Circle of Life
Early October, I enjoyed a long drive to guide a wildlife communication retreat at Earthfire Institute sanctuary in Idaho, camping in scenic spots. On the way home to Arizona, I planned to take a side trip to Colorado to visit my friend Don and his orange tabby cat companion, Ollie.
Don and I had kept in touch after I brought Ollie to live with Don. Here is the story from
November 2013.
A New Home
Ollie, my 4-year-old orange tabby cat, has started a new phase of his life journey of love with a new person. Ollie has wanted to be the only cat for a while, and the conflict between him and our other three cats gradually escalated to be intolerable. My power animal and Master Sherman (former wizard orange tabby cat) guided that Ollie belonged in another place, giving his love and sharing his energy with someone else.
The first person I talked to about rehoming Ollie was Eden Koljord, when she called November 5th to go over materials as part of apprenticing to teach my Basic Course on How to Communicate with Animals. Eden got chills as I spoke about Ollie. She told me about her elder friend, Don, whom she met while attending classes at Mile Hi Religious Science Church in Denver. His former orange tabby cat had died in March, and he told Eden it was time to look for a new cat. When Don contacted me and described his former cat and what he liked about him, it reminded me of Ollie. Don is an open-hearted, kind, devoted cat lover, having had two orange tabbies as his previous feline friends. Ollie and Don were a perfect match.
November is a tricky time to travel in Colorado because the mountain passes and other high-elevation areas are often subject to snowstorms. So, I had to make the trip soon. I needed about a week to travel the over 800 miles to Denver and visit friends on the way back. I arranged the trip for November 14-20.
Ollie, Belinda (former dog companion), and I sailed through the up to 11,000-foot mountain passes on Interstate 70 in our Subaru Outback before the clouds could release a snowstorm.
Ollie enjoyed exploring his new home and meeting Don. Don is ecstatic and feels a new spiritual awareness, aliveness, and love. He emails me daily news about fun with Ollie. Ollie is one happy camper!
We headed home with the satisfaction of a mission accomplished and in time to miss the Colorado snowstorms moving in.
Gentle Departure
I had a very poignant and meaningful visit with Don and Ollie on October 8, 2024. Ollie was very near departure after months of moving through the dying process. Not having eaten in about 4 days and not having drunk water in two days, he was hanging in to see me.
He struggled to move his head and get up to see me but could not manage to do so with his wasted form. His body was cold, so I had Don give me fluffy towels to wrap him in. I picked him up and held him on my lap as he wanted, then put him in Don’s arms. We both cried and reminisced about Ollie Wollie Guru Bear, a name I gave him when Ollie first came to me at seven months old in 2010. Don was so grateful for all the love Ollie had given him and all he learned from Ollie and me. Ollie was so glad to be with his two favorite people.
It was hard to leave Ollie as I knew he would pass soon, but I had many miles to cover to get home. I had not seen Don and Ollie since I brought Ollie to Colorado 11 years ago. Ollie was 15 this year. Don is 90.
A few hours after I departed, Ollie left his body. He had led the life he wanted and enjoyed it to the hilt. He was running around in spurts and jumping on Don’s lap (and getting exhausted afterward) up to a week before he died.
The vet came over on October 9 to take Ollie’s body for cremation. Don wrote to me:
Dr. Erica, who came for Ollie, wrapped him up in a blanket with a little pillow under his head. She handed him to me so I could hold him, hug him, and kiss him goodbye.
After I cleaned up Ollie's area, I laid down to rest. As I relaxed, I felt Ollie sending heartfelt joy and thanking me for the life we shared. It was as if he was here with me. The next emotion I felt from him was his immense joy at being in the Spirit world.
I am honored at your presence with us in the final hours, which we will always remember.
It was amazing how my scheduled trip to Idaho worked out so we three could be together for this sacred time.
When I got home, I could feel Ollie’s joyful and expanded presence and how grateful he was that we could all be together for his send-off. Don could feel his loving presence permeating everything around him.
Don shared:
I have felt Ollie’s joy and love all-encompassing. Until today, I thought him living with me was the greatest joy I had ever experienced, and now my cup overflows. Something amazing happened. I had taken a nap, and when I sat down at my desk, I looked up at the memorial I had created in honor of Ollie, and I involuntarily started to giggle. I know he is honored by my remembrance and respect for him. He looks down at me and smiles.
Over the years, I had coached Don through his doubts about his ability to receive telepathic communication from Ollie. Now his experience was a quantum leap in his telepathic connection with Ollie. I was so happy that Don was tuned into what Ollie was experiencing and felt the incredible joy of Oneness instead of feeling desperately separate. What a great blessing!
