1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:00,760
Speaker 1: Live.

2
00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:03,600
Speaker 2: This is Pet Life Radio.

3
00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:05,080
Speaker 1: Let's talk pets.

4
00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,519
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Human Animal Connection Show, where we believe

5
00:00:10,599 --> 00:00:14,439
we can communicate with all animals. Join us as we

6
00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,760
explore the thirty three principles and healing methods of the

7
00:00:17,839 --> 00:00:21,480
Human Animal Connection. As animal lovers, we know that you

8
00:00:21,679 --> 00:00:24,800
share our commitment to making the world a kinder place

9
00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,600
for all creatures. Together, let's embrace the transformative healing power

10
00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,039
of the Human Animal Connection.

11
00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:33,119
Speaker 3: Hi.

12
00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,759
Speaker 4: Everyone, it's Jeanie Joseph, executive director and host of the

13
00:00:36,759 --> 00:00:40,439
podcast The Human Animal Connection. So glad you're with us today.

14
00:00:40,439 --> 00:00:42,719
I have Ellie Lax and she's the founder of the

15
00:00:42,759 --> 00:00:46,079
Gentle Barn and this is a wonderful place where they

16
00:00:46,119 --> 00:00:49,840
do work with rescue farm animals, different animals and bring

17
00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,240
people in to have wonderful experiences. And as you know,

18
00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,880
in The Human Animal Connection, we work with our therapy

19
00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,079
donkeys and our therapy dogs and we've just been wanting

20
00:00:58,119 --> 00:01:00,679
to trade stories with each other, and we thought we

21
00:01:00,799 --> 00:01:02,759
just didn't have a show where we just tell some

22
00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,200
stories and things that just come to mind about the glorious,

23
00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,599
wonderful moments of our work with animals. So Ellie, say

24
00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:10,319
hi to everyone.

25
00:01:11,159 --> 00:01:14,680
Speaker 1: Hello. I'm so happy to be here, and these stories

26
00:01:14,719 --> 00:01:18,599
are amazing. It really illustrates how magical animals are, how

27
00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,159
much they have to offer, and how much we all

28
00:01:21,239 --> 00:01:24,079
as humans can benefit from them. So I'm excited about

29
00:01:24,079 --> 00:01:24,879
this episode.

30
00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,079
Speaker 4: Yeah great, So what's your first story that you want

31
00:01:28,079 --> 00:01:28,879
to tell us.

32
00:01:30,439 --> 00:01:34,040
Speaker 1: I'm having trouble picking a story because I have so many.

33
00:01:34,239 --> 00:01:36,599
I know that's hard, but I do have an amazing

34
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,840
story that it's one of my favorites. We had a

35
00:01:41,879 --> 00:01:44,040
turkey we'd like to bring her to events. So we

36
00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,560
brought her to all kinds of different events where people

37
00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:48,560
could pet her and snuggle with her, and she would

38
00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,599
fall asleep in people's laps and she would really show

39
00:01:50,599 --> 00:01:54,280
people who turkeys are. But one particular event we brought

40
00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:56,959
her to, there was a band there about one hundred

41
00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,159
feet away, and as the band started playing, she immediately

42
00:02:01,439 --> 00:02:04,280
raced as fast as she could over to the stage.

43
00:02:04,319 --> 00:02:06,640
And I'm following her, going, oh my god, where is

44
00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,280
she going. She's never done this before, And I'm like,

45
00:02:09,439 --> 00:02:13,479
racing after this turkey. And she ran until she was

46
00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,280
front row center. Oh, and she closed her eyes and

47
00:02:18,319 --> 00:02:22,319
she started swaying to the music. Oh, and I was

48
00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,080
so in shock by watching this, and I sat down

49
00:02:26,199 --> 00:02:29,639
on one of the folded chairs and literally watched my

50
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:34,280
turkey speaking the music for three hours. And people would

51
00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,680
come and they would like gather around her, and everybody

52
00:02:36,719 --> 00:02:39,319
would dance. And now she's dancing with all these people.

53
00:02:39,719 --> 00:02:42,240
And I watched this go on for three hours until

54
00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:46,840
the band finally broke for lunch. Wow. When they finally

55
00:02:46,879 --> 00:02:49,879
stopped playing, she opened her eyes and she looked back

56
00:02:49,879 --> 00:02:51,520
at me like, oh my god, we got to get

57
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:55,919
to our booth and blocked herself back to the booth.

58
00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,159
Speaker 4: Oh how fun.

59
00:02:58,039 --> 00:03:01,719
Speaker 1: Then yeah, and then she people cuddle and sit with

60
00:03:01,759 --> 00:03:03,280
her for the rest of the day. So when we

61
00:03:03,319 --> 00:03:05,080
got home that day, I was like, oh my god,

62
00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,520
we have to have a radio in the barnyard for her,

63
00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:09,680
and so we did. We set up a radio, and

64
00:03:09,719 --> 00:03:12,360
no matter what kind of genre of music was playing,

65
00:03:12,439 --> 00:03:15,360
she was always planted right next to the radio, their

66
00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:20,080
eyes closed, swaying to the music. So around that same time,

67
00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,159
we had a group of high school boys and girls

68
00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:28,800
who had either physical disabilities or emotional differences, you know,

69
00:03:28,879 --> 00:03:31,280
stuff that they were all individually working on, and they

70
00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,080
came as a group to participate in our year long

71
00:03:34,159 --> 00:03:38,400
piece enhancement program, and the first time they got there,

72
00:03:38,639 --> 00:03:41,560
I picked up one of our chickens and I kind

73
00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,560
of went to each person individually to see if they

74
00:03:44,599 --> 00:03:47,439
wanted to pet her or even hold her. When I

75
00:03:47,479 --> 00:03:50,879
got to this last teenager, as I was about to

76
00:03:50,919 --> 00:03:53,719
offer her the chicken, the counselors jumped in front of

77
00:03:53,759 --> 00:03:56,719
her and said, no, don't offer her the chicken. She's

78
00:03:56,759 --> 00:04:00,960
a very violent girl's she you know, she scratches us

79
00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,520
and bites us. She's very violent in the school and

80
00:04:03,759 --> 00:04:07,560
in the home. Please don't give her the chicken. But

81
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,680
we have a rule at the Gentle Barn that every

82
00:04:09,759 --> 00:04:12,759
single person could define who they are for themselves in

83
00:04:12,759 --> 00:04:14,759
that moment. I don't care what they've gone through, I

84
00:04:14,759 --> 00:04:16,839
don't care what they've done, I don't care what's said

85
00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:19,639
about them. In the moment where they're standing on gentle

86
00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,000
barn soil, they can tell me who they are. So

87
00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,680
I explained this to the counselors and they kind of

88
00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:27,600
rolled their eyes and said, okay, it's on you if

89
00:04:27,639 --> 00:04:30,600
the chicken gets hurt, and they walked away. So I

90
00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,560
asked this girl if she wanted to pet the chicken

91
00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,519
she had a huge smile on our face, and she

92
00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,240
nodded yes, and she pet the chicken, and she was

93
00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:41,879
delightful that entire day. Later on, I learned about her

94
00:04:41,959 --> 00:04:44,959
that she was actually mute, and she has not said

95
00:04:44,959 --> 00:04:48,120
a word in twelve years. So it became my mission

96
00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,720
in life to help her speak. I was asking the

97
00:04:51,759 --> 00:04:55,360
counselors what was she like before she stopped speaking, and

98
00:04:55,399 --> 00:04:57,480
they said that she loved to sing and dance. And

99
00:04:57,519 --> 00:04:59,720
I was like, well, I have a turkey that likes

100
00:04:59,759 --> 00:05:03,920
to say oh oh. I invited this beautiful teenage girl

101
00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,240
to come and sit next to me while I sang

102
00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,800
to our turkey, and I explained to her the importance

103
00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,800
of music for this turkey. So for three months she

104
00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,079
stroked the turkey and sat next to me with a

105
00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,040
huge smile on her face while I sang out loud.

106
00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,480
But by the fourth month she started humming along with me.

107
00:05:22,879 --> 00:05:25,879
By the fifth month, she started singing, And by the

108
00:05:25,879 --> 00:05:29,240
time she graduated our program, she was fully vocal, both

109
00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:31,839
in the classroom at the Gentle Barn and at home

110
00:05:32,399 --> 00:05:36,240
at azing. Because of this little girl or teenager and

111
00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:38,600
our turkey and their shared love of music.

112
00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:43,199
Speaker 4: Oh, that is so beautiful. That is so beautiful. I know,

113
00:05:43,319 --> 00:05:47,160
there's so many wonderful stories about music and animals, and

114
00:05:47,199 --> 00:05:49,240
you just never know what kind of music they're going

115
00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:51,920
to like. And I know, like people who who do

116
00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,720
competitive dog dancing dancing with their dogs, they'll tell you

117
00:05:55,759 --> 00:05:58,120
that you can't train a dog to dance to a

118
00:05:58,160 --> 00:05:59,560
song the dog doesn't like.

119
00:06:00,759 --> 00:06:03,160
Speaker 1: I mean, it makes sense, yeah, right, exactly.

120
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,079
Speaker 4: You know, so they'll try different styles and some like salsa,

121
00:06:06,319 --> 00:06:08,360
some like mariachi. You know, you just never know what

122
00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:12,560
they're gonna like. But in our class, canines teach compassion

123
00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,079
where we bring the therapy dogs to work with high

124
00:06:15,079 --> 00:06:18,040
school students who are in counseling in the classroom and

125
00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,839
and we have them sing lullabies to the kids, you know,

126
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,439
just we will use the dog's name a lot and

127
00:06:23,519 --> 00:06:25,480
the song, you know, and then just make up the

128
00:06:25,519 --> 00:06:29,519
words to broms lullaby whatever. And it's so beautiful because

129
00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:31,720
we teach the kids that, oh, you're doing this to

130
00:06:31,759 --> 00:06:34,079
help the dogs relax, which is true. The dogs go

131
00:06:34,199 --> 00:06:37,360
completely just you know, sleepy and relax. But of course

132
00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,639
it's helping the kids relax because nothing like singing a

133
00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,399
lullaby to a sweet little thing, you know, to make

134
00:06:43,439 --> 00:06:46,279
both of you and the animal feel good. So that's

135
00:06:46,319 --> 00:06:49,160
just a lovely thing to do to bring So I

136
00:06:49,199 --> 00:06:51,800
hope people listening will maybe try that with their animals,

137
00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,120
you know, like one of my dogs, Sofia. So I'll

138
00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:56,800
say I can't sing, but this is and I'll model

139
00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:58,360
this as students. I said, I can't sing at.

140
00:06:58,319 --> 00:07:04,240
Speaker 3: All, but Sophie, I love you. You're my sweetest of donkies,

141
00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,439
and I love you. Yes, I love you, You're my

142
00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:08,639
little Sophie.

143
00:07:09,519 --> 00:07:11,680
Speaker 4: So it's important to use their name in the song

144
00:07:11,759 --> 00:07:14,680
a lot if they know their name, and it's just

145
00:07:14,839 --> 00:07:17,000
a wonderful thing to do. So try that at home.

146
00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:19,319
Try singing to the animals who share your lives.

147
00:07:19,639 --> 00:07:22,600
Speaker 1: You know. It's really really interesting because as an animal

148
00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,439
communicator I talk to animals for clients all over the

149
00:07:25,439 --> 00:07:29,800
world and not all the time, but many times the

150
00:07:29,879 --> 00:07:33,959
dog or the animal will talk about the person singing

151
00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:37,839
a special song to them, or playing special music in

152
00:07:37,879 --> 00:07:43,720
the background, or meditating with specific music. They are absolutely

153
00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:48,199
aware of singing and music and there are animals that

154
00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:50,199
really love it very very much.

155
00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,319
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's great. And if you're putting music on for

156
00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:55,639
your animal when you leave make sure that you know

157
00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,079
that that's the style that they like, because it is

158
00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,240
there are a lot of uniquenesses. Some animals like classical,

159
00:08:01,399 --> 00:08:03,199
some like new age, so I'm like different things. So

160
00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,040
make sure that you are certain that that's what they

161
00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,959
like before you leave it on. That's a great Yeah.

162
00:08:09,199 --> 00:08:11,279
Speaker 1: No, that's a really good point because of course there

163
00:08:11,279 --> 00:08:13,959
are animals that prefer it quiet and don't like the

164
00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,160
noise or don't like the genre of music. And imagine

165
00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,319
being stuck at home for four hours listening to music

166
00:08:20,319 --> 00:08:23,199
that you hate. That's really really important to know that

167
00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:27,040
your animal enjoys the music and what kind they like.

168
00:08:27,279 --> 00:08:28,040
Very good point.

169
00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,560
Speaker 4: One of my early stories with animal communication was this

170
00:08:31,639 --> 00:08:33,159
was when I was living in New York City. I

171
00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,039
was in the movie business. I was a totally type

172
00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,399
a person. You had no animals or anything like this,

173
00:08:38,279 --> 00:08:40,519
and I started having these dreams that I was going

174
00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,159
to get a cat. And it was like, what, you know,

175
00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:45,039
how am I going to do this with my fourteen

176
00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,480
hour days? You know, It's just like I just couldn't

177
00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:49,200
see it. Finally, I said, okay, well, if I'm going

178
00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:50,679
to get a cat, the cat's just going to come

179
00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:52,840
to me. And I said that and forgot about it.

180
00:08:52,919 --> 00:08:55,120
So one night, middle of the winter, New York City,

181
00:08:55,159 --> 00:08:58,159
you know, twenty five degrees, and I hear a sound.

182
00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,720
I lived in a like the ground floor apartment in

183
00:09:00,759 --> 00:09:02,759
the back, and I hear this sound. It sounded like

184
00:09:02,759 --> 00:09:05,039
someone was trying to break in my window, which had happened,

185
00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,960
so it was really scary. So I yell all kinds

186
00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:09,879
of things, which I won't yell here because you know,

187
00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,120
but anyway, so I yell at this thing and I hear, yeah,

188
00:09:13,799 --> 00:09:17,639
this tiny little sound, and I go, oh, no, I

189
00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:19,919
don't have anything, you know, I don't have a cat, bugs,

190
00:09:19,919 --> 00:09:22,080
I don't have a litter, I don't have food. I

191
00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:23,960
had some milk, so I said, all right, I'm just

192
00:09:24,039 --> 00:09:25,919
it's so cold. I'm just going to go out, open

193
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,039
the door, give this cat some milk, and go back

194
00:09:28,039 --> 00:09:29,639
to bed. You gotta get up early. I got a

195
00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:33,200
big shoot tomorrow. So I opened the door, put the

196
00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,639
milk down. The cat walks right by the milk and

197
00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,759
right inside my door, like this is high home. This

198
00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,399
little tiny thing, you know, not like a tiny kitten,

199
00:09:43,399 --> 00:09:46,720
but like a teenage kitten. It was just amazing, you

200
00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:50,240
know that this cat who I named WOLFI. And Wolfy

201
00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,240
was with me for sixteen years and when it was time,

202
00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,120
you know that it was getting to be that time,

203
00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,759
Wolfy told me, you know, gave me about a year

204
00:09:58,799 --> 00:10:01,320
or two noteiculd I was, so this was my sole cat,

205
00:10:01,399 --> 00:10:03,799
you know, about a year two, Wolfy said I'm going

206
00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,840
to be going, and another cat, stray, kind of found

207
00:10:06,919 --> 00:10:09,799
us kind of in a similar way. And Wolfe said

208
00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:11,159
to me, you know, like it was that time the

209
00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:12,879
vet was saying, well, I think we should make the

210
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,240
point for euthanasian I didn't feel right, and I said, well,

211
00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:18,799
maybe I should just ask Wolfy what he feels. He

212
00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:20,639
said to me, well, I want to go. I want

213
00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:22,919
to go at home with you, and he gave me

214
00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,080
the date. He said, I'm going to go between three

215
00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,960
and five am, and that's exactly what happened. So he

216
00:10:29,039 --> 00:10:31,080
went at exactly that time in my arm. So I

217
00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:33,360
was able to be with him and it was just

218
00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,879
really beautiful. And you know, I'm not against euthanasia when

219
00:10:36,879 --> 00:10:39,960
it's needed, but it was really important to ask the

220
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:43,720
animal what their preferences are and so that you can

221
00:10:43,759 --> 00:10:46,200
feel complete, because it really helped me knowing that I

222
00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,919
had honored his wishes. Yeah, that made a big deal

223
00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:50,200
to me.

224
00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:51,120
Speaker 2: Yeah.

225
00:10:51,279 --> 00:10:54,000
Speaker 1: No, I'm so glad that you shared that story because

226
00:10:54,039 --> 00:10:57,519
you bring up so many good points. Look, here's the truth.

227
00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,639
Animals are blessed with euthanasia that they don't have to suffer,

228
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:07,200
they don't have to go through elongated struggles and illnesses,

229
00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:09,399
that we get to set them free when they're ready

230
00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:15,120
to go. But there are times when euthanasia is overused

231
00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,600
or used too early, because just because we have euthanasia

232
00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,519
doesn't mean that animals can't still pass on their own

233
00:11:22,519 --> 00:11:25,279
when they want to. And I have a number of

234
00:11:25,519 --> 00:11:29,080
animals that I talk to as an animal communicator, and yeah,

235
00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,080
sometimes they say, oh my god, I'm done. This is terrible.

236
00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:33,519
I got to get out of here, and then you

237
00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:36,559
set them free. Other times they ask for more time

238
00:11:36,639 --> 00:11:38,519
and they say, even though I look like a mess,

239
00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:40,960
I don't want to leave yet. I'm not ready. But

240
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,440
then other times they'll say, I am ready, but I

241
00:11:43,519 --> 00:11:45,679
don't want help. I want to pass on my own.

242
00:11:46,279 --> 00:11:50,080
And when animals want that, it's such a blessing to

243
00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:52,840
give them that. Oh yes, absolutely, you know, on animals,

244
00:11:52,879 --> 00:11:56,279
we'll say like, well, here's my bucket, list, or here's

245
00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:59,480
who I want to be there, or here's the tree

246
00:11:59,519 --> 00:12:02,960
I want to lay under. They have wishes and it's

247
00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:04,919
wonderful when we can fulfill them.

248
00:12:05,399 --> 00:12:09,080
Speaker 4: Yes, it is absolutely beautiful, Absolutely beautiful, We can do that.

249
00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,120
So I want to tell a little story about Oscar,

250
00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,519
who was my first therapy dog, and he had been,

251
00:12:15,799 --> 00:12:18,440
you know, literally a prisoner of war. He had been

252
00:12:18,639 --> 00:12:20,919
forced to be a pig hunter in Hawaii, where they

253
00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,320
starve them to make them more aggressive. You know, it's

254
00:12:24,519 --> 00:12:27,240
really really rough circumstances. He escaped with it this many

255
00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,200
years ago. A very expensive GPS caller was, you know,

256
00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,799
hundreds and hundreds of dollars at those times, and they

257
00:12:32,799 --> 00:12:35,320
didn't even you know, they didn't come and get them.

258
00:12:35,399 --> 00:12:36,879
And so I was working with him at the shelter

259
00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,080
he had been passed his due date. It was a

260
00:12:39,159 --> 00:12:42,000
kill shelter in those days. And finally I took him

261
00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:46,360
home and he became just the most amazing therapy. He

262
00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,440
was the gentlest, sweetest dog, even though he'd been through

263
00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,360
scars all over his body, missing teeth, the sweetest dog

264
00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:54,720
I had ever met. And I would sit I was

265
00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,519
working with soldiers with PTSD who were hospitalized and they

266
00:12:58,519 --> 00:13:00,000
would sit in a circle and he would go around

267
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,759
and say hello to each one. He could tell someone

268
00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,519
was afraid, he would just skip that person, but he

269
00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:06,320
would go and sit. What would do, he would do

270
00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:08,799
what's called an alert, which is he would sit and

271
00:13:08,919 --> 00:13:12,000
just look at the person who was suicidal he knew,

272
00:13:12,519 --> 00:13:14,480
and he would just look at them until they melted,

273
00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:16,679
until they got down on their knees and started making

274
00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:19,759
baby dog and you know, loving this little guy. And

275
00:13:19,799 --> 00:13:22,360
he just had that ability. I was able to find

276
00:13:22,399 --> 00:13:24,399
out from the nurses he was one hundred percent right,

277
00:13:24,759 --> 00:13:27,159
you know, because I didn't know anyone's story or anything,

278
00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:29,919
but he knew he could tell the difference between who was,

279
00:13:30,519 --> 00:13:32,879
you know, who needed a little extra love that day.

280
00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:35,879
And that's what really began my journey with working with

281
00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:40,600
therapy animals was Oscar was his ability to smell suicidality

282
00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:42,480
was so important. This was the early days of the

283
00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:45,279
war twenty ten, so you know, it was not really

284
00:13:45,279 --> 00:13:48,039
being talked about, and soldiers didn't want to mention it

285
00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:50,679
because they could lose their status in the military if

286
00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:53,879
they admitted that. So it was really helpful to have

287
00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,360
a dog who knew just who needed. What, Oh, that's

288
00:13:57,399 --> 00:13:58,200
so beautiful.

289
00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,159
Speaker 1: And these animals really do know it can see inside

290
00:14:02,159 --> 00:14:06,399
a person in ways that we can't. At the Gentleburn,

291
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,960
we work with kids from foster agencies or on probation,

292
00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,159
or from drug and alcohol rehab centers, or people from

293
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:18,679
domestic valance shelters, hemmeless shelters, or veteran centers, and hurting

294
00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:23,000
individuals that are not in agencies, and we never ask

295
00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,879
for their file. We never speak to someone beforehand. We

296
00:14:26,919 --> 00:14:30,399
don't want to know about them. We just want them

297
00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,879
to come and experience the animals, and we know one

298
00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:35,600
hundred percent that those animals will know exactly what to do,

299
00:14:35,639 --> 00:14:40,960
and they always always do. We had a beautiful racehorse

300
00:14:41,039 --> 00:14:44,720
named Mamma Dear, and because she was raised in the

301
00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,559
racing industry, she wasn't very warm and fuzzy with kind

302
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,000
of me and my staff. We would try to groom

303
00:14:50,039 --> 00:14:53,000
her and scratch her and massage her, and after five

304
00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,519
minutes she'd be like all right, already, like enough. But

305
00:14:55,799 --> 00:15:01,519
the teenagers would come and she hold still for them

306
00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,639
for hours. They could crawl underneath her, they could hug her,

307
00:15:06,039 --> 00:15:09,080
they can lay on top of her, they could do

308
00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,279
whatever they wanted, and she would not move because she

309
00:15:12,559 --> 00:15:16,879
knew that they needed her. And even our cows and

310
00:15:16,919 --> 00:15:22,879
our cow hug therapy sessions, if someone is just too serious,

311
00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:27,159
they'll lick them or prants around or do something silly

312
00:15:27,159 --> 00:15:30,200
and funny to make them laugh. If someone is really

313
00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,399
flighty and kind of stuck in their head, they will

314
00:15:33,639 --> 00:15:37,240
meditate with them to ground them and center them. And

315
00:15:37,279 --> 00:15:43,039
when someone is in real trauma like suicidal ideations or PTSD,

316
00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,879
or in real loss and grief, they will literally wrap

317
00:15:46,919 --> 00:15:50,759
their necks around them and hold them for hours. They

318
00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:54,000
know exactly what that person needs, and all we have

319
00:15:54,039 --> 00:15:55,960
to do is facilitate their interaction.

320
00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:57,240
Speaker 2: Wow.

321
00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:02,240
Speaker 4: Beautiful, so beautiful, they are so yes, so much. We're

322
00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,159
going to take a short little break. When we come back,

323
00:16:04,159 --> 00:16:06,720
you're going to hear more wonderful stories from Ellie Lax,

324
00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,440
founder of The Gentle Barn, and Genie Joseph The Human

325
00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:11,120
Animal Connection.

326
00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:17,480
Speaker 2: We'll be right back, hey, friends. If you like what

327
00:16:17,519 --> 00:16:20,519
you're hearing and want to learn more, check out doctor

328
00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:26,200
Joseph's book The Human Animal Connection, Deepening Relationships with Animals

329
00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:32,639
and Ourselves, or visit the website The Humananimalconnection dot org

330
00:16:32,799 --> 00:16:37,200
to book an online consultation. Thank you for loving animals.

331
00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:38,720
Now back to the show.

332
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:52,519
Speaker 5: Let's Talk Pats on Petlifradio dot com.

333
00:16:52,639 --> 00:16:56,039
Speaker 4: Welcome back to the Human Animal Connection Podcast. So, Ellie,

334
00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:58,159
we were talking on the break. You said your horse

335
00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,159
was kind of coming in and giving them this feeling

336
00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:04,160
that he wanted his story told. So tell us about Whisper. Yeah.

337
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,079
Speaker 1: I keep thinking about Whisper, and it's almost like she's

338
00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:09,279
in my ear, going tell my story, tell my story.

339
00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:12,200
Her birthday or what would have been her birthday, is

340
00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,640
coming up, so I think she would love for me

341
00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,160
to tell her story. Whisper has a very very long,

342
00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,200
kind of painful story that she actually doesn't like when

343
00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,799
I tell it. So I'm gonna tell her story the

344
00:17:24,839 --> 00:17:28,000
way she likes me to tell her story. Whisper is

345
00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:35,599
extraordinarily resilient, very brave, very strong. She has gone through

346
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:40,279
enormous trauma and come out the other side victorious. She

347
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,240
was very angry when she came to the Gentle Barn,

348
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:46,720
and we had to work extensively on helping her. And

349
00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,119
one of the first things is she had no trust

350
00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:51,480
for us. She was very, very, very angry because she

351
00:17:51,519 --> 00:17:55,440
had been through enormous emotional, mental, and physical abuse. She

352
00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:57,680
had cigar birds on her butt, she had holes on

353
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,440
either side from the spurs, she had her chest rubbed

354
00:18:00,519 --> 00:18:03,680
raw from the saddle strap. She had no confidence or

355
00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,640
belief in any one, and she felt completely alone in

356
00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,240
the world. So the first thing that I had to

357
00:18:09,279 --> 00:18:12,720
do was I to show her that I trusted her,

358
00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,599
because when you give someone your trust, then oftentimes they'll

359
00:18:16,599 --> 00:18:19,480
want to return the favor. And it was very dicey

360
00:18:19,559 --> 00:18:22,559
because she was, you know, she was offering to bite

361
00:18:22,599 --> 00:18:25,480
and kick and trolling around and rearing up, and it

362
00:18:25,559 --> 00:18:30,160
was kind of a scary situation. But instinctively, I knew

363
00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:32,640
that I had to show her that I trusted her.

364
00:18:33,079 --> 00:18:35,920
So I walked into her stall and she was racing

365
00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,000
around and kicking and bucking and rearing and screaming and

366
00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:41,799
charging and biting at me. And I stood in the

367
00:18:41,839 --> 00:18:44,119
center of her stall and I closed my eyes and

368
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:47,680
I kept saying, you have my trust, you have my trust,

369
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,799
you have my trust. My husband was going, Ellie, get

370
00:18:51,799 --> 00:18:54,160
out of there. That is so dangerous, and I was like, no,

371
00:18:54,319 --> 00:18:57,799
I have to do this. And what was interesting is

372
00:18:58,039 --> 00:19:01,000
she was doing all kinds of posture and offering, but

373
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:05,359
She did not touch a hair on my head, and

374
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,759
that was very intentional, right. She wanted to show me

375
00:19:07,839 --> 00:19:10,759
how angry she was, and she actually didn't want to

376
00:19:10,839 --> 00:19:11,119
hurt me.

377
00:19:11,759 --> 00:19:11,920
Speaker 6: Wow.

378
00:19:12,559 --> 00:19:15,319
Speaker 1: And as I sat there with my eyes closed, offering

379
00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:19,519
her my trust, she de escalated until finally she stopped

380
00:19:19,519 --> 00:19:22,279
what she was doing, stood in front of me, put

381
00:19:22,319 --> 00:19:26,279
her mouth on mine, and we breathed each other in Wow.

382
00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:27,920
That was the beginning of her healing.

383
00:19:28,519 --> 00:19:29,039
Speaker 5: Wow.

384
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,960
Speaker 1: We worked for the next four years. What happened to her?

385
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,559
She was savagely abused under saddle, so the man wanted

386
00:19:36,599 --> 00:19:41,039
her to do cattle roping with him, but she Okay,

387
00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:43,160
Jennifer is not in the room, and that shadow just

388
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,480
passed behind me. Okay, And Sharon is sitting at her

389
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:50,640
desk and has not moved. Oh hello, whisper. If anybody

390
00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:53,119
that is watching saw that shadow pass behind me, there

391
00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:55,920
is no one moving in the office, so I think

392
00:19:56,039 --> 00:19:59,559
that is whisper saying hello Hello was pre valid. There

393
00:19:59,559 --> 00:20:02,000
it is again, There it is again. We will anyway.

394
00:20:02,039 --> 00:20:04,319
Speaker 4: We're having a shadow phenomenon. For those of you who

395
00:20:04,319 --> 00:20:07,759
were watching and not just listening, we've been having a

396
00:20:07,799 --> 00:20:10,880
shadow move with it somewhere somehow in Ellie's room, even

397
00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:13,279
though no one is moving, there is a shadow that

398
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,799
has been walking back and forth. And we weren't deciding

399
00:20:16,799 --> 00:20:18,599
whether we should tell you this story, but now I

400
00:20:18,599 --> 00:20:20,920
think we have to tell you. Go ahead to finish

401
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,240
whisper story. So for the next fourth.

402
00:20:23,279 --> 00:20:27,200
Speaker 1: So, Whisper was savagely abused under saddle, and this man

403
00:20:27,319 --> 00:20:31,519
wanted her to rope cattle with him, but prior to

404
00:20:31,519 --> 00:20:34,079
meeting him, she had never met a cow in her life.

405
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,359
And instead of giving her time to figure it out

406
00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,160
or to teach her, he just sat on her and

407
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:43,079
gave her commands that she didn't understand, and when she

408
00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:47,160
didn't follow the commands, he beat her silly. She started

409
00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:49,880
fighting back because she's a fighter, and every time she fought,

410
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,279
he would hurt her even worse, and it became just

411
00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:56,519
this snowball of trauma. So once I gave her my

412
00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,839
trust and she softened and we breathed each other in,

413
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,279
we embarked on a four year journey of sitting on her,

414
00:21:04,559 --> 00:21:07,200
asking her to do tiny little things that of course

415
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,200
she knew how to do, like take a step forward,

416
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:10,839
take a step to the left, take a step to

417
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,880
the right, But instead of following those instructions, she was

418
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:19,440
triggered from her trauma and she would explode. And it

419
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,000
gave us an opportunity to sit very quietly on her

420
00:21:22,039 --> 00:21:24,480
and say, tell us more. And she got to buck

421
00:21:24,559 --> 00:21:27,400
and rear and kick and scream and bite and turtle

422
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:32,000
around and speak with her body and talk about her

423
00:21:32,039 --> 00:21:34,599
anger and her trauma and her sadness and her pain,

424
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,319
while we very quietly just sat on her and let

425
00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:42,799
her tell us what she had inside of her. And

426
00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:46,000
little by little, the more she got to do that,

427
00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:51,119
the more she expressed herself, the softer she got, the

428
00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:54,799
quieter she got, until after four years she literally had

429
00:21:54,839 --> 00:21:57,400
said all of it and there was no more trauma

430
00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,000
left inside of her. And the very very last day

431
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,319
we brought her out to the barn. Out of the barn,

432
00:22:05,079 --> 00:22:07,759
she said, ah, here we go again. But instead of

433
00:22:07,799 --> 00:22:11,119
saddling her up and doing the exercises with her, I

434
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,599
took her halter off and I said, whisper, you're free.

435
00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:18,039
You will never be ridden again. No one will ever

436
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,160
harm you or objectify you ever again. As long as

437
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,559
you live, you're free. You're seen, you're heard, you're respected,

438
00:22:25,599 --> 00:22:29,119
and we will honor you till the end of your life.

439
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,720
And she kind of looked at me, like, really, are

440
00:22:31,759 --> 00:22:34,160
you sure? Are you serious? And I said, yes, you're free.

441
00:22:34,799 --> 00:22:37,559
And she went off and she grazed on the grass,

442
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,400
and her and I had the most extraordinary rest of

443
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,839
her life. What I would do was I would take

444
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,400
her out on the walking trails, and when we passed

445
00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:49,599
that very last house, I would take everything off of

446
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,680
her and set her free, and I would walk and

447
00:22:52,759 --> 00:22:54,920
she would graze, and then she would lift her head

448
00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,480
and realize that I had walked on and she would

449
00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,720
gallop to catch up with me, and I walked beside

450
00:23:00,799 --> 00:23:04,640
her like a dog with nothing on her, and she

451
00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,400
grazed and she galloped, and she played, and we ran together,

452
00:23:08,599 --> 00:23:12,119
and we explored together, and her and I had a

453
00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,880
relationship unlike any other relationship I've ever had with any

454
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,599
other animal in my entire life, because it was not

455
00:23:18,759 --> 00:23:22,480
about riding her or controlling her or training her. It

456
00:23:22,559 --> 00:23:25,720
was about both of us, all feet on the ground,

457
00:23:26,039 --> 00:23:30,160
side by side, exploring the world and having an equal relationship.

458
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,519
And it was so beautiful. So at the Gentle Barn,

459
00:23:33,519 --> 00:23:35,920
we worked with a lot of angry teenagers right who

460
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,119
have been told to sit down, shut up, and follow

461
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,839
the rules. Who have been mirrored that they were bad

462
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:45,160
and wanted and unlovable, who are incarcerated or recovering from

463
00:23:46,079 --> 00:23:50,640
being in gangs or drugs. They've had really, really hard

464
00:23:50,759 --> 00:23:54,000
pass and they've been mirrored from society at large that

465
00:23:54,079 --> 00:23:59,279
they were like didn't have any value. And Risper was

466
00:23:59,759 --> 00:24:02,799
so instrumental in their recovery because they would come to

467
00:24:02,839 --> 00:24:06,680
the Gentle Barn, they avoided eye contact, they had their

468
00:24:06,799 --> 00:24:11,079
arms folded across their chests defensively, and all I had

469
00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:15,000
to do was tell Whisper's story and they immediately identified

470
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,359
with it. They immediately saw themselves in her shoes. And

471
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:23,279
by telling Whisper's story and loving her so much, they

472
00:24:23,319 --> 00:24:26,359
knew that I accepted them and didn't judge them. And

473
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,680
of course, after telling her story, they always wanted to

474
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:36,039
meet her and she was their hero, modeling that expressing

475
00:24:36,079 --> 00:24:40,480
anger is so important in their healing journey, and after

476
00:24:40,519 --> 00:24:44,480
you express your anger and you heal, then moving on

477
00:24:44,599 --> 00:24:47,680
and finding your own family and your own tribe and

478
00:24:48,079 --> 00:24:51,519
your own happily ever after is possible, and she inspired

479
00:24:51,559 --> 00:24:54,119
them to do it in their own lives, and she

480
00:24:54,319 --> 00:24:56,960
was just she did such good work at the Gentle barn.

481
00:24:57,640 --> 00:24:59,839
She was one of our healthiest horses. She was at

482
00:24:59,839 --> 00:25:03,119
the twenty six years old, but she had a full body.

483
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,720
She was a quarter horse, so she had this big, gorgeous,

484
00:25:05,759 --> 00:25:10,400
big black butt and this muscular body, this beautiful face,

485
00:25:10,519 --> 00:25:12,759
this little pink spot on her nose that I love

486
00:25:12,839 --> 00:25:13,839
to kiss.

487
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,200
Speaker 4: And she was doing great.

488
00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:19,000
Speaker 1: She was eating, she was doing wonderful. And one day

489
00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:21,000
I was down in the barnyard and she looked at

490
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,759
me and she said, please spend some extra time with me.

491
00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:25,720
I don't have much time. And I was like, oh

492
00:25:25,799 --> 00:25:28,440
my god, Whisper, you're perfectly happy. What are you talking about.

493
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,079
You're so healthy. And she was like, just trust me,

494
00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,759
I don't have much time left. Please spend time with me.

495
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:38,680
So of course I did, and a week later she collicked. Wow,

496
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,200
And for those of you that might not know, colic

497
00:25:41,559 --> 00:25:44,359
is a stomach ache in horses. But it could be

498
00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:47,000
a twist of the intestines, it could be a tumor

499
00:25:47,039 --> 00:25:50,559
wrapped around the intestines, it could be an impaction, and

500
00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,759
it can very often be fatal. So we took her

501
00:25:53,799 --> 00:25:56,960
immediately to the hospital. They rushed her in for emergency

502
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:01,119
surgery because she did have several tumors wrapped around her intestines.

503
00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:05,160
She walked out of the surgical suite and into the

504
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:09,359
recovery room. But she and when she was in the hospital,

505
00:26:09,519 --> 00:26:12,440
I was able to walk her, you know, take her

506
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,400
out for walks in between the orange orchards and the

507
00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:21,119
beautiful eucalyptus groves and the olive trees. I was able

508
00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:25,319
to spend all day long for months in the hospital.

509
00:26:26,279 --> 00:26:31,240
We bonded so completely. And then after a few months,

510
00:26:31,279 --> 00:26:33,400
she collicked again and there was nothing else they could

511
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,279
do to save her, and we had to help her

512
00:26:35,279 --> 00:26:39,240
out of her body. But the fact that she was

513
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:43,680
warning me that her end was coming, the fact that

514
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,279
we were able to spend that uninterrupted time at the hospital,

515
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,319
just me and her for months, it was such a gift.

516
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:54,880
And I will always be grateful for the relationship that

517
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,279
we had, the deep connection that we had, and all

518
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:03,400
the hundreds, if not thousands, of teenagers that she saved

519
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,519
just by sharing who she was in her story.

520
00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,039
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was just absolutely beautiful.

521
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,519
Speaker 1: And she would be churning. She would be turning twenty

522
00:27:11,599 --> 00:27:15,599
nine in May on May first, and it's her and

523
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,039
I love her and I'm glad that she joined us today.

524
00:27:18,279 --> 00:27:21,079
Speaker 4: I'm so glad she joined us today. And it's amazing

525
00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:23,279
because once who started telling her story, we had no

526
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:27,319
more movement in the background, no more shadows. So you've

527
00:27:27,319 --> 00:27:30,400
been seen and heard, and many more people going to

528
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,440
be hearing this story of Whisper. Thank you Whisper for

529
00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:39,160
visiting us in this powerful way. And yeah, a beautiful, beautiful, Well,

530
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,559
let's see, let me pick a story. There was a

531
00:27:42,599 --> 00:27:45,640
dog a client I was working with doing some animal communication.

532
00:27:45,799 --> 00:27:48,200
She had rescued a dog that had probably been in

533
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,559
a puppy mail situation. So this was a dog that

534
00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:54,440
was really very shut down, would not leave the house,

535
00:27:54,519 --> 00:27:57,960
not even to potty, you know, and just really rough ride.

536
00:27:58,039 --> 00:27:58,240
Speaker 2: You know.

537
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:03,799
Speaker 4: She was a senior, very loving, but she had a

538
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,200
you know, it's tough because she the dog was too

539
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,400
scared to do anything, really just wanted to sleep in

540
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:12,279
her bed. And at one point, you know, she was

541
00:28:12,319 --> 00:28:15,359
having her doubts about whether or not she could manage this,

542
00:28:15,519 --> 00:28:19,319
handle this, and the dog, Sophie said to her in

543
00:28:19,079 --> 00:28:22,039
a in a voice she could hear. She said, Sophie,

544
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,839
the dog said, don't give up on me. And that

545
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,599
was the turning point, you know, and now where she's

546
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:29,920
at a point where mostly she'll go out to potty

547
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,160
and you know, some progress. We can put a harness

548
00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,039
on her and you know she can play and do

549
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,519
some different things, but never going to be you know,

550
00:28:37,599 --> 00:28:39,319
like some other dogs. You know, this is not like

551
00:28:39,359 --> 00:28:41,200
the vet has to come to her. She can't get

552
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,799
in the car or anything like that. But she is

553
00:28:43,839 --> 00:28:47,200
the most amazing dog. So sometimes well I'll talk to

554
00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,000
her and I say, Sophie, how you know, how's been going?

555
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,039
And she'll go, oh, I'm busy. And I was like, okay,

556
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,400
so I think I told you this story that that

557
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,359
she took us on a little journey. I said, so

558
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:00,440
tell us what you better do? You she is with

559
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,480
other animals, and she took us to see the cows,

560
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,519
and she put us in the center of all these cows,

561
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,480
and they came and licked her, you know, the cow's licktor,

562
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,519
just as cows do it. You know, such a beautiful

563
00:29:13,519 --> 00:29:14,440
inner life she has.

564
00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:14,599
Speaker 1: This.

565
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,160
Speaker 4: I mean, we call her Sophie the Buddha because she

566
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,680
she just externally she doesn't appear to be having much

567
00:29:20,759 --> 00:29:23,519
of a life. But if you find out what she's

568
00:29:23,599 --> 00:29:27,000
up to it's very, very rich. And one day her

569
00:29:27,079 --> 00:29:30,599
purse said to Sophie said, so oh, I tell you

570
00:29:30,599 --> 00:29:33,519
she the person bought her this expensive toy. And she's

571
00:29:33,519 --> 00:29:35,359
on a budget, you know, but she bought her this

572
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,079
expensive duck. It was like a sixty dollars toy because

573
00:29:38,119 --> 00:29:40,319
she loved this duck and she gave it a Sofie

574
00:29:40,319 --> 00:29:43,160
Sophie was like, eh, you know, like no interest in

575
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,880
the duck, right, she has some toys, but this sixty

576
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,240
dollars duck meant nothing to her. But it was Sophie's birthday,

577
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,279
and I mean it was the person's birthday. And she said, Sophie,

578
00:29:51,359 --> 00:29:53,039
what are you going to give me for my birthday?

579
00:29:53,119 --> 00:29:55,880
She said to the dog, And the dog said, ah,

580
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,079
you can take the duck. Take the duck. That was funny.

581
00:29:59,319 --> 00:30:02,359
It's such such depth of understanding. And you know, Sophie

582
00:30:02,359 --> 00:30:05,920
will often say things to us that just makes us laugh.

583
00:30:06,039 --> 00:30:08,440
You know, she just has this sense of humor, and

584
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,920
it's so interesting because externally you would say, this is

585
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,200
not much of a life. You know, she doesn't meet

586
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,079
any other dog, she doesn't go anywhere, but she's got

587
00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,000
quite a beautiful world.

588
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:19,400
Speaker 5: You know.

589
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:20,480
Speaker 4: That's really something.

590
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:25,039
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I love that story. That is so beautiful

591
00:30:25,079 --> 00:30:28,400
because it really is true animals in particular. I think

592
00:30:28,559 --> 00:30:31,519
humans can ask for travel too, but I think that.

593
00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:33,759
Speaker 1: We're less likely to do it because we're so entrenched

594
00:30:33,759 --> 00:30:37,519
in this physical world. But animals, I mean, that is

595
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:42,319
part of their makeup. They are constantly meditating, going other places,

596
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:45,480
connecting with one another, talking to the birds, and the

597
00:30:45,519 --> 00:30:48,000
birds tell them what's going on and out in the world.

598
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,440
They know things that you would never realize that they know.

599
00:30:51,839 --> 00:30:56,039
As a matter of fact, our cows. When people walk

600
00:30:56,079 --> 00:30:58,920
into the cow pasture and they're wearing leather shoes, they're

601
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:02,720
always surprised that the cows come over and lick their boots,

602
00:31:03,119 --> 00:31:05,519
and it's like because they know what leather is. They

603
00:31:05,599 --> 00:31:08,200
know that that was a cow. They know that animals

604
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,720
are being slaughtered, They know that people are struggling out

605
00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,720
in the world. They even though they're in a little pasture,

606
00:31:14,759 --> 00:31:18,400
they have a worldwide understanding and view of what is

607
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,599
going on in this human planet, and they'd want to help.

608
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,640
Many many times, I will talk to my client's animals

609
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,519
and they'll show me like I spend so much time

610
00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:33,640
sleeping because I can go places, and my body can

611
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,920
move faster than it can in real life. Sometimes they

612
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,359
tell me that they're on the other side, meeting friends

613
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:44,160
over there, preparing for their transition. I have a sixteen

614
00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,160
year old dog named Bingo, and he was used to

615
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,960
be very very active, walking, hiking, swimming, going to the beach,

616
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,880
following us around, sitting in our laps, cuddling, and recently,

617
00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,640
I would say over the last six months, definitely, if

618
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:03,839
not last year, he has taken to having these very

619
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:08,599
very very deep sleeps, extraordinary deep sleeps. But it's not

620
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:10,480
the kind of sleep where if you make a noise

621
00:32:10,559 --> 00:32:13,079
he wakes up. It's the kind of sleep where it's

622
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:17,039
so deep that there are several times where I'll come

623
00:32:17,079 --> 00:32:18,759
and try to wake him up because I'm leaving the

624
00:32:18,839 --> 00:32:20,680
room or I'm leaving the house and I need him

625
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:23,440
to wake up, and I'm petting him, and he is

626
00:32:23,599 --> 00:32:27,440
not in his body. He is somewhere else, he is

627
00:32:27,519 --> 00:32:31,119
interacting with other beings. He is not in his body,

628
00:32:31,559 --> 00:32:34,119
and no matter how much I talked to him and

629
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,599
pet him, he will not wake up, and I have

630
00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,480
to wait for like thirty minutes, and then thirty minutes

631
00:32:39,519 --> 00:32:41,599
later he'll come back. To his body and he'll come

632
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:43,759
find me and he'll be like, I'm so happy to

633
00:32:43,799 --> 00:32:45,880
be Bennett. I'm so happy to see you. This is

634
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,759
where I was, and he'll tell extraordinary stories of travel.

635
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:55,160
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, it's fazing. Well, this has been absolutely delightful.

636
00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:56,920
I think we'll have to do this again because I

637
00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,400
know we've only got tapped the beginning of all of

638
00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,599
our story. So this has been so delightful. So Ellen,

639
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:04,640
how can people find you if they want to connect

640
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,160
with you or support you. Well, to find out more

641
00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:10,599
about my animal communication and energy healing that I do

642
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:12,559
for maybe your pet, you can go to.

643
00:33:12,519 --> 00:33:13,799
Speaker 1: Ellilax dot com.

644
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:15,960
Speaker 7: And to find out more about the Gentle Barn, Come

645
00:33:16,039 --> 00:33:19,079
huggy cow, cuddle a turkey, give a pig a tummy rub,

646
00:33:19,319 --> 00:33:22,440
and find out for yourself how amazing these rescue animals are,

647
00:33:22,799 --> 00:33:26,880
please go to Genlebarn dot org and of course we

648
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:27,279
can be.

649
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:29,599
Speaker 1: Found on all social media platforms as well.

650
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:31,920
Speaker 4: Well. Thank you so much for being a part of

651
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,119
our Human Animal Connection podcast and if you were watching,

652
00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,279
I hope you got to enjoy the shadow. That's been

653
00:33:38,319 --> 00:33:41,000
really fun. Well, thank you so much. We'll see you

654
00:33:41,039 --> 00:33:42,119
in the next episode.

655
00:33:42,119 --> 00:33:42,880
Speaker 1: By for now.

656
00:33:43,359 --> 00:33:46,359
Speaker 2: Thank you for tuning in to The Human Animal Connection Show.

657
00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:51,759
Please visit our website, The Humananimalconnection dot org. There you

658
00:33:51,799 --> 00:33:55,319
can sign up for our free email newsletter, book a consultation,

659
00:33:55,799 --> 00:33:59,440
or check out our blogs and resources. Our best selling book,

660
00:33:59,519 --> 00:34:03,599
The Human Animal Connection is available on Amazon, and your

661
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:08,079
donation of any amount keeps our nonprofit organization providing life

662
00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:09,159
changing services.

663
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:15,440
Speaker 5: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on petlifradio

664
00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:35,719
dot com