My animal companions have all been profound teachers of love and compassion. From them all I have learned to become a better human. But it was my standard poodle, Charlie, who seismically shifted my life when he died in 2002. My grief was excruciating. His death shook my spiritual foundation to its core and propelled me to deepen my faith and life experience with years of trainings and certifications in Reiki, animal communication, shamanism, Healing Touch for Animals®, Toltec wisdom and Life Coaching. Ultimately, Charlie’s death was a gift to my spiritual awakening. (Explore my Healing Arts Education below)

These wisdom traditions helped sustain me when my mother died in a car accident. While simultaneously grieving her, I was suddenly faced with inheriting and managing her farm with horses, cattle, dogs and cats - a baptism by fire. The dogs, cats and horses I knew, but I knew very little about horse care and I knew nothing about pasture management, farm equipment or ordering hay for horses and cattle. Needless to say, I made many mistakes. It was a crash course in learning to find peace with regret.

In the 15 years since mom’s death, I have lovingly seen 18 beloved animals through to the end of their lives. Additionally, I suffered shattering splits with 2 close family members and deaths of 4 very beloved people in my life. After all but 3 cats had died, I decided to sell the farm, which was a heartbreak in itself. The farm had been my mom’s pride and joy and had lived deeply in my heart (and always will).

During these years of grieving people, animals and the farm, I was completely laid bare, twisted in numbing grief. I learned that the only way to survive was to surrender and allow grief to be my teacher. Gradually I learned how to be in relationship with it and how to tenderly navigate it. It was an odyssey of acquiring self forgiveness and self compassion. Grief taught me that while we will always miss the physical presence of a beloved, grief is bearable once we are able to soften the loops of emotional pain so that peace and love within us can surface, enabling us to feel the reciprocal love that remains. And so it seemed a natural step to become certified in companioning others through their grief with animal loss. For me, holding space for others while they grieve is a sacred honor because grief is love. And what’s more sacred than love?