Our companion animals give us so much. They understand us more deeply than we realize, and help us in ways we are not even consciously aware of.
How is this possible?
As I say in my video, “animals are these silent witnesses to our lives, day in and day out. We think they are just simple beings who can’t possibly understand what we are going through, but they do know.”
With their empathic nature and relatively quieter minds, our animal friends comprehend so much more than we recognize — often the simple things that are so true and so overlooked by us busy and noisy-minded humans.
Nearly every communication session that I do, I am amazed by the things that companion animals intuit and compassionately understand about their people.
Depending on the animal, their understanding can span many aspects of our lives — physical health, emotional well-being, relationships, talents and work, even spiritual connections (like loved ones in Spirit, etc.) and more.
A handful of times I have begun communicating with an animal and the dog says, “Wait, you really need to communicate with my person’s father in Spirit first; he is all around us.” I always say, “Well, I am not a medium at all, but I will do my best.”
Also in quite a few communications an animal has shared specific information about their person’s physical health. Literally a warning about something that they smell or feel in their person’s body, that the person is not yet aware of.
In my years of communicating with animals, one dog stands out in my memory as an especially beautiful example of an animal who had a lot to say about his giving to his family, and his emotional understanding of each member. He was a little white dog named Brody.
Andi and Scott adopted Brody when he was about 2 years old; they had just gotten married. Andi has three children and Scott has four, so they are a blended family with seven children, and at the time Brody arrived, all of the children were in grade school or middle school.
When we began the communication, right away Brody shared how wonderful it is to be in this big and loving family. “I feel very lucky; everyone here is kind and easy-going, and there is a sense of hope and expansiveness” was the thought that Brody sent me.
“It was stuffy in my home before, not a lot of fresh air.” Along with this came the feeling that it was kind of sad. He showed me an image of an older lady whom he loved, but she went away (maybe due to illness?) and then a daughter was responsible for him, a person who wasn’t really that into animals, or who wasn’t attached to Brody for some reason. He showed us this feeling of being lonely.
But not anymore 🙂
Brody continued by showing us an image of him in his new home jumping up in the bed, first thing in the morning to greet Andi. Brody said he loves loves loves Andi, she is his primary person. Then he said, “I want Andi to start her day bright and cheerful. We have so much to be happy about, all being together in this family.”
Brody shared that he feels very shy with alpha males but is comfortable with Scott, then showed us an image of Scott playing with him, especially tug-of-war, Brody’s favorite game. He said, “Scott has the heart of a young boy. This makes me so happy. I don’t have to be scared of the alpha male here. This home is everything I could imagine.”
After this Brody got right to the point about his purpose in his life with his new and forever family. “Scott and Andi are my people and I help them raise the children.” He showed us this knowing that he sees himself as kind of a third parent, filling in the gaps for Scott and Andi with each of the kids.
Then to all of our amazement, this little dog talked about each child in this family and the specific ways he was there for them.
“Shai is growing. He has not grown into himself yet.” Then he showed us an image of Shai in front of a screen, with the knowing that he watches tv or is on the computer too much. “I would like to pull him out of that world. He needs to be in the present more, outside in the fresh air. When he watches television, I sit by his side and he pets my head; I am keeping him connected to the here and now, keeping him from getting lost in there.” Andi and Scott confirmed that this is true; Shai does watch too much television and Brody does sit by him often. But they had no idea Brody was so deeply aware of Shai’s internal experience.
The parents also shared that Shai loves to spend time in the yard. He is a lover of nature and is passionate about nurturing life. Each time Shai would be in the yard (planting a tree or doing a project), Brody would be with him the entire time, as if to encourage him and support this connection to his passion.
The little white dog continued. “Jory is critical of others but this is because she is critical of herself. I feel for her very deeply. I am working with her. I greet her every day. I make my rounds with all of the children but I focus on her. I bring love into her field to help her soften. I think you notice this.” Andi and Scott acknowledged that this makes sense as well.
“Brooke has a bright mind and she is very wise and smart. She lacks confidence at times. Some of her friends that come over are mean in their hearts but kind on their faces. This is not good. But I am helping, my love reassures Brooke and helps her be in touch with her strength.” Again, this resonated for Andi and Scott.
“Ethan is very intelligent and has things on his mind. I am proud of him. He is going to make us proud. He makes good decisions; he is a strong male.” I asked Brody if he spends time with Ethan and he said, “He pets me on the head. He does not have as much need for me as the others, but we are friends.” This made sense to the parents too.
Brody showed me an image of him jumping up on Matana’s bed, and she has a pen and paper in hand. Brody said, “I like Matana. I am amazed at her mind. She is a visionary.” With that Brody literally showed me he could feel and see how all this new information comes into Matana’s awareness. Andi and Scott confirmed that Matana is an independent thinker, is very creative, and loves art, and Brody seems to love to hang out with her when she is writing or drawing.
“Eden is deep,” Brody shared, with the feeling that she has this rich internal world that is so essential to who she is. “She is inspired; she will surprise us all.” Andi added, “Sharon, this feels very true and inspires me actually; Eden can be challenging sometimes.”
“Isaac is independent and kind. I am grateful for his presence in the house. He is grounded and predictable, reliable.” And with that Brody showed me an image of a cracker in Isaac’s hand, with the knowing that Isaac sneaks him treats.
The parents agreed that all of this made sense, but they also had a question. “Why does Brody bark at Isaac sometimes? And why does Brody bark at all the kids when they are arguing?”
I asked Brody about Isaac first. He showed me this way that Isaac tends to pick up energy and smells from places he has been. I shared with Andi and Scott that this feels foreign to Brody and he barks to let Isaac know; Brody feels that he is a protector of the loving and clean energy of the home.
When I asked Brody about barking when the children argue, he said: “This is a house of love. They are hurting each other. This is not appropriate. I am parenting them. They do not realize how damaging they can be to each other.” Brody then showed me this sense that their harsh words are like arrows that pierce each others’ hearts. “They don’t realize how much they hurt each other as family members, more than other people out there in the world.”
The little white dog continued: “This is why it was sad and stuffy in my former home. There were negative words thrown around. The older woman wasn’t present for us all and the sadness took over.”
Brody went on by showing us how he barks at anyone who comes to their home with disharmonious energy. When guests come in, Brody said he is giving them a lecture. “I am a guardian of this home. It is a sacred place, there is love here. You need to act accordingly and know that I am in charge.”
Brody ended the communication session by emphasizing again to Andi and Scott: “It is extremely important to protect the family and guard the feeling space of the home. I came at just the right time. You need me.”
Scott and Andi were taken aback by the depth and accuracy of all that Brody shared in the communication session.
This communication took place in 2011, and following the last of the children leaving for college in 2019, Brody passed in 2020.
In a recent phone conversation, Andi said, “Brody was taking care of everyone. You helped us see that. I can’t even get another dog because we loved him so much, he was so special.”
Scott added, “Ever since that time we were able to understand better Brody’s relationship with us and each of our children. Your communication session helped us see what Brody is doing, and praise and thank him for it.”
Scott and Andi were not the only ones to benefit from this communication.
In random moments throughout the conversation, Brody repeatedly mentioned how much he loves wet dog food. It was like he was emphatically dropping hints to his people throughout the session (adorable!). He said he had had wet food before and was waiting for Andi and Scott to get the message that he loves it, and to give it to him.
Well, now they knew, and Brody got his wish.
It is amazing to me that there is this whole world of perception and understanding that animals have access to, and we don’t realize it until we communicate with them.
For so long we humans have been taught to believe that we are the only beings that have intelligence and depth. This is changing, fortunately for us all. With the help of sweet and amazing little dogs like Brody.
