What is an animal chaplain? On KING5 Evening Magazine

Shel Graves Animal Consulting bringing animal chaplaincy to the PAWS Walk kick off festival in Edmonds.

The words "animal chaplain" spark curiosity. They certainly did in me when I first heard about the Compassion Consortium's Animal Chaplaincy Training.

I was working in an environment where there was a lot of animal suffering and animal death (although the mission was to help rescue animals from cruelty and neglect). I knew I needed to learn more to help animals including the human-animals doing the difficult work. I studied animal behavior and then animal training (how to help animals change their behavior and help us communicate better).

I was about to take a break from studies, when I learned about animal chaplaincy and knew this was the next piece I needed to take things deeper. I needed to know more.

So, while I was surprised when Diane Lewis Torre, photojournalist and producer at KING5, contacted me, I was not surprised that she was curious about animal chaplaincy and wanted to know more.

When she and Jose Cadeno came out to film and interview me for Evening Magazine, I provided a definition of an animal chaplain, "someone who provides emotional and spiritual support for people who care deeply about animals and for the animals themselves".

However, by the end of the interview including time with Cinnamon dog there was a strong feeling of connection.

You'll feel it in the story they told and shared, "Everett's animal chaplain fosters spiritual bonds with cherished pets -- Shel Graves offers spiritual and emotional care for pets and their owners." You can read part of it here.

We feel deeply connected to the animals in our lives and we know it is significant.

I felt this connection also when I shared animal chaplaincy at the PAWS Walk festival kick-off event to support abandoned, injured, and orphaned animals. I offered a memorial ribbon tree where people could write the name of a beloved animal in their heart and tie a ribbon and people did so without much prompting. They understood the significance of this simple act. We are connected.

Many did this in honor of a family members’ companion animal. Our extended family includes companion animals.

Our animal companions may be small in body, but they take up so much room in our hearts and lives; and we know those lives are meaningful. Our lives together have meaning.

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