Conscious Choice: Angels with Four Legs

July 2003

Angels with Four Legs

by Terry Loncaric

There is a great legend. I guess it’s true if you have faith in higher powers and in the gentleness of all living creatures. The story is that St. Francis talked to a ferocious wolf that was killing people in a small village of Italy. The wolf stopped growling, extended his paw to St. Francis, and from that day forward, became a peaceful creature.

Even if the story is a bit far-fetched, all of us who love our animals, as St. Francis did, understand all living creatures have spiritual qualities. When we become close to our pets, we feel a deep connection that transcends spoken words.

I remember one day I was feeling horribly sad. I slumped under the covers and began weeping. Out of nowhere, Jerry, the cat, flopped on the bed to tell me, with his earnest eyes and loud purr, that even if my life seemed to be falling apart, he still loved me.

Just watching the chubby cat nuzzle me lifted my spirits. Even though I was simply having a bad day, Jerry didn’t stop and tell me, "You look like a neurotic wreck!" He simply arrived at just the right moment.

I have a writer friend who tells me she thinks lighter thoughts when she is pounding furiously on her computer and suddenly looks up to see her bird, Starshine, hanging upside-down from her stand and making strange, chirping sounds. I have often felt that way when I am wrapped up in work. Jonathan, my teenage tabby, crawls on my chest and extends both paws in a "stop, please notice me" hug. He slowly blinks. My partner says this is a cat kiss. The moment Jonathan does this, I usually stop worrying about my deadline and the words spill on the page.

I laughed when a psychic told me a year-and-a-half ago animals would play an important part in my spiritual journey. My heart had been broken. The last thing I wanted was responsibility for another living creature. Then I fell in love and discovered three cats were part of the deal.

This was quite a revelation after growing up with Pepper, one spoiled rotten Schnauzer-poodle. I always thought cats were aloof, sneaky, and weird. But on my life journey, I realized cats were not like dogs; they were just different and they were put in my life to teach me things I would not have learned if I had remained solitary and single. Experiencing their unconditional love, I realize I was meant to be a cat mom to these sweet and silly creatures.

When I talk to my friends about their pets, they feel exactly the same way. My friend Chuck said, after his mom died unexpectedly, he would have lost his mind if his playful Beagles had not been there to comfort him. Conscious Choice editor Rebecca Ephraim takes her sweet little Yorkshire terrier, Brutus, to work.

As I look back on my life, I realize pets have played a vital role. Even though Pepper has been gone for 20 years, I still think about the feisty pooch that ate table scraps, drank brandy at Christmas, and howled whenever he heard Beethoven’s "Ninth Symphony." Pepper had exceptional instincts. If he sensed someone did not like him, he growled and even glared. I really believe most animals are tuned into humans’ feelings.

Pets and humans who understand this bond know it is virtually impossible to describe. In unspoken ways our pets simply love us. I always feel calmer when I am around the cats and they seem to relax in my presence. Even Christy, the most neurotic member of our cat family, stops walking in nervous circles and swishing her tail, when I hit the pressure points on her head, and give her a calming, kitty massage. When you think of St. Francis and the way he calmed the creatures of the woods with his prayers and meditations, he may well have been the original pet psychic.

Some people believe pets have psychic powers and can even see spirits. Dogs bark when ghosts are around — or so we are told. I think it’s wrong to assume because animals can’t talk they are not very bright. It is quite possible they see things we humans can’t because they really are more spiritually tuned-in.

Look at the affect their love has on us. Our pets connect us with our simpler selves. They don’t judge us. They don’t care whether we are rich or poor, or whether we drive a sporty car. We can always count on their love and, most of the time, they are way more entertaining than the humans in our lives.

I have come to realize they are angels with four legs.

Terry Loncaric, a Chicago freelance writer, specializes in spirituality, travel, the arts, and social issues.

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