Although contested by some, it is obvious to those who live with and love animals, that animals have emotions. Animal emotions can be considered in the same categories as those of humans: grief, love, anger, disgust, fear, etc., although their issues within those categories may be different from human issues. In general, emotional issues of animals, in our clinical experience, have fallen into two main categories:

Health (their own health, that of the other pets in the family, or of the people in the family), and relationships (with themselves, with other pets in the family, or with people). Two additional categories with which many people seem to have great issue, are money and career. We have noted that money and career do not seem to be of concern to animals, however there exists the possibility that animals that have careers (race horses, show dogs/cats, rescue or guide dogs, sheep dogs, actors) might actually have issues seeded within the category of a career. That has yet to be determined by those of us trained in Veterinary NAET.

One pattern that we commonly see in our practice of Veterinary NAET, is when pets mirror their owner’s emotional state. Frequently seen: pets worrying about the owner worrying about the pet; pets taking on similar emotional positions as the owner’s, such as fear of strangers or trust issues; or a pet worrying about the owner when the owner is consumed with personal issues (career, relationship, health, money).

Within the category of health, typical emotional treatments might be: fear of pain, worry of not getting better, irritated with medical procedures or dislike of the veterinarian. Within the category of relationships we have commonly seen sadness and mourning, unrequited love, jealousy, betrayal, obsessive love, worry, boundary and abandonment issues and fears.

Concept or belief issues that we have encountered include dislike or fear of change (cats especially hate change), alpha status challenge, gender confusion and species confusion.

Two of our more interesting cases are:

The Cat That Believed That She Was Her Brother
Alexandra lived her life through her brother Mortimer. She did not identify herself as individually separate, nor did she exhibit any spark of life or interactive interest in her family life. After an initial evaluation of her physical & emotional condition on her first appointment, the owner confirmed our findings with the comment Ashe has no personality. Within 24 hours of treating Alexandra for „I am my brother”, the owner reported that for the first time she exhibited initiative, curiosity and independence!

Family Tberapy

Inter-family (human, animal or both) dynamics become critical when a new member is introduced. In the Stevens family, Freeway, Victor & Simone lived together comfortably and in good balance. When Loper was adopted by the Stevens after hanging around out back for a few months, the harmony of the cat family was shattered. We were called in to address not only the ruffled fur, but a variety of health issues as well. On the first visit the treatments were: Victor – afraid he would losing his top cat position to Loper; Simone – afraid of losing her status in the cat household line-up; Freeway – there are too many cats in My family. On the second visit the treatments were: Victo r- worried that the cat family would get along; Simone – afraid that Loper wouldn’t fit into the cat family; Freeway – Loper isn’t a member of My cat family; Loper – I really want to be a part of the cat family. Since the treatments, there has been a reasonable balance of acceptance and tolerance among the cats. It is clear that the delicate balance of cat psyches greatly benefited from the emotional treatments.

In medically critical or long term difficult cases, it is not unusual to find it necessary to treat the owner for his/her emotions, for at some point it becomes clear that the animal will not be able to progress to health until the owner’s emotional blockages are released. It is in these serious cases that the owner may experience deep stress due to the state of health of their pet. In some of the cases it is recommended that the owner receive treatment for issues directly related to their pet’s health (fear or worry). In other cases the owner may require treatment for life issues that are blocking so much energy in the family that no one (including the pet) can move forward.

There was the case of the owner who was convinced her dog MeeKay would die, even though it was clear to us that the dog could be fine, if only the owner would allow it. After treating the owner for her fears related to recent multiple personal losses, she was able to see her pet as able to recover without the influence of her negative and harmful projections.

As you can see, animals have complex emotional lives. We have witnessed in our practice that their emotional issues can impact their illnesses. In addition, emotional issues of the owner can further influence the animal’s emotional issues, and thereby the animals’ health. The bottom line is that it is important to always look for and recognize emotional issues in animals, and to also be aware that their owners may be contributing to their emotional imbalances, and through that, to the animal’s physical condition.

Roger Valentine, D.V.M., and Rahmie Valentine, L.Ac., O.M.D.