

Copyright 2012 Jackie Weaver  
Smashwords Edition

ISBN 9781476454306

www.animalpsychic.co.uk
Smashwords License Notes:

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please download an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not download it, or it was not downloaded for your use only, then please return to Smashwords and download your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Jackie Weaver © Copyright 2012  
All rights reserved  
www.animalpsychic.co.uk

No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

First Edition 2012

Cover Image by Personaldesigns © Copyright 2012  
Interior and cover artwork by Jackie Fennell – www.jacksart.co.uk

All rights reserved

To every person that reads this and tells

**another, the animals and I thank you for your voice**

and sincerity. I hope these stories make you smile

and warm your heart and will help to spread

the word about Animal Communication.

Selected from Books by the author:

### Celebrity Pet Talking

### Animal Insight

### Animal Talking Tales

~~~

### Why free or just 75p?

You may be asking that very question and wonder why. (I wish this to be free to everyone and on the whole it will be. It is free through: Smashwords, Apple, Barnes and Noble - only if you have ordered through Amazon there is a charge as they have a $0.99 minimum listing price. They do have a price matching policy, so maybe a few readers will do the 'tell us about a lower price?' or put something in their feedback box and let them know elsewhere this is actually free – you never know, it might even become price matched to be free on there too!)

If you follow my work you will know that I talk to celebrities' animals, have been on TV, and my eBooks are out there and selling well but... the most important thing in my life (apart from my husband, dog and cat) is to spread the word about animal communication. Many people come to me are sceptical in spite of assurances from their friends telling them that animal psychics can hear what peoples' animals have to say and relay the conversation back to them. I still smile when I think of someone from my _Celebrity Pet Talking_ book whom, I later found out, had been totally sceptical at the start of the reading. I took the opportunity during another animal chat with them to pay them a compliment regarding their acting skills as they had not let on one iota!

I am pleased to say that more and more of the media are picking up on what we do - I even got a full page in the Daily Mirror recounting a communication I had done with a journalist's two cats! So, I thought; rather than people having to buy an eBook hoping it might be of interest (many people are not really sure of what this psychic animal communication is all about) they now can read various stories from all three of my books and make their own mind up.

I include here some endorsements from my books that kind celebrities had written about my writing efforts in the hope that others would be intrigued and share in the wondrous world of animal talking.

William Roache MBE - Aka Ken Barlow, Coronation Street.

"If you are a psychic and an animal lover, this is the book for you. If you are not a psychic, nor an animal lover, this is still the book for you! The stories will help you to understand how animals think and communicate and how the psychic faculty works. The underlying theme of this book, as in life, is love. Jackie Weaver loves all animals and loves her work. This is a heart-warming, intriguing and most enjoyable book."

Jenny Seagrove – Renowned television, film and theatre actress.

"If you have opened this book and are reading this, then you are either a believer or curious and therefore open to persuasion. Trust me, Jackie talks to animals. She is not alone – I know of other people who are able to communicate with our furry companions in this way, but she has the added gift of a sense of humour. These are marvellous, heart warming, funny, touching stories that give us a breathtaking insight into our animals and the way they live their lives and relate to us. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did."

Jacky Newcomb: Sunday Times Best Selling author of 'An Angel Saved My Life'.

"Jackie Weaver contacted me to see if she could interview my cats by way of a psychic animal reading. I have to admit, I do get asked to do a lot of things that I turn down, and felt this was likely going to go on the 'no' list, as I didn't know if I even believed in such a thing.

After exchanging a few emails I decided I would seriously think about it, after all she was prepared to travel to my home to do the reading. In the meantime Jackie sent me a copy of her first book and I have to be honest; I was completely blown away by the stories. Some were sad but many literally made me laugh out loud. Did the pets really say these things? I really felt they had, so invited her over.

Jackie arrived at my Midlands home and didn't even need my pets in the room although one of them joined us anyway. I was stunned—It really was just like she was having a conversation with my cats and telling me their reply! The insights she brought me were so interesting and amazingly accurate. Not only did she seem to connect with them they even passed their mannerisms over to her. My two cats are very individual and her conversations demonstrated this perfectly which you will read in this very fascinating book.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Why Free?

Introduction

Smelly Vision

What Made Toffee Tick

All in a Heartbeat

Nearly Down the Road

Up the Shoot

Melissa Porter

Matthew Rhys

Two Little Boys

Letting Go

Ex'Zak'ly

Best Foot Forward

Jenny Seagrove

Postscript

Books by the Author
Introduction _(from Animal Talking Tales)_

Since my first book, _Animal Insight_ , I have been overwhelmed by people's responses and absolutely delighted how I have managed to help get the word out there. More and more people are coming round to the idea that animals can and do talk which is where my work as a psychic animal communicator comes in. People often refer to me as 'The Animal Psychic' but please don't feel uncomfortable about this as this simply means I, like many others, have a gift/skill to be able to use another part of my mind to tune into sources for information. Psychic actually means, 'a person sensitive to things beyond the everyday range of perception', so using telepathy I can have a conversation with an animal. Ask yourself, how many times have you said, 'If only they could talk?'

I am now six years past my 'terminal cancer' and in very good health and cramming as much into every day that I can. If there is one thing a near-death-experience teaches you it is that 'life is precious', and, if you are lucky like me, an extra gift becomes apparent with it. My gift is being able to hear on the same 'wavelength' as animals so they can relay their words and thoughts to me, to pass on to their owners. Although I do not make anyone promises, my work has been proven again and again, and I have been so fortunate to be in a position to change things in animals' lives.

This book is another selection of real cases about animals that I have talked with, and listened to. I promise you, they can talk and they understand what we say to them, and so much more. They are personalities like ourselves but the difference is, apart from the obvious, that they are far more accepting of their lot than we are. They don't crave the latest designer goods or are envious of others' status in life; they just want and need love, understanding, and to be respected as another living being. Basically, animals are very honest and that is how the animal kingdom exists. Don't get me wrong, they are not all 'little angels' out there, quite the opposite in fact, and I take great joy in listening to what they most certainly do on purpose but with that look of complete innocence, so well practised.

I work with complete honesty and think my 'job' is one of the top ten in the world. Most people can only converse with other humans, but I get to chat not only to people but with many different species of animals too. I do have to deal with sadness but I spend so much of my time laughing with the animals and their owners that I would truly say to anyone, even when your chips are down, don't give up, you never know what is around the corner. If a miracle can happen for me, then why not for you? What is for you will not go past you.

I have found by experience that by the time people had read half way through my previous book, they agreed that there was no way it could be all just a figment of my imagination and this has changed the way they see animals forever. I hope this book does the same for you and gives you hope and joy reading it. I know that all people have varying views and some people think that this life on Earth finishes here, and that is that. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and I respect that, but animals, again and again, have gone out of their way to show me differently, and that has been such a great comfort to their owners left behind. You will also be amazed how animals seem to come into people's lives for a reason and if you think of it yourself, how many times did you have no intention of getting another one, but somehow you did?!

There are so many more wonderful things in this world that we are not aware of, my work is the tip of the iceberg. To quote the words of a very wise man, 'Listen and you shall see!' Or in this case, 'Read and you shall see!' Don't get me wrong, as life can be hard, and seemingly very unfair at times, but whatever happens, there is always a lesson in there. Believe it or not, for every negative there is a positive, though sometimes you have to search very hard for it, but usually you will find, 'Every cloud does have a silver lining'.

All the stories are absolutely genuine. I have changed some identities for obvious reasons, but it has also been my great pleasure to have been asked to include proper names in many stories as the owners are happy to share their personal experiences with readers.

I hope to make you laugh, and may even bring a tear to your eye. I have also included a few of my own little life's exploits in here too and hope that you truly enjoy sharing a little piece of my wonderful world with me.

oooOOooo

Smelly-vision **(** _Animal Talking Tales_ **)**

As I have said, my life is full of laughter and fun and I truly believe that it does help the world go round. When I start a call, I always ask if they have done communication before and rarely the answer is 'yes'. For a few, they have experienced it where it is just sent back in writing to them, basically answering questions that have been asked or what information the animal has volunteered. The reason I do it 'live' on the phone is that if you are having a conversation with someone often it leads in a different direction to that which you would have first thought. I explain to people to look on this like a conversation with a child, so if you can bear in mind the saying 'never work with children or animals' you can imagine what often happens when I talk to animals that love being childish!!

When 'reading' I get passed over sound, vision and physical pain which I acknowledge straight away, so it then stops. This is my way of confirming it is definitely not mine, it belongs to the animal I am talking to. I also feel emotions and get various smells too.

When I am talking, sometimes my voice will rise with tension that I am getting passed from the animal and even sometimes with a brusque attitude, which I quickly point out is not me personally being 'sharp' but that is how the animal is talking. This obviously tends to be with animals that are having problems in some way or ones that have 'attitude'. On the other hand, I have been known to burst out laughing when, for example, I find out an animal loves being tickled on his tummy and they have literally passed it over to me to experience. Animals do not ever divulge improper personal information, so people never have to worry about that, and I know that my guides would never pass it on to me anyway. Animals do have a great sense of humour and a lovely one that springs to mind was when my friend, Sharon, her sister and parents came to visit me. I landed up chatting to their dog, as you do! She was a lovely dog and took great delight in showing her prowess as a comedian. She gave me phrases like, 'I just don't think my mouth is wide enough!' which caused us to laugh as, apparently, as soon as she gets to the woods she chooses the largest stick she can find and tries to run between the trees with it and invariably comes unstuck, well, 'stuck' to be precise! Her owners now just wait for her to do it and it gets the same jovial reception every time. She had learnt that this made them laugh so she often did it, but without causing any actual physical harm to herself. Whilst we were laughing about the fact that animals really do things on purpose, Sharon's father suddenly asked if I would ask his dog what she thought of him? And as soon as those words left his lips she announced to me, without a pause but with a certain phoney air of innocence,

"I am under the impression that he doesn't change his socks every day!!" Well, if you can imagine, I just fell about laughing and asked him if he really wanted to hear what she had said? Egged on by his wife, Sharon and her sister, I repeated it to him.

He smiled and scrunched his eyes a bit and said,

"Err, I have been known to forget to change them!!" And, even more bizarrely, in the midst of this communication, we had a discussion about who really does change their socks every day, so Lord knows what this dog thought she had started!

One day I drove onto a yard I had been to several times before with my husband, Bob, as he has been Carolyn's horse dentist for years. During his last dental visit with me going along for the ride, somehow I ended up having an impromptu chat with one of her horses. On this visit though, it was only me, as she had asked me to come and chat to all four of them. They were great fun and very informative, although one horse kept butting in all the time, as sometimes happens with a strong personality. He, in fact, was the one that I had spoken to previously, and on that occasion when I asked if he had any helpful advice for Carolyn, he wanted to let her know that he thought there was some wiring which was unsafe. I pushed for a more in-depth explanation and he showed me a thick wire that seemed to be attached to what looked like a wooden plank! I had no idea what it was he was talking about, as neither did Carolyn. I told her not to worry, however, if there was a problem maybe look for wiring attached somewhere, like the picture he was describing. She nodded and said if a problem occurred she would pass his information on to her landlord! I had totally forgotten about this nugget of information until it was brought to my attention on another occasion when, during a chat with one of the horses, the yard owner appeared and, without hesitation, Carolyn introduced me by saying,

"This is Jackie who saved your house being burnt down!!"

He looked at me, nodded and said,

"Thank you very much!" and walked on. I laughed and then listened as she regaled the story about how the power had kept on shorting out and then an electrician had found an exposed live wire touching a smouldering wooden slat behind an electric fuse board. Once again a horse had informed us of something that was absolutely true, and somehow he just knew! As I explained, animals are 'open' and do know things (there are more examples throughout this book), so I tend to listen and pass on things, but carefully put so as not to cause alarm.

I finished the chats when she suddenly remembered a question that she wanted to ask of the noisy horse that kept interrupting. Could I please ask him what he thought of Bob?! Now bearing in mind some horses do not like having their teeth done but most, on the whole, are pretty good about it, I thought this could be interesting. I also knew through booking Bob's calls that she had at least one sedated on the yard but I did not know if it was him. I simply put it to him,

"What do you think of Bob, your dentist?" And his reply,

"Oh he's nice, but he smells like a girl!!" Well we just fell about laughing and if you are wondering why, this is the reason; Bob puts lavender on the front of his tunic so the horses can inhale the aroma while he is working on their teeth. He thinks it does help some calm and even if it doesn't, it does make him smell a bit more pleasant after spending hours working in horses' stables.

I had absolute joy talking to a miniature horse in California who was just the bees knees (any idea of how and why that saying was invented?! Answers on a postcard please!) to talk to. He was really just like a big dog and very full of himself. He would pick things up and carry them about and generally make everyone laugh, including me! One question that did make me think was when she said,

"Can you ask him about the wildlife that he encounters?" Now bearing in mind I am not good with geography and even worse about what animal inhabits what part of the world, I had one of those momentary panics thinking, what if it is a puma or something like that? My fears were quickly dismissed when I saw something dark, bigger than a rat though, and just as I went into its description I was given the most awful nasty niff to go with it, and as I uttered about the smell, she said so casually,

"Oh, that'll be the skunk then!!" This pony didn't complain but said that he wished it would take a wider berth!

About a year ago, I came up with the format for a show that I hope will be very entertaining and a completely new 'take' on animal communication. My aim in life is that the more that people experience it, they will then believe in it and then animals will benefit from it. So with my printed-up format, a couple of very good friends, Sal and Jackie (known as Jacks, also the artist for this book) said they would help me practise and see how it flowed. So, sitting in Jack's kitchen with a video camera perched on the counter we set about practising the show with Sal being the 'compère'. The 'contestant's' pets, Eddie and Alfie, consisted of one Labrador and one Labrador cross Spaniel, which sounds fine, but they were only ten months old!! So Sal had her script to hand, we set the camera rolling and I started doing my animal chatting to practise this idea of mine. Well, all was going smoothly and what they were saying was correct, but Alfie and Eddie decided it would be good to have a bit of rough and tumble to liven up the proceedings and started getting rather boisterous, to say the least! As much as Jacks tried to concentrate she couldn't and asked,

"Are you sure they are listening to us?!"

"Oh, yes", I replied, "it's to their subconscious, so don't worry!" As much as we tried, it really was one of those 'animals and children' cases and we were struggling not to laugh but we were failing and, to make matters worse, an unfortunate aroma made itself apparent, and no, this was not telepathic, this was real and was hanging in the air like a very dark and obvious cloud! I was nearest the culprit and couldn't speak for laughing but as Sal was urging me to 'get on with it' and bearing in mind this was being filmed I discreetly said, behind my hand,

"One of the dogs has 'dropped' one", and, just at that point, Sal and Jacks got their own waft too! Unbelievably, Sal announced, as loud as you like to the video camera, as if it was an audience,

"Oh, we do apologise, Mrs Weaver has completely lost it as one of the dogs has just _blown_ _orf_!!" and said with the utmost essence of someone speaking the proper Queen's English. Well, that was it, all finesse had been dispersed with and we were like three school kids who couldn't string a sensible sentence together between us! As much as we tried, we just kept laughing, so abandoned that run through. Fortunately, as it had been recorded, I was able to cut the clip out of the bedlam and send it to various friends showing just how crazy and funny life can be. We have practised since and one day I will use the format to spread the word, and thank goodness I can work from a distance!!

What made Toffee Tick **(** _Animal Insight_ **)**

I cannot take credit for the above title. It had been used in an advertisement by the Riding for the Disabled (RDA) to highlight a fundraising evening I was doing for them. Their manager Celia Baker, who was also in charge of organising the event, thought it up. This is the story of how I came to be involved in this evening.

Many people are sceptical about my work, so I was amazed when, during a phone call regarding horses' teeth, I was asked for my help by Celia! Celia is the manager of the RDA Centre but is also affiliated with the adjoining Equine College, and, in a respectful way, I would describe her as 'old school'. Everything must be done properly, and when she asks for something to be done, she expects it to be done today, not tomorrow. This is how life used to be, and to be honest, most people over the age of 30 would wish it could go back to that! Put it this way, if Celia was a matron of a ward it would run like clockwork, be sociable, but you'd know where you stood too!

Once we had sorted out how many horses needed their teeth doing, she said,

"You're the talk of the county, you know!" which rather took me aback. She carried on to say that she had heard many stories about me and my work and had been finally convinced by her friend, whose horse I had had a casual chat with whilst Bob was working on its mouth. To be honest I had forgotten how the conversation went, but it was quickly relayed back to me, and it made me smile. The owner concerned listened to the various things that her rather cheeky lad, Folly, an ex-racehorse had told me. She had been polite enough to nod here and there when appropriate. When he said he was really bothered about the flies that kept going in his ears and biting them, she laughingly said,

"Well, he hates me putting the cream in them, so unless you can convince him otherwise, there is not a lot I can do about it!"

So into negotiation I went: I put it to him that he can't complain if he won't accept help, so how would he like to do this? He said that although he didn't like it, he now realised what she was doing with the cream, but, more to the point, it held him up from going out in the field! He volunteered, that if she could do it quickly, he would try and put up with it. I did my usual thing of asking him for a 'bonding key' and his was, "Two minutes Folly, just two minutes!" I thanked him for our chat, and his dental work completed, Bob and I left the yard.

The next day, Folly's still rather sceptical owner got out the tub of fly cream and stood outside his stable door. So, with admittedly some lack of sincerity, she said the agreed words and was stunned when Folly put his head forward and down, and stayed dead still. As fast as she could muster, she dipped her fingers in and managed to put a layer of cream onto the inside of each ear. Then in her own words she stood back and thought, 'Oh my Lord!' She then obligingly put Folly out into his field - after all he had given her his two minutes - she shut the gate, rushed to the house and phoned Celia, starting with the words, 'You'll never believe this...!'

I was really chuffed with this result and appreciated Celia giving me the update, and then asked what she wanted me to do for her. As usual I asked her not to give me too much information about the problem, and she asked me when I could do it. I suggested,

"This afternoon if you want?"

"Oh thanks," she replied, and overheard her say to someone in the background, "Oh great! Jackie's going to come over this afternoon." I interrupted her and said,

"No, I'm not coming over, I'll do it over the phone, could I call you back in about an hour?" Celia stuttered slightly and said,

"But you can't see the pony, how are you going to do that?" I said not to worry, found out his details, his name, which was Toffee, his age and his description, and I said we would speak later.

I tuned in with Toffee, a stocky 15 hand bay horse, a good Irish Cob type being of the right height and build to be able to carry children and adults alike. I asked Toffee to tell/show me something to validate I was talking to him. He gave me a few things, but as there are many horses at the centre, I needed something more. He then gave me a picture of him standing with something in front of his feet, together with the strong sense of not being willing to go over it. Celia was trying to work out what this was, and I heard the girls behind her confirm that he was fine about crossing the long narrow drain at the back doors. I overhead them and said that it was not as wide as a drain, in fact it was something like a hosepipe or an electric tape. With that she exclaimed:

"Gosh Jackie, you are a witch!" I roared with laughter and said that that would be her description but not mine, and that maybe she should not call me that to other people! But actually she has introduced me several times as 'Jackie the Witch', but from her I take it as a term of endearment!

Anyway, Celia explained that at the weekend the horses had trashed the electric tapes attached to posts that were supposed to be keeping them separated into certain groups. They had all gone off and had found the grass field that was, until then, undisturbed, as it was to be for their winter hay crop. Now, when I say all the horses, it was all of them except Toffee who was left all on his own, standing behind the tape that was left on the ground. Although these electrified tapes do give a low-grade zap, Toffee was too scared to try and even jump over it!

We chatted to him and covered various things, but whatever Celia was trying to get at he was not bringing to the table, so to speak. So I asked her to give me a bit of guidance to get the issue out into the open. She said to ask him about the school - they have a lovely indoor, sanded area that the horses are able to take the disabled children and adults around. They are led by the army of wonderful volunteers under the strict guidance and directions of Celia herself.

I asked Toffee to show me what he did in the school and he showed me a vivid picture of him taking off like a scalded cat, and that was exactly it. But it only ever happened at one place in the school. He would walk round the school but when he got to a certain area; he would just turn tail, dragging his handlers with him. He was so strong and determined; they were at a loss as to how to stop this happening and, more to the point, why. I sensed that this reaction was to do with something outside the school rather than within it, so I asked if Celia could get round the back to exactly behind the area that was spooking him, so off she went with a mobile phone in hand.

I asked Toffee to help us by showing me what it was that he was so frightened of. He repeatedly gave me a sound, no pictures, just a tick, tick, tick sound which I passed over to Celia. She looked about to see if maybe a branch was rubbing on the roof or something, but nothing, but I insisted and asked: "What goes tick, tick, tick?"

"Oh no, no it couldn't be!" was her astounded reply.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's the electric fence power unit, but he can't hear it, it's through a concrete wall at least a foot thick!"

"Oh yes he can - I can hear it from him, and I am 25 miles away!" When she got over the shock and gathered her thoughts together, she asked if we thought we could do anything about it, and I said it was worth a try, but as usual I didn't promise anything.

Often during a chat, an animal shows things for a reason. One of his first pictures was the unwillingness to step over something. We now realised why he would not go over the electric tapes; there was obviously a serious fear here but he needed to be able to go down this side of the school where there was no tape, just a machine through a foot of concrete that could not possibly hurt him. We asked Toffee what could we do to assure him that he would come to no harm; what would he like us to do?

He asked if it was possible for it to be switched off whilst he was in the school, and Celia thought that this would be fine, no problem at all, but Toffee insisted on the belt and braces approach and also insisted on a sign to go on his stable door in big letters saying, 'Have you switched the electric off?'

We met him on his terms and asked what bonding key words could we give him, and it was very simply to walk him past and say, 'It's ok, Toffee.'

Although he did have some other insecurities we left it at that to see if we could at least get over this pressing issue. With his stable door now adorned with the sign and the electric unit switched off, Celia instructed someone to lead him past. Off they went, down the side that he is not worried about and then as he approached the 'tick, tick' area he yanked back from his leader and proceeded to run away. Celia suddenly realised that she had forgotten about the words he wanted, which prompted her to shout quickly,

"It's ok, Toffee!" And amazingly he pulled up from his frantic trot. Celia then took him herself and said the words at the appropriate time and place, and although he was very tense he walked on. This was a huge step forward, so she tried again and again, and, to her amazement, each time he got better and better. Soon it was the turn of a rider to try. Firstly they led him and he went past, and in no time they were able to ride him freely on a loose rein.

This change was remarkable, but as there are so many volunteers, the number of times there was sudden panic as someone attempted to take him down the previously 'no go' side of the school, that it led to this story being repeated on many occasions.

I often explain my work as getting into the subconscious to change things, and hope that the animal's conscious will allow itself to be overridden now that the logic/fear has been explained and understood, as with people trying to stop a habit, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Fortunately for Toffee it worked.

I did mention that Toffee had other issues; at the end of the day animals are individuals just like us, and they are suited to differing types of work the same as we are. We had explained and sorted out his worries about the electric fence unit, but in himself, he felt it was too much responsibility to carry these disabled children and adults. They had little or no balance, and although well supported by leaders, he found it very disconcerting. Unfortunately, he showed this by using his weight to barge people out of the way when he got worried; really not ideal in this environment. He was eventually sold and has now got a very good home as a happy hacker, and there is one thing for certain - he will never break out of any electrically taped paddocks!

oooOOooo

All in a Heartbeat **(** _Animal Insight_ **)**

Sid was a ten year old Labrador cross, who was an absolute dream to talk to. He was not a very large Labrador, but jet black with a dash of white on his chest and with bright amber eyes that look deep into you. His owner, Sal, had heard of me, and, although I had not done any work for her personally, had recommended me on various occasions. Through her kindness, this had led to other owners and their pets getting help.

She had a couple of worries about Sid so we decided to have a chat and see exactly what was going on. This would give him the chance to say what he wanted, and didn't he just do so! He was just so switched on and very much on the same wavelength as his owner, very sweet and very appreciative of his life with her.

At various points throughout the conversation, he took my breath away, quite literally, and when asked what was causing this he told me about his heart. I am always wary of potentially serious medical indications that are passed over to me, as I don't want to alarm or worry their owner, and I spend my life saying, "I do not diagnose, I just say what I am given or told by the animal themselves." Sal told me that she knew he had a slight heart murmur, but as Sid indicated this to me several times, I suggested that maybe it should be checked again. He also had a growth under his tail, and although not terribly large at that moment, it was in an awkward place and looked as if it could present a real problem in the not too distant future.

A couple of weeks later, Sal sent me through an update, saying that she was now rather worried about this lump, so had been to the vet's surgery to get it checked out. The vet thought that the lump had increased in size and if it was to enlarge much more, this could create another problem. Due to its unfortunate positioning, a lack of skin in that area might make it hard to stitch it back together. Whilst there, Sal mentioned Sid's heart and asked if the vet could check it again for her. He put his stethoscope on Sid's chest, listened acutely before concluding that he thought the murmur basically sounded the same as it had before. That day Sal's luck was in; the vet had a new scanning machine on trial, and offered to check Sid's heart out for free. It turned out Sid was right; there was actually more of a problem than first thought. Although this was not life threatening, it meant that the anaesthetic for the lump removal would have to be very carefully administered, and monitored throughout the procedure. He was also prescribed a course of drugs prior to his operation to help improve his heart function.

Sal was so worried but felt in her heart she was doing the right thing. She decided to let Sid have his say, so then she would know for sure. He was in complete agreement with her; he felt that the operation should go ahead and now, whilst they still had the chance to stitch it together. He was most relieved that they were now fully aware of the extent of his heart condition, and said he would be very brave and calm about the whole thing. Sal immediately phoned the vet practice and booked him in for the following Monday.

That Monday seemed never ending for her, but at six o'clock, she let me know that he was home, safe and sound, wrapped in a blanket, snoozing! I sent him healing energy as he said it was throbbing a bit but he was feeling fine, and the vets had been ever so kind as they really liked him.

Within a week, Sid was completely recovered and very bouncy, to the extent that the vet even remarked on how amazingly well he was. To top that, a friend visiting a few weeks later even questioned whether it was actually Sid! He is feeling so much more comfortable now and I hope it stays that way for many a year to come.

In addition, after ten years of being terrified of fireworks, that November Sal realised that I had also been able to allay his fears about them. His fear was that they could come into the house and hurt him, so I explained why they couldn't. I pointed out that they are just in the sky, and that there are windows and doors; so nothing uninvited can come into your house. He gave me words for his bonding key which was, 'It's okay, they can't come in,' so Sal duly used them and with that he settled back down and relaxed in his bed.

I don't tend to keep in touch with many owners, but Sal is one of these people that differ. She is so caring and tries selflessly to help others, and has been a link to quite a few of the cases that I have done, namely 'Completely Bamboozled' that you will read further on. It also turns out that she rather enjoys writing herself, and has very kindly helped me with this book by being my unofficial proof reader spotting my numerous mistakes for me.

During the Christmas period, I was passing close to where she lives, so popped in to meet her and the adorable Sid. True to his picture he really does have the most beautiful eyes that just make your heart melt. He is actually quite shy of new people, so he weighed me up, and then came over to greet me. I asked him if he knew who I was and he said,

"Yes, you're the lady on the phone!" Technically he was correct, Sal and I both laughed; we would never have thought of it like that! He looked so well and spent his time dodging the new puppy. In life there are some animals that are just unique and get right into your heart; well, that's Sid in a nutshell.

oooOOooo

Nearly Down the Road **(** _Animal Talking Tales_ **)**

When the first words you hear on a phone call are, 'Help, my horse may need to be put down,' this would instil an immediate angst into anyone, and I am no exception.

About six months previously, I had been doing some 'chatting for charity' in a local 'horsey' country store. This lovely lady, Avril, came to my table and asked if I could chat to her horse for her. She sat down and introduced herself and her niece, and gave me a picture of a dark bay thoroughbred gelding, Haut Cercy (Cercy for short), who was then twelve and had finished his racing days, as had Avril. There are racing yards everywhere, some with hundreds of horses and, although this was a big yard, every horse was known individually and this one especially. Cercy had been looked after by Avril who was his groom for all of his time with the yard. He was a hugely talented horse and won many steeplechases and just as he was to run the race of his life – The Grand National – he broke down as his tendons ruptured, and not on just one front leg but both. Although obviously very disappointed that 'her' horse wasn't going to run, she adored him and his health and well-being was of paramount importance to her. In many yards, sadly, a high percentage of horses in this physical condition are thought to have no purpose left for the trainers and often their lives come to an untimely end. Not for this horse though; he was nursed back to health by Avril and his owner, and amazingly Avril was told that when she left she could take him with her, which is exactly what she did!

Bear in mind that this chat was taking part in the middle of a large shop with many people milling about, but Avril didn't care that tears were falling down her cheeks as Cercy was thanking her and telling her that he knew how much she had loved and cared for him and that they were destined to be together. It wasn't the longest of chats, as with the charity ones I try to get through as many as I can in the time I am there. Just as we finished, her niece's mobile rang and I was staggered to hear it was the same ringtone as mine. Now, that might not sound unusual but I had made my own ringtone by recording an excerpt of music by Guns and Roses (I know, don't laugh!) and here was a young girl playing the same tune that she had properly downloaded! Come on, what were the chances of that phone ringing at that time...?! Anyway, it certainly helped dry up Avril's tears as I searched under my table, found my mobile and proceeded to play the evidence!

Many months later, Avril booked Bob to come and look at her horse's teeth and I recognised her name and said that I would try to come along as well. We had got the directions and found it easily and as we drove in the yard, she simply leant through my passenger window, kissed me on the cheek and said,

"I love this woman, she is amazing!" I have never forgotten that, and it makes me smile every time I see her.

Back to the phone call... Hanna, Avril's friend, was having major problems with her horse, another ex-racehorse called Gillimar (Gilly for short). Having heard the first lines of this distressed mobile call, I quickly ascertained that the horse was not critically ill at that point so suggested she follow my usual booking procedure,(animal's photo, age and owner's details etc.) and I would treat her as a priority. Within hours I was talking to this horse and had no idea what I would be facing, whether this was physical or mental, or both.

As soon as I started talking to Gilly he gave me the feeling of being 'all over the place' – 'stressy', uneasy and not really knowing what he should say or do. He made me physically so uncomfortable; I felt like I wanted to curve my back to one side! He was an ex-racehorse and was just totally 'messed up' as physically he was so sore and, as much as Hanna loved him and tried with him, he was being classed as dangerous. I now realised that it was due to his behaviour that the suggestion had been made to have him put down, so I said to Hanna that most horses feeling as uncomfortable as this would behave the same way, so at least we knew there was a cause. She agreed and although I had to keep stopping Hanna telling me too much, I said that I thought she was right – underneath he was the loving horse she had thought he was, but not to get her hopes up too high, but if this was all as he was giving it to me, we might be in with a chance.

I asked him for an example of what he was doing when ridden and Gilly showed him getting increasingly stressed and leaping about, explained cleverly by the description,

"I am like a sewing machine going wrong, the more up and down I go, the more material gets snagged underneath." Hanna said that was actually a very good depiction. This had happened on several occasions so I asked him to try to show me what was bringing it on. He showed me the road, then going up a very steep hill with another horse in front, and it was as if he was getting left behind and was being urged on. This was exactly as it had happened but, unfortunately, the more she pushed, the more discomfort he had and now could no longer tolerate any of it, so, in his best way, reacted to get her to stop. This caused her to fall off and land on the road, which, as any horse rider knows, is a totally unforgiving landing surface. This hadn't been the first time it had happened either and Hannah said she knew it hadn't been a traffic problem as he didn't worry about cars and lorries passing. She was still upset but asked what she could do to 'fix' him. I suggested that I should scan over his body and see what was wrong, but before doing so quickly reeled off my 'I do not diagnose, I will just tell you what he gives me' spiel.

Well, where was I to start? He threw everything at me as quickly as he could. He had horrible sharp teeth, which he was forced to endure the pain of even more as someone had suggested that Hanna should use a crank noseband to keep his mouth shut. Being a horse rider and a dentist's wife, I am aware that a small percentage of horses will insist on opening their mouth whilst ridden, but a huge percentage are doing it to get away from the discomfort inside. There are many types of tooth problems but the main one is sharp edges. What exactly do we mean by 'sharp' relevant to horses teeth? Maybe an odd bit here and there that is not terribly smooth? Well I can assure you, having seen many lacerated mouths and the cuts and slices on my husband's hands, horses' teeth can be like razors and sit just in the right place to cut the inside of their lovely soft cheeks. If we get a 'sharp bit' ourselves it can be so annoying, so try imagining having four full rows of them. With his head tilted right, his neck 'out', withers wrong and his right pelvis dropped, I could now see where the curve came from, so I said to her,

"It is like he is bent like a banana!" On top of that, he had a really 'stressy' stomach which I think was being exacerbated by all that was going on. Plus, one saddle she had been using was a poor fit but she had another now and was going to get a saddler to check it fitted him properly.

Please do not get me wrong, Hanna was not purposely being mean, but all the various things would have only been picked up by those with an experienced eye, and she was just doing her best. I asked him what else he thought would help, and he said he would like probiotics and some sort of herb/flower (?) to help with his stress. Hanna volunteered that she knew just the person to help with that.

If I talk to horses that live in my area and teeth problems become apparent, I find it difficult as I do not want to appear as if I am looking for work for Bob but have to be honest to the horse and owner. On this occasion, it suddenly sprang to my mind that Bob was booked out very near to where she lived, so I asked her if she wanted him to pop in and check him. Bearing in mind that Hanna had not had a dentist to Gilly, and Bob did her friend Avril's horses, she said that would be brilliant. She asked where he would be coming from and when I told her the name, she laughed and said that it was her who had recommended they get Bob in the first place and that is where she kept Gilly! She had not thought of getting Gilly's teeth done as she was under the impression that that had been done just prior to her getting him. I asked her to let me know how she got on, and she said that she would get everything else done after Bob had seen to his 'front end'. (A case point here: if you are having recurrent back problems, always make sure the teeth are in good order. If you think of this logically, when we have teeth problems we will often tilt our head or eat on one side and, in turn, we can get an aching neck and that is without contending with a bit in our mouths either!)

Gilly got his teeth done and I have to admit I was rather worried as I had not heard anything for a while, but when I did, it totally validated this work I do. Here is part of the email Hanna sent to me:

'Hi Jackie,

Sorry it's been a long time but I have been very busy with Gilly! All good!!!!!!!!

Since you helped me find out about the problems Gilly was suffering from, he has turned into the most lovable, caring, and friendly horse I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!

During his session he told you about his teeth, his head, withers, back, pelvis, saddle and stomach, and the wanting of a flower. Well, first of all, Bob came and did his teeth and he said there were problems and sorted them out! Then I got in touch with Sarah Smith, the chiropractor, to come and give him a once-over. She found that his poll was out, as were his withers and his back and his pelvis had dropped on one side! He was then given two weeks off to chill! Oh yes, I started feeding him natural yoghurt for his probiotics to help his stomach too! Then came the turn of Amanda, the saddler, and the freakiest thing happened! When she was standing behind Gilly looking down his back, she turned and looked at me and said, 'Your horse is shaped like a banana!'

If you recall, Gilly said to you he felt like a banana! The new saddle I bought for him, just before we spoke, did fit him but the old one, definitely did NOT! Then whilst telling my friend about Gilly she told me her mum was studying flower oil treatment in animals and asked if she could use Gilly as a case study! Of course, I said yes! She was with us for two hours. The second oil she offered him was Linden Blossom which he could not get enough of and I still offer it to him now and he still takes it, but not as much. Linden blossom is used for trauma and abuse which I felt deep down inside he was suffering from. Now things are amazing! We can go through open fields, ride in company and, touch wood, he has not had a 'wonky' moment since! He gallops round the field bucking which I have never seen him do before! He gallops up to me in the field shouting at me. I love him so much and I know he does me too! So thank you so much for helping us both! I have told all of my friends and some have been in touch with you, and they, like me, are just so very grateful to you!

Hanna and Gilly'

oooOOooo

Animal Magic **(** _Animal Talking Tales_ **)**

There are some things in life you just find yourself agreeing to and when the occasion arises, you instinctively think, 'How on earth did I get into this?' This was most certainly one of those occasions.

Early one Monday morning a friend Mel, who lives in North Wales, phoned me and started with one of those classic lines, 'You can say no, BUT... on Friday the local hotel is having a psychic night, but the psychic has been in an accident and can't make it. My first thought, was YOU!!' I knew exactly which hotel it was, as we had been there previously for a group meal after a holistic fair I had been working at.

Mel went on to explain that she thought it would be such fun, and as she knew I had done public fundraisers, would I be willing to step into the breach? My brain engaged for a whole two seconds and I agreed to help, as, if nothing else, it would be lovely to go and stay up there and have a good old catch up. Although she had explained to the manager what I did, she said she would pass my details to him so he could contact me directly.

The email duly arrived within the hour, giving the time they expected me to 'entertain' for, and a request about my terms of payment. I replied, on my usual email, complete with signature of my web address and asked that a donation be given for my cancer charity. That was the last I heard and, by the time the Friday came, Mel and I were rather nervously excited but also rather confused as she had been to the hotel during the week and there were still adverts for the psychic gentleman, but nothing regarding me.

She spoke with one of the receptionists who, at that point was standing beside the hotel parrot, an African Grey named Alfie, which prompted Mel to recall a hilarious chat we had with him a few months previous. This occurred at the end of a group evening as we were all gathering in the foyer to leave, when some bright spark suggested that I could have a 'chat' with the parrot. He was thoroughly engaging, and would squawk in acknowledgment with various things he told me as I announced them to his personal audience. He also informed us that,

"People bark at me like a dog!" How indignant was that, and what did they expect him to do, bark back? Well, he refused to lower himself to their games, so would just cock his head to the side and act confused or as dull as the person barking! I asked him if he had anything else that he thought would be of interest to tell us before we left, and he laughingly informed us,

"Someone sleeps at this desk, you know!" We chortled and thought how funny that he was watching this person passing the hours sleeping instead of working!! So, this was three months later, and we now knew that the sleeping secret had become apparent, courtesy of some newly installed hotel CCTV!

On the Friday, with the sun shining on this beautiful crisp autumn day, I set off for my two hour journey, laden with flowers for Mel and a whacky idea of how to make the evening a bit more entertaining than just talking with people's animals. I normally have a lovely time; people tend to have photos of their pets on their phones, so I have a look at their picture and then start the chat. I always explain that is it best to chat to happy/cheeky/cute animals as a public forum is not the place to bring up emotionally disturbed or very sick animals.

I had arranged with Mel to meet at the hotel and, typically, the heavens had opened, so even running into the hotel my hair, that I had spent time preening, was considerably flattened, but my spirits weren't...well, not at that point anyway! Mel introduced me to the owner, a little northern lady, who admitted to not having held one of these events before. Accompanied by the manager also, we were shown to the room and were slightly confused by the table and chairs set up: it looked like a dining room, to all intents and purpose. I explained that usually just rows of chairs for the audience are required and then I ask the person, whose animal is chosen, to come out and sit at the front adjacent to the audience.

"What animals?" the manager said questioningly.

"Oh don't worry, they won't actually bring animals here, I will do it from a photo or description only."

"I still don't see where the animals fit in," the owner said.

"Err, hang on..." I stammered, "what type of thing do you think I am doing tonight?"

She replied with a muffled voice and an arm pointed to the sky effect,

"Well...talking to them, up there?" her voice tightening with every sentence.

"Ah, no," I ventured, "I talk to animals down here, err, that was not what you were expecting, was it?" I quickly turned to the manager and asked him, "Did you check out my website on my email?"

"Oh yes," he replied.

"And what was it about?"

"Err, animals!" But he had clearly forgotten to pass that crucial bit of information on.

"Oh dear," the owner stated, "we have sold about sixty tickets for a psychic show, and you are doing animals!"

I asked her if she still wanted me to go ahead, which she did, but I suggested that if anyone wanted their money back then I would think that would be fair under the circumstances. Then, on a lighter note, added, "Could I borrow your parrot for the second half?"

"Yes, by all means, but what for?"

I quickly repeated the previous parrot chat and she thought it was a fun idea but did warn me about his choice use of language.

I didn't really have a chance to be nervous, by this time I had nothing to lose, as most of the people turning up were in for a bit of a surprise anyway, so I figured it could not get any worse. I did the first half and chatted to four different animals, and at least managed to prove that what I do is real, although obviously it was not everyone in the audience's cup of tea.

During the break, several rather disgruntled people left and I apologised to the others, but said that we would borrow Alfie the parrot and attempt to do some clairvoyant work instead. I came up with the concept that people would introduce themselves to him, and he would try to tell them something interesting he thought they would like to hear about themselves. I was quick to absolve myself of any responsibility and said,

"If this goes wrong, you can blame Alfie, and if this goes right, you can tell him how clever he is!"

The first willing participant stood up, who was heavily pregnant, so I had a laugh and said,

"Oh, he say's you are having a baby!" and with perfect timing, Alfie laughed like a drain.

She duly came to the front, and as I directed her, Alfie chimed in with the odd, 'Right,' and, 'Hello,' and 'Okay,' all in the right places, and at this point I thought all was going smoothly. I then posed the question to him.

"Alfie, what would you like to say to the lady?" A few thoughtful seconds elapsed, and then,

"**** Off!!" which was clearly heard!! Well, the audience erupted and fell about in hysterics, much to Alfie's delight shown by his screeching laughter. I carried on (eventually) and he managed to mis-direct me, by giving me wrong information, and then just at the moment of me saying it, he would give an elongated, 'Nooo', and cause even more laughter. He did actually redeem himself (and me) by giving me some accurate information about someone changing their job, another being 'secretly' impatient, and a man taking his shoes off without bothering to untie the laces!

The hotel owner was extremely generous, and gave me £100 for my cancer charity. I even had people come up and thank me for introducing them to the world of animal communication, something they had no idea even existed. And as for Alfie, his performance is now legendary in his hometown. I am sure the staff will be ever so polite to him and work ever so hard in his presence! As the evening was being filmed by someone, there is now a clip out there in cyber space for many to view, showing an evening that I don't think Alfie will ever forget, and neither will I.

oooOOooo

Up the Shoot **(** _Animal Talking Tales_ **)**

As I was passing the local odds and ends/second hand shop, I said 'Hi' to the shop dog as usual. He was a Labrador cross, with a large dash of white down the centre of his head, earning him the name Badger. I had previously had an hilarious chat with him, as he has seen many things come and go in life, which would go with the territory of this type of shop; although full of little treasures, I'm sure, but it was navigating your way through the less desirable items that was certainly a challenge.

I had a lot of time for the owner, Neil, as back when I was bald from my cancer, but dressed in some bright coloured bandana, he would often comment that I still had a smile on my face whatever, and would wish me luck. So, on this day, I was some way past his shop when he appeared, as if in a puff of smoke, and breathlessly said that a lady, Michaela, had a cat that desperately needed my help.

He asked me to come back as he would get his mobile and give her a call, if okay with me. A bit confused and bemused, I agreed to listen to the call. He told her that he had tracked me down and had me in the shop, and she could talk to me now! I sensed her urgency but said the easiest thing for me to do was to take her number and I promised to phone her when I got home.

Immediately I got back to my house, I grabbed a cuppa and sat down to give this lady, Michaela, a call. She answered the phone straight away as if she had been sitting on it! She quickly explained that she knew I was the person to help her as she did Reiki and believed in alternative treatments. As nobody could figure out what was going on with Stanley, could I come and ask him? Stanley was a beautiful Chocolate Point Siamese, with dark tips on his ears, feet and the end of his tail. She asked me if I could come as soon as possible as he really was getting more poorly by the day. I rarely visit animals, as most of my work is done 'at a distance' but as he was only two miles away it made sense and seemed a quicker way than to wait for her to send me a photograph.

I pulled into a sweeping drive near a church and could see various cats through the window. I was directed past a small menagerie by Michaela and into the kitchen to be met personally by Stanley himself. Michaela made sure all doors were shut as these were house cats and, due to the fast road below, it would have been foolhardy to let them out. Sat on the counter, like a china ornament, was Stanley. He was still a stunning cat, even with his obvious lack of weight, combined with a somewhat dull, lacklustre coat. He was sitting quietly surveying me as I quickly explained to Michaela how I worked and that whatever he told me I would pass on and see what we could find out.

As usual, I don't just 'zoom' in questions about an illness, which, incidentally, had been going on for months. Although she was sure her Reiki was really helping him, she needed to know more as the vets were rather at a loss as to what was wrong with him. He chatted away, as they do; he was such a sensitive and loving boy, so gentle and thoughtful, and was so sad for her, as she was for him. He shared with me the nauseous feelings and repeated pictures of eating then throwing it all back up within a short space of time, so I decided to ask him then if he had any idea what was wrong with him.

He gave me a very bizarre picture which I got him to repeat, just to be sure. I conveyed it to Michaela, saying I really didn't think it made sense but it looked like he was chewing a light coloured, wood-type tree!! And to make things seem even odder, he showed me a long slim-pointed slither which also seemed to be of wood! To my amazement, she jumped up and said,

"I understand exactly what you are talking about, I have seen him do it and it's the bamboo tree."

"But I thought your cats didn't go out?" I replied.

"Oh, they don't, we have one in the house and I have seen him chewing at it."

"I didn't think a cat would chew a tree but, anyway, what is with the little shards of wood, he doesn't chew it that hard surely?"

"They are the bamboo seeds; they are quite long and very sharp." She explained

With that, I immediately was given a very clear picture of this seed-like object, on an angle at the bottom of his gullet, near the entrance of his stomach. By this time, Michaela was quite beside herself, she said she had felt all along that it had been high up and not in the gut area that the vets thought more likely. The vets had said that if they didn't do an exploratory operation on him he would surely die as he was getting weaker by the day, due to the vomiting.

So, armed with my input, she set off to the vets the next day and asked that when they opened him up, could they please look at the entrance to his stomach area to see if he had any damage or a foreign object lodged.

Later that day, he was anaesthetised and, to the vet's horror, he found his body cavity was filled with pus. In ninety nine percent of cases, the organs would have been bright red with inflammation and poison, so normally fatal.

He duly cleaned him out with a saline solution and, to the vet's amazement, his organs were actually of a semi-normal pink colour and his intestines were not 'glued' together. The area at the entrance of the stomach had a small tear/opening in it, so although the tiny offending object was nowhere to be seen, it had basically cut like a razor and caused food to leak into his body cavity. With his operation over and now back in a kennel attached to a drip, the vet phoned Michaela to give her the news, but with an extremely guarded prognosis. The vet repeated his astonishment at the lack of adhesion of Stanley's intestines and agreed that the constant Reiki healing that she had been giving him must have had a really positive effect.

By late afternoon Stanley had eaten and got past the half hour without being sick. He was fed little by little every few hours and nothing came back up! He wasn't 'out of the woods' but he really was fighting his corner. Within a week, he was a changed boy; he had put on weight and instead of doing that 'pitying whinge', he had regained full vocal strength.

In-between times, I had moved house so did not hear whether he had pulled through or what had been found. As you can imagine, I could not phone and ask her as the worst might have occurred but, once again, Badger's owner appeared in the street, so I took the opportunity to ask him. He told me the cat was fine, back to normal and was sure that Michaela would love to see me as she had been back to thank him for putting me in touch with her.

I drove up that familiar drive and could see and hear Stanley as soon as I approached the door. Stanley was straight up and rubbing himself round my legs and talking away in true Siamese style. He looked so well and was still having Reiki just to be sure! It gave me such pleasure to see him again and, apparently, the bamboo tree had been banished to the garden forever!

oooOOooo

Melissa Porter (Celebrity Pet Talking)

With the wonders of technology I was able to hold a 'face-to-face' communication with Melissa and her King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, Hugo. Melissa, who we know here in the UK for her TV presenting skills on various property and lifestyle programs like, BBC's Escape to the Country, To Buy or Not to Buy and Get a New Life which was based on her own property buying experiences. Melissa, at this time was in America where she was living, but was travelling back and forth between there and Cheshire, here in England. The reason she comes back to Cheshire is to her parents' home, which is where the lovely Hugo still lives.

The technology for this chat was by webcam via Skype, which is a very clever telephone service through the internet. I do many face-to-face calls like this, as it is just like talking to someone sitting in front of you, which makes the chat even more expressive and animated. So here was a conversation with Melissa in Connecticut, her dog in Cheshire, and me in Shropshire!

With everything sorted out Melissa called me, although slightly earlier than arranged, as she had to get to an appointment. She is a very busy lady, and actually we had been trying to co-ordinate this call for several months. With webcams switched on, we said our greetings and then Bob, who was note-taking for me, ducked down and waved into the camera to say 'Hi' to Melissa.

"Gosh, is he Italian?" she asked?

"No... just well tanned," was my reply, and laughed to myself thinking how exotic to be married to an Italian with that olive skin and natural sense of style they are renowned for. It turned out that Melissa's father, Aldo, was Italian so hence the thought. Sally, our now pretty–well-known collie, as about every newspaper/magazine article that I have been in, her photo has appeared too, followed us into the office. So Bob thought it fit that she should wave to a celebrity too so he lifted her up for Melissa to see! Having got to know Hugo during this communication, and had he been with Melissa at that time, I am sure that he would have insisted on being admired in this way too!

With a quick explanation like I usually do summarizing this as like talking to a child I told her that Hugo came across as loving and very sweet as when asked to say something about himself,

"I am a pet to have and to hold!" was his reply.

"That sounds almost like a marriage to me!" I said, but then he gave me the replay of him running along the floor to her open arms, saying, "Mummy, Mummy, Mummy", which clearly demonstrated their bond. This, as I thought, was his greeting when Melissa had returned for a visit. Melissa smiled and said she did do that to greet him and that was his response.

Hugo declared, in a rather 'upper class' way, that he was lazy, and if lounging in his basket, he would get up, but only if it pleased him at that time!

"That's so right," said Melissa, "My father says Hugo thinks he is master of the house!" Later in the conversation Hugo did admit to that by telling us he was,

"Masterful, but not bossy!" Hugo then gave me a picture of him being up on something, I was guessing a chair/settee or suchlike and looking out of a window at a wonderful colourful view. Melissa immediately recognised this and said that she knew that Hugo got up on the back of one of the large settees, although he was not supposed to. Hugo said, with that 'behind the hand', (or paw should I say?) effect, that,

"They didn't really mind." Melissa said that from that vantage point he had a clear view of the garden, complete with waterfall.

"Very nice," I said, but hang on, let's ask about the garden from a dog's point of view. Following the pictures of the varieties of colours and of what seemed to flow from one thing into the next, I carefully said it didn't come across to me as a very formal garden.

"Formal?" said Melissa laughingly, "You are right, it is anything but; Italian chintz gardening is how I would describe it! It is just like Pandora's Box—full of surprises, simply a 'mish-mash' of everything."

"Oh, how funny," I said, and explained that it was only days earlier I had visited Sir Roy Strong whose formal gardens were renowned and very much of the Victorian classic design. So this was from one extreme to the other, but both very beautiful in their own way.

Whilst we were on the subject of home life with her parents, Melissa asked me to see what Hugo would have to say about her father. I was given the picture of someone that seemed to do most things at speed (or impatience), coupled with a remark that he didn't shut cupboard doors very quietly! I put this across as tactfully as I could muster, and again Melissa laughed and said that her Dad, being Italian, was very like that. I know Italians do hold a reputation for being a bit hot headed, but as with everyone, these generalisations do not cover everybody. Hugo was quick to say that it did not bother him, he had a, 'whatever' attitude and just walks away. Talking of walking, Hugo said that he did enjoy his walks, but when he had had enough, he had had enough! I said I felt like he just came to a 'stop' and that would be it for that walk.

"Oh, that would be right," Melissa said, and went on to explain to me that recently whilst she was walking him with her parents in a park, he had somehow managed to tug the extending lead out of her hand and then made haste across the grass. He ignored their calls for him to stop, and only did so when he was sat at their car door! Melissa said that she reckoned that was as clear as you could get of, 'I have had enough now—thank you!' I don't suppose Melissa could run terribly fast at this point as she was heavily pregnant and due to give birth in a few months.

The reason the pregnancy came up was because, although it was 10 o'clock in the morning (3pm over here), Melissa kept yawning! She apologised and explained that it was not because she was bored, quite the opposite in fact, but that she was getting so very little sleep as could not get comfortable when lying down. She said her boyfriend described it as, 'like trying to sleep in a wave machine!'

"A boy!" I clearly heard, and thought quickly to myself, I don't want to say the wrong thing here. So I asked her if she knew what she was having.

"Oh yes, a boy!" I then told her that is what I am sure Hugo had said to me and, with that, I mentioned that surely it must be difficult to fly so late on. Melissa said you can fly up to thirty four weeks and she would be flying back to Britain next week anyway. She said the whole pregnancy, staying in the US/visas etc. was a sort of 'flying by the seat of your pants' thing, and they were working things out as they went along. I was sure I heard,

"It could have been worse, it could have been twins!" Now a braver person might have said it 'as it is' but I thought I would be cautious as you do not know what might have happened in the pregnancy, or whether in fact, I had got it totally wrong. So I said,

"Although we know you are just having one baby, were twins in the family? "Yes," she replied, "At first they thought I might be having twins!!" I then told her what I thought Hugo had said, but she understood my caution and was clearly surprised that her dog knew about that. Melissa said that Hugo had taken to putting his paws on her ever-expanding tummy, and yet he had never put his feet on her like that before. We had the 'You would be amazed how much animals do know' conversation. But, if you think of it, there are so many cases now written about how an animal picked up on someone's cancer, others that know when someone is going to pass to spirit and many more things that we often can't explain. But, as I say, 'Why question it, just marvel in the fact that they can!'

Melissa wanted to check why Hugo got grumpy when she asked him to move over when he is sharing her bed. It turned out, as she had thought, to be just a 'grumpy old man' thing, objecting with a, 'Do I have to?' Well, he is nearly nine, so maybe he thinks he is entitled to be. She said his routine is always the same—at night time, at first, he will always go and lie under the dressing table in her parents' bedroom, but the second her father sets the alarm, he gets up and goes into her room. With that, Hugo showed me a picture of lots of glass ornaments, cut crystal items, complete with a light sprinkling of dust!! I had to ask Melissa if her Mum had lots of ornate glass things there, and sure enough she did. I braved it, and said,

"I don't know how, but Hugo is showing me dust on them, would you think that's correct?"

"Oh yeah," laughed Melissa, "My mum is a junk fiend. I went there and did a 'de-clutter' recently."

"Oh, there are loads more," a little voice from, you-know-who announced. Melissa acknowledged his remark,

"Oh, I know, it's only the tip of the iceberg!" Bob, or should I say 'Roberto' was writing away 'ten to the dozen' on my left hand side but still able to join in the laughter too.

"I have been feeling the heat," Hugo told me which, considering the unusually hot weather we had been having, didn't seem out of the norm to mention.

"It's probably also because he is overweight too," Melissa added. "Do you know, he had spaghetti bolognaise the other night and on another, he had the end of the fish and chips!" 'Mmm, no surprise about his weight then,' I thought. So for fun, I said I would ask Hugo what his favourite food was, as 'fish and chips' is said to be a British person's favourite. With no hesitation whatsoever,

"Steak!" was his concise reply. I passed it over to Melissa with the same lack of hesitation, and yes, he does get steak, and not just any old steak—fillet steak!! Melissa informed me that her Mum buys it for him, and her mum, Mary, being the soft-hearted lady that she is, does spoil him but he is just so adorable she can't resist. On hearing Melissa talk about her Mum, Hugo gave me a picture of who I presumed to be Mary straightening pictures. I hesitated slightly, as this did not fit with the accumulating junk images, but Melissa confirmed that her mum does, in fact, keep re-positioning things around the house on a regular basis.

On a personal note, Hugo was keen to let me know that he was very proud of Melissa (his Mummy) and said that she had done very well, and showed great integrity as, he thought, she only does things because she thinks they are right to do, not just because, 'it would be handy' as he put it. Whilst we were on the subject of best attributes etc., although what he said really covered that, but to answer it as a direct question, his answer,

"Honesty!" For my next one,

"What does she do that amuses you?" I asked.

"Doing her hair in the mirror, like—'yep, that's done', and then goes back minutes later and checks it again! That doesn't make any sense to me," he declared. Animals know so much more than we realise, but beauty and our little idiosyncrasies are probably not worth losing their beauty sleep over!

Knowing Melissa is a TV presenter, I asked Hugo for an alternative job he thought she would be good at. He presented me a picture of what looked like someone doing some sort of needlecraft and that type of painstaking work of attaching tiny beads etc. Melissa does crochet, and also said that she understood what he was showing me as she really likes to pay attention to detail, and, unlike me, she has the patience to do such fiddly things. So, maybe a career in fashion design/creativity for the future? If so, please remember, you read it here first!

Something that Melissa wanted to discuss was the fact that she knew he really disliked being put in kennels, but, as her parents do also need to travel (especially in October to visit the new baby) it was a necessity. I asked him his feelings. He had already told me that when Melissa leaves him at home with her parents, he does the 'sad eyes', but only because he didn't want her to think he was being unfaithful. That was nice to know, but regarding the kennels, that was entirely different. He told us that he would rather not go anywhere—he liked it at home where he 'had got his feet under the table!' (Truly, that was straight from his canine mouth!)

We had a quick reminisce of my story of the clairvoyant's dog from my Animal Insight book who wanted to be greeted with roast chicken when collected from kennels. This would make it seem far more tolerable, and amazingly, it worked! We decided to try the same thing with Hugo, and he obliged by showing me a picture of treats (namely biscuits—well, anything edible) being hidden under his blanket at the kennels, so a surprise for when he got there. I didn't know if this was possible to arrange, but as it turned out, Melissa worked for them when she was age fourteen and had kept in contact with them ever since. She knew that the kennels went to extra lengths to keep the dogs happy, so this would be no problem, and if they could hide some for him during his stay, that would be great too. Let's hope it makes things better for him. He did admit that he still eats while he is there, so that proves he is not that sad. Melissa said it was actually like 'Dog fit camp', as he is on portion control and plenty of exercise to help him lose a few pounds whilst he was there! He heard that, but did not comment, which was just 'so Hugo!'

Hugo said in his serious way,

"Please tell her that I understand about life and that she has to go away. Please tell her I do not feel 'torn' and that she should not too." Ah bless him, what a wonderful little chap.

I asked Hugo for a statement he wished to make using this animal communication platform so I could put it in the book. He told me,

"That animals rationalise things the same as people do." He went on to give the example of the fiery Italian nature that Melissa's Dad has, saying,

"It is just the way he is, it is not personal to me, and so why should it be a problem?" Well put, I thought—we should not have to tiptoe around animals just because they can hear, see and feel like we do, but just treat them with respect and understanding as we would a another person. After all, some animals are louder and brasher than others, but it takes all sorts to make a world, and whatever breed we are, or they are, we are all individuals. But one thing that animals do achieve far better than we humans is how to show unconditional love. As he had shown us—it is accepting the whole person for what they are and loving them just the same!

Melissa was a joy to talk to (she is a friend of Jacky Newcomb so I wouldn't have expected anything else) and I appreciated her honesty when she said that she really was surprised that animals do think in this way and basically do have cognitive thoughts. So, the next time she lifts his ears to make him look like a rabbit, she will know that he adores that and finds it so funny, and how does Melissa know? Because he told us so! I hope I have brought something more into her life, and Hugo's too, which is my plan for this book to do for animals everywhere; well, everywhere that my work can reach.

With the call over, and Saturday horse racing beckoning for Bob's attention, my 'Italian Roberto' disappeared but fortunately left me with a very detailed set of notes for this story.

oooOOOooo

Matthew Rhys (Celebrity Pet Talking)

"I never thought I would be wanting to talk to a 'blue-arsed fly' but I do!" That was my reply to one of several quick emails that had passed between us. Probably not the most usual thing you would hear from an animal psychic—so written to a Hollywood actor, this might come as a bit of a surprise too.

This was, in fact, in direct reply to Matthew's email saying, 'Am like a blue-arsed fly! How's tomorrow? Similar time to this?' Although Matthew lives in Los Angeles, and his horses were there, he was over filming in London and trying to fit this into his extremely tight schedule. (Funnily enough, the locality of his horses to him was the opposite of Melissa Porter's—her dog was in the UK and she was in the US.) Time for me was running out too as this book was near to completion, so it was all systems go. I also needed to have Bob with me to take notes so had to re-schedule some of his work appointments too.

My introduction to Matthew was a joint one as he is great friends with Nicola (the lady that put me in touch with Paul McKenna) and keeps his horses with Clare Staples. Clare had recently emailed me to book to a chat the four horses: Buddy, Elvis, Bono and Jimmy. (Some definite musical influence going on there, although I did have to ask Matthew which 'Jimmy' it was, which was, of course, Jimmy Hendrix). Clare owns the first two, Matthew owns Jimmy and they co-own Bono. I knew of Matthew through Nicola and it suddenly struck me that he might want to join in with this project too. Nicola assured me he would and Clare thought it was a great idea. What I didn't know at this point was; that although my book is designed to really prove that animals can communicate, this was actually to lend itself to a cause; the appalling slaughter and desecration of the wild Mustang population.

I knew that Clare was doing much to raise awareness of their terrible plight, as are many famous people like Clint Eastwood, Sheryl Crowe, etc. We all think of the 'good old USA' with its wild and rugged mountains and plains where the buffalo and wild horses roam, all beautifully encapsulated by the wonders of the Hollywood film industry. This, unless serious action is taken, will soon be gone forever. The sickening fact is that 100 years ago in the US there were estimated to be approximately two million mustangs in the wild, but they have been persecuted so much they reckon there are less than 30,000 left. How shocking is that? Now, you might be forgiven for thinking that maybe the cowboys have been rounding them all up, domesticating them and people are having them as riding horses instead but this is as far away from the truth as you can get. Just like it is the in the rainforest, where swathes of trees are disappearing along with the animal's habitat too, well, in the US, land is systematically being sold off to the people with the most dollars, and these beautiful horses are simply in their way.

So, how do they get round this problem? With all their richly lined pockets, do they help relocate them or humanely persuade them to land further away? No—they chase them with helicopters, round them up and most get slaughtered! How inhumane and disgusting is that? Words fail me! When this reading was booked, I said to Clare that I would ask these two beautiful mustangs for their opinion.

I do know that this is a 'bone of contention' for some cowboys and landowners as they don't want wild horses amongst their stock, this I can understand. But, if here in the UK, where there is way less land than the US, we can manage and monitor our wild forest ponies, then surely they can set up some protection programme and have areas that these wild horses are allowed to live, and live in peace.

As I said, I knew of Matthew ages ago as he was a good friend of Nicola and her partner, Buster. I knew he was Welsh and had made his name in America in films, the theatre and for his directing skills. Apart from playing Kevin Walker in the hugely popular American series Brothers and Sisters, he was critically acclaimed for his theatre role in, The Graduate alongside Kathleen Turner. I also found out he played the lead in a London based drama called Metropolis, which, if you recall, was the very word that Sir Roy's cat gave me that I couldn't pronounce. What tickled me also was in Whatever happened to Harold Smith?, a quirky comedy which he played alongside Stephen Fry, and his character's father found out he was psychic and became a celebrity because of it! Of all the film stories in all the world...

Having got the details and pictures of the two horses (that Clare had wondered if they were brothers), I decided to start with Bono first. According to Clare, he was the more outgoing of the two. He was a five-year-old, jet-black mustang with quite a white blaze down his stunning head. I ran through the outline of how this works as, Matthew had not experienced animal communication before either and, I am sure, didn't quite know what to expect. I think he might have been under the impression that I was going to just tell him things about his horse, and he looked delighted when I confirmed that I was tuned in with Bono there and then. Here were the intro things he told me about himself: He was solid, reliable, didn't fight and was sociable.

Matthew's face was a picture and his smile matched his words,

"You got him; that is him!"

I went on to say that Bono didn't think he had the best gait (action) in the world and gave me the feeling that he relied on people for support and to give him confidence.

"Yes, very true," Matthew said and with that I felt a surge of emotion. I said I didn't know if I was picking it up from Bono or him, or both. Matthew was getting the gist of this very quickly and was keen to hear more. I said that I felt that Bono had a huge heart as he had told me that he felt treasured and likes to feel needed. Bono was very proud of the way he had come on in the seven months Matthew had had him as he informed me,

"I am not the same horse."

Matthew agreed and Bono said that he thought that he would improve more and that you would look back and never believe he was the same horse.

Although Bono was sociable to people (in spite of him having been rounded up an ill treated) he declared that he didn't kick or bite the other horses. This was true but was also accompanied with a picture of him eating his hay but making it quite clear to the others, 'This is mine!' Matthew laughed and said he has seen him do that.

The next line made me laugh so much I had trouble getting it over,

"I can see between my legs!" was Bono's very strange comment. I had no idea why he would say such a thing and had Matthew ever seen him standing with his head down looking back through his legs? The answer was no, but Matthew offered that maybe because they ride up high and he is looking downwards? Not according to Bono; he was sticking to his guns giving me the same picture so all I could say was to look out for it!

"Tassels are good." Bono emphatically passed to me. Again I had no idea what he meant and I actually presumed it was either on the western saddle or an item of clothing. No—it was 'fly' tassels, which is the American name for a horse fly fringe as Matthew explained what the comment referred to.

"I have to admit, I make fun of the whole fly tassel thing. Other horses there wear them but I laugh and tell mine that I won't put them on them as they make horses look rather silly." I added that maybe he wouldn't mind 'looking silly' as he thinks they are a good thing. Matthew laughed and said he would maybe have a re-think. Matthew had been bursting to ask questions. I felt at least Bono had been able to share what he wanted and had given a true account of information that I was able to get from him with no guidance from Matthew at all so I said to go ahead.

"Can you ask him about when he is in his stall (stable). When I approach him he..." I asked him to hang on a second until Bono showed me how he would react to Matthew's appearance. Bono made me feel he was suspicious as if he was trying to weigh Matthew up. He would also want to back away but not in a very anxious way, just as if he was wary. This was exactly how it was and Matthew asked me to ask him why. Bono made me feel he was fine if it was a female that approached him (true) but as he put it,

"It is because you look similar." I told Matthew that I thought this was a direct reference to the people who had forcibly rounded them up. Matthew said that made complete sense and volunteered that he always wore his cowboy hat so maybe he should take it off before going into the stall. I said I thought that might help and I would ask him for some words for Matthew to say to remind him that it was only Matthew and not to worry. He gave the words (bonding key),

"Hey, buddy it's me." As I write this I realise there could be great confusion as one of Clare's horse's is called Buddy—oh, what fun! Bono was quick to say he did trust Matthew and it was just instinct. I hoped my words would help.

"Can you ask him about me picking his feet out too, please?"

The vision I was given was of Bono, not refusing to lift his feet, but a definite pause as if he was again wary to let it happen. This was correct so I said I would ask more. It turned out, again, it was a male—female thing. He said that his mind would always question why Matthew was trying to do it and was it because Matthew was trying to dominate him. (Lifting horses' feet is quite against instinct as their natural escape from fear is flight.) I also said to Matthew that I didn't think he spoke to Bono at the time to say what he was doing. Matthew agreed and said that he probably just supposed that a horse would know what he was going to do anyway. That was a valid point and as I said to Matthew,

"I am thinking that I have managed to show you that they really can understand you."

"Oh, yes," he enthused, "this is amazing!"

I said to treat Bono like you would another person or child; just tell him what you are going to do, and remember if you do say something that is not right, he will know too! He laughed when I told him about Tony Stockwell saying 'five minutes' to his terrier Archie, as Archie always knew if it was actually longer than five minutes!

Matthew really had got into his stride and was asking me questions to pass on as if I was just talking to another person on the end of a phone line.

"Can you ask him, why, when we take him away from his stall and if he has not finished his hay, he seems very reluctant, can you ask him why?" I had to laugh, I said I think I could give him the answer without even asking Bono, but I did and it was as I had thought; he just wanted to munch his way through it there and then. He was happy to be ridden but if he had hay he would have preferred to eat all his hay before he went anywhere. Matthew laughed and said that was fine, it was just because both of them could look a bit grumpy when asked to leave it behind. With that Bono made us both laugh by giving us the analogy of a mother taking away their child's cornflakes before they had finished. Bono did say, however, that he knew he would never be starved so I think Matthew felt better about that.

"What does he think of Clare and me as riders?"

Bono made me feel as if Clare was very natural and carefree and Matthew, he keeps worrying if his horse would be okay. Matthew agreed that maybe he did worry too much and I said to remember that Bono had told us that he relied on people for his confidence. Just at that point, Bono gave me a fabulous vision, accompanied by the sound of Matthew saying, 'Go on, boy.' This was them having a damn fine canter with a real sense of freedom and joy with the wind in their hair and not a care in the world. Matthew, I could see, was so touched to hear about that and told me that those were his exact words. On a serious point, Matthew asked me to see if Bono got bored with the rides they go on as, to be honest, they can be quite repetitive. Bono responded without hesitation.

"It's kinda like jogging really, it's okay." I laughed at his analogy and said that he seemed to be fine with it. Matthew was smiling broadly and said,

"There are lots of joggers on the trails!"

"Gosh, they must be fit," I commented.

"Oh, yeah, they are hardcore." He said laughingly as we were marvelling at the fact that Bono knew exactly what jogging was!

He went on to say that he felt secure then admitted to pretending to ignore Matthew if he goes into the field to catch him! He clearly showed me him keeping his back to Matthew, with a clear, 'yeah, yeah—I know you are there,' and then feigned surprise. Matthew couldn't believe it, he did do that although he had always thought it was because Bono could be a bit wary of him, but to find out this was done on purpose was just so funny. Bono did at this point say that Matthew was kind and gentle to him and looked after him well. I can just imagine what it is going to be like now—as Matthew strides into the paddock, Bono does his, 'I can't see you bit' and Matthew then tells him, 'I know you are acting—I do that for a living!'

I said to Matthew that I would go on to the serious issue about the Mustangs and see if Bono wanted to say anything about it, adding that, obviously, I would not push him on it. Bono heard the conversation and immediately gave me the terrible picture of people using electric cattle prods on them. My heart sank and I have to admit I hesitated before telling Matthew. I said that it was a disturbing picture and did he know if they were guilty of using cattle prods on them?

"Oh yeah, they do." He gloomily confirmed. Bob and I were horrified; we had no idea how horrendous the situation was. I asked Bono what he, as a previously wild mustang having had first hand treatment from these people, would like the world to know about what is happening—in the hope that this can be stopped. These words shot deep into my soul and I hope they do yours.

"We are families; this amounts to the same as ethnic cleansing." I tried to move swiftly on to get to the cheerier stuff but Bono insisted on imparting this bit of knowledge too.

"They are destroying generations of history." This was not about the 'wild west' culture, what he meant was the lineage of breeding that has survived since the horse was first introduced to America, which incidentally, was by the Portuguese. (I have to admit to doing a 'google' as Bob and I had a debate between them and the Spanish.) This was hundreds of years ago, so, yes, history was being destroyed and not just American.

"Don't look so sad, Matthew," Bono volunteered much to Matthew's amazement, but it had the desired effect and made him smile. (Animals are so fabulous at doing this, when things are sad, they will try to make someone feel better.) Bono said to be positive and to remember that 'people force' has managed to change other things in history for the better, so why not this? Hear, hear!

He suggested that as people really had no idea of the abuse going on and maybe even think that these celebrities fighting the cause are 'puppy huggers!', that someone infiltrate these heinous people, video what they are subjecting these horses to and put it up on a big screen somewhere for the public to watch. He said that way the truth would come out and people could not avoid the issue. (I had to laugh at this horse's expression of 'puppy huggers' and am not sure if it is an 'Americanism' or simply a 'Bonoism'!)

I pointed out, however, that I was not sure he was totally aware of American law and whether that would be legal or not—but a great suggestion anyway.

"Does he miss his family?" Matthew forlornly asked.

"They are long gone," was his instant reply, adding, "you are my family now." Which I know was about not just Matthew but Clare and the other three horses. Matthew thought that was so lovely and was cherishing those words just as Bono decided to say something that would be only really suitable from a family member.

"If you don't mind me saying, Matthew, I think the un-shaven look, is not a good one!" Well, I couldn't believe it. I had to do a quick 'double-take' and yes, Matthew was sporting the latest fashionable look and was now in raptures of laughter. How wonderful, his horse was giving him personal advice and I got to tell a Hollywood actor that apparently his beard didn't suit him! What fun!

I said we had better do the celeb questions so I asked him for an alternative type of work for Matthew.

"He could be a comedian, you know; he has a great sense of timing and often laughs at his own things"! (I don't know if technically comedians should?) I passed this over to Matthew but said it was so like his line of work anyway that I would ask again.

"He could set up treasure hunts; he is good at searching for things." As I told Matthew, he roared with laughter saying that Clare and him have an ongoing banter as he keeps mislaying hoof-picks, mane combs and the like.

For his contribution to this book as what he would like people to know,

"To be dominated is not nice, but if you are asked, you will often want to do as asked." Wise words from a horse and that should apply to the human race also.

At some point in Bono's conversation I had mentioned that Jimmy seemed quite a different character. Although younger, at only four, he seemed more confident about things. This indeed was correct. Jimmy was of the same colour and physique as Bono but his white blaze was finer and looked just like someone had painted a seven on him.

Jimmy told me he was a pleasure to have and quite soft really. He said he was good to saddle up and was the, 'ask and I do' type. Matthew said I had nailed him again (what an unfortunate, now very popular, saying that is, when you actually think about it) but I was delighted to be on the mark and let Jimmy chat away, which he did.

"I am still a baby," he declared with a funny lift of his upper lip to show me he still had baby teeth on his outer two teeth. (These, corner teeth, start to change anytime from four-and-half onwards.) Matthew laughed thinking of Jimmy doing that and asked if I could check with him about his teeth. I said that I didn't feel they were dreadfully sharp but a bit 'up and down'. Matthew confirmed that the horses had had their teeth done about seven months ago and said he would book the dentist again. I gave a quick dentistry explanation about how when teeth are changing from the premolars (baby teeth) often they don't all change exactly when they should. A dentist will correct this as the horses' mouth matures which helps avoid a problematic wave mouth in the future. Jimmy, having listened to our teeth conversation then volunteered,

"I have quite a big head, you know." This was an odd remark and it turned out to be nothing to do with teeth. Matthew admitted to cracking several jokes about the fact that Jimmy's, and Bono's heads were way bigger than the other horses. I had to laugh at Matthews face and said that things would never be the same for him again! He agreed and I said I loved it when people do realise how much the horses understand, it adds a whole new dimension to the relationship. In our house, we often say silly things to Sally, our dog and Stan our cat, and then laugh and say, "Imagine if they repeated that to a communicator"! As you have gathered by now, animals do not tell people's secrets, they have respect just as we humans are supposed to do. In my Animal Insight book it was one of the first things I wrote by saying, 'Don't worry, they won't say, 'Oh I saw mummy kissing the postman.' They just don't do it.

I said to Matthew that Jimmy came across to me as a good ride and that nothing much seemed to faze him. The reason I got this was his way of showing me a bush with wind rustling through it and nonchalantly saying, 'Oh yeah, it's a bush.' Matthew said that was so spot on; Jimmy was like that whereas Bono is more spooky, like, 'Whoa, where did that bush come from?' I said that is why Bono said he needed someone to rely on to look after him, but Jimmy, he thinks he can look after the rider. Matthew laughed when I suggested that maybe Jimmy could have a word with Bono to tell him not to worry so much. Can you imagine it?

"Bono, it's just a bush."

"But, it is a moving bush!"

"Yeah, it's called wind, Bono."

"I know but it makes the bush move."

"Of course it makes it move. Oh, I give up. Come on, let's canter really fast then all the bushes will look like they are moving then maybe you won't notice!"

They really do chat too, and about one another, which we did come to.

It occurred to me at this point, as I said to Matthew; originally I was going to do just one horse and suggested he and Clare chose the most outgoing of the pair because that tends lead to a more upbeat type of story, which is what I wanted, if possible, for this book. However, as we now see, it does seem to be the other way round. (That for me is good for a sceptic's point of view, because, had I been swayed by prior information and then tried to alter my answers to suit, I would have been totally off the mark on them both.)

Jimmy said he wasn't maimed or scarred, he just felt he was such a lucky boy to have landed up where he has. With that, Matthew asked the question that I knew Clare wanted answering, 'were they brothers?' As soon as Matthew had posed the question I heard an immediate, and distinct, NO. Matthew made me chortle as all he could do was laugh at what Clare would say to this answer as she seemed convinced they were. Jimmy went on to point out that if you checked his dentition and Bonos' also, he was under the impression that their ages were too close for the possibility of them being brothers. I said to Matthew that I could really put my head on the block here as I know that they can DNA horses, so that would provide the answer, and see if Jimmy and I were right, or wrong.

I explained to Matthew, I had only found out about the DNA thing literally a couple of weeks ago thanks to a lovely dog, Rosie. I had been chatting to her and her owners had had the test done. In fact, her picture was on my desk, as I was hoping the publishers for this book would let me use her picture as she was so gorgeous and had such an amazing long tongue. She was so eye-catching and that is what book covers are all about. I held it up for Matthew to see and he thought she looked fantastic.

"I am a celebrity too, you know; I have had my photo taken with the celebrities." Jimmy had butted in with and seemed so proud of this fact.

"Oh, yes, he had," Matthew beamed; that is part of Clare's project to help the mustangs. She is asking them to have their photograph taken with the boys for the campaign. For these two lads, who had been herded and brutally pushed about, divided from their families, what a lovely outcome that they got to pose with these lovely ladies and help their fellow mustangs. Matthew asked if the horses had grown up together and I had to say I felt that they had not. I was led to believe that Jimmy had bonded with Bono in the way that often happens; during a terrible situation you just seem to find that someone that can comfort you, or you them. (I think Jimmy was like Bono's Angel on earth.)

When I asked the sensitive question about the Mustang plight, Jimmy simply said,

"It is a disgrace—I can't say more than that." I left it there.

"So, Jimmy, what other job do you think Matthew could do apart from acting?"

"A chauffeur," he confidently replied and gave me the impression of Matthew beckoning people to get in the car and go. Matthew thought this was funny and said that he was forever picking people up and taking them up to the stables. (Well done, Jimmy, you got that one spot on. Bono however took the safer option and had to be asked twice, but that is him, bless him.) Jimmy wanted me to let Matthew (and Clare) know that he was very happy and did not find life stressful in the slightest.

Jimmy went on to say,

"I know I talk too much (!) but I am very knowing and pick things up very quickly!" I asked him for his contribution to this book and what an answer he gave,

"Just because we are big, it doesn't mean we hurt any less." I think that is such a huge statement. If you think of it in human terms, people are horrified when someone says about a poor child being beaten, but in the end, pain and abuse hurts every living being, big or small.

We had to finish off as Matthew was on a filming schedule but not before Matthew could resist asking the horses to say about the other horses in the group. He was now totally converted to the fact that animals can communicate and people, like me, can hear them. He thought this would be such fun. As soon as he said that I heard 'six' whereas Clare had always said 'four'. I asked Matthew why he though Jimmy would say that.

"There are actually six!" he exclaimed and went on to explain that another two girls ride with them a lot so their two horses often stay too.

"What does he think of Buddy?" (Clare's horse.) With no hesitation whatsoever came Jimmy's reply,

"He's a ponce!" I burst out laughing and said it as it was. Well, Matthew's reaction was so funny and he said,

"Oh, that is brilliant—he is; he is a palomino and gets all on his toes. Oh, wait till I tell Clare!" And as for Elvis, Clare's other horse, (great names eh? That would make for an interesting but rather diverse pop group should they all have been alive today!) Jimmy declared that Elvis was not as fast as he thought! Matthew said he knew exactly what that was about as they do try to race each other. He had to admit though, that Elvis being a quarter horse, does have the edge with his burst of speed.

I thanked both the boys for chatting to me, and Matthew too. I have to say my face was sore from laughing, as I think Matthew's was too. Although this story contains a very serious message, I hope that these two mustangs have shown you how truly funny, utterly wonderful and forgiving animals can be.

oooOOOooo

Two Little Boys **(** _Animal Talking Tales_ **)**

I feel we are put in the right place, at the right time for a reason, although at this point I felt I really didn't want to be there. I had been booked to do a charity evening at a fairly local pub raising good funds for the cancer unit and demonstrating the art of psychic animal communication. Sadly, the proceedings were blighted by one individual who took great pleasure in 'blanking' all that I said. Then by another lady who seemed very uncomfortable about anything I tried to say about her horse.

I brought the evening to an abrupt halt, feeling much deflated, downhearted and was reduced to tears. This was upsetting to say the least and my confidence hit an all time low. Believe me, it is no easy task to stand up there in public and do this, hoping with every bone in your body that you are right. The 'blanker' had got his ignorant pleasure out of it; how, I will never understand, because others present were agreeing with the facts I was giving as they knew him and his horses too! I find this behaviour so appalling because in such cases as this, it is not just me they are taunting but their own animals as well!

The lady, however, was a very different story and had a genuine reason for 'batting away' everything I said from her mare. I had, in between, managed to talk to a lovely dog and managed to show that communication is genuine and I was not some fraud putting myself in the firing line to raise funds for charity. I will give the club their due; they still gave me the cheque for the cancer unit, so at least I had achieved that.

By now, I had fled the room and taken refuge in the bar area but I was quickly tracked down by this lady and her friend, apologising profusely. She explained that she had not understood the concept that they could actually talk and as, sadly, her mare was shortly going to Heaven, she could not bear for this to be announced to all in attendance. She admitted that everything I had told her matched with her mare, so she knew what I was doing was genuine, so then panic had ensued. I told her not to worry and asked if she would like to take this opportunity to talk to her horse, and maybe put both their minds at rest about her impending departure. The lady bravely took me up on this offer, with her dear friend sitting there for support and comfort.

This animal was in her late teens and had serious physical problems, causing her difficulties in getting up and down. She was very good at telling 'how it was' and very accurate with the medical terminology too. The mare was sad but relieved to be going as she was never going to improve and did not want to lose complete quality of life. Her owner thanked me and did something that astounded me – She went back into the room filled with the people discussing what had occurred and announced that I had actually been extremely accurate and had just told her exactly what was wrong with her mare. She also continued further by to explain about her previous actions towards me. I truly say thank you to this lady, she could have walked away and not said a word but chose the path of valour and defended me, in spite of her own emotional pain.

Sharing the emotional situation was this dear lady, Jean, who sadly had had her eight month old puppy stolen from her a year previously and was broken hearted but still searching in earnest. She did approach me about trying a missing pet task but, as I have explained before, I do not get involved with these kinds of emotional turmoil, as sadly, a high percentage are never found and even if 'located' cannot be tracked down in time.

A year must have passed, and on a Saturday lunchtime, Jean, who had remembered me from that rather odd charity evening, contacted me asking for urgent help with a young whippet called Jake. Time was of the essence, so she immediately sent me through a picture of this gorgeous four year old, fawn and white Whippet. He looked simply divine, sitting on his blanket in the boot area of her car.

As soon as the phone call started, I instantly started to feel bloated with severe pain accompanying it, like my guts had gone into spasm, and feeling ready to burst with it. I put this carefully and gently to Jean and she confirmed that is exactly how she would describe what was happening. I delved deeper and I also described a rather odd picture, with a bit of reticence I might add, of finger-like flanges inside his gut. Jean again recognised this and explained to me that he had been diagnosed with Lymphangiectasia. This is thought to be a congenital condition that basically causes these growths in the gut which then impede the passing of their stools.

Jean is very holistic and, although sought conventional medicine in the shape of high doses of steroids, painkillers etc. from the vet, found a healer who helped Jake's bloated body reduce back down in size. The vets even agreed to reduce the steroids and painkillers and, for a few months, it looked as if she was maybe going to get her Jake back after all.

He had far more energy and exuberance but, sadly, this was to be his downfall. Being a whippet, his rabbit catching instincts kicked back in and a feast was to be had. He ran like the wind, far into the distance and landed his prey, devouring all that he could before Jean could get to him and take it away.

For such a princely prize, a huge sum was to be paid. For a dog whose diet had been so carefully managed, his gut intolerance went into overdrive. These growth flanges were causing blockages and his system ceased to flow, so the onset of pain was intense. He had deteriorated so fast that he had received veterinary treatment and was at this point attached to a drip. Rather than him being kept at the surgery, they allowed him into Jean's care, so now she was sitting with him, trying to reassure him and hold a conversation with me. So, in his presence, this sad phone call Jean decided she needed to have to give Jake the opportunity to say exactly what he wanted.

There was the option of an operation to remove the blockages and parts of his intestines which I conveyed to him. He didn't even pause to answer this; he informed us these abnormalities would just keep coming back so there was no point. 'Did he want to go and see the healer?' was the second question. Although Jake was very grateful for the work his healer had done, he said that this was way beyond that now. At this point, I could hear him crying in the background and, as sometimes does happen, I was overcome with emotion and reduced to tears myself.

He then very clearly said, well, begged actually,

"Please let me go, I really want to go. I have had enough." With tears streaming down Jean's face, she held him and said she would phone the vet immediately and give him his wish. Jake asked me to thank Jean with all his heart and said he had been, 'Mummy's little soldier and that's the way it was meant to be.' We finished the call and I sent all the love and strength I could muster to help Jean and him through this.

The phone rang around five o'clock and it was Jean to let me know that he had 'gone' now and was out of pain. She understandably was extremely upset but, being the wonderful lady she is, had the heart to let me know as she had involved me in this emotional situation too. I can truly say I was deeply touched, and how she had the strength to call me I will never know.

Like the story above, it is a sad fact that many times in our own lifetime we will suffer the heartbreak of our animals going to Heaven. Something we don't often hear or think about is an owner dying and leaving the pet needing a new home. Sadly the owner of Tigger, who was Jean's other Whippet, had suddenly died leaving Tigger urgently needing a new home which is how he came to live with Jean.

A few years later, a friend of Jean's, who owned a gorgeous blue Whippet, admired Tigger and thought it be lovely if they could breed a litter from the pair. Jean agreed and so they waited for her friend's bitch to come into season. Very sadly, her friend died unexpectedly, and when her bitch came into season very soon afterwards, the lady's husband felt that they should go ahead and fulfil her wishes. The result – Jake and nine others! What a wonderful legacy of a friendship.

Although father and son, with Tigger five years senior, they played and bounced about like two kids and the balance was slightly restored. As you have read, this was not to last and, although Tigger was extremely sad, we talked to him and he assured us that Jake was now out of pain and just gone to another place. He also wanted to report on Jake's spiritual visit. He relayed the conversation from the house when Jean thought her husband had opened the back door and he thought vice versa. I reminded her of the conversation and she laughed and said it was spot on but what was it relevant to?

Tigger explained that it was Jake visiting and that the door was not properly closed so he had pushed it wide open to make his presence known. Jean immediately remembered the 'bunting' feeling on the back of her leg, another one of Jake's little personal touches. He had not made his presence so overtly aware since but I hear it so often, including us humans too, that they come back to say a last goodbye. In my own opinion, I tend to think this is actually also confirming to the spirit that they really have passed over and are no longer a physical being, so can then move on spiritually. As I have explained before, although they have left the ones they loved down here, they are meeting many loved ones who had gone to Heaven before them.

Tigger was not without his own physical problems too. He was quick to pass me a strange pins and needles feeling from his right back foot and this was associated with the accident from a few years previously. When I say accident – a very serious spinal injury, causing severe damage to his top two vertebrae. I asked him to show me how he had done it and he showed me him running full pelt then going head over heels and landing badly on his neck. It turns out this wasn't the first time he had tried to 'brake' when the impulsion of his body had carried on, so it all made sense and another mystery solved.

Jean explained to me that after Tigger's spinal surgery he was paralysed for three months and completely dependent on her and her husband for everything. Now some people reading this might think 'how awful to keep a dog going in that predicament' but if you have met someone like Jean then you would understand what total devotion and dedication meant. Some of us can cope with situations like that, others can't, but that doesn't make either of us right or wrong, just different. She did all that was needed and within three months, he had recuperated enough to start moving about and very well, considering the invasive surgery he had gone through.

So this conversation was taking place a few months further on and, although he was so much better, he was still not right. She had gone through every check possible but nothing was found that could be medically pinpointed. Mind you, if you think about it, a pins and needles feeling, this would be very hard to find, let alone explain. I asked him why he thought it was occurring and he simply explained that there was nerve damage so things were not flowing as they should and that acupuncture was the way to go.

I recommended a vet to her (bizarrely, there is a rule that only vets can do acupuncture on animals, which takes some understanding as there are some fantastic acupuncturists out there that do nothing but acupuncture, day in and day out) that I knew of that had a good reputation. Jean contacted her and she ethically said she needed a referral and, unbelievably, Jean's own practice did acupuncture too, just didn't advertise the fact!

Tigger had two treatments and then we had a chat. The change was remarkable, he could feel more strength and flow in that leg and the pins and needles were diminishing. Also, as a bonus, because acupuncture often treats more than just the area concerned, he reported that his breathing was better and this was from a higher oxygen flow. So great news all round and a good indication of how alternative therapies can do amazing work, like it also did for Teddy in the _Getting the Needle_ story. The more cases with positive outcomes from alternative treatments like acupuncture, the more vets might push it to the fore – well, here's hoping anyway!

Tigger is now running round like a two year old again and I do hope he has learnt how to work his 'brakes' and will have many more happy and painless years ahead of him.

I was fortunate enough to meet up with Jean not long ago at a local country show. She is a lady that is so full of heart and not just for the animals but people too. Had she not offered to share the burden of emotion with her friend who was about to lose her sweet mare, she might not have thought of me. I was honoured to be allowed to help with Jake's passing and to improve Tigger's quality of life too. These two little boys had been through courageous battles in their own individual way and I thank Jean, as I am sure they both do, for the love and strength of courage she has shown.

~~~

From my first book many people mentioned to me that my _Letting G_ o poem had helped ease their hearts after having gone through the sadness like in the previous two stories. Spirit helped me to write it to say from them about the different aspects of a passing. These words have helped people come to terms with their loss and gave them some peace and understanding. I have, therefore, decided to put it in this book too and intend to include it in every book I write, as making such a painful decision is sadly a part of most animal lover's lives. Over the page you will find my words that I hope will spread far and wide and help bring some light into those with a heavy heart.

### Letting go

Your heart is bursting, searing with pain  
That physical touch never to be had again  
You only let them go because you so clearly care  
They might not be here but they are surely up there

You feel the pull and the tear of your heart  
You feel torn inside and ripped apart  
The enormity of choosing what best to do  
It was done with your love, as they looked to you

We don't enter into this without thought or care  
We do it because the compassion is there  
The choice to stop pain and distress of the one we love  
Can only be guided by you and the angels above

Many spirits have come through and given me their word  
Your tears of sorrow and distress they heard  
But they are free and happy and hold no ill will  
Whatever was wrong could not have been cured with a pill

The height of pain is a measuring device  
It shows how deeply you felt throughout their life  
With your love given for this most selfless act  
They at least left this earth with their heart intact

Now up yonder and free to roam  
This is another level, like a new home  
The day will come when you go up there too  
They're ready and waiting to meet and embrace you

If you truly did this from your genuine heart  
You were so brave and helped them depart  
Your love and courage was seen from above  
This really was your strongest act of love

If you could ask them now, what might they say?  
"In my life, that was actually only one single day,  
Please remember the rest, the joy, love and play,  
For I look down from above and remember it that way."

As time has passed you may at last feel some ease  
Maybe a pet has come for you to please  
Animals are not selfish and want you to share  
They left that space for another needing your love and care

We are truly honoured to share in their space  
Think back and let that smile adorn your face  
The precious time you had could never be measured  
Your lasting memories are of those you truly treasured

Jackie and Rolf 2009

oooOOooo

A Bed for Life **(** _Animal Insight_ **)**

Cheska, a beautiful roan Spaniel, whose eyes were showing the depth of her anxiety, had been lucky enough to be re-homed to a very loving and experienced dog owner called Annie. After a year of trying to sort out difficulties with Cheska, Annie really was at her wits end. Cheska was not being bad, but Annie could see the dog's distress and could not get through to her and soothe her feelings. To compound the situation, Annie kept seeing visions but didn't quite understand why or where they were coming from. (This is a typical example of someone who didn't recognise their own clairvoyance and I didn't really understand what it was until I was told too.) They were of Cheska but in a former home – she saw horrible images of brutality and neglect that sadly turned out to be real. During the chat, Cheska relayed them to me too, confirming their reality, so we now knew the extent of the damage done.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated story; some breeding bitches like Cheska, do get punished when they fail to produce a litter. These poor dogs are really just a financial commodity where love and respect is not part of the equation. Appallingly, one of Cheska's owner's deranged reasons for beating her was for dirtying in her kennel - but then if you don't let a dog out for days on end, which they didn't, this inevitably will be the result. So Cheska now had a total fear of doing what is a natural occurrence.

Having been so badly beaten, mainly to the head area, this left her very defensive - but with such a desire to be stroked too, it broke my heart to feel her pain. We talked it through and I asked her how she would like the reassurance she needed, i.e. to know it would be a safe stroke coming her way. She wanted Annie to instruct people to touch her under the chin first, this way she would know that they understood her fear and then she could trust them.

Another misunderstanding was traffic, which to a dog that has been kennel-bound is quite understandable, so I asked her to explain the fear more precisely. She showed me an image of her shying away and said that she was frightened of cars hitting her, and gave me a most fearful heart pounding in my chest. Logically thinking, how would she know that there are roads for the cars, and pavements for us? So Annie and Cheska went off to do traffic watching, and Cheska now realises that there are rules for cars and that she is not in any way unsafe when walking on a pavement.

All the baggage that these poor animals carry weigh them down so much that they get in that catch 22 situation. They are so scared of making a mistake that they overreact in certain situations and then they make a mistake. I explained that we all make mistakes too, we humans certainly do and quite often too – also, we humans often have husbands, and they are always making mistakes!

Many people do not give me an update on their animal's progress after a reading, but Annie wrote to me within a couple of weeks. I was so touched because she said that the difference in Cheska was 'immediate and amazing'. Apparently she was so much happier and more settled, and had started to relax in people's company without that terrible fear.

During our next chat, Cheska had described the new bed that she really wanted, just to make her feel totally at home. Annie said she would go out that weekend and buy her one. Annie sent me another letter, with photo enclosed, showing how Cheska was so pleased with the subsequent new bed, and told me how she had sat down in it before Annie had even decided the proper place for it. I was so delighted for them both.

I had another chat to Cheska about six months later, and she truly is a changed dog. She was so chatty and very secure with Annie and her family, and simply loving life. The other thing to note is that the horrid visions that Annie was picking up from Cheska have never been shown since.

This was another very emotional case, but we got there and I will be keeping in touch with her owner. Incidentally, Annie found me through an article written about me in a paper about a year previously. For the headline, they had actually called me 'Mrs Doolittle' which had caught her eye. It was a large article explaining how I work and how I came to do it, in the hope that it would inspire others, that sometimes when the chips are really down, that miracles can happen, so never give up hope. She had cut it out and kept it, even though at the time she didn't even own a dog! I truly think that hand of fate was working again.

oooOOooo

Ex'Zak'ly **(** _Animal Talking Tales_ **)**

In January 2010, I had a really nice feature done about me in our local newspaper by a journalist who visited me after my _Animal Insight_ book had been published. We had a lovely meeting, preceded by their photographer who took some lovely photos of Sally, and somehow, managed to make me look fairly presentable as well.

The article talked about the book, my work with the various outcomes, and that I had even been talking to celebrities' pets too. I have been so fortunate as my book has landed up in the hands of some lovely people that many of us would recognise from TV and it is amazing who actually knows who!

Following the newspaper article, I received various emails and phone calls, which has happened before when other papers have highlighted my work. I do appreciate the efforts some journalists go to with their much welcomed enthusiasm it really does help spread the word. One Saturday morning, I took a call from Doris, who lived not that far away and was very excited to get me to do for a reading for her dog, Zak, and also buy a copy of my book.

I explained to her how I worked, that once I had the photo I would give her an appointment and do it 'live' on the phone. She asked how much she was to send for the reading and book and said could I please give her my address. No problem, I rattled it off and that was that, or so I thought. Within the hour, Rolf, my wonderful guide, told me to phone her back and invite her to my house. Now that might not sound strange to you, but I generally do not ask people to my house, unless they are through a friend. Personally I wouldn't really want a complete stranger coming into our home for a reading, also it would increase the need for that horrible thing they call housework!

As I work 'at a distance', there is no need, and to be honest, sometimes a reading can take up so much time than usual. Without doubt, when anyone visits you start chatting about other things, but this doesn't tend to happen during a phone call. So, I picked up the phone and said,

"Doris, I know you were going to post the stuff, but would you actually like to come in person to see me?"

"Yes, love," she replied and we set the time and date, which was to fit in with her work at the school and her husband, Bob's work shifts.

On a bitter January afternoon Doris arrived, chauffeured by Bob, as she doesn't drive, complete with a big smile and her photograph of Zak. I warmed to her the minute she arrived. I am guessing she has seen her fiftieth birthday, or even her sixtieth but whatever, she was petite, warm and just totally huggable. She sat herself down on my settee with husband, Bob, right beside her.

She handed me a photo of Zak, which to me sounds like a big dog's name, but this Zak certainly wasn't. He looked the cutest little fluffy Chihuahua you ever would see and I immediately started to smile. He was nearly two years old and just filled me with warmth and happiness and such laughter.

After I introduced myself, he sweetly announced,

"Hello it's me!" I said that he came across as outgoing and I thought he must be rather cheeky as he showed me him tugging on one end of what looked like a towel, and taking off with it! Doris laughed and said,

"That's only the half of it," and before I could stop her, she started to tell me that he has wrecked so many things, and with that he showed me a pile of shoes!

"Mmm," I said, "were shoes on the list by chance? I am being shown a pile of them!"

"Oh yes," Doris replied with her slightly gravelly voice, and gesturing towards Bob, said, "he had yours too, didn't he?!" Bob smiled quietly and we carried on.

I asked Zak what he liked doing, and he showed me him rolling over and what looked like turning himself 'inside-out'.

"Ah, there is no doubt that you are speaking to our Zak!" Doris exclaimed and, without drawing breath, she informed me, "He is very unusual, you know. Chihuahuas don't do that, they just don't – it will tell you that in the books, of which I have read many, but Zak just amazes people!" As she got 'into her stride', I had to stop her by saying that I should be trying to get this from Zak, and his opinion on things, for you – not you telling me! So, as much as you love chatting about things, I need you to let me speak.

I spotted a wry smile from Bob, who was sitting there ever so quietly, and said to him, in a tongue in cheek fashion,

"I bet you will want to bring her here every afternoon!" I knew Doris would get the joke because she and I just 'hit it off' as soon as we met. Doris is one of these people that everyone adores, she works at the local school and none of the children are rude to her, they all look up to her. I think this is due to her 'down to earth' attitude, great warmth and a big heart full of giving. Communities used to be full of people like this but sadly, nowadays they seem to be a rarity.

Zak chatted away and amused us with his delightful personality, informed us that Doris is the one that tells him off (like he pays a lot of attention to it – not!), and as for Bob, Zak takes great delight in playing him up, but Bob enjoys the game just as much. Doris asked me why did Zak go and cuddle under the covers with Bob in the bedroom, but if she tries to get him to, he won't? With her, he will lie on top of the duvet, and slot himself down behind the crook of her knees instead Zak was quick to answer and said it was to do with Doris's blood pressure!

I asked Doris if she suffered with her blood pressure and her face was a picture as she did. I suggested I thought it was high pressure, not low, and this was right, as Zak, bless him, said that he would feel a difference because of that, and he found it disconcerting to lie close into her chest. He was so sweet, he asked me to reassure her that it was nothing personal against her. I thought that was lovely for her to know, as lovely as it was for Zak to say.

I have to say we had had such fun. Doris had now got into the swing of this 'chatting', letting Zak have his say. He just loved the way she responded to his various quotes, (and the occasional mimicking of funny things said) with such enthusiasm and laughter, it was a joy to be part of it! When we were nearly at the 'any questions bit', Zak took great delight in announcing how clever he was, so I asked why? He said how he enjoyed the interactive toys to get him to use his brain.

"Oh, Jackie," said Doris, "now how would you know about that?" I had to reply,

"To be honest I don't really understand what he is trying to show me, but he seems to be very intent on moving something?"

"Yes," Doris said, with a certain zest of one up-man-ship I might add. "The man in the pet shop said it was for big dogs, and a Chihuahua could not possibly do it." Doris, being Doris, has sent a video to the manufacturers to admire how her little Zak, a toy breed, most certainly can do it!!

On the subject of admiring, Zak just loved being the centre of attention, and said he was like 'a beautiful ornament', which for a showing dog, I thought very apt! This quote was to be used again fairly quickly when somehow Doris has started chatting about other dogs, and Zak promptly said, loud and clear,

"You don't want a rescue!"

I repeated this to Doris, and she made me laugh with her endearing way of validating the geniality of my work, by saying,

"Oh, Jackie, you are so right again! I did try to take on a rescue, which was another Chihuahua. The lady brought her round and we put them in the garden together, and she 'flew' at Zak, I picked him up and the lady picked her up and that was that – a real no go! I did feel sorry for the little dog, as she was so lovely and obviously frightened, but Zak wasn't! He doesn't care, he goes up to big and small, he loves other dogs, but sometimes they don't love him, so I am very, very careful with him." With that he then showed me a long lead and gave me a picture which led me to believe that he would run off if he was off the lead. I said to them questioningly,

"I am under the impression that if you let him off, I think he would do a runner and not come back if you called." I got another,

"Oh, Jackie," confirming that this was right, and she informed me that at training classes he did absolutely everything, but not that!! In spite of the chat about his lack of recall skills, he wanted me to put his case across as to why they did not need another dog.

This was beautifully put by him: "If I am the only ornament, then I will be polished more, therefore shine out amongst others!" I guess this would help to enhance his showing career!

Doris did have a question that was relative to showing. She had taken him to a show and he was superb in the first ring, and the judge checked him all over. Zak acted perfectly showing off his sweet personality and demeanour. Yet, in the next class, he would not let the judge near him; he cowered and hid behind Doris, refusing to let the judge touch him! I established from Doris that the judges were two separate people, and so thought I would ask Zak what was the difference from one judge to the next.

He showed me the first as a fairly young person and the other, who he was wary of, seemed to be of an older generation and rather 'statuesque', which I thought was an apt description. Doris's eyes widened and she declared that I had got it right, but what was it about this older judge that worried him? Zak took me straight back to his very early days (believe you me, they can remember, and are aware of things from that early) and he showed me a lady of the same 'statuesque' build, picking up and putting down, of him and his litter mates. She was not mean in any way, but let's say, large hands with not the most gentle of scrutiny techniques was noted.

Most people would not be aware of how sensitive everything feels to little ones that have had such little 'hands-on' contact, and to be turned over, have their jaw alignment checked could come as quite an uncomfortable experience. I did my best to explain to him that is was nothing personal, and that the judges just wanted to check him over, and nothing untoward would happen.

I asked him if he had any words for Doris to say to 'prompt' his memory about this conversation, and he asked to be told to, "Stand like an ornament, she only wants to check you, nothing else."

We finished our chat and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Doris and her husband Bob. At the beginning I mentioned that Rolf had told me to invite her to come personally to my house. What Rolf knew, but I obviously didn't, was that, out of all the people that could have read the story, Doris knew a certain celebrity very well and was sure she would love to hear about me.

A couple of weeks later I took up her offer to meet Zak himself. He was wary of me at first (they apparently are suspicious little dogs), but he soon warmed to me and we had a lovely playtime. He even got to demonstrate his skill with his interactive toy – it was a set of stacked dishes, complete with sliding lids that are attached to a centre stem. So, with his nose and feet, Zak spun them round to line the dishes up properly which then made the lids pop open and let him have the treat, very clever indeed! I had a couple of hours in their wonderful company and Zak even kissed me when I left. I really have not had much to do with 'toy breeds', but if this is what they are like, I can see why people just simply adore them.

I know that Doris has told Zak that his story is being printed for all to read, and knowing that Doris is well loved in her community I am so pleased for her to be a part of this too.

That 'certain celebrity' did in fact reply to the letter Doris passed. She was very kind and in a hand written letter that she, unfortunately, would not be taking part. I know it was a big ask, but, having seen the response to my _Celebrity Talking Pets_ book, maybe she will change her mind. After all, I had people from here and America who joined join in. It was filled with fun and laughter and to me, like Doris; that plays a very important part of life.

oooOOooo

Best Foot Forward **(** _Animal Insight_ **)**

I had a most entertaining afternoon at a local secondary school that I had been invited to; they had their own equine study group and thought that what I do would be an interesting concept to show the pupils, and hopefully enlighten them.

If you thought I wasn't nervous, you couldn't be further from the truth. Adults can be sceptical, but a group of teenagers?! I thought it might be a struggle, but fortunately this invitation came because one of the group was a dog walker for someone whom I had done work for. He had seen the difference that communication can make to an animal's life and behaviour when problems had arisen.

Surrounded by many eyes fixed on me, they gave the impression that they thought I was going to be someone very strange or magically mysterious! I quickly explained how I got into animal communication and how it worked, and that it is nothing scary, it's just like having a conversation with another person. One of the teachers produced a photograph of the family's pony. This was the animal voted for by the group, and incidentally, the teacher's daughter was one of the pupils in attendance too.

I set about introducing myself to this pony, a small welsh mare well into her 20's that was fortunate enough to have had the same home for most of her life.

Rather surprisingly, during the introduction, another teacher entered the room with a brown and white Springer Spaniel, who had obviously not quite grasped the concept of what a lead is for. The word _lead_ really gives it away, but I think he would have called it a pull! Undeterred and oblivious to the disruption caused, she proceeded to put him a wire dog pen under her desk.

Well, as much as I shut my eyes to try and concentrate on the pony, this dog puffed, panted and generally moaned. Just as I was thinking to myself: _this is really not helping me_ , she suddenly said,

"Is he bothering you? Shall I take him back to the car?" With much relief I replied,

"If you wouldn't mind." She bent under the desk, opened his cage and clipped his lead back on him. He then proceeded (at his usual hasty speed) across the classroom towards the door, at which point I suddenly heard, clear as a bell: "Feet! Feet! Feet!"

"Hang on," I shouted over. "Is he having a problem with his feet?"

"Oh, yes," she replied, complete with a flabbergasted expression.

"Better bring him back then and I shall have a word," I suggested.

With apologies to the pony, I explained that this dog was determined to have his say whatever, and promised to come back to her later.

As usual I set about striking up a conversation with the dog. I never go straight to the problem/issue because you wouldn't do that with a person you didn't know, would you? It would be too rude. Now bearing in mind that he was a one-year-old Springer Spaniel, he thought rules would only apply to him when he got to about five! He was finding life and all that he shouldn't do, totally hilarious, which was great entertainment for the pupils. I then asked him what was wrong with his feet; he showed me a picture of lines pointing upwards, about 3 cm long. I described the picture to the pupils and we decided it was probably stubble; the remnants of a cut down corn field.

"Ah," said his owner, "Are they pricking his feet?"

"I don't know," was my reply. "That's your assumption, but let's ask him."

He disagreed and said that the stubble didn't hurt his feet, but he showed me the action of something coming out of this corn stubble and into his feet. He repeated it several times just to make sure I saw it, but I was flummoxed and admitted to the owner that I had not got a clue what he was talking about, and maybe she knew? She was none the wiser either, but said although she had been to the vets twice about the problem she would take him back again. I suggested that she asked if there was there anything that can come out of the corn and into his feet? I said it was probably best that my communication with the dog not be mentioned, so to hear what the vet suggested himself.

The next day she put the burning question to the vet, to which he replied,

"Oh yes, harvest mites."

She quickly replied, without thinking,

"Oh, so that's what he was telling Jackie about!" Fortunately the vet and I know each other quite well, so he just nodded with acknowledgement, but her comment was also overheard by the nurses who were in fits of laughter, but also amazed at the accuracy of what I had been able to explain from the dog's descriptive pictures. The Spaniel got the relevant treatment and the problem was solved.

Now back to the classroom.

Following on from my chat with the Spaniel, I had really got the students' attention and so I went back to my talk with the pony, who turned out to be so sweet, loyal and loving. At various intervals, she insisted on telling me loving things to pass on to her owner, the teacher, who was struggling not to shed tears. She was amazed and so grateful for all the information I had passed onto her.

As a last thing, I asked the pony if she had any helpful advice for his rider, the teacher's daughter. Most times you would expect to be shown how they are ridden/looked after, but the pony suggested that she should get her bedroom blinds fixed, as they really were such a source of annoyance to her. Her mother looked blankly at me, and then looked over to her daughter whose face was a picture as she admitted that,

"Yes, okay, they don't work properly and they never hang straight!" I found the whole reaction hilarious, but it goes to prove that they know a lot more about you than you realise.

I believe that we all carry pictures in our heads and that our animals see them, so they know what's going on. I can remember a horse informing me that her owner had a sore back, to which she readily agreed, and the horse then told me it was her mattress that was at fault and that she should turn and rotate it. Her mare supplied me with a perfect picture of the mattress, even down to the detail of the material that was sewn in under each button. Seeing as she had never been in the house, let alone the bedroom, that image must have come from her owner!

I think it was a truly educational afternoon for the high school students, and hopefully they will never look on animals in quite the same way again. They were kind enough to send me a testimonial for my website, which I put up with pride, and I feel that if this can reach youngsters it will enhance their lives for good.

oooOOOooo

Jenny Seagrove (Celebrity Pet Talking)

When Bob and I moved to a lovely hamlet in South Shropshire, England, nestled in a valley below the forestry we were delighted to say the least. What made the move even more wonderful is our neighbour, a lady called Veronica Thackeray, who is one of the most interesting I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Veronica is now in her early nineties (the naughty nineties as she likes to call it) and has a life story that would be sure to make a best-selling novel.

Not only is she a published author talking about rural life and so much more—she was in the S.O.E (Special Operations Executive) as a code breaker based in Egypt during the Second World War! This work was invaluable as depicted in the film Carve her Name with Pride starring the wonderful Virginia McKenna. Whilst talking about this project with Veronica she kindly offered to pass one of my books to Virginia, whom she has known for many years. Most of you reading this will link Virginia's name with the Born Free Foundation after her role in the film. Sadly, Virginia did not have any pets at the present time for me to talk to but, in a beautifully hand-written letter, said that she had spoken to her good friend Jenny. In Virginia's own words, "Jenny is a wonderful person and a great dog champion", and now having met and talked to her many times, I couldn't agree more.

Jenny and I made contact and I quickly established that she knew all about animal communication and had even done a little herself! This was going to be delightful so I offered to chat to both of her dogs for her. Although we had planned to meet up in a few months we decided to do the chats sooner than that as there were a few pressing issues to discuss.

With pictures and details received, and the time arranged, I telephoned her. Just like the other lovely people in this book, she instantly put me at my ease and I had chosen to start with Louie, her six-year-old brown and white Springer Spaniel. He described himself as,

"A bit of a chap with lots of charm!" and stated that he was good at stay!

"That sounds just like him", Jenny enthused, "and, yes, he is very obedient."

Louie certainly wasn't shy. He informed us that he was really bright and always one step ahead and that he was not one of these 'silly' ones and had actually grown up very quickly! This was bold information as Springer Spaniels have the reputation for being slightly slower in the maturity stakes. Jenny said she thought he was right and he was ever such a clever boy. Louie then gave me a picture of him walking with a look of certain purpose and Jenny said,

"Yes, so true, but as he has declared how clever he is, could you ask him not to pull as I have tried to ask him and he is not listening." I explained that pulling was hurting Jenny's hands. This was quite difficult to discuss as he kept telling us how exciting his walks were and that he just wanted to get there. I pointed out that the more he pulled, the more Jenny had to keep slowing him down, so, in fact, if he went at a more sedate pace then he actually might get there faster! I used my 'bonding key' process to hopefully prick his subconscious. From Louie, his words for Jenny were 'Easy' to slow him down, coupled with 'Good Boy' if he responds and if he still isn't listening to try 'You're not helping.' I wished her luck on that one.

I asked Louie what he thought was fun? I burst out laughing as he seemed to be showing me Jenny throwing a ball that did not go in the right direction. I politely said to Jenny,

"Do you find that sometimes when you throw his ball that it doesn't go in the direction you would expect?" She laughed and said she knew exactly what he was showing me—when she takes him to the park, which is full of magnificent trees, sometimes the ball ricochets off one and goes elsewhere, quickly followed by an enthusiastic Louie.

Louie then volunteered that he was okay to be left alone and Jenny was not to worry. Jenny said that was true to a certain extent but could I ask him about being left in the theatre dressing room whilst she is on stage. Jenny explained she was talking about the Duke of Yorks in London where she was performing at that time. I asked him to show me how he felt and he made me feel rather on edge and as if he kept looking and feeling expectant. I could hear footsteps up and down a corridor. I passed all this over to Jenny and she said that she felt that he was edgy too. We established that her dressing room was in fact in a corridor but as it was further along it, this meant that there was a constant flow of people passing the door and this was what Louie was struggling with. He was worrying that people could come in when Jenny was not there who maybe shouldn't be in her dressing room at all. Oh bless him, he didn't realise that only people with permission were allowed in that area. So I asked him what would make him realise that they were friendly, no threat and indeed were doing no wrong? Immediately he presented me with a picture of those long and flat dog chews. Jenny said that sometimes she did give him them. So, by using them as a positive item we devised a system—Jenny was to break some up and put them in a jar so that people who entered could give him a treat and this would show that they were friendly and good because the only way they would know about giving him the treats was because Jenny would have told them! Also, I knew that he shared this time with his friend Millie, Jenny's other dog, and as she was completely relaxed about wherever she stayed, I suggested that he have a word with her too.

After that slightly serious discussion Louie made us laugh by noting that Jenny comes in looking one way and goes out looking the other!' We chortled and thought that was a good way of describing costume changes. When I asked him if there was anything important he wanted to share with Jenny, he said,

"Please tell her that I know I am her boy and that she would not let me go." These were beautiful words indeed but had a deeper meaning; Jenny had not been his first owner; she had actually got him when he was eighteen months old as the family he was with could no longer cope with having a dog. It was so lovely to hear how contented and secure he felt with her. He also said how much he adored Jenny's partner who unfortunately was allergic to dogs. Louie was so sweet about this and said although he would love a cuddle he quite understood and said it is fine to be admired from a slight distance. What a sweet boy.

I knew that I was going to meet Louie personally with Jenny in a few months time as the play A Country Girl in which she was playing the leading lady, was coming to Shrewsbury. Funnily enough, the leading man was Martin Shaw, who in Judge John Deed, has a keen love interest in Jenny (aka Jo Mills) however, in this play, Jenny was to be his wife.

I thanked Louie for the chat and asked if he had anything he wanted to share with us before we gave Millie her turn. He most certainly did and it was a very poignant bit of advice about life and this is how it went.

"Sometimes in life you feel like you are on a moving escalator that suddenly comes to an abrupt stop but usually you can find a staircase!" A very clever way of pointing out not to give up as there is usually another way to continue your journey.

So over to Millie who had patiently been waiting her turn, which was quite surprising as I was about to find out that she was a prolific hunter and had the habit of getting in and out of places she shouldn't! The picture that Jenny had sent to me made me think Millie was actually bigger than she was. She was black in colour with that lovely 'I have been around a long time' grey muzzle.

"I am easy going and fit in anywhere," is how she described herself, and told me she was keen to please and also did that 'please stroke me' look and that Jenny got her 'by accident'. Jenny said that sounded just like her too. I was interested to know more about the 'by accident' line as, although I knew that she had come from an animal shelter she definitely was not giving me the impression that she had been a cruelty or neglect-type case. Jenny said that she hadn't been which was then confirmed by Millie saying,

"I simply got lost as I used to scavenge."

"Used to," laughed Jenny, "she still does, she is terrible." Jenny explained that at first, they had to keep a close eye on her as she would do a 'Houdini' as Jenny put it, out of the park. Apparently she would slip through the railings and go off like a bullet to check out the nearest bins and wherever else with the remote chance of a free feast. As most dog owners know, apart from the obvious getting lost, which is exactly what happened to her, is that should a dog eat the wrong thing, say, like a tasty chicken carcass—the chicken bones are lethal as they can pierce the intestines and, sadly, many dogs have lost their lives this way. There are many more that can be added to the danger list, corn on the cob, chocolate (mind you not many people throw out chocolate, well, certainly not from my house anyway!) and of course, poison put out for vermin—all inviting for a greedy dog just the same. Millie however, did stop her 'park escapology'—firstly she learnt to be more obedient and secondly, she's got too plump to get through the railings anyway!

On the subject of animal shelters—I have done work to help various rescue centres but the one I know more about than most is the Dogs Trust and I know that they do incredible work helping and saving so many dogs and cats. (Yes, they do help with cats too). I know sadly, and from personal experience, that some other animal centres only allocate a limited time they will keep an animal for. With the Dogs Trust, however, if they think an animal can be re-homed, then they will keep it for as long it takes to find them a new home. This all takes a lot of time, money and dedication and I know that Jenny is a Patron of theirs and huge supporter of their cause, as are many other animal loving celebrities. The work they do is invaluable and they keep all their supporters up-to-date with their monthly magazine, Wag. In one of their editions they highlighted my Animal Insight book which I hope triggered people's interest in animal communication and how we can try to help with rescue dogs. Something that I have heard time and time again from re-homed dogs is the question, "Am I staying here?" or the other, "Am I going back?" This might sound strange but some animals will try to keep their barriers up emotionally as they daren't believe that this wonderful home is theirs to keep. I equate this to a person having come out of a bad relationship and when they meet a truly lovely partner, sometimes they have that, 'too good to be true' feeling and are wary to let go should they lose that person again. Everyone can do this for a new dog to their home—just tell them in plain English what you yourself would want to hear, and make them feel secure so they can relax and enjoy life knowing that this is now their life and reality. This can work wonders, I promise you.

Jenny now knew for fact that Millie hadn't had a horrible previous home and asked if she missed that family.

"Oh no," she quickly declared, "my house is so warm and my bed so comfy!" She went on, "I am quite lazy really and I love my warmth, peace and quiet."(They were her priorities at this time of the conversation and I was sure she would go onto talk about her love for Jenny, well I was hoping so). I asked her, what was the best bit about her life?

"Eating!" No real surprise with that reply and Jenny saw the funny side. With that she also gave me the picture of her chasing something and looking up a tree, I suggested that she enjoyed a good squirrel chase?

"Oh yes," enthused Jenny, "I tell her they are tree rats and she runs like mad after them." Millie then told us, sometimes there are more than one which causes confusion when they split up and go in different directions. All was not lost according to Millie, who wanted to inform us that she could find them as they tend to poo so she can find them by their scent! Such good fun and exercise with no actual harm done to the squirrels at all. I have to say, whilst embarking on this celebrity quest; I never expected to learn the true art of determining a squirrel's whereabouts—so thanks Millie for that little gem!

One little animal that is not quite so lucky is the mouse—Millie is a dab hand at finding them and dispatching them. During one phone call at a later date with Jenny the way she said something still makes me laugh,

"Can you ask her how her eye is? She has had a run in with a broken plant pot whilst mouse hunting." Not funny about her eye, but the 'run in' bit instantly conjured up a funny picture of this broken plant pot making its fighting advance towards 'mouse-hunter' Millie! Fortunately Millie made me feel that her eye was fine with just a slight scratch on the eye ball but with no permanent damage done—this was basically the same as the vets conclusion, so Jenny felt relieved to hear this confirmed by two separate sources. (I now know that her eye did in fact heal with no further complications).

Suddenly I got that fantastic feeling when somebody with nails scratches your back in that certain way that makes you wriggle and squirm and plead with them to keep going. I could then see a hand doing this on Millie's back who was quick to inform us it was her favourite sign of affection, which I let Jenny know. Jenny confirmed that she did that and would do it even more so as she knew it meant that much to her.

On a more serious subject, which was one of the reasons for this phone call, Jenny wanted me to ask about Millie's right eye as she had been in a scrap with another dog, and its owner's foot as she tried to separate them. Unfortunately, in the panic of trying to separate the dogs the owner had been over-forceful and somehow managed to cause Millie's eye to pop out of its socket. Jenny was not walking Millie that day but, fortunately, Millie's walker rushed her straight to the vets so they were able to treat the problem quickly. According to Millie she could still see out of it but felt there was some damage to the peripheral vision on the outside. She seemed totally unfazed by it and simply informed us,

"I just have to turn my head more!"

You would think by reading this that maybe Millie disliked other dogs, but this was not the case. She was friendly to other ones but not this certain dog. This other dog was a hairy mongrel who, according to Millie, was a 'cocky little devil' and she really didn't like him and with good reason according to her. Apparently this dog had been rather 'full on' with Louie on a previous occasion, and Millie had certainly not forgotten this although it was over a year ago! So, on spotting him across the park, she seized the opportunity, made a beeline for him to give him some 'full-on' attitude herself. I thought I would ask Millie,

"What did you gain from it?"

"I lost!" was her succinct reply. I had a discussion with her about doing it again and explained that things could be a lot worse, so please forget him and let bygones be bygones. I gave Jenny a bonding key (also to be passed to anyone else walking Millie), which I hoped would work and keep her out of harm's way. Mind you, I think the other dog's owner will keep a keen eye out for Millie appearing over any horizon in the future too.

"Does she realise how much I love her?" Jenny enquired. As soon as those words left her lips, Millie showed me a delightful picture of her 'Millie dance' with the words,

"I can make her smile!" Jenny immediately recognised 'the dance' and said it certainly did have the desired effect. Millie was on a roll now and declared, "I am absolutely adored!!" She explained that if she was somewhere with Jenny, that Jenny would always 'introduce' Millie to them, this made her feel very important and, in her own words, 'an integral part of Jenny's life.'

As I have said, this was done prior to me meeting Jenny so I knew that there were a few things that Jenny wanted to ask about. Having covered Millie's eye problem and about the other dog, I asked if there was anything else. Jenny paused and then said,

"Er, yes. She, for some reason, has taken to weeing under the piano, would you mind asking why?" I asked Millie outright, why she was doing it. Her response was swiftly given,

"It wasn't me that started it and is it wrong?" Immediately I thought to myself that I was pretty sure that Louie had not been guilty of such behaviour as surely Jenny would have noticed and asked about him first. So I simply repeated the reply to Jenny and asked if it made any sense to her. Jenny thought for a moment and then said,

"Actually, yes it does." She went on to explain to me that an old dog of hers had passed away peacefully under the piano and if her memory served her right, he had made a wet patch at that time. I explained that although it had been thoroughly cleaned I assume that there was still an odour that Millie with her strong nose could pick up. I set about explaining to Millie that what she was doing was wrong and was in fact a rather undesirable thing to do and could she please stop doing it. Although dealing with animal's 'toileting mistakes/problems' I know from experience can be very hard to solve, I asked Millie what Jenny could say to her to remind her that it was wrong, and Millie suggested that should she venture under the piano, Jenny should simply say,

"No more!" I also suggested that Jenny put an orange on the spot to deter her (a trick learned in my vet nurse days—this is even more effective with cats) and Millie suggested pepper would help—white pepper, not black! I wished her luck and she said she would let me know how it went.

I thought at this point we would ask her how she thought Jenny would describe her.

"A wonderful dog and very easy to look after!" I don't think she realises what a headache an 'escape artist' can produce but having listened to her, I thought this description was very apt. Jenny agreed but also said,

"Could you please explain my fear of losing her?"

"I will do my best," I replied but, on hearing that, Millie butted in with,

"I know, I know!" as though she had been told a thousand times before and then proudly told us that she 'went like a Gatling gun!' She sensibly offered that if she did get lost Jenny should stay in the same place as Millie said she was very good at backtracking and had successfully done that in the past. (She also suggested that Jenny blow a high-pitched whistle as she had superb hearing!) Jenny said that Millie was right and that she has worked her way back before but to try and help (with a bit of tough love) I did my usual thing—explaining that when animals were either with their owner or in a safe place that their owners had left them they would be safe away from things like traffic, people that steal dogs and from simply getting lost by venturing too far. (She knew the last one all too well). I ask them to try to imagine the feeling of never ever seeing their owners or other animal friends again—would it really be worth the risk? She responded for Jenny with,

"I know—I'd hate not to come back with you." She did however concede that if she had to go on a lead for her own safety, she would understand why Jenny was restricting her at that time. I don't know if this will really push into her conscious mind at the times when needed, but I had tried my best to point out the dangers to her and hoped it might help.

"What does she think of Louie?" Jenny ventured. "He is a good boy really, but sometimes he doesn't listen to me so I tell him again!"

"Too true" Jenny laughed and said she knew exactly what that meant. I asked Millie what she wanted to say to Jenny.

"You are a lovely owner—I'm not an accessory, I'm a person!" We both thought that was so lovely and just goes to show how they like being treated like little individual people. I spend my life telling people they are; just in different bodies.

We covered her few physical problems but, to be honest, for her age, she was in very good shape with many more years of mouse spotting and catching, I am sure. We finished the call and Jenny said she would confirm the date she was coming to Shrewsbury and we would arrange to meet up then. Our plan was to meet up to do the celebrity questions over a bite of lunch and combine the trip to the theatre for me and my next-door neighbour, Veronica, who, as I said, was the catalyst for me doing this with Jenny in the first place.

As I also mentioned at the beginning, Bob and I only moved to Shropshire in the past few years and I am still not terribly well acquainted with Shrewsbury and its surrounding villages, I am more of 'a country girl' myself too! On our caravan trips up the A5 to North Wales I was often drawn to a sign for a village called Montford Bridge, for whatever reason I had no idea. One day we decided to pull off and check out this village to satisfy my curiosity. It is very picturesque but I was actually hoping to find a tiny old-fashioned church or interesting landmark but it really was like a 'drive through' place. I was slightly disappointed but then forgot all about it.

Months passed then Jenny contacted me. We organised to meet on a Tuesday as she would not have a matinee performance that day. She was staying in a village North of Shrewsbury that, as usual, I had not heard of, but said I could look it up and we would sort something out. Jenny said she would call me and let me know when she (and Louie and Millie, of course) were at the house where they were staying. It turned out to be in a very rural place with great fields for the dogs to run, (apologies to any mice that might have been there!) but no pubs or suchlike. Jenny said,

"I did, however, pass a restaurant on the way to the theatre last night in a little place called Montford Bridge, do you know it?" My brain went into a whirr and I said I did and that that would be an ideal place to meet. It was now clear why I had been guided to go there in the first place—a quick pre-run was a very clever way of spirit guiding me.

On a lovely sunny day, Jenny and I pulled into the car park at exactly the same time and chose to sit at the outside tables with the dogs. As I said, I was surprised to find Millie was a lot smaller than I had expected but just as cute, and as for Louie, he was the big softy he had come across to me. Jenny said she would go and get us the menus and a drink and with that, turned to Louie and said, the way you would to another person,

"Louie, sit down and stay there." With that, this gorgeous Spaniel sat down and he didn't move, apart from his eyes following where she was going. I smiled and said,

"True to his word, he certainly is good at stay." Jenny nodded and finished tethering Millie to our table leg which would solve any thoughts of hers to either take off or decide this could be an opportunity for a bit of scavenging!

Jenny, I have to say, was delightful and came across as she had on the phone, warm and friendly and thought the world of her animals. It was so touching to see when we were talking about them that she would gesture to one as she was recounting a tale, so personal, lovely. She presented me with some great news—Millie had stopped weeing under the piano! I replied, with definite zest,

"Yes!" You know the type, with the accentuated 's'! I was delighted to hear such a good outcome and long may it last! Also, the funny thing was Jenny's reference to Millie's stipulation of colour of pepper. It turned out that Jenny's carpet was white, so thank goodness white pepper was the order of the day as black would have made such a mess! I congratulated her on being so good about stopping doing it and asked her if she had anything else to add to the topic. In typical Millie style, she replied,

"Thanks, but the nice thing was I was able to blame someone else!"

After lunch we took the dogs for a walk in a beautiful field and, in the end, sat down on some luscious but dry grass. I have to admit, it did run through my head how surreal was this? Here was me, sitting in a field with a lady that people readily recognise from television. Imagine if someone said to me,

"What did you get up to today?" and I replied,

"Oh, I went to Shrewsbury, sat in a field with Jenny Seagrove chatting to her and her dogs!" It sounds funny put like that. It truly was such a lovely time and an unforgettable memory for me.

We let Millie take the lead on the celebrity questions when she had finished chatting and informing me about things that amused her like; how security conscious Jenny is, double-checking the door is locked twice etc.

For the question "What other job did she think Jenny could have done had she not been an actress?"

"Direct traffic!!" was her reply. I was laughing so much trying to deliver this line and quickly said I would find out why she had offered this. With Jenny laughing too, I explained that is was in fact intended as a compliment. Millie explained that Jenny is very clear and concise in the way she explains or directs people, encapsulated by this phrase from Millie,

"If you scream and shout, people don't listen but if you quickly point out the truth, they will see it!" How clever was that statement?! Well done, Millie. I asked Jenny if she had done any directing and she said that that side of the business really interests her too. For the contribution bit, she wanted to share a point on behalf of other dogs to say why often they were protective towards their owner.

"We feel the need to protect because we feel protected ourselves." I thanked her for that and said that it made a lot of sense and I understood her logic. I also told her that we, as humans, would understand this loyal thinking but, to be honest, we are so pleased to be able to look after and protect our pets that they should not need to feel that it has to be reciprocated. We want them to enjoy and relax in that feeling of security we aim to give.

I believe in 'life's timing'—things happen when the time is right and that is when it was meant to be. For various reasons it took me ages to be able to get round to writing this story up and I had even spoken to Jenny a couple of times in between doing so. The day after I wrote the above paragraph someone stopped me to give me confirmation of exactly what I was explaining. A gentleman stopped me to pass on the message to say the lady I spoke to the other day was so grateful and this is why.

About a week before whilst I was walking my dog, Sally, I stopped to talk to this gentleman. There was also a lady, who I didn't know, standing at the back of her parked car which was quite near to us. Whilst I was passing the time of day with this man, the sound of barking dogs erupted from her car. This lady kept trying to tell her two dogs to be quiet but to no avail. I stepped further back and apologised as I thought it was because they could see Sally.

"Oh no, it is not that, they never used to bark at anything but since my husband died a few months ago, they have been awful." I sympathised with her for her loss and I ascertained that this definitely had just started since the loss of her husband and she nodded. I decided to try to share my knowledge of a previous situation very similar to this that I had dealt with through my work. I know by experience there are many sceptics out there but I believe that even if people should laugh at me I should still try to give them the option to hear what I know to be true.

"I might be able to help you on this one," I ventured. "As strange as it may sound, and it does to many people, animals can understand what we say. My work is to talk to people's animals and help them if they need it." She didn't furrow her brow, she actually didn't change her expression at all, so I just kept going and said, "I have experienced this before and found this tends to be the dog's reasoning—because your husband has now gone, they think they are doing the right thing by asserting authority to protect you, hence the barking. As much as you are asking them to stop they feel that you need protecting and think they are helping by taking on that job." Still no words from her so I simply said, "Try telling them in plain English, (and don't worry, they will understand you) that you do not need protecting and that you would like to protect them as you did before. You appreciate their loyalty and thoughts but please stop barking as there really is no need." With that, I said goodbye to her and the gentleman and set off on my walk home wondering what kind of conversation would be going on now I was out of earshot.

I forgot all about it until the morning when the gentlemen stopped me and asked for my phone number. When I asked him what he wanted it for, he said,

"Oh, it is not for me, but you know Mrs..., you spoke to her dogs a few days ago and what you said would work, did! She is so pleased and would like to call you!"

So, apart from a delightful result for all concerned—by me being in the right place at the right time—it was not just an opportunity to help but clearly showed that animals can understand and change when told things. This is how the word about animal communication gets spread and this example truly bears out what the lovely Millie was trying to tell us.

So back now to our sunny field in Shrewsbury: Millie made me feel like she was blowing a kiss. Oh, how cute. The lovely thing about this was that Jenny shared with me that she often would blow a kiss to Millie—how wonderful I was able to return this loving gesture.

It was now back over to Louie who had been informing us that Jenny sometimes refers to him as 'young man'. Jenny agreed with this and, for fun, I asked him his thoughts on why she called him that and his reasoning was 'because she had had more birthdays than him!!' I know he thought this was really funny, and it was! He was comical but so polite with it. This he felt he needed to share with her,

"Please tell her I think she drives rather fast, if she doesn't mind me saying so." Jenny laughed again and said that he was probably right but she is very careful when they are in the car. I explained that she had taken note and will be extra careful from now on! Things like this make me laugh; it is like being told off by your children, whether they are right or wrong on the subject. On the subject of not doing things as one should; Jenny informed me that Louie did, at first, improve in the 'not straining on the leash' stakes, and listened to her use of the word 'easy' etc. Unfortunately, the effect didn't last and he was tugging her arm once again. I had another word with him about it. I pointed out that if Jenny was to heed his point and drive slower then could he possibly heed hers too?

Louie seemed to think that this conversation was such a great opportunity to express his sense of humour. The next question for her alternative job,

"A brain surgeon!" was his cheeky reply, quickly followed up with, "someone that cares for people, she is such a good listener you know, and has time for people, even if she is busy herself." This I hoped was right, although she might have wanted to be a brain surgeon—only kidding! We talked and Jenny said she does try to be as empathetic as possible; it is a busy world and sometimes people just have to make time to make a difference. The same goes for the work and causes regarding animals. Yes, it can be time consuming but if you can do something to help people or animals then, if possible, you should. I couldn't have put it better myself and I can see why Virginia McKenna suggested Jenny to me. I know through other animal communicators and healers that Virginia is still out there tirelessly working for everyday animals and not just the lions she is renowned for helping.

Louie's input here for this book I think encapsulates Jenny's tireless work on behalf of animals which takes on so many forms. These are the wise words Louie wanted share...

"Love and persistence does wonders." What a marvellous thing to say and it is so true—we do not have the given right for animals to just simply trust us; we have to earn their trust as we do with our human relationships.

After such a lovely afternoon we organised to meet after the show and I headed off to get changed and pick Veronica up. Although Veronica was ninety-two, she was still very nimble and was so excited about going to the theatre. She said it had been at least twenty years since she had been to one, and the last time was to a grand one in London. She had never been to the Severn Theatre in Shrewsbury, as neither had I and it took us about an hour to get there. We found our seats, fairly near to the front and settled down ready for the curtain to go up. To my utter surprise, Jenny, (as did the whole cast) spoke with an American accent, very different from her TV persona. The scene changes were done seamlessly by the actors themselves and I asked Veronica if she was enjoying it. I felt terrible—since her last theatre visit her hearing had diminished immensely and she could hardly catch a word. I offered to leave and take her home but she said she was happy to stay and 'just watch' and after all, she was so looking forward to meeting Jenny in person.

With the play over, and what a marvellous play it was, we set off to find Jenny. I decided to ask one of the theatre assistants for her guidance as; although I class Veronica as very sprightly, the Severn has quite a few floors. The assistant ushered us to a lift and into an area with tables. We waited and waited but there was no sign of Jenny but the assistant assured me that she would come out that way so we waited some more. After about fifteen minutes Veronica said it didn't matter and that she would quite like to get home. I was disappointed for her but bearing in mind she had listened to a 'silent' play I escorted her back down the lifts, outside and left her with some lovely people whilst I fetched the car.

We travelled back home and Veronica spent the whole journey regaling stories of her incredibly interesting life. She is such a character and even married the retired village doctor when they were both over eighty!! I got back into my own house and realised my mobile phone was still switched off (oh, could you imagine it going off during a play, a fate worse than death!) and having turned it back on, 'beep beep', and up came a missed call and a message from Jenny.

"Where are you? I can't find you." Oh, I could have kicked myself, I didn't think to switch my phone back on as I was too busy concentrating on looking after Veronica. Apparently we had been at one end of the building and Jenny the other! How very annoying. Still I had to laugh—there was me, a psychic, and Veronica who did intelligence work for Britain and between the pair of us, we couldn't find Jenny Seagrove at a local theatre!

ooooOOOoooo

### Postscript

I hope you have enjoyed a small taste of my books and what psychic animal communication is about and what it can achieve. If you want to read more celebrities' stories here are some leading questions from the back of the book...

**WILLIAM ROACHE MBE – Which of his boy dogs said, "Okay, I admit it; I scream like a girl?"**

JACKY NEWCOMB – Why did her cat say, "I could have been a ballerina!"?

PAUL McKENNA – His dog had a toe missing – how was Jackie able to tell which toe, and on which foot, it was?

STEPHANIE BEACHAM – Why did one of her dogs say the other was 'bonkers'?

TONY STOCKWELL – What was his terrier searching for in a wastepaper basket?

MELISSA PORTER – How did her dog know there was a history of twins in the family?

SIR ROY STRONG – Why did his cat tell Jackie about St. Pauls Cathedral in London?

### Celebrity Pet Talking

Smashwords $7.99

### Animal Insight

Smashwords $5.99

### Animal Talking Tales

Smashwords $5.99

Reviews are hugely helpful to authors and readers alike. If you truly enjoyed this book please could you spare me two minutes to put up a review as this helps guide and encourage other people to download this eBook and hopefully enjoy it as much as you did. I would be most grateful. Thank you.

Review this eBook at smashwords.com

Jackie Weaver  
'The Animal Psychic'  
www.animalpsychic.co.uk

