I am reading this wonderful new book by Vint Virga, D.V.M. a distinguished expert in veterinary behavioral medicine. Yes—behavioral
medicine for animals. You know by now that there is nothing silly about this
specialty. Veterinary Behavioral Medicine is a branch of animal medicine and
while I knew that Dr. Vint Virga is at the top in his field I didn’t know until
reading this book that he is also an incredibly compassionate and compelling
storyteller.
The subtitle of “The
Soul of All Living Creatures” is: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human.
And, if you are an animal lover, you might say, “Well, duh, been saying that
for years.” And yes you have. We talk about unconditional love and patience and
having our own hearts opened wide by the creatures we love. But Virga goes
beyond that and shows –in his gentle but powerful teaching stories—how animals—cats,
dogs, horses—can teach us about mindfulness and intuition and generosity.
So maybe, like me, you buy lots of self-help books about
mindfulness and intuition and you go to workshops on the same topics—here is a
new way to get a very visceral lesson: spend time very quietly and very close
to an animal. In his book Virga explains exactly how he watches and discerns
the needs of the animals he is consulting on.
In this beautiful book Virga takes “therapeutic” and
“companion” animals to a new level of consideration. I could feel my own anxiety slow down and my breathing deepen just reading about his work
with the soulful creatures that he cares for.
