Why I Love My Job

As a psychic and animal communicator, I love to raise funds for animal rescues, shelters and wildlife rehabilitation centers. I do this by giving them the proceeds from my readings. This past week I had one of these fund raisers for a charity that is very near-and-dear to me, Mid-Atlantic Border Collie Rescue (www.mabcr.org), “alma mater” of my dogs Cate and Finn.

Of all my psychic work, communicating with animals is my hands-down, absolute favorite thing to do. Their viewpoints and attitudes are always refreshing and illuminating. Through them I can get a sense of what it feels like to have a tail or long whiskers, and how that impacts what they think and do. What the world looks like, close to the ground or high in a tree. What it feels like to want to purr. Talking to animals makes for a really, really fun work day.

While they are “wired” differently than we are, they are extremely intelligent and wise, but it’s in the context of how they navigate this planet. What’s “smart” to us isn’t necessarily what’s needed to survive – or is valued – from their perspectives.

Needless to say, I’ve learned a lot from animals. Here are some things you might find helpful to know about them, too…

Dogs like to be helpful – Part A. Humans often ask me why in the world their dog eats poo out of their cats’ litter boxes. Fair question, given it’s – from our human perspective – a really, really disgusting habit. Well, from many a dog’s point of view, he or she is performing a public service. You were going to dispose of it anyway, so why waste it? If Spot eats it, it’s a win:win: The poo’s gone and you didn’t have to go to the trouble of scooping it out. He took care of that for you. So next time you are about to yell at your dog for doing something you don’t approve of, pause for a moment and consider what he or she might’ve been trying to do that also benefits you. (By the way, the same applies to cats leaving dead rodents on the front door step: It’s a gift. Duh!)

Dogs like to be helpful – Part B. Dogs like to have jobs and roles in the family. They really enjoy purposeful work, and this seems to cross all breeds, from my experience. If they don’t have a job, they’ll often create one for themselves, based on what they like to do and think is important to you. Like barking at everyone who comes to the door. Or pulling up all the carpet, starting with that loose corner you’ve been talking about. In the absence of direction from you, they’ll fill in the blanks for themselves. So help them identify jobs that are useful for them and for the family. They don’t  have to be lofty or complicated. One job could be, “You’re my walking buddy. We play, enjoy nature, and get exercise together.” And make and effort to catch them doing right. It makes their hearts sing.

Gaining understanding doesn’t necessarily mean buy- in. As in, “I see that you want me to sit when you say, ‘Sit,’ but right now I don’t feel like sitting.” So it really helps to explain the why behind the what, when you’re training animals. Say it out loud, and in your head as well. Visualize what you want, and send that to them telepathically. (Yes, it really works. That’s how they communicate with each other! So, trust me, they’ll  eventually begin to pick up on that signal, too, if you do it consistently.) Again, they may not agree, but if they understand, you’re likely to get more buy-in.

Cats do care about people. A lot. They’re just very self- possessed and aren’t inclined to follow directives that don’t make sense to them. (Sounds a lot like us humans, doesn’t it?) Many a cat who’s been “rescued” from a shelter has told me they “saved” their human from feeling sadness and loneliness. Both are true.

“Death” can be a gift…and it ain’t the end! For every euthanized animal I have spoken to over the years, ending their suffering was a gift. They may not have understood what was happening at the it occurred, but upon passing into spirit, they immediately understood what we were doing and why. And they’rethankful. It’s a release from pain and suffering. And they know how we agonize about these decisions. Sometimes animals who are now in spirit tell me they knew it was coming and were okay with it, but they were desperately worried about how their human would cope, so they stayed on in their suffering. Be a real friend to your pet: When the time comes for them to die, tell them it’s okay for them to go.

Animals understand the nature of life and death much better than we do. They often remember previous lifetimes, and will even return to this plane and find their way back to their former owners. Two true stories:

1. Sparky comes home. One very old dog told me he went right back home, in spirit, immediately after he was euthanized. He literally went home that night and showed me how he was now running around in the back yard. So, he died…then went home! Consider those times when you’ve sworn that you’ve seen your dead dog out of the corner of your eye, days after their passing. It’s not a “haunting.” They’re just coming back to visit the people and home they love.
2. Sparky comes home…as Daisy. This second story is a little complicated, so stay with me: My client scheduled a reading to talk to her dog whom we’ll call Sparky (not her real name). Before the reading, Sparky gave me two names – Sparky and Daisy. I didn’t recognize the name Daisy, and thought perhaps that name had been given to her by her previous owner or the rescue she’d come from. She repeated that she was known by both names, so I accepted that as the truth. During the reading my client told me she’d had a dog that had died, and her name was…you guessed it…Daisy. My client had hoped and prayed she’d see Daisy again, and here she was! Daisy had died, and come back to this plane as another dog, Sparky. My client told me, through her happy tears, that when she looked in Daisy’s eyes she felt like she was looking at Sparky and immediately knew this was the right dog for her. And here was her proof, since Daisy had made a point to share that with me before the reading even started. So when your beloved pet passes and you hope you’ll see them again, know that it may be a lot sooner than you think!

So you can see why I love my work. And I’m now teaching workshops on communicating with animals. I feel we have a responsibility to understand their worlds, since our actions (and inactions) affect them, their quality of life, their habitats, so profoundly. Yes, it’s so clichéd to say this, but it still holds true: We are literally connected and have a shared destiny that we’re creating every moment. And that includes all of the natural world, because the more you connect with animals, the more you connect with nature, in general.

Ever talk to a tree? Now THAT is fun. And they have a lot to say, too. But that’s a story for another day…