Joanne Yeoh from Animal Communication Insights, shares her passionate knowledge of communicating with animals, and how this can be a profound healing journey for both pet and owner.
What can you tell us about your life journey that has most impacted the person you are today?
I think the most relevant story would be about my first dog as an adult – Donny. I never had an anchor or feeling of support or community while growing up. I had a family but it was all rather superficial. I was in my late thirties when I got my first dog (as an adult) and would never have imagined that this dog would impact my world and lead me to become an animal communicator.
As I became more stable, professionally and emotionally, and when I had my own home, in my thirties, it seemed like a good time to get a dog – hence Donny. I never knew that I had this deep seated need to be a ‘perfect parent’. I loved Donny fiercely (and still do) but Donny did anything but allow me to be this perfect parent, as he was not this ‘perfect’ dog that I imagined he may be. I struggled with him a lot, and it brought out a very strict, disciplinarian aspect of myself that I detested.
We ended up going to training classes, but even then he would only do 60% of what was asked of him, and was consistently pushing my boundaries. At the time, I had an office job and I was allowed to take Donny to work with me. Instead of being the quiet, docile dog sitting at my feet, as again I had projected, he was pretty much doing the complete opposite, until it got to the point where I actually left my job.
I left the corporate world and started an aromatherapy business. From here, it set me on a path to understanding Donny more. He had a chronic condition which I really battled to keep under control, so out of sheer desperation, I found a course on animal communication, watched a video, and within three days, it resolved the issue that I had been struggling with for three years.
Now he has a great impact on the way I work. He has shown me that we misunderstand our pets (particularly) as they live by our rule. Even if they are given freedom, it is not real freedom. They are living in our artificial environments.
Wanting a better relationship with Donny really helped me become a better person. He makes me feel like I have a family. His essence is so strong – and loyalty is Donny’s main essence. This is so anchoring for me, and what I had been missing my whole life. He is the missing link. As a result, I am stronger, clearer about my relationships and more grounded. My business has also taken off as Donny has high ambitions for a good standard of living 😉 – meeting his needs has improved my life!
Do you feel you were born with the gift to communicate with animals or was it something that developed at a later stage?
Everybody has this gift. I may have always had the gift, but it certainly wasn’t encouraged by my family or through my professional corporate life. I developed it much later, as I have explained, with the arrival of Donny.
Does your method of communication change depending on which species you are working with?
I work with all species, however, my focus for the business side is very much on pets; dogs,cats, horses, guinea pigs…
I don’t think that my method of communication changes, but I do believe that I change my approach depending on the pet personality I am confronted with. Some animals are extraverted, others introverted and others are simply non-talkers! My approach will differ for each of these.
The real language of animals however, will come through with visuals and sensations, not with verbal language.
What, generally speaking, is the objective of your work?
Because my focus is with pets, usually pet owners come to me because they are struggling with a particular issue. Often they have tried all the mainstream methods, and come to me because they have run out of ideas, or because someone has suggested they try.
My focus is to get to the depth of why their animal does what it does, not from a place of being difficult, or wanting to make their life a misery, but from the fact that the animal itself is struggling – although this may not be apparent from the outside.
I bring the human and the pet together, and I act as a mediator. I bring both parties attention to the other’s perspective. This usually results in an understanding and a negotiation between the two parties until a happy compromise is reached.
Are you able to work remotely?
This is my preferred method, as I find it less distracting working through zoom. I connect with the animals through photos and through the energy that I connect. We then communicate live and have a three way conversation.
Is it true that pets can mirror humans what they (humans) are experiencing and feeling – mirrors to the soul?
Animals definitely connect to our energy. They sense very clearly what our energy is saying but do not have the details. Humans can sometimes mask their emotions even subconsciously, but your pet will tune in on the real thoughts and feelings behind the mask. They will bring it home to you how you are really feeling. It is recommended to explain the details of the issue to the pet, so that he can connect the energy to the information and does not have to reflect it ad nauseam.
I believe however that this soul mirroring works both ways.
How much of animal communication boils down to intuition for pet owners?
Intuition for me means that there is a sense of knowingness, and this is the package of all your intuitive senses. Many of us, when we first connect with animals – and humans, sense a ‘vibe’. So it really boils down to expanding on the intuition that we already have, rather than sensing what the animal is saying. It is about connecting with each of our intuitive senses. Animal communication is then the combination of what the animal shares with you visually, through sounds, smell and taste, emotions and sensations – it is an expanded version of what we label as intuition.
In your experience, and having trained numerous people, are some more gifted than others in animal communication?
We are all gifted. However, it is down to belief systems. We are so unconscious about our belief system but when learning animal communication, this WILL come out. Until we pinpoint our belief system, it is very hard to embrace the learning of animal communication. All the human healing that needs to take place will be brought to the forefront when communicating with our (furry) counterparts.
Do you believe animals have a different outlook on death (than us humans) and deal with it more efficiently – do you feel end of life support to be something beneficial?
It is really important to me to represent animals at the end of life. I never knew there was such a thing as animals wanting choices when it comes to the end of life – life or death – when decisions are having to be made for them.
I think animals have more acceptance when it comes to death. If they were to choose, they wouldn’t necessarily ask for X-rays, chemo, medication etc…the humans are the decision makers. What we can do is ask their view on aging, on quality of life, what they see as important… They need to know the impact of the treatments involved.
I know animals struggle when they are NOT given the choice to express their views and choice. In addition, when humans have made decisions for their animals, but have communicated with them about procedure and acceptance, there is certainly less guilt from the human’s perspective.
I think if pets could change one thing about the end of their life, they would like a lot more discussion during the process with their loved ones – it is to some extent like drawing up a will.
