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It’s that time of year again.

We get to act cheerful and have the spirit of the holidays surrounding us. For some of us, this is the first holiday without our beloved. For others, this is the anniversary of losing a beloved, whether or not this is a dog, cat, horse, parent, spouse, sibling, friend, etc. Either way, this period of time can intensify any feelings of loss we may have. While we all have plenty to be grateful for, sometimes the loss gets accentuated.

Whether you are someone who has had a personal loss in the last year, or are deeply affected and reminded by the collective grief of the Sandy Hook tragic events, you are not alone.

Let’s face it: the entire country could be in a low form of PTSD with all the big events that have happened. Equally, the collective experience could create Compassion Fatigue.

Your therapy or much needed comfort may be asleep on the couch, on the end of the bed, presenting you with a wet ball to toss, or in a barn right now. If you don’t have an animal companion of your own currently, I bet your friend, neighbor or family member does.

I was thrilled to see that there were “comfort dogs” sent to Connecticut.

Upon the comfort dogs’ arrival, many reporters expressed that it was the first time people smiled in the town. In spite of the horrific tragedy and profound grief, people were able to experience their first moments of joy. Comfort dogs help people to talk, express and share their experience by creating a safe and loving environment.

(More from this article: “Dogs to help mend hearts in Newtown.”)

My guess is, you’ve trained a comfort animal in your home too. It doesn’t take a pet psychic to say that you have a rock in your household. In all my years of being an animal communicator, even if the household is challenged by an animal’s naughty behavior, that animal is contributing to the well-being of the household, and if nothing else, providing a distraction!

There is plenty of evidence showing that petting an animal reduces stress and anxiety. Scientists have proved that talking and petting animals makes us feel good, and that it is less physiologically stimulating than talking to a human.

Studies have shown that petting a dog lowers blood pressure, helps the heart rate, the respiratory rate and that Oxytocin is released in both the dog and human. Oxytocin is the love hormone. It is active in birth, sex and considered to be the hormone of cuddling and bonding.

A purring cat has measurable hertz, which has proven to reduce stress and anxiety when they purr. It also helps stimulate bone growth and healing in humans. Cats will purr when they are stressed, injured and at the veterinarians office which indicates that they have a built in healing system for themselves.

When we think about hertz, we are talking about a measurable frequency. When we talk about a frequency, we enter the discussion of energy. As an animal communicator, author and educator on the subject of animal communication and energy healing for animals, when we start talking about energy, we are speaking my language. Our animals lift our spirits, they raise our frequency, they increase our energy and they give us purpose. We humans can offer a sense of purpose for our animal companions as well.

Many people ask me: “Am I dumping my emotions on my animal?”

The answer is no and the reason is twofold: some animals are never going to be the comfort. They are the distraction, the fun, the entertainment and the list could go on. You couldn’t dump your emotions on them if you tried! The animals that are here for comfort—this is their job, and they want nothing more than to be the comfort. They might do other things, but they certainly feel their purpose when they can comfort. Secondly, when you are engaging in this comfort, consciously, you are simply experiencing the comfort and can thank them for their incredible service. There are many ways to reciprocate immediately.

After you’ve felt the comfort and joy, it would be great to go take them on a brisk walk, groom them, or do some quick training and give them a treat. Discover what their favorite thing is and make sure you do it.

Animals are energetic by nature. They don’t hang on to emotions the way we do.  They literally get up off the couch and shake it off.  Be part of that process of shaking it off with them.  It may be a great habit to get into.

When we resist the stress, grief or anxiety we tend to make it a bigger, invisible monster.

Our resistance to our own emotions and feelings is more stressful to our animal companions because they sense our struggle and that can appear threatening.

If we lean into our feelings and allow ourselves to go there, into the painful places, we can discover how temporary these feelings are. Animals model that for us because of their ability to quickly transition form one thing to another. For example, they can be playing, playing, playing one minute, something can hurt, they can get in a scuffle, they separate and are grumpy, then they are bored and before you know it, they are playing again. Our feelings aren’t any different. We can own them 150 percent and get to the other side of them. We aren’t alone because we have our comfort dog, cat, horse, our solid rock in our household.

When we allow ourselves the full range of an emotion, there is always an upgrade—a deeper understanding, more compassion, a release of the emotion for good, forgiveness, any number of positive outcomes.

Whether it is the holiday season or the rest of the year, between rushing around to events or the stress of everyday life, take a moment to breathe in the love and healing of your comfort dog, cat, horse, guinea pig, bird, goat, or any other animal friend in your world.

They are waiting for that moment to be needed.

Joan Ranquet, Animal Communicator and author of Communication with all Life, Revelations of an Animal Communicator (Hay House) is the founder of Communication with all Life University. Through private sessions, workshops, teleseminars and speaking events, Joan facilitates a deepening of the human/animal connection. Joan was chosen by MSN as one of the “Top 25 People Who Do What They Love”. Her newest book, “Energy Healing for Animals, Techniques to Enhance the Health, Longevity & Happiness of the Animals We Love” will be also be out 2013 (Sounds True).   “Animal Communication 101, Simple Steps to Communicate with Animals” came out January 2012.  Visit www.joanranquet.com.

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Ed: Brianna B.

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