We’re Not Designed to Lead a Dog’s Life

Animal hypnotherapy is a real thing

"Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell." – Emily Dickinson, poet

When I first met my husband, I discovered he had an interesting skill set. He could make what he called "cat sculptures.” He would stroke their family cat until she got so relaxed that he could put the poor little kitty in any position he desired. I didn't grow up with any pets, so the fact that his parents had a cat was already thrilling enough to me. The fact that he could put a kitty in trance and then shape it in any position seemed like a super power. It was certainly one of the factors in my falling in love with him.

Now that I am a hypnotherapist, I know exactly what he was doing. He was hypnotizing the cat. He can hypnotize dogs, too. Better still, there are people in the world who actually advertise being an animal hypnotherapist. Here in Santa Fe, where just about everyone owns at least one dog, there are animal healers of all stripes. They do energy healing and acupuncture. We have dog whisperers, and horse whisperers and psychics who will tell you what your dog was doing in its previous life.

Can people hypnotize pets?

Don't even think about asking me. This is not my specialty. I bring it up, however, because our dog Dexter was just diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. He has a form of lupus. I have rheumatoid arthritis. In people, lupus and RA are related. Doctors are always testing me for it.