by Jann Garitty

   BooBoo: a cat who made a remarkable recovery from seizures and partial paralysis   

 Prophet: a dog whose grief and anxiety resolved into well-being

 Riley: a cat who developed confidence to stand her own ground 

Mary Sue Comstock weds her love for both plants and animals in a practice combining flower essence therapy with Healing Touch for Animals® .

People bring their animals to Mary Sue for help with physical, emotional or behavioral issues. Examples of animals with whom Mary Sue has worked include a Golden Labrador dog who had some disintegration of his spine and who was in pain. This dog (“Mac”) was also having problems with digestion. Another was a 14-year old dog (“Savannah”) with a lipoma on her side. It appeared that she might have cancer, and she experienced fatigue, and most probably pain. Other times an animal may have behavioral issues, such as a cat who was being ganged up on by other cats in her household. One such cat (“Riley”) had issues regarding self worth and empowerment. Other cats Mary Sue has worked with were urinating outside the litter box – a notorious way that cats may display their displeasure.

Prior to actually meeting with a client, Mary Sue does a brief chakra balancing for herself to be sure her energy is flowing. She also centers and grounds herself and asks for optimum healing and health for the animal she will be working with. “Intention is really important and it’s important to center myself before I do this work.”

Then when a person and their animal meet with Mary Sue, she first does an initial interview with the owner to learn about the background of the animal. She asks how they came to have the animal, how long the animal has been with them and also asks about previous conditions the animal might have had.

After gaining the necessary background information, Mary Sue does the actual session. She begins with a bridging technique (placing one hand on the throat chakra and one hand on the heart chakra) which she explains is a very good way to connect energetically with an animal. She “explains” to the animal that she would like to do a Healing Touch Session with them. “I think you’ll really like it. It’s very relaxing,” and asks their permission to do the actual treatment.

At this point, she does an energetic assessment of the animal using her hands and a pendulum. She will put her hand on the chakra or area in question, and hold a pendulum in her other hand. For her, if the chakra is open, the pendulum goes in a clockwise motion; if it is very open, the pendulum moves in a very big circle. If the chakra is constricted, the circle of the pendulum is not as open. If a chakra is closed, the pendulum does not move or moves back and forth. She continues to assess the whole body and legs, as well. To determine spinal issues, she will work going down the spine one vertebra at a time, using the same process to check for blockages.

Often Mary Sue will begin the session doing a basic chakra balance technique. To conduct a chakra balance (if she is on the right side of an animal) Mary Sue starts with her left hand placed on the root chakra and her right hand on the sacral chakra (the 2nd chakra). With the intention for optimal healing and health, after she feels the opening or balance, she places her left hand on the sacral chakra and her right hand on the solar plexus chakra (3rd chakra), and continues to work in this fashion up through the seven major chakras. There are many other HTA techniques which can be used in addition to a chakra balance depending on what is going on with an animal; for example, techniques which help with trauma release or for help with grounding and focusing for animals who are scattered and "spacey," etc. Each session is tailored for each individual animal. Once the energy field is cleared, energized and balanced, the animal will experience major relaxation. Mary Sue is gratified to see how deeply animals will relax. If a horse's tongue is hanging out of its mouth, she knows it is truly relaxed; "That's what you want to see...or a big sigh is really gratifying."

Animals react uniquely and differently to the HTA treatments, and Mary Sue accommodates the treatment for each situation. Sometimes cats will hide under a chair, and so Mary Sue works with them at a distance. She uses the same process but is just not touching them. Some horses can be quite tall, and she’s not able to put her hand on the crown chakra, so she places her hand to the side with the intention to work with the crown chakra.

For every animal with whom she works on-site and many with whom she works at a distance, Mary Sue makes a flower essence remedy. She determines what is needed by a combination of factors. For example, sometimes she may be working with an animal, and the 3rd chakra is blocked. That particular chakra is related to self-worth and a sense of personal power, among other things. Mary Sue thinks perhaps Buttercup would be a good essence for that animal. As she works during the sessions, different thoughts will come to her about the different flowers. She relies on her knowledge of all of the different flower essences, but oftentimes will use a pendulum to check for confirmation. She will hold the bottle next to the animal and ask if it is a good remedy for that animal. Sometimes the pendulum “zings around” and it substantiates her choice of an essence. If there are three essences in question, she checks out each one, and then holds them all together in her hand putting them against the animal, and again asking, “Are these remedies good together for this animal?” Sometimes the three are very strong while other times they are not, and then she goes through the process asking, “Are these two good together?” or “Is this the most important remedy?” Many times Mary Sue also asks the owners to take the remedy as well.

About Mary Sue Comstock

Mary Sue has always loved nature, being outdoors, and as a young child, "spent a lot of time in trees." Everywhere she has lived as an adult, she has loved planting a garden. When living in Santa Fe, New Mexico and going to school for a counseling degree, she put herself though school by having a gardening business. After receiving her degree, she worked in a private practice in Taos and also worked with the Community Mental Health Center.

While living in Albuquerque, her study of plants continued and she became a landscape assistant for someone from whom she learned about native plants. She began to dream very vividly of plants, as though she was viewing photos of them in her sleep. At an herbalism workshop in Taos, she first learned of flower essences, and became intrigued by them. In 1992, Mary Sue attended the Flower Essence Society practitioner training and subsequently earned her FES certification. She found that flower essence therapy complemented her work as a counselor.

Parallel to her love of plants is Mary Sue's love for animals; she has always had companion animals. In 2005, she began studying Healing Touch for Animals. The intensive training leading to certification took Mary Sue three years to complete. She then expanded her practice working with animals by combining Healing Touch and Flower Essence Therapy. She also uses aromatherapy in her practice. Mary Sue currently resides in Sarasota, Florida conducting her practice and working in association with a Holistic Veterinarian, Dr. Anne Hyle. She was recently voted "Favorite Animal Healer" for Sarasota, Florida.

Mary Sue does both on-site and long-distance healing sessions for animals and people.

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