On April 16, 2025, I taught a bonus class to the graduates of our Basic and Advanced Animal Whispering Courses with The Shift Network. Besides introducing the grads to the content of the upcoming six-month Animal Communication certification program, we practiced a new exercise that I recently developed. This exercise helps participants to accurately differentiate their thoughts and feelings from those of the animal they communicate with. Our volunteer animal helper was Ziggy, my 14-year-old glossy black cat.
Ziggy happily connected with people and communicated telepathically about his life. In addition to being happy to assist in the class, he experienced an unexpected benefit.
I often explain that animal communication is helpful or even miraculous in its results because it allows animals to express themselves and be understood by people, especially those they are close to. This exchange not only lets them share their thoughts and feelings but also helps clarify their own perspectives. This happened with Ziggy.
Ziggy has deep friendships with Lila (cat) and me. He and Jerry (an orange tabby and Lila’s brother) don’t get along and they have to be kept separate. We alternate sharing spaces in the house and cat enclosure on-day and night schedules, and this arrangement works well.
Ziggy began having issues with Jerry when they were a few years old, after Jerry attacked Lila. Following that, the gentle sensitive Ziggy would freak out, leave his body, and go ballistic with Jerry in defense of Lila.
Later he began to avoid Belinda, our dog at the time, who he had gotten along with previously. After Belinda died in 2018, we welcomed Pepito, a seven-year-old rescued long-haired Chihuahua. Ziggy’s aversion to dogs intensified. He found Pepito strangely terrifying the first time he saw him and was jumpy around him.
I communicated with Ziggy about his feelings and worked to create a calm, loving space whenever they were near each other. Pepito was a calm, wise, loving dog about half Ziggy’s size, who had endured a tough life on the streets with homeless people. I was determined to create a good, healing life for him. Despite my efforts to protect Pepito, Ziggy suddenly attacked him. I managed to save Pepito from being seriously hurt, but it was a shocking experience for both Pepito and me.
I worked with Ziggy to help him overcome his fear, and for several months, he seemed much better. However, he had a meltdown again, and I rescued Pepito from being hurt a second time. I determined to arrange spaces and times to prevent contact and ensure such an incident would never happen again. I even considered finding a new home with Ziggy with friends, but this idea broke his heart.
The attack on Pepito stirred up traumatic feelings from abuse I suffered as a child, which I needed to work through before I could fully love Ziggy again. I had realized when I first met tiny Pepito that our journey would involve more deep healing for my wounded baby self. It was all part of facing the darker aspects of my human condition to bring them into the light.
I did counseling and healing and even had a friend do extensive shamanic work with Ziggy. Despite these efforts, Ziggy did not want to let go of the defense mechanism he had created to protect himself, which was a danger to Pepito.
When Pepito died last summer and wanted to return to be with me, I hoped he would come back in a sturdier dog body that would be less vulnerable than Pepito’s tiny form, reducing the likelihood of an attack from Ziggy. Ziggy never went after fifteen-pound Belinda. She also wisely avoided playful interactions with him, which she enjoyed with Lila and Jerry, who loved her as they did Pepito and Pico.
In December 2024, when Pico (Pepito returned) arrived at three months old, he weighed 5 pounds. I returned to the same system I used to create safety for Pepito. Pico sleeps in a soft crate near me, close to Ziggy’s sleeping space, allowing them to see, smell, and hear each other while feeling cared for. I did not want puppy Pico to be traumatized by an attack from Ziggy.
Now at seven months old, Pico weighs nearly 10 pounds and can handle playful roughhousing. I have been considering some supervised interactions between Ziggy and Pico when Pico was closer to a year old.
After our class on April 16, I noticed a change in Ziggy. When I put Pico in his crate and gave him his bedtime massage, Ziggy came over as he usually does to seek attention. However, this time his demeanor was softer and devoid of jealousy. He wanted to check Pico out more closely.
Ziggy expressed that after communicating with our class group, he realized how fortunate he was, how safe and loved he felt, and that he had everything he needed to fulfill his purpose of taking care of me. He fully enjoyed Lila’s friendship, relished the outdoors in the big cat enclosure, and appreciated the beauty of his surroundings.
Ziggy began to feel that he could lower his defense system and return more fully to his gentle loving self. Perhaps the little dog was not so bad after all. Ziggy had studied Pico and found him agreeable. Perhaps he could even love him, too.
He reflected on hearing the wild play of Lila and Pico outside the closed bedroom door, and how Lila loved Pico and always returned to play with him. This helped Ziggy to become less fearful and think that he might be able to connect with Pico after all. This is a major change for Ziggy, who has held onto his fears for most of his life. The course graduates helped by listening to him. Sometimes, it takes a village of animal communicators!
We will move forward carefully with this new possibility as it unfolds naturally and works for both Ziggy and Pico.
