By Phil Dziky
Niagara Gazette
NEWFANE —
Before I even sit down to interview Kristin Thompson at her home, Thompson comments on my pug, Nadia, as she runs around the yard.
She’s telling me what she felt when I told her I’d be bringing my dog along for the interview. “I never would have guessed pug. She has this big, stable energy. A small dog carries a certain energy. She just feels like a very balanced, big dog.
“She says she helps to keep you on the right track,” Thompson continues, closing her eyes a bit. “Where she sleeps, it’s really cozy, comfy and soft ... what she doesn’t like is where she can’t see you. She doesn’t have separation anxiety, but she worries.”
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, Thompson is an animal communicator. She claims to communicate with animals telepathically through a number of ways — pictures, sounds, words, feelings, senses. She said she can communicate with animals both living and dead. She’s always felt that she’s had this ability.
“When I was a kid, I loved animals more than people,” she said. “I couldn’t watch a show where an animal was hurt. I could feel animals talking to me through feelings.”
Thompson has a degree in speech pathology, but after a communication with her horse, Woody, she knew there was another path for her.
The message from the horse was this, Thompson said: “You need to do this for other people, how we talk.”
“So many animals are misunderstood,” Thompson said.
“It eased that pain in me, to help an animal. It became what I wanted to be. (At first) I was afraid of what people would think or say ... and then I just didn’t care.”
The train of thought is interrupted briefly by my pug. “She says she is well-kept,” Thompson said.
Thompson does her consultations in person and over the phone. If she has basic information about the animal — a picture, or a description, including age and breed — she doesn’t have to be in the same room as the animal. She notes that it’s often best for animals to stay in their own space during the consultation.
Thompson usually starts off her consultations by sharing what the animal tells her, she said. This comes from the animal’s personality, or essence. People then ask their animals questions, and Thompson relays the information she’s picking up from the pets.
Another one of Thompson’s main goals is teaching others to do what she does. Thompson wants pet owners to be able to communicate with their animals. She doesn’t fear that people will take her work. Thompson recently taught a few basic animal communication classes at Lily Dale, which she always enjoys.
“Some people, it’s very natural for them,” she said of communicating with animals. “Some people really have a hard time trusting their own instincts. Can everybody do this? Absolutely. Can everybody believe they can do this? No. If you’re not a good animal communicator, you can cause a lot of damage.”
Thompson understands many people are skeptical about what she does. But those people don’t often seek out her services.
“I don’t get skeptical clients,” she said. “Most people have made a commitment. People are not going to pay for something they don’t believe in.”
People who are skeptical of Thompson’s work are likely fearful of the results, she said.
“(They think) ‘What if this were true? What else could be true?’ And that feels overwhelming to them.”
But Thompson is a positive person, so she doesn’t take much time to dwell on the skeptics.
“I have fantastic clients,” she said. “The animals are beautiful.” My dog proceeds to lick her face.
Thompson’s client list includes animal owners in Canada, England, Hong Kong, India, Switzerland and Sweden.
Thompson is married with three kids, ages 8, 5 and 3. And as might be expected, the family has its fair share of animals — four horses, two goats, nine cats, eight fish and one dog.
“The animals came to us for so many different reasons,” she said. “Animals choose us, and we choose them. On a soul level, we have a contract that we need to be together.
“Animals teach us about ourselves even when they drive us crazy. Animals are here to help, but they also have reasons to be here themselves.”
It just so happens animals that drive owners crazy are a reason many clients contact Thompson — they want to find a way to figure out why their animal has health or behavioral issues. Thompson also likes working with animals that are close to death, though not because of the unfortunate circumstances. It’s a time many owners want to communicate with their pets, if only for closure.
“It’s really satisfying for people to get in touch,” she said.
The interview ends, but Thompson continues to communicate with my dog, in addition to other pets that aren’t present — my cats at home, and a few other cats who have passed on. Our cat Noah is “a teacher,” while Charlemagne “wants to be outside.”
“Get him out there on a harness,” Thompson said. “Because I feel like he’d love it.”
My wife actually did take Charlemagne outside on a harness one time. He was lounging in the garden. And to be honest, he did seem to love it.
