Joey and I are always looking for ways to be greener, but our pets can be really naughty when it comes to the environment.Sasha and Shep, the rescue dogs, were forever destroying their toys – to be fair to them, it’s not willful destruction… but the cats, well, ripping their little toy mice to bits is their absolute favorite thing! Before we set up Ethical Pets, we didn’t really know how to address these problems, we seemed to be endlessly throwing broken toys away and buying more, and the local pet shops sadly weren’t much help with our sustainability quest.
However, now we run Ethical Pets things are much simpler! In this article, we will take you on a whistle-stop tour of some of our recycled, up-cycled and recyclable pet favorites.
Toys
Pretty much all of the Ethical Pets toys are up-cycled, recycled or recyclable – and our pets just love them! The dogs, for example, love their super tough Zogoflex Toys, and we love them too, because we know that if they ever manage to wreck them, we can recycle it with ease (and get a free replacement!).
Also, the cats adore their little woolly mice, and we love them too, because they are up-cycled from reclaimed yarn (and with a charity donation to boot). Much greener than the average cat toy!
A eco-upcycled biodegradable food scoop with minimal, recycled and recyclable packaging - phew thats green!!!
Bowls, litter trays and food scoops.
Even things as basic as pet bowls can be totally eco-friendly – when we needed to get some new ones (because our old ones were too small) we bought some of the Ethical Pets Beco-Bowls, which are made from waste rice husks and sustainably grown bamboo. Up-cycling waste plant-matter like rice husks means the bowl is not only green to start off with (because its not made of plastic) but it will biodegrade in the garden when it’s old and ganky. Perfect 🙂 BecoThings make cat bowls, small-to-large bowls and large slow feed bowls, litter trays and scoops and food scoops too. Each time one of our long-serving (but not very green) plastic items needs replacing, we replace it with a BecoThing!
100% Recycled plastic bottle beds... cool... and comfy!
Beds
Our personal favorite recycled product range are the lovely soft beds: made from 100% recycled plastic (used plastic bottles) these beds are super soft as well as super eco 🙂 There are beds just the right size for cats, rabbits and smaller dogs, right up to the large and squishy giant mattress. Also, our eco Vet Bed is great for the car or for older dogs who need something warm and accessible.
Packaging
There are other things to consider too, for example, pet product packaging. The products we sell all come from companies with an eco mindset, so packaging is usually minimal and eco-friendly. As for our own packaging, you can see a full summary here, however, in short, its mostly re-used and/or recycled cardboard with a little degradable plastic and a little bubble wrap. As eco as we can for now (and always getting better!)
Summary
All in all, there are lots of recycled, up-cycled and recyclable products for your pets. Job well done eh?!
Joey and I are keen to start cycling, and we think this Project in Birmingham is really great! They have so much to offer so its well worth a look if you live locally (Anna’s Grandma lives in Erdington by the way, another reason we love this project so much). In putting together our cycle themed newsletter we have learned loads about how green cycling is, how useful bikes are and the cool stuff can be done with your bike when its old. All in all, we are pretty impressed with bikes! This is What Bike North Birmingham had to say:
NB: THIS PROJECT HAS NOW ENDED
Bike Everyone is part of the Bike North Birmingham project and we are making it easy for residents of Erdington and Sutton Coldfield Constituencies to get on their bikes! With cycle routes in and around the area and with more to come – our aim is to make cycling more accessible for the ‘may be’ cyclist’, whether it’s cycling to work, to the shops or purely for pleasure and fitness.
Bike North Birmingham was launched in April 2012 and in its first year up to December 2012, and despite the poor weather, we managed to attract over 350 adults and families on to our leisure rides. Over 112 adults took part in the Learn to Ride Programme over 100 bikes have been loaned out for up to 6 months giving people the opportunity to really think about buying a bike for good. The short term hire bikes have been loaned out over 250 times and many people have reported that thanks to the project their travel habits are changing and they feel they are becoming fitter as a result.
To help people discover the joys of cycling, we offer:
FREE bike hire:
For individuals, friends and families, borrow a bike for the day and get out and explore some of the parks and cycle routes in the North of Birmingham. Bikes are available from our two new cycling hubs at Erdington and Wyndley Leisure Centres.
FREE long term loan of bikes:
Need a bike to get to work or help cut the cost of getting around? Thinking about buying a bike but not sure? Borrow one of ours for a few months to help you decide!
FREE cycle training:
If you’ve never ridden a bike before or haven’t cycled for a while, or maybe you just need a confidence boost, book some sessions with us!
FREE Commuter training:
Do you want to be more confident on the road and perhaps cycle to and from work, we can help with 1 -1 training!
FREE Leisure Rides:
and other cycle activities
Fun group rides with qualified Ride Leaders for cyclists of
all abilities
FREE Cycle maintenance classes:
Learn some basic maintenance to keep your bike in a good condition
Some up and coming activities for you to join in with in the next couple of months are:
Easy Riders Cycling Group – a Wheelie Friendly way to cycle!
Weekly on Wednesdays at 10am
Normal Starting Point: Brookvale Park
Level: Gentle – Moderate
Cycling around and about from the tranquil Brookvale Park and other locations. Why not come along to enjoy a sociable and satisfying morning bike ride?
Health and Fitness Rides
Weekly on Thursdays at 10am
Starting Point: Brookvale Park
Level: Gentle – Leisurely
Do you want to Lose Weight? Stop Smoking? Get Fit? Cycling can help! So why not get on a bike and ride towards a healthier lifestyle? Feel great about yourself!
Aston Hall for Tea
Sunday 16th June 2013 at 11:30am – 1:30pm
Starting Point: Brookvale Park by the Sailing Club, B23 7SL
Level: Leisurely/ Moderate
Cycle back in time to 17th Century surroundings; feel refreshed from time in the tea rooms and a wander around the idyllic gardens and grounds. 10% discount in tea rooms!
Find The Fort by Bike
Starting Point: Erdington Leisure Centre [Pool], B24 9EJ
Fri 14th June at 12pm – 1pm and Sunday 7th July at 10am – 11am
Level: Leisurely/Moderate
Find out how quick and easy it is to get to The Fort Shopping Park from Erdington by bike!
Lots more rides on www.bikenorthbirmingham.org.uk (website has now changed hands) – don’t forget to book by calling us on 464 1020
FREE Basic Cycle Maintenance courses and workshops
Our five session courses will introduce you to basic cycle maintenance in a relaxed and supportive environment. You don’t need any experience, just the desire to get hands on and skilled up!
Courses cover: Puncture repairs, replacing inner tubes, headsets, handlebars and stems, set up and adjustment of brakes and gears and how to index them too.
Tuesdays 7pm – 8.30pm
4th ,11th,18th,25th June, 2nd July at Kingsbury School and Sports College, B24 8RE
Wednesdays 7pm – 8.30pm
5th , 12th. 19th, 26thJune, 3rd July
Clifton Road Youth and Community Centre, B73 6EB
To book any of our activities call 0121 464 1020
Activities open to Leisure Card holders residing in Erdington and Sutton Coldfield Constituencies.
One of our favourite books, How Bad are Bananas? By Mike Berners-Lee, has some sensational cycling facts. This month, subscribers to our newsletter get the chance to win a copy! You need to sign up for your chance to enter. When you get your newsletter, there will be a question in it, simply reply with the answer, and winners will be picked out of the hat! 🙂 Good luck!
Eco Facts
Our favourite fact is that it would be greener to drive a hummer than to cycle after eating air freighted asparagus! Checkout our cool graph below comparing a few bike fuels (food) to some other forms of transport.
Cycling to work
Another interesting fact is that a congested commute in an average car comes in at 2200g CO2e per mile. This is much much worse than normal driving – almost as bad as your air freighted asparagus mile. So, the lesson is that cycling to work is a serious planet saver… so long as you don’t eat asparagus out of season for breakfast!
Food and Carbon Footprints
The carbon footprint of food is always interesting to us at Ethical Pets, with folk claiming we should eat our pets to save the planet, we think its important to show pets can be green too.
In the graph you can see that veg isn’t always greener, but that in general, meat is much more carbon heavy that veg. The same trend is clear in the rest of the book, for example, we learned that a 4 ounce steak makes more carbon than a 6.5 kg bag of carrots! Or, for the same carbon as a 2 kg leg of lamb, you could eat milky porridge every day for 4 whole months. Oats, wheat and even naughty old rice are much lower in carbon than any meat.
Pet Food: good and green!
We know that veggie pet food can be healthy, but apparently is very green too! So, if your dog or cat were going to cycle, a little Yarrah or Benevo would be the ideal fuel to choose!
Over the past few months we have have focused on the extremes of the whole animal kingdom. This month however we are going to look at one particular group: the birds!
In previous months you’ve seen the fastest birds and the smallest, but did you know that the largest and strongest living bird is the North African ostrich? Males can be up to 274cm tall and weigh 156kg, and when fully grown they have one of the most advanced immune systems of any animal. Ostriches also hold the record for biggest eyes of any land animal, the biggest egg, as well as having the longest stride and fastest sprint on land.
Here’s a whole flock of avian facts: The bird with the longest migration is the Arctic Tern which travel a distance of 22,400km. The highest flying bird in the world is the Bar-Headed Goose which has been seen flying as high as 10,175m. The bird with the longest wingspan (of 3.63m) is the Wandering Albatross, which is also the largest “tubenose” species. The bird with the fastest wing beat is the Horned Sungem, a hummingbird from South America who’s wings flap 90 times a second. The slowest flappers are the New World Vultures averaging one per second. The fastest swimming bird is the Gentoo Penguin found on the Antarctic Islands which can swim at 40km per hour and the bird with the longest lifespan is the Macaw, with a recorded age of 109 years old!
One final flying fact… did you know that, before mankind arrived, the only mammals in New Zealand were three species of bats. Over it’s 65 million year isolation from any other land mass, New Zealand became a land of birds. The ecological niches normally occupied by mammals as different as wolves, kangaroos and rodents, were filled instead by reptiles, insects, and of course birds. Want to read more articles like this?Sign up to our newsletter!
We met Cranks Coffee Coop at the Northern Vegan Fair – and with just one sip of their delicious coffee, Anna was a fan for life! Coffee Cranks are a social enterprise and workers cooperative, selling ethically sourced tea, coffee and snacks from a hand made cargo bike.
“Cargo bike” sounds a little industrial, but actually, the bike is beautiful and curvy, with lots of varnished wood.
Yummy!!
The Coffee Cranks idea is beautiful too: to use local cooperation and quality ethical produce to challenge corporatism, youth unemployment and the desire to “give up.”
But for all their brilliant ideas, there is a lot to do before they are a fully functioning coffee cart – first of all, crowd sourcing a start-up fund. They have already received just over 15% of their £7000 start-up goal, and no wonder, because people who become a patron get much more than a fuzzy feeling of good spirit… with cute cog-shaped biscuits, stylish tee-shirts, bags, jewelery and even free event catering up for grabs, this investment is a gift that gives back!
Meet Claire. She’s a real force of nature and yes… we have found in her yet another Ethical Business Superstar! Claire’s thing is Bikes: she likes riding them, fixing them… she even Married a bicycle repair man! Oh, and the other thing she does with bikes is up-cycle them into gorgeous jewelery and accessories. Yes. She is very very cool! Read more about Claire in our interview with her below, and checkout her web-shop too!
Way back, where did all of this eco stuff this begin for you?
From an early age, I always had a pencil in my hand. Apart from when I was running around or swinging off something. I started a fine art degree which seemed the natural thing to do, but found it wasn’t what I expected. I moved away from art and design for a few years and spent my time in community work with children and young people, which I love. But my creative streak and love of design always stayed with me. Since I was a child I was very aware of our impact on the world. I spent time raising money for environmental charities like GreenPeace. I was horrified that we were responsible for a hole in the ozone layer, or chopping down rainforests.
Buying a mountain bike in my late 20’s changed my life. It led me to my local bike shop, where I was to meet mechanic Rob (now the shop owner – and my husband!) Spending years riding together developed my love of all things ‘bicycle’.
So, when did you start Bits of Bike, why and how did it go?
I don’t like waste. I do like the unusual. Surrounded by junk at the bike shop, I felt inspired to recycle the scrap into something unique. My first endeavor was making coat hooks out of some old racing bike handle bars. The result was a striking, distinctive and functional object, saved from the junk heap! I began to get compliments on my designs. Then came the jewelery, and other ideas began to flow. From this, ’Bits of Bike’ began to evolve.
What kit did you need to begin with?
Up-cycled Belts made from bike tyres and cogs
I started with nothing but a collection of waste bicycle items. I needed to buy some basic workshop tools and ‘jewelery findings’ (clasps, necklace end caps etc). At present, I make all the packaging myself from recycled card, and mountain bike magazines.
How did you start selling things?
At first I thought I would venture out to local craft fairs. Sales wise, this was hit and miss, but I got positive feedback. I decided to develop my website. I used the open-source web design tool, ‘Wordpress’. It really suited my needs, and I am grateful of such an amazing, free resource. I barely advertised and it was a couple of months before I got my first on-line sale. I bounced around the house for about half an hour. I still get butterflies every time I make an online sale!!
A bracelet made from bike chain links
So far, it has been hard to juggle a full time job with developing Bits of Bike on the side. On the other hand, I have had the financial stability to develop the initial stages of Bits of Bike. However, I was recently redundant from the public sector and so I am giving BitsofBike a go full time. I am expecting to need to have another income too at some point. It is exciting and scary. But it feels so good to be in control and doing something positive and productive.
Where do you think Bits of Bike is going?
My goal is to develop an ethical urban cycle clothing and accessories company. At this early stage, whatever I make mostly goes straight back into growing BitsofBike. In five years, I would like to make my company and my life carbon neutral. But for now, I am just aiming towards making enough to paying my bills!
Describe an average day in the life of you.
My workshop is at the bottom of my garden. I am up and at it by 8:30am after an essential cup of tea. I prefer to have the doors wide open to listen to the birds which makes me happy and keeps me motivated. I will spend a lot of my day making things for orders that have come in, or to add to my website. An integral trip to the post office to send out any orders takes place mid afternoon. Variety is the spice of life, so there is always time for experimentation and design. Music and dancing keeps the spirit up (and the toes warm mid winter). I don’t stop work till my head is whizzing and my stomach rumbles around 7pm.
What else do you do?
I committed to volunteering for Sustrans sustainable transport, and Breeze Cycle Network, to encourage more women to get out on their bikes.
Do you have any pets?
We have a rescue boa constrictor. She has a large enclosure in our bedroom. Mum wont come to stay because of her.
Do you have a conventional or unusual life style
I see myself as pretty conventional. I try to be conscious of my impact on the world. This influences my lifestyle. I love growing my own food on our allotment. There is nothing better that making a meal that I have nurtured myself from seed. My clothes all come from charity shops! A product of our throw-away society is that I get to have nice but cheap clothes, and support charities. I need time for myself playing out in the woods with my husband on my mountain bike. I like to feel close to nature. I like to be outside. Whatever the weather. Also, everyday I ride my bike. To commute or to have fun. I rarely drive.
What are your ethical principles and how do they guide and motivate you?
There are so many causes that inspire me. In general, personal and social responsibility is really important to me. It’s human nature to want to advance and move forward. But having the world and each other at the core of what we do is key. There are so many sustainable resources around us. Its just doesn’t make sense to me to do it any other way.
Any words of wisdom?
It may be cheesy, but I fell in love with ‘Desiderata’ as a teenager. My favorite quote is from this poem:
” You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
Meet Claire. She's a real force of nature and yes... we have found in her yet another Ethical Business Superstar! Claire's thing is Bikes: she likes riding them, fixing them... she even Married a bicycle repair man! Oh, and the other thing she does with bikes is up-cycle them into gorgeous jewellery and accessories. Yes. She is very very cool! Read more about Claire in our interview with her, and checkout her web-shop too!
This month we meet Paula from Fossbox. Fossbox is a non-profit social enterprise that specializes in what I suppose you could call “ethical computing.” They work with universities, museums, non-profits, cooperatives and social enterprises and specialize in “open source web-based software including e-publishing, open access information management and collaborative communities.” This computer stuff may be an area of ethical living that you are totally unfamiliar with, but still, read on… it may all start to sound very familiar!
When did you start your ethical business and why?
I wanted to be independent and to be able to prioritize loving what I do over profit. Of course, I need to make a living – but in a way which is consistent with my own values. I started the business in my early 50s so I’d done quite a lot before, at the time I was working on a project to help charities use technology better. The prejudice and opposition towards Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) in the sector in general, and the organizations I worked for in particular, was extremely frustrating. So, I decided to bypass it by setting up Fossbox – I got support from Technology and Social Action and something called ‘Designing for the 21st Century’ ESRC collaboration funding. Other than T&SA, the entire world informed me I couldn’t make a social enterprise based solely on FLOSS work in the UK – but so far we’ve survived 4 years, a triple-dip recession and neo-cons taking a scythe to the voluntary and public sectors.
How long was it till you got your first sale?
I had sales lined up before I launched.
How much money did you have to start off with?
I started off with a £4k commission and turned over £20k in the first year. We were building on that nicely but the recession hit us and then the funding cuts in 2011/2012 halved our income overnight (because we work with non-profits). We’re regrouping and actually expanding now, but the past couple of years have been very tough.
Describe an average day in the life of you.
I don’t have an average day
Ok – gotcha! So, do you have other jobs too? Do you have a family/hobbies/pets? Do you have a conventional or unusual life style? What things do you do every day, sometimes, or never?
No other jobs. I have a cat, and my lifestyle is generally considered to be rather unconventional. Things I do every day pretty much boils down to having breakfast and coffee, then brushing my teeth… after that, I don’t really remember most days 😉 I don’t have time or inclination for hobbies. Possibly I should mention that I’m gay.
What are your ethical principles?
People before profit. I started my own business because I couldn’t get done what I wanted to get done any other way (and because I was tired of the contemporary obsession with HR). We advocate Free and Open Source Software and support more women to get involved in technology. The former based on the general principle of people before profit: software should be developed independently and collaboratively to fit human purpose rather than warping it. The latter because I don’t want younger women to experience the hell that my generation of independent women had to deal with. I’d like to be more upbeat but it’s been a tough couple of years.
Any words of wisdom?
You can’t please all the people all the time so please yourself.
Favorite quote?
It is easy to be independent when you’ve got money. But to be independent when you haven’t got a thing, that’s the Lord’s test — Mahalia Jackson.
I did everything he did, but backwards and in high heels — Ginger Rogers
Things you would share with the next generation of people like you
Imagine you’re descended from a long line of mystical female warriors and don’t take any crap unless you’re feeling kind and can afford it 😉
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This month we have a real bobby-dazzler as our Ethical Pet of the Month! Meet Charlie, a 5 year old yellow Labrador from Sheffield. Here are a few words from David (Charlie’s best friend):
We had always wanted a dog, but while living in London and working long hours meant it was impossible. Charlie represented a big change in our lives. We moved to Sheffield to set up our business running 5 a side football and netball leagues: working from home meant we could bring Charlie into our lives. We now live in a great city surrounded by the beautiful Peak District and having Charlie means we have the pleasure of enjoying walks in it every day.
Charlie is a big dog both in presence and personality. He is always up for a game. He loves playing tug, fetch and his favorite game is chase. He always wants to be chased! He has injected a huge amount fun into our lives and made us appreciate the simpler joys of life.
His very intelligent and sailed through puppy school top of the class… sometimes he’s a bit too intelligent for us! He knows loads of commands and tricks and loves showing them off, usually as it means a treat at the end of it all.
Charlie also loves swimming, collecting sticks from the water, camper van holidays, snoozing by the wood burner and he is always up for cuddle. However, as a Labrador he loves his food! He can be pretty greedy and if he ever wonders off on a walk, we know we will find him in scoffing some discarded sandwich or chips! The good news is his waist line is not an issue, as we are a very active house hold doing marathons and triathlons. He loves going for runs with us in the Peaks and open water swims, however, he is not so good on the bike!
He loves Yarrah dog food, both the Vegetarian and Chicken verities, and he has been eating ethically all his life. We decided to go down the ethical route as my girlfriend is a vegan, for this and many other reasons, we did not want Charlie eating meat every day.
If you like a game of football, like Charlie here, checkout Match Night, to find a mini-league near you. If football isn’t your thing, Match Night also run Indoor Cricket, Netball and Squash leagues. Sounds like fun!
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Meet Marie. With a degree was in English literature, followed by a Graduate Diploma in Psychology, and an MSc in Work Psychology and Business, on paper, she sounds rather straight laced at first… and of course she is very academic and clever. However, the is much more to Marie than meets the eye – as she is also an animal healer. We met her at the Kings Heath Cruelty Free X-mas fair in 2011, where she was manning the Animal Freedom charity stall. Since then we have kept in touch and really enjoy her positive personality and inspiring lifestyle. Here’s an article she wrote for us
I feel incredibly honoured that Ethical Pets have invited me to contribute a guest blog and I hope that sharing my story as an Animal Healer will inspire you to welcome more healing energy into your own lives and that of your animal companions. Although not a blog about veganism, I believe it is important to explain the connection between my veganism and my animal healing practice.
Before training as a healer, I was neither vegetarian nor vegan, but as I progressed on my spiritual journey, my heart expanded with love for animals and I eliminated meat from my diet. Once I started studying towards a Diploma in Animal Healing, I felt increasingly uncomfortable about the contradiction between eating animal-based products whilst also healing animals. In psychology, this state of mind is called cognitive dissonance. Again, my love for animals prompted another change in diet and I became vegan.
Animal Healing in Malta Here I am doing an animal healing session with Berry, a little dog who had been abandoned outside the gates of the Island Sanctuary in Malta. He is leaning into the healing and lifting his paw up to allow better access for healing to his heart. His story has a happy ending as he has since been re-homed. You can find out more about the Island Sanctuary at www.islandsanctuary.com.mt
Veganism is my way of showing love for animals. After all, what is more healing than to ensure that I in no way contribute to the suffering of any other sentient being? I have a great affinity with Buddhism and it’s teaching that we should try never to harm any living being. Perhaps not every Animal Healer will subscribe to this belief system, but this is my story and I can only share with you the experiences of my own heart. Please take from it what you will, and use it to infuse your soul with some animal magic!
What is Animal Healing?
Animal healing is a simple but effective way of radiating loving energy to an animal for their highest good. All animals, great or small, can benefit from healing and this works on many different levels – physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological. During a healing session, I channel healing energies through my hands to the animal, usually maintaining a slight distance between my hands and the animal’s body. Direct hands-on healing may sometimes be appropriate but this will depend on the animal, and personal safety is always a priority.
Another vital ingredient for animal healing is intention. As an Animal Healer, I work from the heart, setting an intention of love which I then channel to the animal. I silently ask for the animal to receive healing, but I then try to detach myself from the outcome of this request. This might sound strange, but I have learnt that it is better to “let go” and just trust that the animal will absorb the healing where it is needed.
When I explain healing to an animal’s guardian, I tell them that it helps the animal to enter into a state of relaxation. The more relaxed an animal is, the better able they are to draw on their own natural resources to deal with illness or injury. It is important to note that animal healing is a complementary therapy. If an animal is ill, veterinary attention should be immediately sought and the vet’s permission asked in relation to complementary therapies.
Healing is not just about touch – it involves all of the senses. For instance, I will usually put on some calming music for a healing session, and this certainly contributes to the animal’s state of relaxation. I even play an animal sound therapy CD to my neighbourhood ducks through the kitchen window. This video shows the amazing results of this sound healing!
Sound Healing with Wild Ducks
The ducks in this video are relaxing to Elizabeth Whiter & Tim Wheater’s Animals Whispers Sound Therapy CD. This unique piece of healing music was recorded with 528 Hz, the frequency of love, and the precise scientific vibration of nature and life itself. You can find out more about this healing music CD at: https://www.healinganimals.org/pg-animal_whispers.html
Equine Healing
I am also a registered Equine Healer, and although this involves me working in much the same way as I would with animal healing, it involves a slightly different approach because horses are much bigger animals than most and they are known for their sensitive natures. This means that healing a horse can quite often feel like an intensely spiritual experience for the Equine Healer. The day after one equine healing session, I ran into a colleague in the corridor and she complimented me by saying, “You seem very calm!” I am sure she was picking up on the equine energies which I was still carrying with me from the day before!
Equine eyes are so very soulful and, despite their size, horses usually have a very gentle energy. Last year, I did equine healing with a beautiful pony called Peter and the following feedback from Peter’s guardian helps to illustrate how equine healing works in action:
“Marie came out to my pony, Peter, who had just moved yards and I thought the session would help him relax and settle into his new loan home. I was very impressed by the effect the treatment had on Peter, he really relaxed and responded to the treatment during the session. Marie was very calm around Peter who seemed to be very happy with her presence. She constantly advised me what she was doing, why she was doing it and what Peter’s responses meant, which I found useful and interesting so that I was able to understand the process of the treatment” – Rebecca Crowther, Halesowen, West Midlands (21 January 2013).
My animal healing has taken me all over the world and I would like to share with you a very special photo of an equine healing session which took place at Fundación AM-EN in Ecuador – in this picture a circle of healing light is clearly visible around my hands!
Bebeto, the rescue horse pictured, was receiving healing specifically for an inflamed hoof. However, the likelihood is that he would have taken in the healing on many other levels as well. You will see a white mark around his neck, an unfortunate reminder of how he was found tied up, starving, and near death. After my return home, Heidi Paliz, the President of Fundación AM-EN, contacted me to say thank you – Bebeto was healthy and well again! In fact, Heidi was so impressed with the positive effects of equine healing on her horses that she still gets in touch to request distant healing for other equine patients. The great thing about animal healing is that it also travels across the miles! Crystal Therapy for Animals
My account of animal healing would not be complete without a mention of Crystal Therapy for Animals. Crystals work through resonance and vibration, helping to rebalance the animal’s energy field through the healing energy they emit.
This photo shows my dog, Brandy, lying in a powerful Clear Quartz crystal grid. These twelve crystals were laid around Brandy with the set therapeutic intention of helping to maintain vitality. Animal healing is not only used to treat illness or injury, but also for general relaxation. This approach helps to promote an on-going state of wellbeing in the animal.
Crystals are a special passion of mine and, although I have been a Crystal Therapist for many years, it was with great joy that I recently completed the UK’s first ever training course in Crystal Therapy for Animals at The Animal Magic School of Animal Therapy. This qualification has already proved valuable beyond measure, and I would like to share with you the story of Rosie the cat, as told by her guardian, Julie:
“Marie came a few weeks before Christmas to help our cat, Rosie, who has thyroid problems, asthma and, most recently, the vet discovered she has tumours which, because of the proximity to her aorta, can’t be analysed or removed…After going through Rosie’s medical history, Marie used crystals for the healing and the atmosphere was very calm and relaxing for both myself and Rosie, who sat quite still for about 20 minutes while the healing took place. It was a very warm, calm, relaxing and lovely experience…Marie has continued to do distance healing for her…I am sure this is helping her because she is still very calm and not at all distressed by her illnesses. She is continuing with her medication prescribed by the vet but I am sure she is holding her own because of the healing. Much to the vet’s amazement, she has a healthy appetite and is still her old self. We know that at some point we will have to let her go, but at the moment she is still enjoying her life and all the attention she’s getting” – Julie Perry, Stourbridge, West Midlands (20 January 2013).
Rosie sadly passed over to Rainbow Bridge last month, but the healing she received possibly gave her a better quality of life in those last few precious months with Julie. I would like to dedicate this blog to Rosie and thank Julie for allowing me to share Rosie’s story.
I would also like to thank all of you for taking the time to read this blog and I hope that it has sparkled some fairy dust onto your day. Please get in touch if you would like to know any more about animal healing! If you are interested in booking an animal healing session, these are available in the Norwich area or via Skype for those further afield.
Love & Blessings,
Marie Dunnion – BA (Hons), DipPsych, MSc, MBPsS
Animal Healer, Member of the Healing Animals Organisation (MHAO)
E-mail: marie@emeraldcityhealing.co.uk
Website: www.emeraldcityhealing.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/emeraldcityhealing Want to read more articles like this?Sign up to our newsletter!
Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, has been helping homeless and vulnerable dog owners for almost 20 years through its Hope and Freedom Projects.
Currently only 7% of hostels are dog-friendly.
The Hope Project
The Dogs Trust Hope Project helps dogs whose owners are homeless or in housing crisis by providing advice, support and veterinary assistance for their dogs.
The Hope Project Veterinary Scheme offers free and subsidised veterinary care to any dog owner who is rough sleeping or living in temporary accommodation. The scheme runs in 100 towns and cities across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and offers free preventative healthcare – microchipping, neutering, vaccinations and flea and worming treatments. Dogs Trust can also subsidise most other essential veterinary treatments that a dog would need. Since the scheme began in 2004, the Hope Project has funded more than 10,000 veterinary treatments.
The Dogs Trust Hope Project also works with providers of homelessness accommodation to encourage them to accept residents with dogs. Unfortunately most homelessness organisations and housing providers in the UK still do not accept clients with dogs. Currently only 7% of hostels are dog-friendly [1]. This means that many people are being denied access to shelter and support, simply because they have a dog. Dogs Trust offers advice to accommodation providers on a range of issues such as introducing a pet policy, health and safety, hygiene and behaviour.
Every Christmas, Dogs Trust works with winter shelters and homelessness projects to provide a Christmas parcel service.
Every Christmas, Dogs Trust works with winter shelters and homelessness projects to provide a Christmas parcel service. Christmas can be an especially difficult and lonely time for people who are homeless. By sending out parcels of treats, toys, coats, collars and leads, the Hope Project tries to make Christmas special for homeless people and their dogs as well as providing essential coats and jumpers to keep the dogs warm during winter.
The Freedom Project
The Dogs Trust Freedom Project is a pet fostering service for dogs belonging to families fleeing from domestic violence.
Each year, thousands of women suffer abuse at the hands of their partner. Research indicates a strong link between animal abuse and domestic violence, with men who are violent to women often threatening or harming a pet in order to intimidate their partner.
Families fleeing domestic violence are usually unable to take their pets with them...
Families fleeing domestic violence are usually unable to take their pets with them into a refuge or temporary accommodation, so in many cases they are reluctant to leave their home until they know there is somewhere safe for their pets.
Dogs Trust offers a service which places dogs in the homes of volunteer foster carers until their owners are in a position to take them back. Dogs Trust covers all expenses so there are no costs for the volunteer foster carer or dog owner. The service operates in Greater London, Hertfordshire and Yorkshire. In Greater London & Hertfordshire, Dogs Trust can also foster cats in partnership with Cats Protection. Since it began in 2004, the Freedom Project has fostered more than 1000 pets.
Dogs Trust is funded solely by public generosity. If you would like to make a donation towards the work of the Dogs Trust Hope Project or the Dogs Trust Freedom Project, please go to www.moretodogstrust.org.uk/donate.
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Joey and I are keen to start cycling, and we think this Project in Birmingham is really great! They have so much to offer so its well worth a look if you live locally (Anna’s Grandma lives in Erdington by the way, another reason we love this project so much). In putting together our cycle themed newsletter we have learned loads about how green cycling is, how useful bikes are and the cool stuff can be done with your bike when its old. All in all, we are pretty impressed with bikes! This is What Bike North Birmingham had to say:
