Animal Communicators

Do true animal communicators really exist? Who really knows for sure, but I'll tell you what I think.

Let me state, first off, that I am a skeptic. I enjoy logic, proof, and objective facts. However, there are some things in this world (many things, really) that we cannot yet explain. Unfortunately, humanity tends to dismiss what we don't understand as either not possible, stupid, or something to be feared and shunned. I believe animal communication falls under all three dismissive categories.

I believe that 99% of people who claim to be animal communicators are money-grubbing frauds who prey upon the desperate and weak minded. They are highly skilled at cold reading and interpreting body language, and hence are highly convincing without possessing any other special skill. Their goal is to make money for themselves, which is hardly noble. The louder someone is about their talent, the less of it they probably have.

However, I believe there are a select few who CAN truly "talk" to animals. They are rare, and don't tend to broadcast their abilities far and wide. I have heard numerous stories, both first and second hand, of readings done that were amazingly accurate with very little information provided. Just a name, recent photo, and that's it. No other form of interaction, and as some were done over the phone, no opportunity to read body language either. How does one explain that? In essence, we can't, and therefore we dismiss it.

We have been taught from childhood that we cannot talk to animals. It's just impossible, so don't even try. Well, I don't think that's true. I think that most people have the ability, we've just shut it off. We have to relearn through training those instincts that we've forgotten. Obviously, I'm not talking about having a pleasant chat with woodland critters a la Disney movie. I'm talking about know what the animal is feeling and roughly what they're thinking just by being near them.

I think that animals likely share their thoughts freely with those who can "contact" them. As a rule, animals are not deceptive and have nothing to hide. They do not feel shame, guilt, or fear the reactions of their peers. Unless they feel threatened, I see little reason for them NOT to open up to a suitably skilled human. I think this is why it works in the first place, animals are far more receptive than people are.

Here's how I think true animal communication works. I think horses and other animals "speak" in images, and that their thoughts are more complex than most people give them credit for. Dr. Temple Grandin introduced me to this concept, and after reading her stuff I'm inclined to agree. It makes sense, doesn't it? We have a spoken language and think in words, animals have a physical (visual) language and think in images.

If (and this is a big if) the animal communicator can "get into" the horse's thoughts, I think she'd find a series of images and the feelings associated with those images. Then she translates these images and feelings into words we can understand. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, and I think this is where the communicator gets "paragraphs" of information. The horse didn't tell them all that, they saw it and now must convey the meaning to us in words.

For example, from a thread on FiSH: The communicator said the horse liked the Aussie saddle. The horse owner said the saddle wasn't an Aussie, it just looked like one. The saddle was in fact a treeless hybrid. However, the horse wouldn't know the difference or terminology; he wouldn't say "treeless". He would have a mental image of the saddle, and the animal communicator would be going off her own experience to identify the item of tack. The horse owner said the saddle looked like an Aussie, and if you'd just been shown a picture of it you might be deceived. If the communicator was shown a mental picture of the saddle, she might make the same mistake.

There's another reason I believe animal communicators exist: I'm one of them. It's not a finely tuned sense, but it's definitely there. I get flashes of insight into an animal's emotional state just by looking at them. It's not a conclusion I arrive at logically, it's just a feeling. I call it a gut instinct to avoid looking like a crazy person.

For example, my friend got a horse in for training. Horse was very ill-mannered, rude, and belligerent. My friend's initial assessment was "He's being a bastard". I watched her work him, and I immediately thought, "He's scared and confused. He doesn't know what's being asked of him." Sure enough, through a logical process of deduction and questioning his owner, my friend determined that he'd never really been broke. Just like Cherry, he'd been backed and ridden in the mountains, but never taught to obey cues or even what those cues were. She re-started him from scratch and his attitude (though he was still rather belligerent) improved as did his training.

I don't know how I knew what was going on with that horse. I'd certainly never met him nor his owner before, and from all outward appearances, he looked like a rank asshole. Well, he was a bit of an asshole horse, that wasn't the problem. He didn't know what his rider's cues meant, and this lack of knowledge scared him. He acted out by bucking, biting, and taking off, but the root of the problem was his lack of training. He was scared and confused, and I felt that. Maybe my experience with Cherry led me to that conclusion, but there was no thought process, the feeling just came to me.

The same sort of thing happened with my cat. My bf likes to pick up the kitty, and she doesn't like to be picked up. That's obvious. However, she was really freaking out on him when he'd go to put her down. Biting, flailing, vocalizing, the picture of an angry cat. It had been going on for a little while, and then one day I looked over at him and without even thinking said, "She's scared you're going to drop her. Support her body with both hands and put her down slowly." Previously we'd thought she was just fighting to get down even faster when she flipped out. But for some reason, when I saw her with her little fangs buried in his sleeve, she looked at me, I knew she was afraid. She wanted to get down, but she wanted to feel secure and be put down slowly. Now, he's much more careful to support her body, and he puts her down gently. Kitty is much happier and the freak-outs are much less frequent.

Similar things have happened over the years. It doesn't happen all the time, and doesn't happen with every animal, but I get "vibes" from them on a pretty regular basis. Those are just the incidents that stick out in my mind. I am certainly not on the level of communing with an animal at will or extracting particular information from them. It seems that if they reach out, I can pick up on it, but I can't initiate contact. Yet. ;)

At some point, when I can afford it, I'd love to get my animals "read". I flatter myself that I know my animals well, and it would be interesting to compare what the communicator tells me to my own knowledge. Actually, I don't think my cat would have much to say. She's a simple, rather mentally retarded creature (I get that vibe from her) who does not have complex thoughts. Cherry, on the other hand, would probably be a hoot and have much to say. Her brain is quite active, she has very strong opinions, and no issues with expressing those opinions.


So, do YOU believe that true animal communicators exist? I do, but they are few and far between.