Comments on: Animal communication for skeptics

By: A.L.

A.L. — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:26:51 +0000

After my dog passed, I came across animal communication. The death of my beloved girl was so final, I couldn’t handle it. So I tried several animal communicators. I wanted so much to believe. A few hit some notes of ‘maybe,’ some were completely ridiculous and off the mark, but none gave me a communication with my dog that showed they were really speaking to her. I spent money I shouldn’t have on these people, and ended up not having that contact with my beloved dog I craved so much for.
I think many who contact animal communicators are in need, or grieving, and it is so easy to rip such people off, like myself, desperate to believe. And, I still have not completely dismissed the possibility of the real thing out there. Just that I can’t afford to go on a hunt for one. Am I gullible or what.

By: Christine S

Christine S — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:19:28 +0000

File me in the “want to believe, but doesn’t” category.
It’s too easy to fake, and the anecdotal stories, while nice, could be coincidences or “educated guesses” especially if the person knows you.
I’ve said similar (but not pet related) things to gullible friends. I even currently hold a 100% pregnancy prediction (as in before they even knew for sure, if not before they suspected it themselves) rating out of about 7 people (6 yes, 1 no). But that’s not because I’m a pro at fetus communication, just lucky. It also doesn’t come up that often.

By: Colorado Transplant

Colorado Transplant — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:34:24 +0000

My thinking is that there is a lot of unknown waiting to be discovered.

I am open to all theories and possibilities, but I do know that there are a lot of chalatans to be wary of.

So far, life has taught me that there is more than what is obvious.

By: Diana L Guerrero

Diana L Guerrero — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:08:51 +0000

I’m a closet intuitive (coming from the zoo world you would understand) and worked in an innovative clinic where we had two animal psychics to round out the team in the early 1990s.

Since we all cross referred (I did the animal behavior and training for the clinic) we all took each others classes.

Today I have three animal communicators that I refer to or will consult when I have a case when I am not making the headway I think we should see.

For the toughest decision of my life, euthanizing my dog, I called in a communicator.

There is a long funny story about this but I’ll save it for my blog or another time.

But yes, I believe in animal communicators and I don’t dismiss alternative therapies as part of a total program.

One of my buddies, Carol Gurney is working to standardize training and documentation because there are a lot of charlatans out there.

By: LauraL

LauraL — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:18:54 +0000

I’m not prone to credulity in this sort of thing, but I’ve had some pretty weird experiences that make me think some folks - not all, by any means - do have a heightened ability to “hear” what animals are “saying.” I also think some animals are better than others at talking back.

I’m not a UFO believer or any of the other usual paranormal stuff — but on this one, I’ve got an open mind. Humans have had domestic companion animals longer than we’ve had written language, and maybe longer than we’ve had complex language - the jury’s still out on that one. The fact that we can’t quantify all the details of how animals communicate with us isn’t proof that they aren’t trying.

By: VJ

VJ — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:24:31 +0000

I’ve taken some classes. In one, there was a German Shepard whose owner was trying to decide whether to euthanize him because he attacked anyone and everything. She brought him out so that 4 of us could do a ‘session’. I ventured 3 items. a) the dog hated being here as a dog, b) adored the woman c) loved strawberries. Amazingly, the woman stated they each shared a bowl of strawberries every night. I’ve had some mild success other times. My problem(s) is that I don’t try to communicate with other 4-legged animals often enough and I don’t entirely have faith in my own ability. I have used other animal communicators when I needed assurance that what I was thinking or feeling was correct for my own pets.

By: Anne T

Anne T — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:45:57 +0000

I have 3 dogs who exhibit seizure activity, none of it more than simple partials, nor severe enough to require medication. I have used 2 different communicators to help me with the IE. The dogs have learned/are learning to alert me when they are pre-seizure by assuming a position unique to them that says “I don’t feel so good, I think it’s happening again.” I have also consulted on their dietary needs, and removed foods that cause them problems from their individual diets. So my experience on that level has been positive and effective.
Training issues? Behavior? Past history? I am not so sure of the validity. Dogs ( or cats) are not above telling us what we want to hear.
I have personally experienced dogs either coming to me after they have just died, or have had dogs try to non verbally communicate their problems to me. I don’t like it one whit. I think I am totally nuts when it happens, doubt the validity of the experience, and do my best to keep it from happening again. Why? My college training was in the hard sciences. The hard sciences have no room for this kind of extra sensory perception/intuition. We are trained away from it as a society about the time we so amusingly discover an “invisible” friend as children, and it’s all downhill from there.
So do I believe some people can actually, usefully communicate non-verbally with other mammalian species? Yes, I do. Is it a perfect technique? No. Are there charlatans, of course. There are always cheaters amongst the ape family, especially if the “cheating” can be used to the cheater’s advantage.

By: Barb

Barb — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:57:06 +0000

I know one person who I believe is a “for real” animal communicator. She’s a vet tech for a veterinary acupuncturist/chiropractor and also is skilled at therapeutic massages for dogs and horses, so she’s pretty in tune to animals anyway. But from what I’ve seen this is above and beyond normal observation.
She does NOT charge for communicating.

I was still skeptical until one day I was in the office with one of my dogs who has a seizure disorder. After she has a seizure, part of the routine is to give her ice cream to get her blood sugar back up, and also to reassure her. I had never mentioned this to this woman, but that day my dog had had a seizure the night before, and had gotten her ice cream. While we were in the office, my dog walked up to this tech and looked up into her face. The woman looked at me and said, bemusedly “She’s asking for more ice cream. What’s she talking about?”

By: Janeen

Janeen — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:52:44 +0000

Those I’ve talked with and seen are, IMO, far too much like bad palm readers. Pitching broad generalizations while searching for bits of acknowledgment they can hype as ‘success.’

I do believe that there is a great value in shutting your mouth and opening your eyes and heart to listen to an animal (and to each other). Something we do far too little of these days.

By: slt

slt — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:26:30 +0000

I give animal communication the same verdict as UFOs, Sasquatch, Ghost Hunters, etc: I WANT to believe…