jennifercaress

My dog, River, and I have been together seven years and communicate with each other pretty well. She knows several English words and phrases, and I know what she is trying to tell me through her body language. We also sense what the other is feeling. One time she climbed into my roommate’s lap, which she very rarely does with anyone, and I got jealous. We made eye contact for a moment before I looked away, sad that she hadn’t come to me for cuddles (yeah, I’m needy). River then jumped up from my roommate, laid down in my lap, and went to sleep. I’ve got dozens of stories like this, but there are still things I can’t communicate with her, questions I’d like answers to:

• Why are car rides so stressful? I’ve read all the articles and tried all the things (Thundershirts, aromatherapy, taking her for small rides, switching from a doggie seat belt to a kennel to a car seat, music…I’ve tried it all)
• Does she have any sense of what happened to her human dad? If so, how can I help navigate her through those feelings?
• What can I do better as her mom?
• Does she know how much she means to me? More than once in my life, depression has taken the reigns, and my heart was so broken I was convinced there weren’t enough pieces to mend, and each time River has been the glue that put my heart back together again. She’s been the excuse I’ve used to keep going and I really want her to know how much she is appreciated.
• Why the crap does she insist on getting into the garbage even though I’ve made it oh so clear that is a HUGE bad no no?? *eye twitch*

I booked a 30 minute session with animal communicator, Karen Miura (https://www.whispersfromanimals.com/). She’s on the east coast and I’m in Utah, so following the instructions on her site, I sent in a photo of River and we set up a time to talk on the phone. I was excited to be able to talk with River on a different level, in a way that we could both understand each other without words or barks or body language. Scared though, that she’d have a laundry list of all the stuff I’m doing wrong as her mom, or that she’d reveal secrets like the time I blamed the fart on her and maybe kinda that was a lie.

Karen. Picture from her website and used with permission. 

My feelings towards psychics and “psychics” is summed up as such: We are all psychic to a certain degree, but I don’t believe everyone who claims to have a special–and dare I say marketable– amount of ‘the gift’ really does. Certainly, charlatans are out there who make it their business taking money for nothing but cold readings, and I know how cold readings work (I’m an amateur magician, my brother and friends are professional magicians…we study this stuff) so I like to think I’m an educated consumer in this department. Of course there are those who poo-poo psychic abilities all together and good for them; I don’t have any desire to change their minds.

So I perused Karen’s Instagram page and watched a group session via Twitter, and paid attention to my own senses. I felt a legitimacy in her gifts, and sensed a positive flow between her, River, and I right away on the phone.

Karen packs a lot into 30 minutes. I held off asking any questions at first, just wanting to see what she could pick up. Here’s what she got:

• River has a strong personality and a toughness about her (true)
• She struts around, knowing she is pretty (true)
• There is a positiveness about her (true)
• She works me like a fiddle and uses her cuteness to get out of trouble or get what she wants (pfffttttt NO!…..jk totally true)
• She and I have a strong bond
• We are connected souls
• She’s the boss but I’m “her world”
• We have a very sweet relationship
• She prefers to have a clean face and will often drag her face along the couch or carpet to get clean after eating. Okay, so everything has been true so far in the reading but this was pretty specific. She’s done this all her life, and always right after eating. We’ve often called it her ‘after dinner ritual’ but we never knew why she did it.
• Karen asked if River has an allergy affecting her paws. I’ve brought the fact that she licks her paws a lot to her vet, but no reason has ever been given, so to me, allergies make sense.
• Karen said to make sure I get her teeth clean and checked often, as they appear to be a potential problem for her in the future.
• River misses soft food and prefers that over the hard food I’ve been feeding her. (yep, after being told by the vet that her stomach had become too sensitive for soft food because of the high fat content, I’ve had to change her diet)
• She likes to look out into the world from a window.
• She loves when we are with my mom. This was especially interesting because Karen said not only did River love my mom, but River really loves how I am when my mom is around. Awwwww ❤

Who could say ‘no’ to this face?

All of this rings true to me, and these are the highlights of what was said. I was writing, talking, and listening so didn’t catch everything, but I got the major stuff. There were a few things Karen said that made me think she was reading me at times, and not River. This is extremely common during readings, which are very much like tuning a radio where the signals get mixed from time to time, but I felt she was picking up on River’s ‘signals’ the majority of the time.

All right, question time. This is what Karen got:

• River hates car rides because of the vibrations and movement. They make her feel uncomfortable and out of control. Her car seat has slippery sides, which only makes matters worse for her.
• She was confused at first when we left her human dad, but she knows he won’t be back and she is at peace with it, healed.
• I forgot to ask about the trash can. I was feeling a lot during this reading, most of it positive, and it just slipped my mind.

The last few things Karen picked up on are that River often plays the role of strength in my life, and that she is “a gift” to me from the universe (or God, or Goddess, or whatever one chooses to use here). I have often felt this. My human babies died, and being a mom without children is complete hell. That is where River came into my life and facilitated a great wave of healing, and an outlet of maternal energy.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but River seemed a lot calmer just before and during the phone call. I’m very happy that I had this reading done. For me, there was a lot of validation about our bond and the roles we play in each other’s lives. It was affirming to learn that as broken and lost as I am, I’m getting this part of my life right, and two different species can coexist without speaking the same language because we have love.