Conversations with the dogs.

I used to love to watch the Pet Psychic, on Animal Planet. In fact, I used to tell people that I wanted to BE Sonya Fitzpatrick when I grew up. I said this once to a woman I worked with, who told me she actually consulted an animal communicator, (as they are called when sensationalism isn't the object) frequently about her menagerie of cats and dogs. She was adamant that the information her friend gave her about her animals was accurate and valid.

So, a few weeks ago, I took the plunge. I contacted an animal communicator who lives here in Pennsylvania. She gathered some basic information- the names of the dogs, how old they were, how long they had been living with us, and what they looked like- and we set an appointment for her to call me to conduct the session. It's all done over the phone, surprisingly.

She opened the conversation by telling me she had made contact with Juniper and Boodles, and had some information for me. She then told me a number of things, including that they enjoyed living here with me and Chuck, they were happy with the food and with the walking schedule. Over the next 15 minutes she told me several other things, and then had me ask questions from a list I had made up in advance.

I was very pleased with the session overall. While the things she told me about Juniper were within the realm of what I have observed about her, nothing made me say "Wow!" The information that was purportedly from Boodles, on the other hand, did make me sit up and take notice.

I won't bore you with details, but I did want to mention one specific thing. Early in the conversation the communicator said that the dogs were telling her about a tabby cat that looked in the windows down at them. I knew we had at least one cat that hangs around the house- I have found the sad remains of birds left out there. I'd never paid attention, really, to the appearance of the cat. What really struck me, though, was the statement about the cat "looking in the window down at them." In most houses a cat would have to climb up on something to look in the windows. Obviously, cats do climb, and they might choose to climb up to look in windows. My house, though, is a split entry, and all of my first floor windows are at ground level. The room where we spend the most time has evergreen plantings in front if it, where I knew this cat hung out. Since my phone conversation with her, I've seen the cat- a yellow tabby- under the bush by the window as well as looking down at me from the window above the computer. Most odd, though, was the evening a week or so ago when I opened the back door to let the dogs out into the back yard. A yellow tabby cat jumped down from the cabinet outside the back window, startling me.

I know, you are rolling your eyes. And the New England Journal of Skepticism would agree with you. According to this article, psychics and animal communicators use a set of specific "cold reading" tricks to fool gullible people.

So, am I gullible? Maybe, maybe not. Had the communicator told me that Juniper wanted me to put $1000 in a brown paper bag and leave it under a bush in a park, I would certainly be skeptical. Hearing that they like the food here, enjoy the walks and a tabby cat looks in on them seems innocuous to me. I even have a theory as to why the information from Juniper was slightly less accurate than the information from Boodles. As any one who has met them knows, Boodles is the outgoing one- Juniper just couldn't get a word in edgewise!

If you would like more information, here is a link to an Animal Planet Video in which Maggie Gallant meets with an Animal Communicator. And here is a picture from our walk this week...



How's that for a tabby cat looking down?