A Saluki Named Sprite

Many articles have been written about what T’ai Chi Chih does for the actual practitioner. Very few touch on what T’ai Chi Chih does for those people around the T’ai Chi Chih practitioner, and even fewer are about our 4-legged friends and faithful companions. This event deeply touched not only me but those involved. I am very thankful for the T’ai Chi Chih Intensive in Ringwood, NJ and everyone who was there. Without it, all of you and that wonderful thing called Chi, I seriously doubt this would have happened! Thank You!

On my way home from the Tai Chi Chih Intensive in Ringwood NJ, I stopped overnight to visit a friend. Linda is a long time breeder of a type of dog called Saluki. The Saluki is of Middle Eastern descent and is conjectured to be one of the most ancient forms of our modern-day domestic dog. Linda had just recently returned home from one of her trips with a Saluki from Iran. I had briefly met this dog once and was most anxious to see him again as we had immediately become fast friends. While there, I saw Sprite. Sprite and I had met once before and Linda had asked me if I could try to work with her. She gave me her leash and Sprite tried vehemently to get away and was doing flip flops at the end of the leash. Not a pretty sight seeing a full-grown saluki doing this!! The fear that exuded from her was astronomical!! Sprite had closed herself off to everyone and everything except Linda. Keeping this in mind, I decided to totally ignore Sprite during my visit at Linda’s. Linda and I planted a few flats of flowers and did some needlepoint and Sprite was always at a distance from us, afraid to come near. I got up and started to do a T’ai Chi Chih practice and a thought happened. I stopped the practice and explained to Linda what she needed to do. Well, we did a little experiment with Sprite. Linda took Sprite and sat with her on the patio couch and did not talk to her or reassure her in any manner and just quietly sat beside her. I was across the patio from them and re-started the T’ai Chi Chih practice. With each movement, I took a step closer to Sprite and Linda until I was directly in front of Sprite with my back to her. This took probably 15-20 minutes. I proceeded to sit down on the couch (perching on it) with Sprite between me and the back of the couch. It brought tears to Linda’s eyes to see Sprite actually curious and comfortable with absolutely no fear in her eyes and no need to run away. Linda said she was continually trying to reach out to me and when I finally sat down, Sprite was nosing the entire back side of me and was very accepting of me. I was able to touch Sprite on the top of her head and gently hold her front paws. Both of these actions are very threatening to a dog like Sprite. Linda was in tears! This was apparently the first time anyone other than Linda could get comfortably close to her. Linda asked if I could help her with Sprite. I told her I was too far away to be of much help but I could teach her what I just did. So, I taught Linda a few T’ai Chi Chih movements emphasizing the more esoteric side of T’ai Chi Chih. In other words, I began teaching Linda complete surrender (a novel concept for control freak America) through T’ai Chi Chih. When I see Linda again, I will teach her a few more movements. Sprite slowly reverted back to her habitual self but was ever so slightly more relaxed about it. It is up to Linda now and the journey will be exceedingly long but more than simply worthwhile.

Afterward, Linda told me Sprite’s story. When Sprite was only three days old, the heat lamp that was above the whelping box fell into the whelping box, missing mom and all babies except Sprite. The heat lamp severed and cauterized her thigh down to the bone. Sprite underwent surgery without benefit of anesthesia. Anesthesia is not something a three-day old puppy can handle. For many days after surgery, Sprite continually moaned, apparently from pain. There was doubt that she would survive. Well, physically she did survive. However, she carries her scars in the form of fear. Many people have said to Linda that Sprite’s injury is no different from docking tails and cropping ears which is usually done at three days of age. Both Linda and I beg to differ. It is generally accepted that at three days of age, the nerves of the tail and ears are not developed; hence it is believed there is no pain in the docking and cropping procedures. However, the nerves in the thigh are developed. They would have to be in order for a puppy to crawl to its mother for warmth and nourishment. For a three-day-old puppy that is not even aware of its self much less its environment to have this much pain is very unsettling. It is even more unsettling that Sprite had to become aware of her self much earlier than would naturally occur – the pain being the catalyst. It is no wonder that Sprite lives in deep fear. It is also no wonder that T’ai Chi Chih helped Sprite. It brought her back to the place where she was before she was so painfully and deeply hurt – her first three days of life.