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The first and most important thing we need to do is adjust how we think about animals and about how a Reiki session needs to be done. Animal Reiki is entirely animal-led. The animal decides if they want to participate in a Reiki session at all, how long or short the session will be, whether hands will be placed on them during the session or if it will be done from a distance. They decide all aspects of the session. We might think that their caretaker makes the decisions regarding the animal’s treatment with Reiki, much as they do with their veterinarian and with the foods their pet eats. Seeing the animal as a whole and empowered being is one of the most healing aspects of animal Reiki, and permission is a huge part of that. So, they get to decide if they want Reiki, how long the session will be, and how they choose to participate in the session. Simply offering them this power to make a decision frees and heals because it restores their personal power—even if their decision is that they don’t want to have Reiki.