Artist Anne Embree was at wits' end.

Hours of obedience classes, one-on-one training and medication had failed to calm her English springer spaniel. Eibhear refused to leave her sight and was a constant barker.

"He just screamed all the time," Embree recalled. "Bark, bark, bark, bark, bark. I could never leave him. The first couple of months, it was just horrible."

One trainer suggested she return Eibhear to the breeder. Another trainer helped with some of the behavioral problems, but deep-seated issues remained. And she remained dedicated to the dog.

"I just thought, 'Why not try everything,' " she said, "I wanted to keep him."

At a pet boutique, Embree happened upon a name on a bulletin board about reiki master and animal communicator Karen Taylor Waters. Embree called Waters immediately.

Waters, through her communication with Eibhear, was able to establish the dog was fearful and suffered from separation anxiety. He was also lonely.

"It was fear-based," Waters said. "He felt he couldn't take care of her when she left the room."

After that initial session, Waters recommended reiki, a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. The word is made up of two Japanese words — rei, meaning spirit or higher power, and ki, meaning life force energy. While spiritual in nature — practitioners believe the healing energy comes from God or the universal energy — reiki is not a religion.

"Animals just love it," said Waters, a reiki master who's been using the technique since 1998. "They are so receptive."

Four sessions later, Eibhear is less anxious and will lie down comfortably in his crate, Embree said.

At a recent reiki session, Eibhear quickly took to a blanket in a darkened, candle-lit room at Olive Branch Animal Hospital. Waters gently stroked the 7-month-old puppy and within moments, the once-hyper dog was at peace.

Halfway through the 20-minute session, Waters said she felt a surge of energy. "My hands just got very hot," Waters said, continually stroking the dog. "And my face is hot, or it feels likes it's hot."

At the end of the session, Waters, Embree and Eibhear emerged from the room relaxed and rejuvenated.

"I don't know exactly what it does," Embree said. "All I know is that she can get him to calm down really quickly. He just goes out like a light. He's gotten pretty good. We are making progress."

There's a specific pattern reiki masters follow when working with humans, Waters said. But animals are different. Waters said she works at their comfort level and hand placement isn't as critical.

"I just allow the energy to flow through me and into him," Waters said. "I allow it to go where it needs to go. It's not up to me to decide. And the beautiful thing about reiki is that it can never harm. It's very noninvasive and can be done anywhere and anytime."

Reiki is an intelligent energy, Waters said. The practitioner might decide where the energy should go based on a client's input or the practitioner's own intention, but ultimately the energy will go where the body needs it.

"It will support the body in healing itself," Waters said. "That's what it's for. It can help with anything, especially emotional issues, not just physical issues."

The amount of sessions needed are up to the client," Waters said. Some just have one session, while others require many. "It depends on how the animal is responding," she said.

All animals can benefit from reiki, Waters said, and she's had sessions with a variety of species. It was through reiki that Waters said she believes she rediscovered her ability to communicate with animals.

She vividly recalled the first time she heard an animal communicate with her. It was in 2001, while she worked at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society. She was in charge of the cat room.

"It was the first time I was conscious of hearing an animal," Waters said. "I was doing reiki on a cat. And it asked me what was going on."

The old and ill cat had been brought into the shelter to be euthanized, Waters said, and she had asked it whether she could do reiki on it to help with its transition. "The cat said, 'What's going on?' and I explained that it was going to have to leave its body, and maybe next time, it could choose a better one, a healthier one."

Waters said she feels the cat was the universe's way of opening her up to the idea of animal communication. "I believe that cat knew very well what was going on," she said.

The initial communication was startling, Waters said. She had heard about animal communication and once even considered taking a workshop but wasn't that interested. The experience with the shelter cat made her reconsider the communication connection.

"I've always communicated with my cat, but we've been together 18 years," she said. "We all hear in different ways."

The communication translates into words, but the words are generally transmitted through physical sensations and mental images. Both the reiki work and communication can be done at a distance. Most of Waters clients live out of town.

In traditional reiki, there are three degrees or levels, Waters said. The first degree is considered hands-on treatment. The second level is work done at a distance, either across the room or across the country. The third degree is the master level, where the practitioner can teach others the technique.

Reiki works well for behavioral issues, but also for healing and helping with terminal illnesses. She's down a lot of work with animals who have dental issues, she said. She said she'll often feel the animal's pain in her own body and can then pinpoint the problem area and the animal for the veterinarian.

Medical problems should also be first treated with a veterinarian, she stressed.

"I think it's a great support to whatever veterinarian care the animal is getting, Waters said. "Animal communication and reiki are wonderful support for veterinarian care, but I am not a substitute for a veterinarian."

Waters said she considers reiki and animal communication as service work. Reiki is generally more helpful to the animal while animal communication can ease people's minds. "With animal communication, I find I'm working more with people," she said. "People always want to know what they can do for their animals."

There are always skeptics, with both animal communication and reiki, Waters said, but she doesn't feel the need to prove anything to anyone. She recalls a man's coming to her with a photo of his guinea pig. He told her he didn't believe in her work — until after the session. "When we were finished, he was no longer skeptical," she said.

More information

Karen Taylor Waters is available for private sessions on animal communication or reiki for animals. She also conducts workshops periodically. A summer animal communication workshop is scheduled for June. Call her at 471-2512 or e-mail her at Karen@spotsaid.com. Or visit her Web site at www.spotsaid.com.