'Translators' help people 'talk' with their pets
Sydney Cassel's dog was trying to talk to her, but the language barrier was driving her crazy.
Gunther, a needy Cesky terrier, barked and muttered constantly, much to Cassel's annoyance. Finally, she hired Ronni Yaskin of Ardencroft, a professional animal communicator, to figure out what Gunther was trying to say.
Animal communicators use telepathy to speak with pets and translate their messages for owners. The communication takes many forms: mental images, energy levels, feelings and sometimes human language.
Yaskin told Cassel that her pooch's verbosity was his attempt to include himself in the family's conversations. Gunther asked for his owner's patience, and in return, he'd try to bark less.
"If I didn't have Ronni to help me, I probably would have lost my mind already," said Cassel, a resident of Dresher, Pa.
Penelope Smith pioneered the field of animal communication in the 1970s with the publication of "Animal Talk: Interspecies Telepathic Communication." It grew during the 1990s as animals became increasingly integrated into the lives of their humans, said Lorelei Hunt, a retired communicator who lives in New Castle.
In 1990, Smith formulated a code of ethics for the field. It says communicators must respect the confidentiality of their clients, only go where they are asked to help and recognize their own limits. Communicators are not veterinarians and cannot diagnose or treat illnesses.
Although the term "pet psychic" has entered the vernacular, it's not one communicators use themselves. "Psychic" is a misnomer, they say, because they don't predict the future.
"I consider myself a translator," Yaskin said. "I connect to the animals through their humans."
Yaskin charges $20 for a 15-minute session. People often ask questions about their pet's health and happiness, she said.
One of her clients, Alison Bressi of Cape Cod, Mass., contacted Yaskin because she wanted to learn more about her dog Sebastian's life prior to his adoption. According to Yaskin, Sebastian said his fondness for pillows arose because his first family placed him on one when he was a baby, and ever since they evoked feelings of comfort and security.
Bressi also consulted with Yaskin during Sebastian's recuperation from a blood disease. She vetted dog walkers and solicited his thoughts on dietary changes.
"In speaking with her, I was better able to make him feel comfortable," Bressi said. "You can talk with someone instead of just having questions, or just not knowing."
But animal communication teeters on the brink of legality when communicators try to diagnose medical problems, said Dr. Audrey Adkins of Haven Lake Animal Hospital in Milford. Pets could suffer harm if a communicator's knowledge is substituted for that of a trained veterinarian.
Adkins said most of her clients who have taken their pets to communicators did so to fix behavior problems, not to receive a diagnosis. Often these problems result from a misunderstanding and can be easily fixed, Hunt said. For example, a cat might be avoiding the litter box because it doesn't like the smell or location.
Communicators listen to both sides. Of course, much like dealing with humans, the success of changing the behavior often hinges on whether the animal wants to listen.
Sometimes behavior problems are a pet's way of making a point. One cat bit her owner's breast. Hunt said the cat told her there was "a bad blackness," a message Hunt relayed to the owner. Another woman called Hunt because the cat had taken to defecating in her bed. Both clients were later diagnosed with breast cancer.
"If a cat poops in bed, that's a memo," Hunt said.
Hunt also helps clients find lost pets. She first establishes a telepathic link with the animal and asks it to describe its surroundings. Then she holds a pendulum over a map, and it swings toward the animal's location, she said.
Animal communicators maintain anyone can learn to do what they do, and Penelope Smith's code of ethics specifically enjoins professionals to teach others to develop their telepathic capabilities. Everyone possesses the ability, but society discourages using the skill, Yaskin said.
Hunt teaches a full-day class for $80, and Anita Curtis, a communicator based in Gilbertsville, Pa., charges $95 per class. Hunt compared learning the skill to building the discipline to meditate. It's a mental muscle, which develops with exercise.
Adkins said she has not read any scientific studies supporting the ability of humans to communicate with animals, but "pets have stronger connections with humans than we have any ability to understand."
Since animal communication strains the credulity of many, both professionals and clients tend to broach the subject carefully with unfamiliar audiences. But Hunt said she's been surprised in the past by who is receptive, recalling a suit-wearing executive she sat beside on an airplane who had talked with his pet.
"People shouldn't laugh about it until they've tried it," Cassel said.
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