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Fisher | |
It started with my friend D., a man nearing retirement age who hikes a lot, and who has a large white fluffy dog, one of the boreal breeds.
This dog had a tendency to wander off a lot, and she seemed uninterested in playing. He could not figure her out.
A co-worker told him of a animal psychic, someone who claimed to be able to put questions to an animal, who could be anywhere — she works from a photo. So D. asked the psychic to ask the dog, "What would you like to do to play?" The response:
She indicated that "play" is beneath her because she has a purpose. She showed me an image of you throwing a blue ball and her just standing and staring at you. I think this was to reinforce that she had no interest in playing "fetch". I tried several times during the conversation to ask her about what she would enjoy doing in her spare time and she didn't offer anything. . . .
She said her purpose in this life and her ongoing work is being a "tracker". She tracks spirits (human) that are here needing guidance to help them cross over. She helps them get to where they need to be to cross over, or to get answers to questions so they can be at peace and cross over. She feels/knows when she is needed and is able to find her way to them. I asked what most spirits need or want in order to cross over and she indicated that most just need to see someone still living and know that they are okay. That is why she is gone long periods sometimes because it takes time to guide the spirit to the person.
I was really curious about her role, so I asked whether other animals have this job. She indicated that lots of animals are trackers, but they don't take it seriously and will not give full effort to the spirits. She does take it seriously though which is why she stays out at night and won't come back when you let her off leash.
What a conversation starter: "My dog is a
psychopomp. No, that's not a crazy breed. She walks with dead people."
I decided to ask her about Fisher, our 4-year-old "rescue" Chesapeake Bay retriever.
So I asked him if Fisher was his name and he gave me a "yes and no" response. When I questioned him further, he said it is the name he is called, but that is not his name. He said his name is Gunter, which he prefers, but he will answer to Fisher.
All I can say is that he reacts to "Fisher" but not to "Gunter." Calling him Gunter, however, is now our way to talk about him without arousing his attention. Maybe Gunter is his name in the Dreaming or something.
I gave her an easy question to ask, "Why are you always so hungry?" (He is a high-energy dog with a fast metabolism and a tendency to be
food-aggressive.)
This, however, sounds like Fisher:
His response was "ok," but he doesn't think he can resist going after food. He said, "when there is food, I have to eat it." I talked with him at some length about food to see if I could get a better understanding of his behavior. He said he is fed twice a day [true] and that is enough — he isn't hungry, but when he sees or smells food, he can't help himself. I talked with him about "his" food and "Chas's" food. Initially, he didn't see a difference (and I've heard this from other animals, they don't get human/animal boundaries - generally all "stuff" belongs to the collective, in their perspective). His response was "food is food - it's for whoever gets it first."
There was more, but you get the idea. We have worked for two years on him, and he has progressed from "It's OK to eat off the stove" to "If I am caught eating off the stove, I will be put outdoors and must go quietly without growling."
So we spend a lot of time managing his whereabouts in regard to food, be it our food, dog food, garbage, compost, ripe tomatoes in the garden, things dragged in from the woods, etc.
In two years, I would say that he has progressed from Horrible Dog to Horrid Dog and has almost reached Exasperating Dog.
Or maybe I am just defining deviancy down.