The Doctor Who Was Healed By a Dog
Dr. Will was a veterinary medical research doctor who thought he had discovered his life purpose in understanding how to medically treat and cure dogs. He was so good at what he did in the laboratory that he spent most of his time there as a scientist. He had a wonderful wife and two grown daughters, but when he was with his family he never quite felt as at home as he did in his laboratory.
Dr. Will bought many unnamed dogs from a research puppy factory that he would name Dog 1, Dog 2, and so on. He would put electrodes in their heads, scan their body functions for genetically weak areas, assess behavior and eating habits, look at body chemistries, and eventually euthanize the dogs and dissect them. From his research, Dr. Will created a database that represented all that could be medically known about a dog. He was well published, and with his wonderful medical applications was able to prolong many dogs’ lives and repair their sick bodies. His laboratory was well funded and his devices had made him a wealthy man.
Dr. Will shared his office with Dr. Surrender Singh, whose clients all lovingly called him Dr. Surrender. He not only did research, but also tended to sick animal patients two days a week offering what he called energy medicine and other holistic approaches to support traditional veterinary medicine. Dr. Surrender often spoke in glowing terms about his patients, his children and his lovely wife, a perpetual smile brightening his face.
Noticing that Dr. Will seemed unhappy and stressed much of the time, Dr. Surrender recommended that he try seeing patients one day a week so he could appreciate how effective his medical protocols were. Dr. Surrender noted, “When enjoying and loving your life and the people in it is your first and most important life purpose, then your job will be the outward reflection of your joy and love.”
Dr. Will did not believe in joy and love since it seemed so frivolous, and told Dr. Surrender that his life purpose was there in the lab. He also said that taking time for appointments would just put him behind on his research projects. But as fate would have it, the next week Dr. Surrender had to be out of the office and asked Dr. Will to please see just one of his patients who was likely to die that week without treatment for a heart condition. Dr. Will was their last hope — a board certified veterinary cardiologist who knew everything there was to know about this area of expertise.
The next day Dr. Will reluctantly met with Paul and Mary and their young champagne-colored golden retriever puppy named Cupid. Dr. Will took Cupid, laid her on the stainless steel table and listened to her heart. Much to his dismay, he knew from what he heard that her valves were severely malformed and the chances of long-term survival were slim, even with surgery. He asked very matter of factly, “Would you like me to put your dog down? It might save you all a lot of heartache.”
Paul spoke very kindly and respectfully. “Cupid has only been with us for three months; we got her just after we lost our daughter in a terrible accident, and we think that somehow the spirit of our daughter is with us through Cupid. And I know this might sound crazy, Dr. Will, but I think that Cupid’s heart problems have something to do with how heartbroken we are. Dr. Surrender told us that it was possible for souls to stay and support the heartbroken. We love her and she has given us hope that we can mend our broken hearts.”
Just as Dr. Will was about to suggest that they reconsider — and planning on telling Dr. Surrender that he shouldn’t give patients false hope — he heard the scratching of Cupid’s claws on the steel table. He turned just in time to catch Cupid in a full body leap that knocked him over and landed her with one paw on either side of his head, licking his face over and over.
As Dr. Will got off the floor, Mary grabbed his arm and said, “Dr. Surrender said you were the best heart man around and Cupid seems to agree, so we are going to leave her with you. We trust you with our baby; do everything that is possible. Maybe if you can find what no other doctor has been able to find, just maybe there will also be hope for my heart too.”
After Paul and Mary left, Dr. Will thought, “A dog that sick shouldn’t be so happy and alive.” Inexplicably he found himself wondering about her purpose on the planet when normally he would be calculating what her statistical chances of survival were. As he sat there with Cupid staring into his eyes and licking his nose, a tear trickled down Dr. Will’s face. He did not know why he was crying, but clearly his heart had been touched. Somehow he found himself sensing that Cupid had a purpose in life more than just being a dog, which led him to consider that maybe his purpose might be more than just being a research scientist.
Faced with a scientific decision of whether to do surgery or put a dog down, Dr. Will was faced with the mortality of life and the power one soul can have in relationship with another. All his training gave him lots of medical options, but he realized the final decision as to what to do for Cupid was between his soul and Cupid’s soul. As he looked into the eyes of Cupid, he came face to face with the very unscientific realization that the decision as to what to do in this moment was not up to his thoughts; it was up to his heart. He knew that half the decision was going to be Cupid’s as well. He had the passing thought that Cupid was actually healing his heart in some hugely profound way. His mind raced and he began to wonder what it is that actually heals a patient, and what, for that matter, is the difference between medicine and healing, a topic that Dr. Surrender mentioned often.
At that moment, Dr. Will decided to call in the veterinary technicians and do the surgery right away. Cupid wagged her tail right up until the anesthesia kicked in. Once into the heart cavity Dr. Will could see that the malformation was hopeless. Just as he was about to give up and close, Cupid let out a very quiet whine, even fully under anesthesia. Startled, Dr. Will did something he had never done before; he asked God for guidance. The message he received was, “Do your best.” But he had no tricks or techniques to cure this.
Going against his belief of what is possible he began to see if there was any way to reshape the valves. When he did this, he found that the part of the valve that was missing had formed but was bent back to and adhered to the stem of the valve. He knew there was little chance that if he freed them up they would work properly, but his heart told him to try.
The next day when Paul and Mary came to see Cupid, Dr. Will was worried that Cupid would be dead, but there she was, standing and barking with excitement, ready to jump into their car. With tears in her eyes, Mary hugged a stunned Dr. Will and said, "You have given me faith in the heart's miraculous ability to heal. Thank you." When Dr. Surrender arrived back in the office, he was updated with the wonderful news. Hugging Dr. Will he said, “I knew Cupid had a gift for you and you for her. Sometimes being a doctor is more than our technique and what we know; it’s whom we are in our hearts that heals. By opening your heart, you received your first lesson in energy medicine.”
Rhys Thomas is founder of the Rhys Thomas Institute of Energy Medicine in Medway, MA, offering energy medicine classes and training programs for beginners to advanced students. He can be reached at 508-740-3030 or visit www.rhysthomasinstitute.com.
