Size Matters - S4-E5
Question: At the end of this episode Leo goes outside to heal the glass from the sign of P3. In a previous episode (Season 3 - The Magic Hour) when Christopher is injured in owl form he explains he can't heal animals. An animals genetic makeup would be a lot more similar to a human's, so why can Leo heal glass but not animals?
Answer: There are a lot of factors involved in who and what types of injuries can be healed, or can't be healed, by a Whitelighter, so their powers are limited. The ability to "heal" glass and clothes is more of a mending or restoring ability. But, the trigger for healing is love, so it seems (with speculation) this "Love trigger" only applies to human-to-human love. In addition, there are restrictions for Whitelighters and they're only suppose to heal wounds inflicted by evil, so it's possible animal injuries aren't caused by evil and thus can't be healed.
Bishop73
Thanks for the response - hmm I see what you're saying as that had all occurred to me too however Leo healed Piper's finger after she cut it not by evil but by cooking in the kitchen in "Blinded by the Whitelighter." As for the restoring glass and clothes this is the only time I can recall that he does this as a whitelighter. I'm a big fan of the show and grew up watching it but after my 20th re-watch I realised that had always puzzled me. Still a brilliant show regardless! Thanks again.