Talk to the Animals

My neighbor, Gordon, is a real down-to-earth guy. He has two bearded collies that are simply adorable, clever, and fun. He keeps them busy with agility training, and it keeps him on the go, too.

This weekend, we had a rummage sale. It was an opportunity for all the neighbors we never see during the wintertime to come over and visit for a while. Gordon stopped in with both his collies, Molly and Annie, in tow. He told us his daughter had been in town over Father's Day weekend, and as part of the visit his wife had arranged for a consultation with an animal communicator. He hadn't expected much, but thought it might be fun -- what he didn't expect was to come away wishing he had prepared better for the session, because he has questions he wishes he had asked!

Okay, you can think what you want ... but Gordon was most amazed when the animal communicator asked Molly and Annie if there was anything they wanted him to know ... and they responded that they really missed the chew treats he used to give them. Now -- NO ONE knew Gordon had stopped giving them the rawhide treats three weeks prior to this session ... not the wife, not the daughter, and certainly not the animal communicator. Only Gordon, Annie, and Molly knew!

Another thing Gordon wondered about was how Molly and Annie felt about the little cockapoo his wife had just gotten. The bearded collies' answer? They don't really see the little dog very often, so it's okay. What? Well, Gordon and his wife life on opposite sides of town, and when they do see each other, the dogs aren't always with them! Interesting.

Other things were communicated: Molly is older, and said she is having some pain in her left front "ankle" and her back. Gordon suspected this, from the way she moved after agility training ... but she wasn't showing any signs of it at the consultation. Annie, young and energetic, was asked how she liked agility training; she said she was having trouble with the "teeter" (like a teeter-totter on a playground) ... which Gordon says was the only thing they had a problem with that day at practice! Gordon asked what he could do to make it easier for her, and Annie said she'd like it if he would stay near her until she was off the teeter and feeling more confident. They tried it in their next practice session, and it worked like a charm! Annie also said she liked agility except when she does things wrong, and then she doesn't like doing it anymore because she really wants to please Gordon. Awwwww....

Okay, so where am I going with this?

Sometimes, like most pet owners, I wonder what my cats are thinking. When Mack was sick, I NEEDED to know why he wouldn't eat. I know the answer, once he was in the midst of liver failure, would have been that he just didn't feel well. But before that ... why did he stop eating?

Amy wants to know, so she can feel better ... she doesn't want the answer to be, "because of the little cat" that Amy brought home. That's what WE think was the problem. Along with losing our 16-year-old dog, Cinnamon. And the fact that mom and dad went away for a week and some of our pet-care plans fell through. Not enough to have a dramatic impact, under normal circumstances. But the combination of factors, we're thinking, might have been the reason.

Why does it matter?

Our week-long vacation starts Sunday.

I was feeling desperate to have one of these animal communication consultations, so I could tell Mack that we'll be gone -- that *I* will be gone -- for a while, but that I need him to be okay ... I need him to keep eating.

The animal communicator website says we are all born with the ability to communicate telepathically. There are classes to help us enhance our abilities.

Well, I thought, maybe I should just TELL him myself.

Mack was in the other room, in my line of sight, grooming himself, when I had this thought. I looked intently at him, and thought, "Mack, I NEED YOU TO KNOW ..." Mack stopped his grooming and looked up at me, staring straight into my eyes. I continued, "We're going away for a while, but we'll be back. I NEED you to keep eating!"

He continued to stare at me for about 30 seconds. Then he went back to grooming himself, as if to say, "yeah, yeah, yeah. stop worrying."

Then he curled up and rested his chin on the side of the carpeted nest.

Maybe, just maybe, we had a moment of cross-species communication?