I cried like a baby when I heard the news about Jumangi’s passing yesterday and am going over today to pay my respects and give Jaye and Gail some support. I know that this has been a very hard loss for them. This is a Rescue Sanctuary and as Gail pointed out to me that death is all a part of the process, still there are some that just tug on your heart strings and it was Jumanji who first tugged on mine and whose story brought me to EARS the first time.
At the time I had just lost my sweet dog Bear who was just the dog of my Heart and I was inconsolable. Shortly thereafter Jaye called me about coming over to EARS as she had heard of my animal work. I read Jumanji’s story on their website and I was a goner. I knew that this invitation to EARS had Bear’s pawprints all over it because it was going to take someting as awesome as 40+Big Cats to begin to help me get over losing my Bear Boy….and it was going to take a Big Cat as awesome as Jumanji to keep me going through some of the other huge losses over the years. Going to Ears has been such a healing place for me and a place for me to heal the animals. I never could have dreamed 20 years ago to have had the honor to call a lion or a tiger my friends or to know special women like Gail and Jaye who care for some 45 Big Cats,most of them tigers.Today’s visit will be bittersweet but always so very heartfelt.
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It was a beautiful Florida day and a great time to visit one of my favorite places,EARS,a Big Cat Sanctuary. The smoke of the recent forest fires had subsided so it was safe to venture out for an extended time for a change. The weather was perfect and it was the good thing. Sultan, the almost pure white tiger cub who now probably weighs about 500 lbs loves to play splash with me. He has a big cast iron tub to soak and play in and he just loves to see how wet he can get me.
The first time that he showed me his tub,, he was so excited. I could hear him in my head telling me “Hey Flash ya gotta see something really cool!” Then he ran over to the tub and as soon as I got near enough, he stood on his hind legs making himself nearly 6 feet tall and came crashing down into the water throwing a tiger water wave over my entire body. Before I could catch my breath, he had done it again and now I was soaked to my skin. The next time that I visited him, he was already in his tub so I foolishly thought that I was safe from the deluge. Wrong! This time he came flying up and out of the tub and then came crashing back in to splash me. I always think that I can move far enough away and I am always wrong. He clearly sees it as a very fun game to splash Flash. Now I know to wear cotton when I go to EARS for this reason as he ritually soaks the whole front of me.
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Giving and Receiving:Finding Sanctuary with the Big Cats
I am extremely fortunate to live just 30 minutes from the “Hilton” of Big Cat rescue operations called EARS, Endangered Animal Rescue. This spacious refuge for dozens of rescued Lions, Tigers and Cougars is a testament to the huge hearts, courage, tenacity and plain backbreaking work of founders Gail Bowen and Jaye Perrett, as well as a host of devoted volunteers and interns.
For the past six years, I have been helping to heal these animals. In the native Shaman tradition, I carry Cougar medicine and in Chinese Astrology, I am a tiger. These gifts energize my psychic abilities as an animal communicator helping me evaluate the cats’ needs as I visit with them, treating them with flower essences and reiki. Fortunately, Gail and Jaye are very receptive to combining these alternative therapies with traditional veterinary medicine.
These visits bring great lightness to my heart, giving my soul deep satisfaction. Many times I have come for the Cats, but today I am mostly here for me. This has literally been the year from hell. My heart feels shattered in a million pieces and my spirit is all but broken from too many tragic losses of life and love. I want to be an active participant in my own liberation from grief, finding my way back to the strong, spirited woman that I once was. Today’s journey into the world of these awesome felines is a first step towards recovery and empowerment (read on…)
Written by: Flash @ 6:57 am — 
