough food as a feral.
• Having some type of mental behavior that affects how they live and feel.

Unfortunately, this is not even a complete list. This is what we need to overcome to make your pet’s life the optimal best. What is reassuring is that animals let go of the past and move into the present moment much better than humans do. That means when you clear their energy, they don’t hold onto it or call the memories back to them.

When you adopt a pet, you may not realize that they have trouble adjusting right away. Sometimes people call me a year after adopting an animal because of behavior issues that were there from the start. Other pets get returned to the shelter because their adopters couldn’t put up with the behavior.

The sooner the pet’s energy is cleared and you ask for assistance the better. Meeting their needs and caring about what they feel and think will help you build trust. Trust that will create a loving bond between the two of you.

Many times, people call me because they want to know the history of their pet. It helps to understand the pet better. Even an animal who is shut down will give me some of its history, and the rest usually will be filled in by the Angels and Guides the pet has. A reason I like to work with animals is that they can’t lie. The most they can do is change the subject or not answer the question.

Sometimes I have to talk to the pet for a few minutes to get to the heart of the matter. They will do small talk, just like a human does, to make sure I am someone they can trust. As an empath, I emulate how they are feeling, so I immediately have a connection. Even if they are untrusting, they will allow me to clear their energy.

Clearing an animal’s energy will remove energy patterns of trauma, repair damaged chakras, and balance their energy. Many times, this is all that is needed to change the animal’s behavior, have them relax and let go of their past experiences. Other times, I have to talk to the animal and see what is going on with their feelings, belief systems, and thought forms.

Often there is something in the current environment that is triggering the PTSD. The pet can tell me what it is and then it can usually be modified. Other times the power of the PTSD is lessened because of the energy clearing.

What I have found is the hardest for dogs to get over is different from pet to pet. One thing that is particularly hard: if their former family left them, abandoned them somewhere, and the dog thinks that it is their fault they got left behind. I can’t tell you how many dogs heartbreakingly tell me they can’t keep up with the family’s car as it drives away.

The most common reason rescue dogs that I have talked to have heartbreak is that they have left a child behind. Dogs love kids. If they lost their connection to one, that seems to be a heartbreak that lasts. That doesn’t mean they won’t be a great dog for you. It means that they will look longingly into the face of a child that is the similar build and size to the one they left behind, just to make sure it isn’t them.

They might linger a little longer when your grandchild comes up to pet them. Heaven to them might be becoming a therapy dog and reading to children. They learn to have another life. But their hearts have been broken. Broken hearts can heal even bigger and love even more.

Pets have to agree to have their energy cleared, to give you permission. This is something I forget sometimes that pets too have free will. This is because for the first five years I was a communicator, dogs basically did everything I asked them to when I spoke to them. I thought I was magic!

Then one day, a dog said NO. Of course, you can then ask why not and discuss that. Most dogs will negotiate, and some cats are downright masterful in getting their way by logic. My cats now eat on the counters, sleep in my closet and many things they could not do before we could talk to each other. However, all of them have always kept their promise to not kill birds, which I consider far more important. I actually conceded to let my cats be on the counters and in the closet, their argument was far superior to mine.

It is a big change in how you approach your pet- more like they are a roommate instead of an indentured servant that you own.

Currently my dog Deedee refuses to let me clear her memories for her abuse at the hands of a woman who had Alzheimer’s and 50 dogs. She wants to hold on to experience. I’ve noticed she always makes her OWN decisions, never wanting to just follow what I want her to do. The angels tell me to be patient. That DeeDee will WANT to get closer. The interesting thing is that it’s not happening. I am a restless waiter. But I do believe in the power of love. That Dee won’t be able to keep her walls up forever because the call of love is too strong.

Next week I’ll share the ceremony for clearing the energy and karma from things that have happened to your pet. You should do this when you bring a new dog home, after they have had a major incident like a dog attack or loss of a sibling, and anytime you have been around a lot of energy or just feel like you should do it.