* Free Chapter* Give Your Abused Pets Treats Slowly

Give abused pets treats slowly

Yes, I will admit it, I have snapped at my children, gotten angry at friends, and said things I regret.  I once told my husband while we were dating that I had been through a lot and felt like a dog that had been beaten half to death.  I informed him that when people held up their T-bone steaks and said, “Here, girl,” most of the time, I was still too afraid to come.  I did not trust them.

A year later, after much healing, I noticed a friend’s controlling and defensive behavior towards me.  She seemed to yell at me a lot when things were taken wrong.  As I pondered the snapping issue, I heard this message in my spirit — “If a dog has been abused, it may snap at you.” Oh, my, revelation into the healing of the soul! So, I did what any other certified googleologist would; I googled it. “How to care for an abused pet.”

The number one item on the list was to provide a safe place for your abused pet to live. The second suggestion was to ensure they had plenty of fresh food and water.  Since I had been abandoned by my ex-husband when I was chronically ill and eventually became homeless, I needed these simple necessities myself afterward.  Once you get the basics for your abused pet, you must go more in-depth into helping them heal. Paraphrasing below are tips needed at times for humans as well:

3) Give your abused pets treats SLOWLY. Use one hand to approach them gradually–two hands may scare them. 

6) Don’t allow the abused pet to interact with other pets.  If the other pets are pushy or mean, this will cause the abused pet to be even more submissive and scared.  Never hit or scold an abused pet.  Reward good behavior, but do not punish your pet.[1]

I noticed how we humans tend to be a lot like these fur companions that have been wounded. We have trust issues, and at times we need to be approached with ease.  We do not like to be pried for information or pushed into doing something. Syrupy compliments can also evoke warning signals.  We do not want to be controlled through harsh words or even bribed with treats. We tend to think things like, “What do they want?”  “What are they after?” Yes, too often, pets and people who have been hurt are quickly ready to run off from a family function or an event that makes them feel worse about themselves.  Their lack of self-esteem can be crushed when others are given all the attention in the room, yet they are not ready for everyone’s focus in the place to be on them.

Next, I wanted to know how a person could tell if their dog (pets) had been harmed or abused, so I also researched this topic.  While reading the items on the list below, try to think in people’s terms.

 1) Check the dog for physical signs of abuse. These could include scars, lesions, burns, or open wounds.  Also, missing fur or sores around the neck could indicate a dog was chained up for long periods.  The pet may have missing teeth that rotted out, have cloudy eyes, show no energy and be generally fatigued.  An animal may also have been starved. Repeated vomiting and bloody diarrhea are other signs of trauma. Did you notice that the signs of abuse are physical illness, mental stress, and fear?

Could sickness in our bodies at times be caused by past trauma and abuse?  Yes, I believe it could.  Ask a person with PTSD, and you will get an even broader understanding of what our environment can do to our mental health. Sometimes our sickness and wounds were brought on by ourselves:

Your indignation left no part of me intact; my sin made my whole body sick; for my iniquities loom high over my head as a heavy burden, too heavy for me.  I have stinking, festering wounds because of my foolishness. I am bent down, prostrate completely; I go about mourning all day long.

–Psalms 38:4-7, CJB

Sometimes our sickness, wounds, and mental stress are brought on by others. While running from King Saul and his army, David feigned his sanity at one point due to his fear of King Achish. Like a camper running from a grizzly bear, we run in fear and, at times, appear half crazy to others around us:

Then David set out and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. So he disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard.

–I Samuel 21:10-13, NASB

We must heal our spirits and forgive the abusers. We must take action to see a healthy body come forth, for it will not unless we make phone calls to the counselor, join a fitness program, and start eating healthier. We, too, must begin caring for ourselves by watching the words we speak about ourselves and others. Over the years, research has shown that trauma and its effects on our bodies are mind-blowing, and the investigation started with animals. An article by Psychology Tools titled Fight Or Flight Response credits Walter Cannon for this popular term that describes what happens on the inside when we are fearful of those on the outside:

The fight or flight response was originally described by American physiologist Walter Bradford Cannon in the book Bodily changes in pain, hunger, fear and rage (1915). He noted that when animals were threatened, by exposure to a predator for example, their bodies released the hormone adrenaline / epinephrine which would lead to a series of bodily changes including increased heart rate and respiration. [2]

There is another term used today called Fight/Flight vs Collapse. A sexual assault survivor from Tufts University, Wagatwe Wanjuki, compares the mammalian brain to the reptile brain’s response to trauma which collapses and then appears frozen. Wanjuki explains more in her blog titled Understanding the freeze/collapse trauma response can improve our response to survivors’ stories:

You can see the difference between these two systems at any big pet store. Kittens, puppies, mice and gerbils constantly play around, and when they’re tired, they huddle together, skin to skin, in a pile. In contrast, the snakes and lizards lie motionless in the corners of their cages, unresponsive to the environment. This sort of immobilization, generated by the reptilian brain, characterizes many chronically traumatized people, as opposed to the mammalian panic and rage that make more recent trauma survivors so frightened and frightening. . . When fighting or running does not take care of the threat, we activate the last resort-the reptilian brain, the ultimate emergency system.

–Wagatwe Wanjuki [3]

Abused, tattered souls may need to write their abusers a letter that never gets sent. This type of journaling helps release bottled-up anger. We vent and get rid of the pain.  At some point, we will cry out to our Father to help us forgive the person who kept us chained, muzzled, or unfed.  And Adonai will help us because He is a good Abba Daddy. Our trauma and fear may not be cured overnight, although it can happen. The mighty Hand of our Father is not too short to save. His powerful Spirit can find the mangiest scrawny, scared pet in the darkest alley and rescue it from the power of drugs, sickness, pain, guilt, and shame.  Our Father sweeps in and brings us to an animal shelter with loving servants who pamper us.  Pets with mangled and matted up fur must be shaved and shampooed with medicated ointments.  We need the balm of Gilead, the anointing oil, and the covering of prayer.

If you have been abused today, the Father of Lights wants to hold and comfort you. The Father’s love and compassion have no limits; it is unreachable.  He is holding out His arms to you right now.  Reach up and take the Masters’ Hands.  Run to Him instead of getting back into a relationship with a new partner.  Chances are you will run smack dab into another person who will harm you if you have not healed. We must become whole and healthy to attract someone healthy for us:

For I will restore you to health, and I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying: “It is Zion; no one cares for her.

 –Jeremiah 30:17, NASB

Someone cares for you! Yeshua, the Messiah, is interceding right now on your behalf.

[1] www.ccspca.com/blog-spca/education/adopting-an-abused-dog

[2] https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-response/#:~:text=The%20fight%20or%20flight%20response,body%20to%20fight%20or%20flee

[3] https://wagatwe.com/blog/2019/2/21/understanding-the-freezecollapse-trauma-response-can-improve-our-response-to-survivors-stories

[1] Adopting an Abused Dog (How to Prepare & Steps to Take) – Central California SPCA, Fresno, CA (ccspca.com)

[2] Fight Or Flight Response (psychologytools.com)

[3] Understanding the freeze/collapse trauma response can improve our response to survivors’ stories — Wagatwe Wanjuki

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