The New Pet Whisper: Holistic Animal Health Care Providers
Using Acupressure, Flower Essences and Energy Medicine Penny Paiser-Wilson Makes Holistic Care House-calls for Fox Valley Area Pets
By Janene Lang
Scientists have recently begun documenting what animal lovers have always known, that animals are sentient beings knowing the depth and breadth of emotional experience and have far greater intellectual capability than the modern world gives credit. This opens the door to a greater demand for holistic healers of animals as we recognize and begin to reach out a healing hand to not just the physical, but the mental, emotional and even spiritual wounds of our animal counterparts.
My cat, who acquired her title Dr. Winkers for her ability to sense and minister to our family’s hurts with gentle snuggling and loud purring, has an eating disorder which falls into the behavioral category called resource guarding. Possibly due to her experience as the runt in a feral litter, she over-eats to the point of obesity if not monitored. The over-eating reaction was triggered after her experience with being spayed at about 2-years old following a pregnancy that had become life-threatening. From the time she returned from the clinic, she was fearful and began over-eating and gaining weight.
In addition, she became inactive, hostile and aggressive toward dogs, and intolerant of other cats, including her house-mate, Noodles, another female a few years older than herself. She also held grudges toward the kids after they went off to college, taking up to 3 years to warm up to them again. We hoped she would eventually get past it all and calm down, but nearly a decade passed and she continued to gain weight and even develop breast fibroids and a cyst on her hip.
Recently, I met Penny Paiser-Wilson when she was performing kirtan at the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing and in our conversation, she told me about the work she does with animals. I asked her if I could interview her for an article about her work and in that conversation, it became clear that I needed to make an appointment for Dr. Winkers.
In addition to earning a Bachelor of Music from St. Norbert College in De Pere, and an M.A. in woodwinds from Ohio State University, Penny also holds a Bachelor of Science in nutrition from UW Madison. She studied cat and dog massage with Integrated Touch Therapy of Ohio and also Animal Communication with Asia Voight and Penelope Smith. Penny is a certified small animal acupressurist with Tallgass Animal Acupressure Institute, CO and a Master Reiki Practitioner through The Animal Spirit Network in Chicago.
Penny summarizes her work as “assisting both dogs and cats suffering from various disorders, including but not limited to issues of aging, behavior problems, trauma/ surgical recovery, history of abuse or abandonment and various medical conditions.” Penny emphasizes that her work is not to be a replacement for but rather in conjunction with traditional veterinary care. This combination Penny hopes will provide the “best and most complete health care for your pet’s physical, behavioral and emotional well-being.”
In the first week following Dr. Winker’s treatment with Penny, I noticed that she began tolerating Noodles snuggling with her. In fact, they are snuggling together next to me as I write - something that in the 4 years they have lived together never happened. The cyst on her hip has also softened and reduced by about half. Most surprising, Dr. Winkers actually jumped up onto my bed the other night (she has been dragging herself up for a long time.) I am continuing the therapy recommended by Penny and I look forward to seeing Dr. Winkers become more active, curious, and playful once again.
Tranquil Tails is owned and operated by Penny Paiser-Wilson. For more information, visit her website at http://www.tranquiltails.com. To schedule an appointment for your pet, contact Penny at (920) 720-9741.
Dr. Winkers and Noodles finally enjoy making a cat pile.