Religiously, I spend each dawn in a meditation walk (more like a geriatric stroll) with my dogs on Sulphur Mountain. It is in those woods that I pray for those I care for (including myself) and state to the rising sun what exactly I am thankful for. Some mornings, I am not very thankful. You may even call me bitter. I write my woes with a felt tip pen on pieces of shale and then hurl them off the mountain in the direction of the islands. It is my way of surrendering my problems to the great unknown. I am fascinated with the way animals and many humans can be grateful and strong in the face of great adversity. Here I will ask animals, “How do you stay grateful when there is suffering around you?”

Tess (cat who saw her person suffer from cancer): “I tried to replace all my senses with joy. So when I smelled the cancer on my mom I tried to look forward to the smell of the breeze when I rolled on the ground outside. When I would hear my mom cry, I would think of the music that her friend gave her to play. If you are not grateful for anything the sickness will win.”

Dusty (Golden who lost his house in the Santa Barbara Tea Fire): “When you loose everything that is important to you all you can think about is the touch of your loved ones. Then none of that loss truly matters. You can hold each other and feel like you are home.”

Sancho (Donkey who saw his friend get shot): “When you see humans do terrible things it is hard to trust. But if you allow kindness to enter your life it melts away the hardness that others created. At first I had to force myself to see kindness. Now I see it in my family’s eyes.”

Rose (Horse. Humans abused badly): “The only way, I can survive is to forget the past. Everyday, I try to have one thing I want to accomplish. At first it was to walk across my pen. Now it is to nicker to my friends.”

Xander (Dog battling cancer): “I think it is important to have people who are smart around you. It is important to ask for advice and say thank you. If you are grateful for others advice, they will help you work out your problems.”

Mr. Squirrelly (Squirrel who’s mate got killed by a car): “It is so hard to be grateful when you miss your best friend and want to die yourself. It helps me to believe in heaven. Then I know I will see her again and perhaps there is a reason for her dying. When someone is depressed you should feed them. Other wise they will not eat. Sometimes I have to force myself to play. Then I have joy and can sleep.”

Maia (My wolf-dog, was abused & cancer survivor): “Believe that everyone is connected and although you suffer someone may learn from your suffering and become a better individual. If you learn to suffer with grace you will have better karma.”

I lived in the hills of Montecito before I lived in Ojai. It was in those hills where I learned how to study canine pack behavior. I had a professional dog walking business, which consists of filling my Jeep Cherokee with six to eight dogs for a three-hour hike in the mountains. I did this twice a day six days a week. I have a dog and cat buried in those hills. Now I am there every Tuesday & Thursday morning talking to client’s pets before I head north on the 101. I know those backcountry / Riviera roads like I know the streets of downtown Ojai. The Thursday afternoon the fire broke out, I got lost in those Montecito hills. I cursed at myself. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes and I was still scanning mailboxes for the number of my clients home. No cell service. I pulled over, took a breath and admired the oaks, pines, and the spectacular view of Montecito, Santa Barbara Harbor, the ocean and the islands. I thought at the time that Spirit wanted me to savor that moment and not be so concerned about time. Two hours later as I drove home on the 150 the fire broke out. Most of the road I was lost on is devastated to charred ruins. Amidst burnt homes and land is 27-acre estate that has been in my friend’s family for close to 90 years. Her land was not even slightly singed by the fire. She has two German Shepherds. Here is their (Sierra and Major’s) view of the fire.

Sierra: "Mom was gone far away getting her eye surgery and I started to smell anger in the air. It frightened me so I went outside. There was a flock of crows that flew over me. They were scared. I started to see the smoke before I smelled it. I heard sirens and then my caretaker came. I had never seen him so worried. He was looking around and wandering what he should take. He couldn’t think straight. Normally he is very together. The smoke started to burn my eyes and he got Major and me in the car. There were other men turning on the sprinklers. I didn’t understand why they wanted to water the plants. Watering is on a strict schedule. Days went by. People thought our house burnt down, but every time I thought about it I saw it standing. I asked the bobcat if he was ok and he said that he was but the property was filled with all types of animals that he had never seen on the property before. He said there was a no chasing or hunting rule. Which was hard for him because he didn’t eat for days."

Major: "I knew something bad was going to happen when my mom left us for her surgery. I didn’t know it was going to be the fire. I saw the smoke and I thought someone better call mom and tell her not to come home. I was trying to speak to her from a distance to warn her. You know I wasn’t that scared because Mitch (human) was there with us and I was so worried before the fire broke out that when it did I thought this is what was making me nervous. I never thought our house would burn down because our property is the home of many angels and the Buddha (larger than life wooden statue). He comes alive at night and takes bathes in our ponds. Many people pray to him. I knew he would take care of us. This property is what makes my mom’s heart strong. I want to say that I am so sorry for all those people and animals that lost their homes. They should come and put flowers on our Buddha’s lap and he will help them feel strong. I feel their sorrow and their devastation in the wind. I can smell it like Sierra. It makes you feel really sad and really grateful at the same time."

I lent this pen to some friends so they can house break their new dog. They sent me an email with this picture and a quote from Simon (their new dog) "Gee, Thanks a lot Laura"

"Are there flowers during the winter time in Chicago? If not, where do the bees go?"

"When my mom goes away, I don't want to stay with the neighbor because she is crazy....There is a ghost that lives upstairs in the loft....Can Loki and Wendy come to Chicago with us?"

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JOEY: "I have noticed that when people are walking by their footsteps are louder than usual. They should walk quieter. People would be less confused if they looked just outside themselves. I think they should eat well too. There is more garbage in the yard. I don’t think fruit comes in wrappers right?"

MAIA: "I think the best way to stay happy to help each other. I have a new friend that helped my body and she didn’t want money for it. I am very thankful. Getting rest is important too."

MAKIA: "The one way to stay happy and healthy is to study what you love to do. Otherwise you talk about all the bad things happening and you forget about how powerful you are. Everyone is smart, just smart at different things. I am very experienced at meditation. I am good at asking the angels to keep the bad energy away from our family and to surround us in their light. It’s a big job! Asking for help is important."

STORM: "Remember to play. Try to calm yourself before you get angry. If you do act angry say you’re sorry. You can say sorry to yourself, who you got angry at, or to an angel if you’d like. Drink water or you will be clogged. Let your friends love you and make you laugh."

SERAFINA: "Maybe people should spend more time looking at birds and flowers. I always feel refreshed after I watch ants for a while. They are very busy and what they do makes sense. Touching a tree is helpful. Sometimes when people pet me I see everything inside of them. I think it would help people if they found a way to organize everything inside of them. Organized people seem happier."

BEAN: "The hardest part for me is trusting others while knowing who to stay away from. I think I have a really good idea of the difference. I just get scared. Maybe everyone should learn to trust themselves first. Eating healthy treats is fun too."

Moss has a sad story before his present people. He said to me, "How long are these people going to keep me? I have never had anyone love me like them before."

Sydnee's person took these notes at our consultations before Sadie, Sydnee's Sister, passed away: Sydnee said that she 'is like a human with magical powers'. When asked if she was going to be ok when her sister passes away she said that she couldn't imagine he life without Sadie and she is going to be like a sack of mushy potatoes when Sadie passes away. When asked if she wanted a new pet she said she wants a cat and to name it Hot Dog.

Many blessings to Sydnee, Elizabeth and Nick

These are Sadie's person's notes of our consultation before Sadie passed away : She views death as a journey and she wants to know how she can die in love and peace. She said she has a choice to think about the goblins that put the tumors on her liver or she can think about where she is going. She is choosing to think about where she is going because otherwise she would be depressed and that is no way to live. Sadie was wondering how to turn the sorrow into happiness.

This was from Roxy's people: One of our male cats Roxy (Bens best buddy) is keeping us up off and on all night. When we go to bed he starts walking back and forth across us. He meows really deep and loud during this process. We eventually put him out of the room and close the door. Once outside the door he actually starts howling and hitting the door until we let him back in. Believe me if we don't let him in he wont stop. Once he is back in the process starts all over again. We really need to figure this out so we can get a good nights sleep.

Roxy told me "I am scared an owl is going to get me, because I saw a cat get taken. There is a spirit woman in the house that tries to pet me, but her hand goes through me. She is always dusting and their is a hole in the backyard I am scared of."

A month ago, Roxy's person had a nightmare that an owl took Roxy away. Roxy was trying to tell his person his fears in her dreams. An old woman died on the property and the hole in the back yard is the old septic tank from an old house on the property that burned down.

"The reason I fought with the neighbor cat, Groucho, is because he ate my mouse."

"If you were truly my friend you would tell my people to let me outside with out a leash."

Tilley had a litter several years ago. Her people kept most of the litter. I asked Tilley what she wanted to tell my readers and she answered. "Maybe you shouldn't let you cat have kittens if you are going to keep them all."

"I am a healer from the inside out. I have stars inside of me."

Minou saw that I had several necklaces on and asked, "You have so many collars. Where do you put the leash to you?"

Elliot came to visit me at a Halloween party. His person wanted me to talk to Elliot about some of his naughty behaviors. Elliot replies, "This is a fun day. Let's not talk about it."