Saturday, May 17, 2014

Where, Oh Where Could Deus Be?








I have had an influx of people looking for help finding their lost pets in the last few days...one of them being my sister, Hillary.

Lost pets are one of the hardest consultations for me to do. Often the animal is confused and scared, which makes understanding their location difficult. 

Hillary called me on Thursday, saying she hadn't seen Deus (Day-us) all morning, and, come to think of it, all night. I tuned into him, and he explained that he needed some quiet time because he had important spiritual work to do. He would be back for dinner. We impatiently waited for 8:00 to arrive, which was when he said he would be back. 8:00 came...and went. When I asked Deus where he was, he told me he was in the basement. Searching revealed that he was, in fact, NOT in the basement. At this point, Hillary was in a growing panic, and I was thinking I was just making things up, and not in fact talking to Deus.  I emailed my teacher for help and validation. Hillary put out a litter box and some smelly things for him, and we decided to call it a night. Hillary made posters to paint the town with, ready to put out in the morning. 

When morning came, I checked in with Deus again. I was still getting that he was in a basement. My teacher validated these feelings, and we realized he was most likely in a neighbour's basement. Later in the afternoon, Deus told me he had gotten out of the house, and was now outside and trying to find his way home. He told me he was in grass, and could see trees, houses, and hear cars. On my way home from work I scanned the fields quickly, but saw no sign of him. I asked him about dirt, and he said he saw piles of dirt, which were all over the field near Hillary's house.

Hillary texted me and asked if I would go over to help her hunt. I agreed, as did our sister, Tori. We started our hunt at about 9, walking through the field calling his name. I would stop after each call and ask him if he heard us. He answered with a emphatic "no". As we hunted we heard a very loud bird in the massive puddle of water that the recent downpours had left as a souvenir. I asked him if he heard the bird, and tried to relay the sound to him mentally. I received "yes". We moved toward the field where we thought he was, but couldn't get to it as we were perched precariously on a mountain of dirt. Looking around, we saw a way to get down and into the field but the entrance was at a different point in the neighbourhood. Turning around, we headed back the way we came. While walking along the sidewalk, Deus told me "turn left". This was in direct contradiction to where we were planning on going, so I asked "are you sure?" "Go left!" he said again. So I informed Hillary and Tori of the direction, and we turned left.

Behind Hillary's house is a "pond" that is surrounded by heavy brush. We trampled around, risking exposure to ticks and other bugs, intent on our hunt. Tori has a loud voice, so she would call out for Deus, and I would ask "did you hear that?" The first time he excitedly answered "yes! You are close!" In circles we went, asking "louder?" to which he said "yes!" We listened to the sound of the the bird, which was giving the same call as the bird in the massive puddle from the other field. As we walked, we knew we were getting closer and closer, and our search grew more frantic. Finally, Tori looked at me and asked "Could he be in a backyard?" We all stopped our search, both of my sisters staring at me expectantly. I tuned back into Deus, trying to determine if he was even able to come out of hiding. He affirmed that he was, in fact, in a backyard. He could hear our crunching and voices, but was unable to see us. The sound of cars was quite loud, as we were very close to a busy street. Slowly the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. Using the "louder/softer" technique, we narrowed our search to one backyard. Coaxing him out wasn't working, and we had no "real" evidence to knock on the owner's door, asking to search their backyard. So we went to the front of their house, trying to see if we could find a way to Deus, or for Deus to find a way to us. I will admit, B&E was considered. 

Eventually we decided that B&E wasn't worth it, especially with the fire station, which doubles as the police station, right across the street. Instead, we made a late night trip to Sobeys to purchase some really unhealthy cans of cat food. Upon our return, we went behind the yard again, and cracked open the can. I hoped that the sound of the lid being pulled off the can would be irresistible to Deus, and he would come out of the backyard. No such luck, so I started flinging cat food around. When tuning into Deus, he relayed fear that he wasn't near us, and didn't want to risk exposure. The bright idea struck to make a food trail back to the house, giving him a very real smell trail. A messy walk back to the house ensued, while I managed to get cat food all over the neighbourhood, my coat and my hair. The smell trail ended with the rest of the can on the front porch. Unable to do anything further, Tori and I headed back home.

An hour later, at midnight, we got the text that Deus was back! He followed the food trail right to his front door. Hillary felt she needed to stay up just a little bit later, and on her last check of the porch she saw her beloved, fluffy, Deus. When I checked in with him again, he confirmed that it was the smell trail we had left that lead him home.

Even though Deus wanted to come out and see us, his instincts kept him hidden. This is another big lesson about lost animals...actually animals in general! Their spirit may know what they should do, but their instincts from their body keep them from acting...or in some cases, encourage them to act inappropriately. 

Deus' disappearance was a big learning experience all around, and we are all thrilled to have him home safe and sound.