Background
Lola is a Dogue de Bordeaux, a large French mastiff breed. She is approximately two years old and was adopted by Becky at roughly six months of age. She lives in Thetford in Norfolk with fifteen rescue dog siblings, three of whom are Dogues.
Becky is an Animal Communicator and Canine-led Soul Mentor who has lived with dogs and other animals all her life. She has dedicated her life to helping dogs around the world be heard by their human companions.
Lola was neutered on the 15th October, 2024. This is the story of her whole physical and emotional experience as told by Becky and Lola herself. My input has been more of therapeutic support to help with Lola’s rehab and to share the full story of her experience by bringing all the threads together.
Two weeks before Lola was due to be neutered, as per the terms and conditions of her rescue contract, Becky was beginning to have mixed feelings about the surgery, mainly because there is a lot of stigma around having dogs neutered unnecessarily. But, having worked in veterinary surgeries in the past, she had witnessed the effects of Pyometra (a potentially fatal uterine infection in un-neutered female dogs) and would not have wanted to risk losing Lola because of it.
Lola had already had three seasons during her time with Becky. These were fairly easy, and she hadn’t minded wearing the knickers. Becky had got her some really pretty ones, and Lola would prance around and show off in them. Unfortunately, each season was followed by a phantom pregnancy, regardless of what was done to try and prevent it.
Each phantom pregnancy was worse than the previous one, with the final phantom resulting in Lola refusing to eat and, in addition, producing milk. Having Lola neutered was the solution to prevent Pyometra and to stop phantom pregnancies.
Having only recently moved to Norfolk, Becky decided to take Lola back to her old Veterinary Surgery in Essex. She knew the staff well there and built a good relationship with them all.
As an Animal Communicator and someone who communes with her dogs daily, Becky wanted to discuss the procedure with Lola.
This was not straightforward as there was no choice for Lola. The surgery was part of the contract and had to go ahead regardless, as Becky would have had to hand Lola back to the rescue centre had she not been able to prove it had been done.
Becky explained the procedure to Lola and told her why it had to happen. She also shared with Lola that she would not be able to eat and drink in the hours before the procedure and that there would be strange people touching her and checking her over. Becky explained that Lola’s front leg would be shaved before her being given an anaesthetic but that she would stay with her while she fell asleep. She went on to mention that although she would not be there when Lola woke up, she would be back soon as she would never leave her anywhere permanently.
In addition, Becky shared about the need to wear a lampshade or inflatable collar and a surgical suit following the procedure and why Lola would have to wear them. (As it happened, Lola actually only required the surgical suit.) She explained to Lola that she would have to sleep in a crate as she would not be allowed to jump up onto the furniture until fully healed. She would also not be able to run around and play with the other dogs until fully healed. None of these measures would be forever, and that normality would return as soon as possible. Becky explained all this in terms of the number of nights that Lola would have to be in a crate.
All this was discussed several times, and Lola was fine with it, almost as if she was taking it in her stride. As the procedure date drew closer, Becky became more fearful, worried and anxious, so she stopped discussing anything more with Lola. She found herself terrified on the day of the procedure, and Lola asked her why this was. Not wanting to tell her that she was worried Lola might die during the surgery and knowing that it is impossible to fool a dog into believing that you are ok when you are not, Becky closed the communication channels.
The Neutering Surgery
On arriving at the Vets, Becky could feel Lola’s nerves, so she opened up communication again and tried to stay calm enough to reassure her. It didn’t work, and Lola was getting really stressed about the thought of being touched and handled by other people.
Thankfully, Becky was good friends with the vet, so she was able to stay with Lola while she was sedated. In fact, she even helped carry her to the operating table and remained until Lola wouldn’t know that she was gone.
As the sedation began to take effect, Lola tried to fight it initially. Becky explained that it would be better to give in to the feeling and that the sooner she did, the sooner it would all be over, and they could go home. At this point, Lola flopped down and slept.
When Becky returned to collect her from the surgery, Lola didn’t want to talk to her and wasn’t even behaving as if she was pleased to see her. Becky thought that Lola must hate her for putting her through the operation, but when they finally connected the following day, Lola explained that she just felt really rough from the anaesthetic and wanted to be left alone. She did not eat for 48 hours.
Recovery
In the following couple of days, there were various communications about Lola not being allowed in the garden with the other dogs and why she had to stay in the crate. Becky channelled Reiki for her every day and also offered Lola flower essences, aromatics and CBD. She was sharing the sensations around her wound site with Becky and questioning why it felt the way it did, explaining that as she moved, the stitches felt tight, and they pulled in her abdomen.
As Lola is a very high-energy dog, Becky was really careful not to let her do anything she shouldn’t. Unfortunately, one night, Lola escaped from her crate and dived onto the sofa. Sadly, this caused a fluid build-up under the skin at the site of the wound, and she had to be even more restricted for a while.
Session 1
The first time I worked with Lola was on 18th October, three days after the surgery. Becky had explained to her in advance that I was going to help her with her recovery. Over a Zoom call, Lola allowed me to connect immediately, even before I could ask for her permission. She took my attention to her belly area straight away.
Initially, I sensed that the energy releasing was current, very likely associated with the surgery a few days earlier. Then, there was a much heavier energy that came to my attention. This felt older and more dense.
Becky was able to identify this denser energy as being related to Lola’s previous seasons and phantom pregnancies. At that moment, I sensed another release, this time from Lola’s heart centre; it was as if, with the connection and acknowledgement, she could finally let go of all the emotions associated with those stressful and uncomfortable episodes.
Bringing attention to the wound itself, I could sense some tension and energy release from the left side. As I reported this to Becky, she was able to let me know that at that moment, Lola was licking the very same area. Becky also found that she had been able to sense the tightness and pulling in her own body. During the session, Lola was licking Becky’s fingers and shared that she felt a sense of calmness and contentment.
Session 2
Our second session was on 30th October, two weeks post-surgery. Becky was pleased to let me know that Lola now has a good understanding of her own healing and was mostly taking it all in her stride. Quite naturally, she was still upset when she had to go in the crate, especially at night, as her preference would be to sleep on the bed with Becky.
The surgical suit was now off, and Lola frequently told Becky to stop fussing and checking her stitches all the time and that she didn’t need to wear a cone around her neck. She was going out in the garden on her own, without the other dogs. Becky was ensuring she did not run around as the Vet has requested Lola stay quiet for a couple more weeks to be on the safe side whilst the dissolvable stitches were still tight. Becky could sense the tight knot they were creating in Lola’s abdomen.
We began the session, which ended up as a series of releases, one after another. Lola took me on a journey around her body, moving swiftly from one area to another. She had obviously worked out how she could use me to help speed her recovery.
After I asked permission to connect with her, Lola showed me her throat straight away. She had several energetic releases from here, which could most likely relate to the surgery. Lola had to have quite a lot of suction at the time, causing her to have a very dry mouth and throat lining post-surgery. This is not something she had shared about in conversation with Becky but nonetheless, it was important enough for her to bring to my attention. Muscle tensing and me having a coughing fit whilst working went some way to confirm this as being caused by the tube.
Other areas of significance, where Lola had quite substantial releases, included her whole womb space, heart area, and both sacral and solar plexus chakras. I sensed that the heart energy released was quite old, so we thought it was most likely unrelated to the recent surgery. In contrast, the sacral and solar plexus energy releases definitely appeared to be related. The position in which these chakras are located in and around Lola’s body, at either end of the wound makes this fairly certain.
Session 3
By our third session on 13th November, Lola had been back to her normal routine for the past five days and was much happier. She was out of the crate in general, playing gently and sleeping back on the bed with the other mastiffs. Becky was still not allowing her to chase her toys and run around madly, and Lola had to stay in the crate when Becky was out of the house. We both connected with her and found that Lola was not too bothered about having me work with her.
I had been connecting with her a few times remotely (rather than online) over the past week or so in the interim to work with the tissue on either side of the wound and help relieve some of the tension and pulling.
The main concern at the time was the outer layer of stitches, which had not yet dissolved. It was early days, and it can take up to twelve weeks post-op before this happens. The reason for all the stitches being dissolvable, instead of the outer layer being removable, is that the vet that Becky had used is in Essex, where she used to live. Having only been living in Norfolk for a short while before Lola’s surgery, she decided that she would rather use the practice she trusted and knew well but would not be driving back to Essex to have the stitches removed due to the distance.
In the following weeks, Lola did ask Becky to help with the stitches to alleviate the tightness and discomfort. As they were nearing the twelve-week mark and half of the stitches were yet to fall out, Becky helped with one or two of the knots. They did a couple a day until they were all gone, with Lola choosing when to come to Becky and show her belly so they could be done.
Post-Recovery Reflections
Becky has checked in with Lola and asked about her wound several times since the healing was completed. Lola has not shared any traumas or issues relating to the surgery. She is moving well, just as she did before her ordeal.
Becky is convinced that the combination of her Reiki, the CBD oil and the additional healing work and trauma resolution I provided have ensured that Lola’s healing has been a speedy and successful process.
Lola now feels free and is relieved that there will be no more seasons, or periods as she preferred to call them, and no more phantom pregnancies. However, she still insists that she would have liked to be trusted to look after herself rather than be crated. In the past, she had always been very underweight which Becky had put down to the stress of her hormone fluctuations and hopefully this will now rectify.
Lola is looking forward to playing with the other dogs again. In particular, Eric one of the other Mastiffs, has been missing her as she taught him to play after he arrived to live with Becky.
According to Becky, communication made the whole process a lot easier, and Lola’s willingness to go along with everything was key. If she had not wanted it at any point, Becky is unsure what she would have done. Communication can help our animals understand, but it can’t make them do something they don’t want to. I sense that as the lines of communication had always been open between them, the trust built up over the 18 months they had been together was strong enough that Lola knew Becky would not ask anything of her that was unnecessary.
It has been a complete privilege to be able to follow Lola’s neutering journey, with her agreement, and be able to assist in her recovery where I could. I hope that her story will encourage others to use communication to help their animals, whatever the species, not only whenever there is a need for any intervention but also just to check in with them on a regular basis.
The Ytene Healing® approach
The Ytene Healing® approach offers Somatic Experiencing®, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Osteodouce, Reiki and Animal Reiki to both human and animal clients, either in combination or independently. All the therapies offered are gentle due to their nature but can elicit profound healing.
Animal Healing sessions are intended to complement, not replace, the relationship you have with your veterinary practitioner. If you suspect your animal has a health problem, please see your Vet.
