Stories

Dolphin 9

When I had my daughter the apple did not fall far from the tree. She grew up with the same love of animals I have always had. She entered the field of marine biology and ended up in Hawaii working with dolphins. Her dream job. I recently had the opportunity to go visit her, and meet some of her co-workers. I had a date to swim with her favorite dolphin, I’m going to call him 9 to protect his privacy…

Being able to visit the facility where she works gave me a unique opportunity not just to meet the Dolphins and a swim with them but to possibly communicate with them. I have thus far been unable to communicate with any feral animals. These animals were all bread and born under human care so they see us humans as part of the family, not a completely foreign species. Another difference was trying to communicate with the dolphins for me, is it they are free beings with no owner. When I work on pets I require the owner’s permission, in this setting, it was unnecessary. The Dolphins view there trainers and coworkers as peers.

Before my date to swim with 9, I had the opportunity to meet all of the Dolphins simply by walking around outside of their lagoons. I decided to try my hand speaking with the most dominant of the Dolphins in the pod. I was elated to find him willing. He told me he had never talked to a person in this manner . We spoke of favorite toys, activities and his fairly low opinion of some people. It’s not that he dislikes people in general, he just finds some behavior foolish and inferior. We had a good chuckle over this as I tend to agree with him. He spoke of my daughter and her kindness. Fairly quickly he was done with me. I felt a bit dismissed, he explained this was simply a courtesy because he had so much respect for my daughter. When I told her about this, she laughed! “He’s an elitist with the dolphins too, Mom” was her response.

Then I had the opportunity to swim with 9. My daughter, I call her Bear, was in the water with 9 and I. My heart was singing! We did a few exercises, and had a lovely free swim through the Lagoon. I had the opportunity to touch 9, stroke him, and enjoy his company. I thanked him for his time and gentility. I also expressed my appreciation for his kindness to my daughter during her time at his home.

A few days later I came back to visit 9. I brought my notebook to see if he would be willing to chat with me. We discussed the things that he enjoys like when children squeal with delight when they get near him! We also talked about how he sees life, his priorities and view of things. He values others opinion of his work ethic of his trueness of heart far more than physical attractiveness. He spoke of noticing how people seem to be distracted by what looks good and do not place importance on what simply is good. And by the way, fish are good!

We also talked about things that he enjoyed and didn’t enjoy, and requests he might have from his human family members. We shared some good-hearted humor. Then suddenly he had to go. It was time to go to work, his trainer was waiting. Before he went he promised we could talk again, perhaps in non-working hours. We agreed to reconvene at a later date.

After returning back to the mainland, I tried to talk to 9 again early one morning. This would have been the middle of the night in his time zone. No distractions, a perfect time for a chat. He was excited to hear from me but confused as to where I was. I told him that I was home far inland looking at his picture and trying to find him with my mind, not my body. He was quite shocked, did not know it could be done this way! The only experience he had had was with me sitting there. I explained to him how I did it by focusing on my heart and trying to find his heart. I then explained that we could communicate in our heart room without being physically present as long as we had love trust and confidence. We had a delightful conversation like two friends on a phone call. 9 was flattered that I chose him to talk to as opposed to any of the other dolphins. When we spoke of my daughter, Bear, he laughed. “Bear??” 9 was quite confused as to why I would call such a very small hairless individual bear. When I told him about her sleeping like hibernation, and a ravenous appetite, he laughed and couldn’t wait to tell the other dolphins her nickname. We also talked of a young child who had done a program recently with 9. He told me this child was destined for greatness. A wonderful term, I asked him what it meant to him. “Fine, honest, true, willing, but not entirely gullible, leading with his heart and not his head,” was his response. I agreed, that truly is greatness! He also told me about how he had to mature before having confidence in his own self-worth, and how being surrounded by encouraging and supportive individuals helped him get there. One of my favorite quotes from the session was “I believe I do my best and if it is not recognized by everyone, I make sure I recognize it in myself. I prioritize my own standards, not others’ standards. If I disappoint them, I will try to alter my behavior, but not my personal ethics. No one has to get hurt, even feelings! This is my standard.” Words of wisdom.

When getting ready to close a session I always give an animal a doorbell sound in which to find me in case of an emergency. This way, if I hear the sound I can go looking for the source and the animal can communicate with me. I went to set this up with 9. My usual doorbell sound did not work for him, so we found a new one that did. Of course it had an aquatic sound. It all makes sense. When we were getting ready to close up I said “you betcha buddy.” He asked if we were buddies. I explained when two individuals like each other and help each other out that make them buddies, doesn’t it? He then quickly agreed that we are now friends and he can’t wait to our next session to just hang out as chums!

Spikey

I did a session for a woman who lives locally. Her cat, Spikey, age 10, was urinating inside the house. He had been doing it all his life. This is an entrenched habit at this time…

We talked about why he felt the need to mark inside the house. He explained clearly that it was to protect his beloved owner, and that the feral cats outside scare him, he needs to protect her, as well as the other cats in the house from them. Marking outdoors gets washed off in the rain, so this is more effective. His owner and I explained how the scent of cat urine makes humans nauseous. He was mortified! We had some negotiations that brought both the owner and cat to better understand the acceptable options for both. An agreement was reached, Spikey would mark the cement foundation outdoors. The scent would last longer as it is not in direct rain, and a porous material will absorb and hold the smell longer. If he needed to express discontent, he could urinate in the bath tub (easy to clean). He stopped urinating in the house that day. His owner began chemo a few weeks later, with confidence there would be no added nausea triggers.

Spikey’s love for his owner is what changed his behavior. I simply acted as a translator. Both Spikey and his owner are doing well, the chemo worked, and the house smells good!