On my "About" page you will see that I have been a professional animal communicator for 16 years. But it all started a while before that... Sometime around 1995 I purchased a book about animal communication. I was subletting an apartment in Colorado and looking after the cat that lived there. As I read the book I tried the exercises on Sita, a sweet chubby calico girl. One exercise suggested imagining sending the image of a ball to the cat. I really couldn't tell if I was getting through to her or not. Humble beginnings for sure. Soon after I got the book I woke up with a freshly killed bird on my collarbone and a very proud Sita staring down at me. I screamed and jumped out of bed. Poor Sita, she thought we had a real connection- I was sending imaginary balls and she was offering me a prized hunt, and then I spoiled the whole thing by screaming. We reconnected later and I like to consider her my first official teacher of telepathy.
Sita in her yard and me on a mountain, both in Colorado 1995.
I have been reflecting so much on the beginning, and everything that has come since then, because this year marks half-way. I am forty and I bought that book when I was twenty, half my life spent in the pursuit of this profession.
I am proud of what I have accomplished. It started with reading books. Then I took workshops from several teachers, and then I practiced a lot. I graduated from college after writing my thesis on Holistic Methods (including telepathy) of Working with Animals- Titled Deepening the Connection. (I had to take the thesis out to remember the title! Now I am so curious to read it again. Some of my ideas have shifted I imagine. If you have access to the library at Goddard College you can read it yourself!) I started with a few clients during college in the years between 1996 and 1998 before I officially started Dawn's Animal Connection.
Over all these years thousands of people have trusted me with their most precious relationships, best friends, tears, and life stories. And I have never, not once, been bored by an animal. I am still delighted by what they "say", their sweet faces, their new ideas. Honestly I can talk about animals almost endlessly. Those of you who have attended my workshops know I have a policy: Pause for Cuteness. If at any point an animal becomes more interesting than the class, we all stop and enjoy the moment. I live my life at home that way too. Nothing is more important than a bunny cleaning his ears or a kid cuddled up with a cat.
Bunny ear cleaning must be seen in person to appreciate the full cuteness.
20 years...
6,000 (human) clients
24,000 consultations
48 states and at least 6 countries (clients in...)
3 children's books about animals
40 or more articles about animal communication published here (and elsewhere)
70 workshops taught
All of this happened almost exclusively from word of mouth and a few clients who came to me from my website. Pretty amazing right? I have always been one to write out my goals, and I can tell you that these statistics by far exceed the goals I set when I named my business in 1998. Thank you to all of my clients and an extra special thank you to the many clients who have stayed with me for all of these years. Just today I had a session with my first ever client (from 1996!)
May you all enjoy animals as much as I do, and don't forget to Pause for Cuteness. (And don't forget to book a session right?)