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Pet peeves
By JEANNE MALMGREN © St. Petersburg Times, published November 20, 1998 Even so, the two clients of this group session seem a little tense as they're ushered into the room. He bumps against her with a goofy grin, trying to loosen things up. Her response: a snarl. Can they get through the next hour without biting each other? Sophie, a 5-year-old Australian cattle dog, is what you'd politely call an "overbarker." Great watchdog, but she doesn't know when to quit. Mister, a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador, has been ripping apart pillows lately, and chewing on his left rear paw. Their therapist sits in a rocking chair, serene and sympathetic, wearing a cornflower blue dress. She has a toe ring and a silver dragonfly bracelet. She has been talking to animals for 20 years. "Animals are very good communicators," says Judie Herman. "We're just poor listeners." Call her a New Age Dr. Doolittle, or a pet psychic. Herman calls herself an "animal communicator." For a fee, she will ask your pet why he's not eating or let him know that you're sorry you threw away his favorite chewie. If you like, she'll even show you how to converse telepathically with your darling. Her goal is to open the lines of communication between humans and their pets -- only, please don't use the word pet. "I prefer "animal companion' because it doesn't imply ownership," she says. "What this is about is creating a partnership with our animal companions." Sophie finds the two doors in the room and stands by one, then the other, looking anxiously at her owner. "She's saying, "There's all kinds of ways out of here, how come we aren't going?' " Herman explains. Then she frowns and scratches her neck. "She really hates that collar. The metal prongs." Anyone can talk to the animals, according to Herman. All you have to do is relax your mind and let the messages come. "The more relaxed you are, the clearer the communication is. It's like those pictures they sell at the mall. At first it looks like random dots, but if you relax your eyes and keep looking, suddenly you see the picture." It also helps to put yourself in the other guy's shoes, er, paws. Holistic veterinarians often ask her to help diagnose difficult cases, Herman says. "I basically put myself in the animal's body and see what hurts. Like, that's how I knew Sophie was bothered by the choke collar. I felt a prickling in my neck." Animals speak in different voices just as humans do, according to Herman. Little dogs tend to have high, squeaky voices. Larger animals have deeper voices. "It's like a voice you hear in your head, but it's definitely not your own voice," Herman says. There's no problem understanding domestic animals because they live among humans and have picked up our language, Herman says. "With wild animals, it's more pictures and images." Why does Sophie bark so much?, her owner asks. Herman closes her eyes and concentrates. Sophie, meanwhile, paces the perimeter of the room. "She feels a great sense of responsibility," Herman says. "Besides, she knows you actually like it when she barks. She can read your mind. So there's really nothing you can do." Mister waits patiently for his turn. "What I get from him is that he's so bored," Herman says. "He wants to work and do something and be proud of it. He's very career-oriented." Mister yawns and sits up, eyeing Sophie. She stands at attention, facing him, and launches into an ear-splitting barking fit. "She's trying to get respect," Herman explains. Mister's owner asks about the paw-chewing. It's an absentminded thing, Herman says, like nail-biting. She recommends a kind of animal massage called Tellington Touch, to break the habit. She demonstrates, making small circular motions with her fingertips along Mister's flank. He sinks to the floor and his eyes narrow. "My dog's a junkie for this," Herman says, smiling. Herman and her husband live in a 35-foot motorhome, along with their cat Lizzie and dog Artie, who's half Corgi and half Jack Russell terrier. They spend several months of the year in Florida. She does private consultations ($35 for 11/2 hours) and teaches workshops called Kindred Spirits ($45 for one day, $75 for two days). The workshops cover holistic pet nutrition, behavior and massage. They also teach pet owners how to tune in to their animals' thoughts. "All of us knew how to do this before school age," Herman says. "So we can learn to do it again." The only stumbling block, she says, is that people often don't believe what they're "getting" from their animal companion. Herman teaches an exercise in which the person "asks" their pet what it would like to eat. "Then you sort of imagine their food bowl and look at what it's filling up with," Herman explains. Sophie, according to Herman, wants more "people" food. And more sweet treats. She's been trying to tell her owner that. "I get that a lot from animals," says Herman. "They say we're really hard to train."
Judie Herman will offer mini-lectures in animal communication and give pet psychic readings Saturday and Sunday at Oak Trail Books, 1219 Florida Ave., Palm Harbor. The free mini-lectures are at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Pet psychic readings cost $10 for 15 minutes and are by reservation only; call (727) 785-1960. Pet owners may bring their pet or a photo of the animal.
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ALM HARBOR -- There should be no shame in seeking help. Lots of us visit therapists these days.
