As a grade schooler I did my first science experiment testing how plants would react to different types of music. I spent two weeks playing classical and rock music for plants to see their reactions. I instinctively knew that they would do better with gentle stimulation. I see now that it was also an early lesson in inter-species communication, something I have since made my occupation.

My closest friends have always been animals. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about when this began. I remember being a child and meeting a neighbors’ dog, then going to visit him daily to hang out in his doghouse with him. He seemed sad and I wanted to make him feel happy. I was already practicing animal communication but just did not know it yet. When the neighbor saw me and came out to ask what I was doing, I got scared and ran away. I never went back. I wanted a friendship with the dog not her.

My first animal teacher was my Mom’s dog Sam. She had named him the Magical Sampsonite for a reason. He was free to roam Atlanta because he would not stay leashed. One time I passed him sitting with a homeless guy, as though they were best friends. He used to walk an elderly woman on our block to her bus stop at a precise time each day. When we were out with Sam, strangers would call out to him as if they had known him for years. He was a magical being to me. After he died, he was the first apparition I ever saw. Though I was frightened because it was an experience I had not had before, it was a precious moment for me. Sam was a supernatural animal. It was as if he possessed a certain power over his reality even though he was a dog. He showed me from an early age that animals are spiritual beings with will power and sovereignty just like us.

I have also been healed by the love of animals. When I left my last partner, I was heartbroken, though I knew that I had made the best decision. On the days that I was the saddest, I would volunteer at Life Line Animal Project, just sitting and being company to the cats awaiting adoption. It was impossible to be sad with a cat purring on my chest. Any cat lover knows that their purr is pure medicine. Within a couple of hours, the cats’ affection would melt my sadness away. If I had stayed home, that sadness would only have festered.

So, I can say from experience that an animal companions’ natural ability to love unconditionally is enough to heal your heart. It certainly helped to heal mine when I was at a very low point. I believe that one role of animals in our lives is to help us to heal. There is no better way to learn unconditional love than through an animal companion. I am sure that this is their main reason for being in our lives.