Therapy Dogs

It might be appropriate to begin this blog with an explanation of the origin of Silken Windhounds, the breed of dogs that we share our home and lives with. The breed originated over twenty years ago in Austin, Texas and the founder, who was and is a good friend of Kents (and now mine) started the new breed of sight hounds with a borzoi and a whippet. Sighthounds are dogs that were bred to hunt with their eyes as opposed to their noses like bloodhounds. Among the sighthound breeds, besides whippets and borzois, are greyhounds, saluki's and afghans. They are sleek, fast and very flashy in appearance. You often see borzoi in deco paintings and in art with women dressed as flappers, and elegant long hair dogs by their sides. Silken Windhounds have just been recognized as a new American Breed by the Untied Kennel Association and they still remain relatively few, numbering around 1200 worldwide, in the United States, Mexico, Japan and several European Countries.
A number of years ago a dog became famous for her ability to detect cancer cells in petrie dishes in laboratories. Her name is Cat and she lived in S. Africa when her family moved there to continue their research. A couple of years ago as the family was in transition Cat came to live with us for a few months and as it turns out she is a cousin of our two oldest Silkens, Loki and Dita (short for the Buddhist word for happiness "Mudita").
Silkens seem to be natural born therapy dogs, and Loki and Sandy Beach have visited the residents at an elder care facility where I worked as a clinical intern for two years in San Francisco. This is the story of their remarkable visits, and the residents that they touched and who reached out to touch them.
Silken Windhounds are amazing beings. Not only are they athletic, we take ours lore course racing, which they love, they adore a group romp on the beach and they coexist in happy packs with their own kind. When people meet a Silken for the first time at our house they often express their surprise at how gently they are greeted and how well behaved our family is. They make us proud.
Loki's first visit to the residential care facility will forever remain ingrained in my memory. Loki is very striking in appearance, more borzoi in size and he has long flowing lustrous hair that sweeps the ground as he walks. He is brilliant white and seems to be almost a mystical creature. When he visited the second floor at the facility where the residents lived he sparked a life and a voice in a women who I had never heard speak lucidly. She was a lovely woman with advanced dementia who spent much of her days walking the halls slightly bent over as if searching for something. She never spoke clearly and my exchanges with her were beyond language, with an energetic connection that didn't require language. I would often wait in her path as she pace the halls so that she would have to stop when she arrived near me where we would both break into laughter and she would continue her quest for something unknown, to me. I adored her and felt that was mutually shared. On the day Loki visited I intentionally planted him in front of her well traveled path and when she saw him, to my delight and astonishment, she spoke a dogs name, knelt down to him and petted him lovingly. Somewhere in her clouded mind she relived a moment with another furry four-legged being and she ceased her pacing to enjoy that memory. One of the big lessons that I learned from the elderly is to be in the moment which was/is such a gift as there are religions worldwide that teach devotees to seek that in this lifetime!
When Sandy visited the responses were equally gratifying. Sandy is tiny and petite, very much a girl and she sat next to an elderly woman who spoke only Russian, which made communication with her equally challenging for me, but as an intern I learned ways to transcend language in order to assist and be there for them to nurture their health and well being. As Sandy lay next to her she stroked her softly and hummed an unknown tune, possibly a lullaby, and seemed to travel inward to place of deep contentment and serenity. Our visit could have lasted all afternoon, however we couldn't stay, as I had other things to do and places to go, as youth always assume we need to do... However whenever I saw that lovely woman again seated on the same couch she smiled at me as a connection between us had been created that hadn't existed before.
Animals are so healing and I have been fortunate to witness that with the gorgeous creatures I live with. I have experienced unconditional love form them as never before. This is yet another reason why we are creating Kumbaya Therapy Farm and there will be more stories revealing other beings healing energies.
If you have had a story of an animal, bird or any other living being that has touched your life please share it with us. We'd love to add your connection with the natural world to our collection!
Blessed be,
Jay

Returning to Life as a Farmer

A year ago my partner and I moved from the Oakland Hills in Northern California to the Austin Texas area and purchased a fourteen acre farm near Manor. We had each had eras in our lives when we lived in rural farming settings and found ourselves yearning to reconnect with some of our earliest roots. When I was a kid I could hardly wait to get off the farm and experience an imagined, exciting life in the big city where all of my dreams would be attainable. Ten years in Hollywood and another twenty in Northern California, along with the changing priorities, and re-evaluating that occur with aging, I longed to surround myself with other four legged and two legged feathered beings. In cities Mother Earth is not as easily accessible, it takes forethought, desire, time, and travel in order to continue feeling connected to the source of all life. As the Universe often opens doors unexpectedly for new opportunities when AT&T laid off twenty-seven thousand employees on one day, we found ourselves, yet again, facing the prospect and trepidation that accompanies the need for change. We chose to move to a state that many Californians hold with disdain, to be nearer to family and to build a new dream, to become more self-sustained on a farm, which could hardly be conceived as financially attainable in the over-priced and overvalued California real estate market. Our home, blessedly sold after ten short days on the market, yet another sign from the Universe and we packed up some of our belongings and our family of Silken Windhounds and caravanned to Texas. I had to leave the clinical internship that I so loved, working with the elderly in a residential care facility as a psychologist but I was also aware that moving forward and ahead would be very therapeutic and healing for me. As scary as change may be once it is embraced it can be very stimulating and invigorating going through the process.
Have you experienced the positive aspects and aftermaths that can occur through challenging changes? Please share with us.
Blessed be,
Jay