It’s kind of shocking, mostly to me, but I have a dog working alongside me in my new home-based clinic. An actual dog. I guess I’ll add it to the ever-growing list of things I’ve said I’d never do.
It all started back in 2005, right before I graduated with a Master degree in Chinese medicine, when I judged my fellow acupuncture student for planning to open a clinic and have her dog hang out in it with her. How unprofessional, I judged silently to myself. Also, how gross. Dogs are cute but also gross. All that licking. Blech. (My apologies, Colleen! As you’ll see, I’m now publicly eating my words.)
And yet, now my life involves dressing up a dog in her employee uniform for work each day.
Almost every day, a patient walks through the front door and is greeted with effervescent joy and unconditional love. If Angel’s out on a smoke break, then the first words out of a patient’s mouth is “Where’s Angel?” So, I’m forced to reply, “Well, hello to you, too!”
I never would have thought to bring Angel into my clinic except that one day a long-term patient of mine saw my partner leaving the house on a dog walk as my patient was walking into the clinic. This patient, let’s call him Tim for privacy, walked in and said, “I didn’t know you had a dog.” I explained that it was a package deal. She came with the man of my dreams, so I kind of had to say yes to her, too. Reluctantly at first but then, despite my best efforts, I fell in love with the darn creature. I really tried hard not to because of my long-held identity as “a cat person”.
Spoiler alert: I have a new identity.
Tim asked if he could meet Angel after her walk so I brought her into the clinic for the first time. Tim is a military veteran with a history of trauma and chronic pain. He’s typically a man of few words. I would guess that he’s an introvert. He’d agree with me when I say he can be a bit grumpy (chronic pain will do that to most people). I can’t exaggerate how effusive and chatty Tim became when Angel sprinted into the clinic with unbridled joy to meet him. He became a completely different person than the one I had known for the previous few years. Angel transformed him from the quiet grumpy guy that I knew to the tender loving sweet guy that Angel coaxed out of him. This experience alone made me rethink my judgmental attitude from 15 years prior.
Within only a few months of joining me in the clinic, she’s managed to receive 3 fan letters in the mail which is approximately 3 more than I’ve ever received in 16 years of practice. The fan mail was written by a 5-year old named Otis. He came in because his mother – my patient – couldn’t get childcare that day. When I asked the normally very shy Otis if he likes dogs, he smiled and vigorously nodded his head yes. I brought Angel in and it was mutual love at first sight. The mere presence of Angel allowed Otis to relax enough to watch me put needles in his Mom’s back. Little by little, he peeled himself away from the farthest wall and came closer and closer to the table to satisfy his curiosity. He listened to my explanation of how acupuncture works and was really engaged. Later, his mother told me that Otis doesn’t talk to anyone he hasn’t known for a very long time. I’d love to take credit for how comfortable I made Otis feel but I know the truth: it was Angel. How do I know? The fan mail that started filling up our mailbox over the following weeks. They were addressed to Angel.
Recently, I treated a teenager whose mother drove her to the appointment and decided to wait in the lobby. Angel greeted them at the door as usual. I went into the treatment room with the teenager but her Mom asked if Angel could stay out in the lobby with her while she waited. Angel is happy to be wherever she gets the most attention which was going to be right there with Mom. After I emerged from the room 20 minutes later, her Mom said, “Just sitting here with Angel…You should offer this as a service. My blood pressure is already lower.”
Angel’s unconditional love is infinite. However, one particular couple – a husband and wife, both of whom I treat in my clinic – apparently have a competition going: who does Angel love more? This question gets debated upon returning home from each acupuncture treatment. I’ll tell you the answer to this question, though: Angel’s favorite person in the whole wide world is the person who is right in front of her in the present moment because that’s where she lives: not in the past, not in the future. She lives in the here-and-now. And she’s never been happier.
You might be wondering if I have any patients that don’t like Angel or don’t want her around. Well, yes but only two of them so far. And they both have the same legitimate reason: they are scared of dogs from past experiences. I have a reminder on the top of their chart note to leave Angel in the house when they arrive. I always ask new patients how they feel about dogs or if they have an allergy to them before bringing her in. Plus, the clinic robot vacuums every single day and I’ve got a commercial-grade air filtration system.
On the other hand, another one of my patients was a vet tech for many years and loves animals. After laying on the table receiving his acupuncture with Angel napping beside him on the floor, gently breathing her calming little breaths, he walked out and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a canine doctor before.” That’s when she earned her new moniker Dr. Angel, C.D.
Angel knows exactly how to get her physical touch needs met. She knows where to sit when a patient is laying face-down on the table. Right where their hands rest on the arm rest. She gets the back scratches and the patient gets the calming effect of petting a furry animal.
Most people absolutely adore Angel when they meet her but some people go the extra mile. I have a few patients who sit on the floor during our treatment intake so they can enjoy Angel right in their face!
The extra mile becomes quite extra when patients bring treats to their appointments just for Dr. Angel. Recently, a new patient came in with a bag of treats because her husband (an established patient of mine) always talks about Angel after his visits.
There is a book called “Your Dog is Your Mirror” by Kevin Behan. It’s one of those books with a title so powerful you almost don’t need to read the book. I observe Angel mirror back the energy of each person who walks in the door. Her behavior has helped me learn more about my patients. The ones who have a deep calm about them and the ones who have fun, playful energy and the ones who have anxious energy. She mirrors it right back as soon as she interacts with them. The reason why she has a joyful, gentle, and peaceful energy about her is because she ultimately mirrors her rescuer, Daniel, my partner who is exactly all of those things.
One of the (many) odd and amusing things that Angel does is stalking imaginary prey around the massage table. Otherwise known as enjoying the light tickle of the sheet massaging her back as she slowly paces around and around the massage table. You just have to see it to understand it. Here’s a little video:
Angel is simply being herself without embarrassment or critique. She’s simply doing what feels good to the ‘soft animal of her body’. It’s something we could all benefit from mirroring her.
