[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]An Animal Communicator’s Perspective
By Stephanie Allison
Animal communicator, animal healer, author, and teacher, Trisha McCagh creates a symbiotic connection between the human species and the animal kingdom through intuitive communication. She has been intimately connected with animals since her early childhood. Her passion is to dedicate and commit to the greater preservation and respect of all animal life on this planet and to ensure the words, thoughts, and wishes of as many animals as possible are heard and acknowledged.
Through her consultations and courses, she takes people on a journey into a different world, where they are able to view the world through the perception of animals. Due to her extensive experience, she has been invited to share her amazing insights on television, radio, and newspapers both nationally and internationally.
I contacted Trisha because I wanted to learn more about animal communication from someone who lives and breathes it. I was very unsure of what it was and thought it was a bit crazy. But after learning more, I realised that I too have had some really unusual experiences with animals throughout my life. As a child, my parents would have to ban me from bringing sick animals home (which never worked). I remember finding a very poorly pigeon on the street one day. I took my jumper off, put him in it, and brought him home to try to nurse him back to health. He did get better, and then one day I remember seeing him come back and sitting on our balcony as if to say “Thank you.”. And I haven’t changed in adulthood. My partner always laughs at me when I bring another sick or abandoned animal home. For as long as I can remember, I have been completely drawn to animals.
When I worked in the horse racing industry, I rode a huge 17 hands tall thoroughbred. Everyone disliked riding him because he would spook easily and was just so unpredictable. When I first rode him, I noticed that he would respond to my voice really well and all of a sudden I had a realisation that this horse had very low self-esteem. Even though he was so huge, he was scared of everything. He was swamped in fear. So I started talking to him nonstop, for the whole hour-long ride. My throat was sore by the end of it but he gave me the most beautiful ride and a deep sense of connection and understanding. I still think about him to this day and wonder where he ended up.
Trisha surprised me with the insights she gave me about my ferret, Yuki. Her insights have made me spend more one-on-one time with my little- fluffy queen. And she certainly was right about me always being busy. Sometimes I feel like I spend more time with other people’s ferrets through Ferret-World then I do with Yuki. That insight from Trisha struck me, made me cry, and forced me into looking into how I can change my routine to make sure I give Yuki more of what she needs in order to be happy and fulfilled in her life.
I realise that not everyone is going to believe that animal communication is possible, but I believe this interview holds some profound insights that even skeptics can take back to their lives and create stronger, more meaningful relationships with their ferret friends.
Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into this interesting line of work?
My background is in dentistry. I was a therapist and dental hygienist, working with dental patients and my colleagues, including specialists, in Sydney and Perth for well over 20 years. So I was very scientific-based, and was very much in the norm of the world, in a regular, professional, medical job. Which was great. And I did love my dental years, but I was always very intuitive and had expansive abilities. I always sort-of knew things or looked beyond the norm. And so in that light, I guess I was open to other things and looking at what there was, why I was here, and so on.
And then I came across a cat named Beau. I’d only been married a short time when we got two cats who were litter mates, Beau (the brother) and Maddie (the sister). I bonded very intensely with these cats. When Beau was thirteen months old, we came home one day and he was writhing on the floor and in distress. And so I went into distress. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we took him to one vet, he was transferred to another, and it turned out he had a very bad genetic disorder. And things weren’t looking good. But the vet said there’s a fifty-fifty chance he’ll survive, so I said, “Let’s go for it.”
I was called back to the vet’s that day because he was worried that things weren’t looking good. My boy Beau was just like my child. He was everything to me. So I went in there. It was a big hospital. There was no one else in there, except for the vet, myself, and, of course, Beau. I just remember holding Beau’s paw and putting my face next to his face, saying come on, you can do this, Beau. Just keep fighting. You’re only a young cat. We’ve got many years together. Come on. You can do this. You can do this. And I was fighting back tears, and they were rolling down my face. Just when I said this, it was just so quiet, and I heard, you have to let me go. You have to set me free.
And I sort of sprang up and I looked around and went, what was that? Where was it from? Because I actually heard this. And it sounded like it was right next to my ear, but obviously, when I looked down and looked at the vet, he hadn’t heard anything, even though he was right down the other end of the room.
I knew what I heard was separate to me. I knew that it wasn’t my voice. It was very confusing to me. And then it felt like this voice was up near my ear, so how could that be possible? Then I looked back at Beau and just got this sense of connection, that he had said it. I have to admit, I was finding it very difficult to feel that way, and to think, well how could this be? But because I was so emotional and so quiet, I guess I was a little more open to it. And then I did what I had to do. I did what I assume Beau had asked me to do, and he was euthanised. And I remember holding his body for an hour or two afterward, and holding his body and looking down at him, but, again, looking at his body realising he’s not in there and he’s up around my head, my ear. I’m thinking what is going on? What is going on?
We had Mattie with us after he passed, and of course I got him cremated, but that same day, I went off to the place where I had got Beau, which was a breeder, and told her. She was very upset, and she asked me to come in with my husband. She felt very bad because Beau hadn’t lasted long and it was a genetic thing. She said all of her other cats were fine, and I knew Maddie was fine, but we went into the kitchen as she was making me a cup of coffee, and out of nowhere, this nine-week-old kitten came running out into the middle of the kitchen and ran up my jeans that I had on, and stopped on my knee. He was the spitting image of Beau as a kitten, and I just about dropped where I was. And Deb said, “Oh, I’m sorry, that’s Beau’s half-brother”. He’s nine weeks old and he’s exactly the same colour and everything, and she said, “He was supposed to be sold this morning. I’m not really sure why I didn’t, but I just didn’t feel it was right”. And then about five or ten minutes later, she said, “Hang on a minute. Why don’t I give him to you? It’ll take away the shadows.” And I said, no, no. I can’t. I can’t. There’s no way that I can do this. I’m grieving for another. How could I love him? I just– I’m not ready for this. She goes, “No, no, no. Of course. I’ll keep him for a few months, until you’re ready. But at least you’ll have him.” The scientific side of me said, well, he’s got a bit of Beau’s genetics. You know how you cling to anything when you’re grieving. So I thought that might be a real possibility. So anyway, I took this little kitten into the lounge room to show Peter. He got a bit of a shock as well, ’cause he thought exactly the same thing: He looks just like Beau. And I told him the story, and he said, “So, is that what you’re going to do?” And I said yes, I’m going to take him tonight. It just came out of my mouth and I can’t even explain it. So that is something I would normally never do, but we took him home that night and we named him Shay and he was Mattie’s half-brother.
But after that point, a lot of animals started speaking to me, including Mattie. I started hearing their voices. I started hearing them speak with me, and that was at the point I realised that my life was about to change and my true calling was to hear the voice of animals. That they were coming to me to get their voice out to the world and this was an important message. I had loved animals all my life and I realised then, that this was actually what I was meant to be doing all the time.
When I was very young, I didn’t actually play with animals, I actually became animals. So when I was two years old, my Mum was looking for me, I would be lying on my side, in the dirt, like the dog. We’d be facing each other. But I’d be doing exactly what they were doing. Because we lived in the country, we also had a pet lamb. The lamb was out in the front yard, and my Mum came out, when I was four years of age and I was there, on all fours, kneeling, all fours, eating the grass with the lamb. So I didn’t want to feed the lamb a bottle or play with the lamb, I was sharing the life with that lamb.
When I was a bit older, my best friend was a horse. I used to go to a riding school, and I would tell the horse all my secrets and troubles. And I remember his ears turning around and him trotting to the rhythm of my voice. Perhaps I didn’t realise at the time. And then, of course, my Mum wanted to get a psychiatrist involved, because, up until about age eight, maybe older, I used to run around like a horse in the backyard. Where other kids were watching TV, I was running around neighing and snorting. I was never riding a horse; I was the horse. And then I used to do this with my cousin, and we would be horses out running and have races and things like that. I used to see Westerns when I was very young, and cry and my Mum would say, “It’s only a movie. They’re only actors.” And I would say I don’t care about the humans. Look at the horses; they’re going down and they’re getting killed. It’s the humans’ fault. They weren’t involved in this. Why are they dying? And I remember saying that a lot.
So I think that describes pretty much how I came to be doing what I’m doing. I remember going on the internet and typing in “Where do animal spirits go?” Because I could hear Beau after he passed, which I thought was impossible. But when I put that into the computer, animal communication came up, and it described exactly what I had experienced. And there were animal communicators around the world. There are a lot of animal communicators in the United States, a few in Europe and England, and very few here in Australia.
Considering most people would consider telepathic communication with animals, or even with humans, to be impossible, because there are no real scientific studies that prove it is possible, what draws you to it? And what’s made you stick to your guns?
There is some scientific proof. Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has done a lot of studies on this and written books about it. And there are others.
I believe we’re all born with the ability to communicate with animals, and that’s why when you see children and animals together; they get on very well because they’re communicating in this way. And I have heard other animals communicate with each other. I was in Africa when I heard two lion cubs speaking. And then moments afterward, they proved it in their actions. I’ve stuck with it because, when we communicate in this way, we just get such amazing results that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.
When people come to an animal communicator, we can go right to the source of the problem, which is the animal. And the animal is going to tell us, in most cases, what’s going on. So we can cut to the chase, and we’ve had some amazing results. And so that’s what’s kept me going. Because I know it’s true. And many others do as well.
I was speaking at the Australian Veterinary Conference, and I was the only non-vet there. And I was speaking on animal communication, and it was amazing. But I had lots of vets come up to me, tapping me on the shoulder, saying, “I actually do this, but I can’t say it because my colleagues will think it’s a bit weird.” So that already told me that, wow, this is just going on all the time, but somebody needs to bring it out, and get it out so that people know about it. So it’s a lot more common now than it used to be. You’ll get clients coming and saying, “Oh yes, I’ve been with another animal communicator before.” So it’s not like the old days where they’d never heard of it. A lot of people have. I’ve even worked with Dr. Chris Brown (a famous vet in Australia who has his own TV shows), finding a lost rabbit for him, because his producer’s children were very upset. Luckily for me, I was accurate that day. I did manage to find that rabbit within 24 hours, by redirecting their flyers, telling them about how many kilometres and which direction that this rabbit had shown me it had gone. And that this child had picked him up and that he was with other rabbits. And that was, in fact, what happened.
So getting constant results is the reason I’m still here. It’s why I’ve stuck with it.
You mentioned that ferrets were very misunderstood. In what ways?
Yes, I have many interesting stories, and a lot of them involve adventures, where I’ve had to find a ferret or why a ferret is doing particular things. I once met with a couple that woke up with a strange ferret in their bed in the middle of the night They wanted to know where this ferret had come from.They were living on a property out in a rural area, and they had several dogs and four cats. How did the ferret get past all their animals to end up in their bed anyway?
So when I spoke with the ferret, the ferret told me that it lived some distance away, and I figured out it meant around two kilometres away. I asked “why would you end up in their bed?” And he said because he always slept with his people, but they were away. They weren’t here at the time, so I presume they must have been on vacation, and he only had somebody coming in and looking after him periodically, and he was really lonely. He was the only ferret and the only animal there. So he escaped, and he decided to find some companions while he was waiting for his people to come back. And that was just so amazing, and then we actually checked with the neighbours in that vicinity, and it was, in fact, their ferret. They were away, and they did sleep with this ferret.
I can really appreciate, with ferrets, that they love exploring, that they’re very confident and that they’re gutsy animals, and if they really want to do something, they will do it. So that is what I find as a common thread through many of these communications I have, and being able to sort out things for their lives that they really need and want.
You mentioned that ferrets were very misunderstood. In what ways?
Well, probably not so much from people who have had ferrets and who have loved ferrets and had relationships with ferrets, but I’m talking about generally. Many people see them as rodents. Now, there’s nothing wrong with rodents, but to a lot of people, rodents are something of a pest. But of course, people do have rodents as pets, and I’m sure they won’t agree with that. But ferrets are extremely intelligent, articulate and highly sophisticated in the way that they reason things out, and this is what people don’t realise.
Until you have a ferret, the general stereotypical analysis is that they’re a bit awkward, they bite, and they’re not very nice. And these are all misconceptions, and people should realize that ferrets are more than capable of being a loving and rewarding member of the household. Because as most ferret carers know, they do tend to connect with one person and stay with that person for life.
As a collective, if ferrets could talk in a human way, what do you think they would say to us?
Be determined and forthright. Stop thinking about it and take action. If you know what you want, go after it. No more talking. Become creators. And if you look at this in line with ferrets and the ferrets that you’ve had, they are confident. They are forthright. They know what they want and they’ll go for it, and they know how to get it. And they can be, in some cases, very good manipulators to get exactly what they want. So perhaps we need to think about more of these qualities, of how we can, in life, move forward with confidence and get what we want.
As ferret carers, is there anything that we could be doing better, in order to keep them happier and healthier?
We know our ferret friends have certain requirements for their body, mind, and spirit. We need to try to keep everything as natural as possible, like a natural healthy diet, filtered water, plenty of freedom to explore and be stimulated in a safe, healthy environment. These guys should never really be caged, and certainly not for a long period of time. They need to experience the true essence of ferret in every possible way, so we can honestly say we gave them the best possible life. Every individual on this planet has requirements, needs, and wants.
Ferrets need constant, regular stimulation to be healthy and happy. We can’t just drop the ball for a period of time, and that’s sometimes why we find our ferrets have a bit of depression because they’re not getting what they truly need.
Did you know that animals have a very big role in our life purpose? While we seem to be down here learning lessons, they know why they’re here, and I guess we need their help, to be quite honest. Just as we want to fulfil our goals, needs, or wants in this lifetime, they do too. And if we are going to hold them as a captive, then it is our responsibility to make sure their needs and wants are met.
I saw an interview of you on TV and you were communicating with animals by looking at a photo of them. How is this possible?
Well, that is a damn good question, let me tell you. I’ll try to best explain it, because it is a difficult one to explain, and probably one we’ve not explained often. It just happens. It’s just really a connection point. You can also communicate telepathically and intuitively just by a description of an animal. But it just makes it easier to keep the essence of that individual clear in your focus, because you have to be visualising them, them as an individual, to connect with the frequency of their essence, which helps the communication. So I need to know I’m connecting exactly with that animal. So their physical appearance is also very individual, but it just helps me connect to their essence, and so that’s why it’s easier to have a picture, because I would have to otherwise just keep that description running over and over and over in my mind. Whereas now I can free it up to just look at that connection point and know I’m connecting in with the frequency of that specific individual animal.
Here is a photo of Yuki. I’m curious what she would have to say.[/vc_column_text][us_single_image image=”8225″ size=”full” align=”center”][vc_column_text]Well, she has quite a lot to say, actually. She tells me she’s the only one of her kind at home. She likes this in one way, as she feels she has her own space and significance, which is very important to her. However, sometimes she feels isolated and tells me she needs a lot more one-on-one from you, Stef. She wants that special relationship with her significant other, which is you, which she feels is difficult as you always appear very busy. Also, she says that, just between you and me, she does miss the other ferrets that used to live there. So she misses being as a collective around her own kind, because she feels different. She does miss the other ferret essence, because of– I guess because of the hyperactivity and the fact that it’s very stimulating all the time. But she does admit she also enjoys the peace and quiet. She’s very queen-like, and she’s also very sophisticated. I see her as very elegant in a lot of ways, and that’s in her essence. It doesn’t mean she’s not acting out as a ferret, but she is very much like that in her true essence. I have to admit, she’s very beautiful as well, but that’s from my point of view. But she wants time to be allocated just for the two of you to be her partner in secret ferret business. So I can’t wait for that to happen, because I want to know what secret ferret business you two get up to.
What is the best way to develop the skill of being able to communicate with animals?
Well, I guess the biggest one would be to learn to quieten the mind. Animals are trying to communicate with us, but if you’ve got constant scattering in mind, which 99.9% percent of people have, because we’re too highly stimulated by constantly being on phones, constantly on computers, iPads, whatever. We’re just constantly in noise and clutter, and we’ve forgotten what it’s like to be like our ancestors, out on the land in total silence. We’ve forgotten what that’s like. So we get a little bit antsy or agitated if we don’t have something going on. So the animals cannot get through to us, in their way of talking, because our mind has just got too much going on. So if we quieten our mind, then we will be able to hear them. Of course, we have to let them know that we want to communicate with them, because of the fact that they’ve tried so many times and they can never get through, so they’ve just given up. But to let them know that you’re willing and open to it, and allowing this quietness to definitely be there, which is really important. And that way, they also can feel– when you’re being quiet, you are changing the way you are, in the form you are. Animals can recognise it immediately, so this is a really big opportunity for you to start this journey of communicating with them.
Are there any exercises that our readers might be able to practice with their ferrets in order to deepen their bond with them, and maybe eventually learn how to communicate?
Absolutely. In fact, there would be many of your readers who would have already communicated with their ferrets. Whether they realised it or not, a lot of them may have realised it, but some of them won’t, but you were just maybe not realising that some of those thought processes are actually your ferret and not you. So next time they get a specific food, or they want to be fed early, you’ll have to wonder whether it’s their thought or yours, won’t you?
One exercise you can do is called Just Being. Just Being is when you are in the present. So you’re not thinking about the past, you’re not thinking about what’s happening tomorrow, you’re just totally in the present. This is the first biggest step, and you need to practice it often.
So just go sit with your ferret. No interaction. In the same room. And just allow yourself to be quiet. It’s almost a form of meditation, because meditation is not thinking about anything, it’s just being blank, if you like. And it’s just being totally in the now. There is nothing else. Now, you’re going to find this is such a great anti-stress exercise, you are just going to be amazed. But it also gets us in line with animals. And then becoming more aware of what is around you, so while you’re sitting there just allowing your senses in that quietness, if you’re inside you might hear a clock ticking, or you might hear some birds outside, or whatever. If you are outside, you’ll obviously hear a lot of outside things a lot clearer, but you’re going to be amazed at what you can hear and sense and smell, that you couldn’t before. And that is getting more into the animalistic way of things. So creating that stillness and awareness is how the animals like to be. And you may even be able to, as time goes on, you will be able to extend that sensing to your ferret. And feel what it’s like to be a ferret. Feel what it’s like for him. What does he feel like? Is he relaxed? Is he excited? How does he feel right now? Because the next thing you need to do is sense what you are actually like at the moment. Is your energy scattered and frantic or is it calm and serene?
If you are all over the place, animals often don’t want to be with you, because it’s just opposite to what they love. But if you are serene and calm, you will find your ferret will want to do this exercise with you. It will more than likely come closer and closer and closer to you, because, wow, look at the new way that you are. Normally you are all scattered. You come into the house all over the place, even when you play with me you are all… wow, this is really new. And they will love it. Every animal does. Every time I’ve tried this, no matter which animal it is, the animal comes to me. It’s about relating to them their way. So that is your first port of call.
Are you able to communicate with all animals, or just with those who are open to being communicated with? I’m curious about what you would do if you came across a wild animal like a brown snake, for example.
I love this question. I absolutely love this question. Now, this communication is interspecies. So interspecies communication means all animals speak this language and in fact, they are masters of telepathic communication. So this is their natural way of being. They talk to each other like this, and as I said, to very small children before they start to verbalise. Once we verbalise, we forget what we did prior to that. So all animals can speak this. They are masters of this. It’s just us that have to relearn it. But it is a little different with wild animals, because if you came across a brown snake and it’s reared up, you could ask it to leave. But it has free will, and will make its own choices at the end of the day, including not to trust you. Because maybe, in its lifetime, it’s been chased or harassed by humans. So the snake is not going to be used to humans talking to it, so you’ll catch it off guard in the first instance. And then secondly, it has no reason to trust humans, so it might think you’re lulling it into a trap in some way. So it might decide to strike and ask questions later. So wild animals are not used to being talked to as much as domestic.
Can it work? Yes. I know of one in particular in the Eastern states, who was with her two dogs and saw a brown snake a short distance from her, rearing up. And she said, “I mean you no harm, nor the dogs. Would you please leave, because we don’t want to harm you and you don’t want to harm us, so can you just leave and everything will be fine.” The snake just went down and went away.
To hear them is one thing, but sending the message is another, so if you don’t word the question right to somebody, they’re not going to answer in a way that you’re expecting. And sometimes you’ll hear yourself say, oh hang on a minute. I didn’t word that right. What I really mean is this. Again, you have to be very careful when you formulate the sending of messages or questions or actions to an animal, that it fully understands. ‘Cause you don’t want that brown snake to misunderstand you. Because if you’re saying one thing, and then quickly visualise something really dangerous, the snake might pick up on that and think that’s actually what you want. So you’ve got to be very clear on what you want and what you don’t want. And that is the art of practice and getting really good at the skill. So it’s always good, I think, to keep safety in mind, and remember that it is a wild animal, and that it isn’t used to speaking to people. Always give it the respect that it deserves.
What are the biggest mistakes that people make that prevent them from bonding with their animals?
One important thing for me is looking beyond fur, feather, and fins, for the immensely intelligent being that resides within each individual. The saying comes to mind, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ Yes, this animal is very cute, and it’s soft and it’s furry, but there’s more to it than that.
Some girls that have really voluptuous bodies, blonde hair, and gorgeous-looking, can’t seem to get people to take them seriously. They may be highly skilled, they are highly intelligent, but they just keep getting taken for a Barbie doll. Well, it’s the same as animals. We’ve got to look beyond their outer covering, because until we do that, we can’t really be open to the amazing possibilities you could have with your animal, your loved animal friends.
I have amazing conversations with my animals about my life. But if you don’t think that an animal is intelligent enough to have that conversation, then that’s a conversation you will never have, which is such a shame. And that is why many of the consultations I do are life purpose ones, because nobody knows you better than your animals, because they are silent observers. They don’t have any labels on you and they don’t have any wrongful impressions. They see it as it is, and that’s what they tell me about. So that’s pretty amazing. And I think the next thing is not allowing your animals to be themselves, but try to make them mini humans. They’re not human. They’re happy to share their life with you, but they’re not humans. They need to be able to express themselves in the type of species that they’ve come in. So if they are a ferret, they need to be a ferret. If they are a dog, they need to be a dog, and if they are a horse, they need to be a horse. And not having to put up with our stuff that we want to put on them, so that they fit in and comply with the way we want to live. We must be mindful of really, what is their life about, and how can we fulfil that.
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