Most of my life has been spent loving and working with a multitude of dogs in some capacity—as family members, as challenging foster dogs, as training partners, as learners when teaching their families—and a lot of that time has involved helping them feel safe in the human world. I immersed myself in the science of behavior and body language, learning and social-emotional development. I gave presentations and taught one-on-one, carefully leading dog people through incremental, measurable steps to build the foundation of a flourishing relationship. Then on to more behavior change. Always focused on the agenda of behavior change in the dog. The more I taught with that narrow focus, the more frustrated I became. I was working against cultivating a foundation of safety by also wanting myself and the dog to meet cultural expectations by a certain date.
When I went into people’s homes to begin behavior consultations, a curious thing would happen. Within 15 minutes, I knew what made up the actual cause of the stated issue with the dog’s behavior. Sometimes I had visual impressions. Sometimes I heard things that people were only thinking. Often their hidden feelings ran through me. Usually I just suddenly knew the back story as it played like a movie in my mind. Occasionally a dog would “yell” at me in my mind to tell me their purpose for being with the family.
I was doing intake. I was asking all the responsible, professional questions at the same time I already knew the most relevant answers. I knew about the dangerous husband as soon as the wife opened the door. I felt the excruciating childhood wounds behind the smile of the woman with the “opposite twin” dogs. I felt the longing and heard the slammed door when I met the roommates who never did admit that they were once a couple, back when the dogs and cats didn’t have to be kept apart on separate floors. I saw the mirror fire in the bulldog who served as the mother’s proof of worth. I knew why the lonely man’s dog bit his girlfriend and it wasn’t because of fear or resource guarding.
But I had been hired as a trainer, not a counselor. Certainly not as a woo woo intuitive. I had been hired to help the dog adopt more acceptable behavior. Meanwhile, the people were still hurting and the dogs were still mirroring, teaching, expressing, absorbing — based on the hidden needs and unhealed wounds of their people. I would go out to people’s houses once a week for 6 weeks or so and teach them how to train the dog. All the time knowing that if the humans could get the help and healing they needed, most of the dogs wouldn’t need to engage in what was seen as problematic behavior. We could wrap this up in just a few sessions.
I thought, “I have the dumbest job in the world.”
So I quit.
While I was gaining the courage to come out from behind my scientific materialism cover story, I threw myself into what I’ve delighted in and secretly practiced since I was a child. I loaded up with hundreds of hours of courses and practice to hone my abilities in interspecies communication, medical intuition, energy healing, mediumship, and various forms of intuitive reading.
We are all intuitive. But some of us choose to develop that inherent sense into a skillset. I knew it was essential to learn from mentors how to remain protected and grounded while receiving intuitive information as accurately as possible.
I love connecting with people in a safe, compassionate space and being the bridge to insight and healing. This is my dream job!
For those interested in my background certifications, structured courses, and titles, here is a short selection of those related to animal and/or intuitive reading skills:
Licensed WEBB Energywork Practitioner – Whole Energy Body Balance (WEBB) Method by Dr. Edward Bassingthwaighte
KPA CTP Certified Dog Trainer Professional – Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior, including many years of continuing education
Certified Intuitive Energy Tracker – Ana Maria Vasquez, Animals as Messengers
Reiki III (Reiki “Master”) – Usui System of Natural Healing, practitioner since 2000
Eden Energy Medicine for Animals – Madison King, Eden Energy Medicine
Masters Level Medical Intuition – Tina Zion
Owner, Pet and Service Dog Trainer, Behavior Consultant – In Tune: Dogs and People, LLC
Annual Instructor of Dog Behavior Transformation – OLLI at University of Georgia
Lead Trainer, Behavior Consultant, Foster Home for Challenging Dogs – New Rattitude Rat Terrier Rescue & Adoption
Behavior Analysis Foundations – Susan Friedman, Ph.D., Behavior Works
Training and Handling Aggressive Dogs and Working Aggression Cases – Michael Shikashio and Trish Loehr
Animal Hospice, Geriatric & Special Needs Care – Spirits in Transition
TTouch for Dogs – Sage Lewis, Tellington TTouch
Oracle Card Reading – Colette Baron-Reid
Oracle Card Reading and Coaching – Denise Linn
Bachelor of Science in Biology – University of Central Oklahoma