Have you ever wondered what your dog likes? How about what your dog really dislikes, besides the obvious neighborhood cat, shots from the vet, or being dressed in a pink tutu… The time has come for you to learn everything you need to know about your dog, cat, rat, horse, guinea pig, or any other animal you may have.

Meet Professional Animal Communicator, Barbara Martin, who has been helping people communicate with their animals since 1998. Animal Communication is communicating with animals telepathically through images, thoughts, feelings, and other physical sensations such as smell and taste. Communicators can talk to domesticated animals, wild animals, and animals who have passed away, and most animals are happy to share their thoughts.

Barbara, who lives in beautiful Napa, California, doesn’t even need to travel to your home to communicate with your animal. She has helped clients all across the US and Mexico gain a better understanding of their animals’ behaviors. Barbara can communicate with any animal, anywhere, right from her own home, all she needs is a photo of the animal, the age, name, and how long they have been with the owner. We at Dog Chatter know from personal experience that her communication sessions are spot on – but that is another story. Specializing in animals who are getting ready to cross over she assists humans in knowing “when is the right time” to let their animal go, Barbara can also help with issues such as health, behavior, and emotional issues. She helps clear up problems by simply listening to an animal and telling the owner how the animal feels or what they want. She can also explain to an animal why something has happened, where someone has gone, or what needs to be done, putting an animals mind at ease. Although Barbara is not a veterinarian, she can assist an animal with medical issues by letting the vet know where it hurts, or how the animal feels, amazingly enough she can even feel an animal’s body pain.

Barbara’s first hint that she could communicate with animals was when Nugget, her 17 year old Golden Retriever, was ready to pass away. “Nugget was holding off passing because my husband couldn’t let her go,” says Barbara of her loyal Golden. In her mind, Barbara kept thinking that Nugget was holding on because Barbara’s husband wasn’t ready to give her up, at the time Barbara did not realize that she was actually communicating with the Nugget. She spoke with her husband about letting the dog go, and a soon as he accepted that Nugget was ready to move on, Nugget passed away. This made Barbara realize that what had happened was something more than her intuition, so she went in search of a book about communicating with animals and found “Kinship With All Life” by Allen J. Boone.

Many people would assume that Animal Communicators were born that way, and that like Dr. Dolittle, communicating with animals was just a knack. However, as a child Barbara never noticed anything special when it came to animals. She was a shy kid and regularly played with and confided in her animals. She had guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, and a rescued mixed breed dog named Toby, but none of them ‘spoke’ to her. It wasn’t until Nugget and “Kinship With All Life” that she honed in on her animal communication skills. By attending workshops and working with other communicators, she grew her skill for animal communication and eventually left her corporate job to communicate with animals full time.

When Barbara communicates with animals she receives pictures, words, emotions, and body feelings. “Telepathy works in a way that my mind translates into English.” says Barbara. “If I spoke another language it would translate into that language. How that works is something I cannot explain.” However, she explains that when you send pictures from your mind to your animal, they translate it into something they can understand, and vice versa. The animal is not actually speaking in English, but the pictures, words, and emotions translate that way. Barbara can help an animal understand things like why a new pet has been brought into the home, what angers the owners, why someone has gone away, and what events are about to happen. She can help owners learn things like what their pet wants to eat, why their pet is sad or upset, and why the pet behaves a certain way.

At home Barbara spends quality time with her two rescued guinea pigs named Eric Clapton and ZZ Top, and her beloved 11 year old Yellow Labrador, Bonnie. “When Bonnie was one year old we gave her a four foot long rawhide bone, she tried for over 20 minutes to get it inside her igloo” laughs Barbara while recalling her dog’s funniest moments. When Bonnie was younger she loved pheasant hunting, swimming, and going to the beach. Today her favorite activities include walking off leash, and going to Starbucks to hang out with people. “She is a bit defiant,” says Barbara, “when I tell her not to go near a horse, she will go right under the horse!” Bonnie eats a raw diet of organic grass fed hamburger meat, slightly cooked carrots and other mixed veggies, and plain yogurt. Her home made diet has helped her to live longer and healthier, as she has suffered from health issues in the past. She sleeps on the bed with Barbara and every morning the 80 lbs. lab rolls over, throwing her legs in the air for a good belly rub.

“Bonnie is a mirror of me,” says Barbara of her beloved lab who doesn’t like the unknown. “She won’t go through a door unless it’s fully open.” Barbara says that like Bonnie, spiritually she doesn’t like risk taking. “Other animal communicators say that Bonnie is here to teach me to love myself, and to do something no matter what the obstacle,” says Barbara of her dog that has her own fears. “Bonnie doesn’t like car rides but she gets in anyway, if she can do something she is afraid of then so can I.” Besides being Barbara’s motivation, Bonnie is also her time keeper. When Barbara’s animal communication sessions go over the scheduled 45 minutes, Bonnie will groan twice to let Barbara know, keeping her on track.

Barbara does admit that once every quarter she will ‘bomb’ and not connect with an animal. “If a person is skeptical the animals will not give me any information,” says Barbara. “The animals are so loyal they don’t want to prove their owners wrong.” Sometimes animals will even tell Barbara not to weird the people out buy forcing a conversation with them. Barbara also knows that she could ‘bomb’ a communication session if she doesn’t take care of herself. In order for her to connect she must take care of her physical and spiritual well being, by meditating and going on long nature walks. This has made Barbara more spiritual, “I spend more time connecting with myself,” says Barbara who is happier now that she works with animals. She has more respect for the planet and the creatures that inhabit it. “I used to be very opinionated,” says Barbara “now not so much because I can only assist people with their animals by having no opinion.”

We at Dog Chatter are proud to announce that Barbara Martin will be a monthly contributor on our site. Please check back to read exciting stories and tips from Barbara and her animal communications later this month and in the future. For more information on Barbara, or to schedule a session please visit her at www.animalcommunicationplus.com.