Are Your Pets Making You Prosperous?

By Allen and Linda Anderson

Our pets’ simple acts of kindness and consideration show us every day how to become prosperous by sharing our home with animals. Our cat Cuddles lives up to her name and cuddles next to Linda at night. She’s very considerate not to wake up Linda until morning, when Cuddles decides it’s time for her breakfast. We use a spray bottle, filled with warm water, to give our yellow cockatiel Sunshine his morning bath. He helpfully raises his wings and puts his head down for a good spray of his head feathers. Our dog Leaf often shows us that our prosperity is measured in love, not money.

Although we mainly do our writing at home, if we need to meet with a client, Linda carefully puts on her makeup to prepare. Sensing that we’re about to leave the house, Leaf is eager to kiss Linda’s face with his long, pink tongue. So Linda says, “Leaf, don’t kiss off all my makeup.” And she ‘turns away so he can’t reach her cheeks. It appears that Leaf got the message. As Linda was ready to leave the house one day, she bent down to kiss him on his head. In turn, he very carefully kissed her only on the tip of her nose. With great discipline, he put his tongue back in his mouth and refrained from plastering her face with any more doggie kisses.

What if you were present for each precious moment in your life? We have watched Leaf, a formerly abused rescue dog, grow into a well-adjusted and loving individual. Does it get more prosperous than that?

Being present to life’s precious moments with your pets and letting go of all the distractions allows for a whole range of prosperIty that in-cludes emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual growth. Watch the daily concerns and fears dissipate as pets replace them with love.

BELLA MIA AND HOW SHE CHOSE US

Dr. Anna Maria Gardner is a holistic veterinarian practicing in Washington State, www.petsynergy.com She wrote to us about loving pets from childhood and always wanting to have a horse. “I lived and dreamed of horses every waking and sleeping moment. Like a lot of horse-crazy, or as we say in the UK, pony-mad girls, all I ever wanted was a horse of my own. My parents told me if I saved up until I could afford a horse, they would help me with a place to keep one.

So I worked and saved, bred guinea-pigs, delivered newspapers, babysat, and earned whatever I could until at age sixteen I got my first horse. It was all I had ever dreamed of and more.

Later in life, Dr. Gardner dreamed of bringing the kind of prosperity she experienced as a child to her daughter Celeste. She says, “Motherhood had been wonderful, but there was still a gap in my heart, waiting to be filled with another horse. Someone I knew told me that there was a horse waiting to come into my life. I felt my childhood dreams rekindle and started to dream of horses once more.

“Celeste was seven and a half and had a great rapport with animals, especially cats, but I wanted her to experience horses too. Celeste loves all animals, and they are very drawn to her as well. She has been with me on house calls, and people are amazed that their shy and nervous animals invariably come out to greet her.

“We planned to get a horse when we came back from a trip to England in the spring. One day I thought we would check out some horses at a local rescue. I happened to read my morning horoscope. It said this would be a day about large animals and was ruled by the planet Venus, who is all about beauty.”

Prior to their trip, Dr. Gardner and Celeste visited a stable that rescues horses. They saw a couple of sweet horses. Then the owner said, “I have to show you Bella Mia.”

Dr. Gardner writes, “Bella Mia was a young Arabian, then six, and had yet to be ridden.

I hadn’t really planned on having a young, untrained horse, but Bella Mia took one look at my daughter and wouldn’t leave her side. I knew we had been chosen by her, and she was a sweet gentle soul, so we went home to think about it. Bella Mia also had a club foot, which did not seem to be an issue, but we were really not quite ready for the practicalities of a horse.

“When we got home we looked up her pedigree to find out that although her breeding is unknown, she is a pure-bred Arabian who ended up in a rescue situation. When I looked at her lineage I saw her mother was called Venus, and Bella Mia means “my beauty” in Italian. Then I noticed that her grandfather was named Aza Destiny — strong Destiny. So of course, Bella Mia became our horse, and we took her home a month later after returning from our trip.

Bella Mia is the sweetest, most gentle horse. She is doing well with my daughter and me, and we are riding on trails now. One day a person with multiple sclerosis came to the barn, and Bella Mia was so sweet and empathic towards her that she surprised the barn owner with her kindness. She has proved to be a beautiful soul. The bond between Celeste and Bella Mia is strong. We are blessed to have been chosen by a very special little mare. And what a gift from Venus she has proven to be.

How are pets making you prosperous?