Nicole, one of these ladies, visited us recently and gave us some surprising information that our dogs had to tell us! (See below for some of it.) We have asked her to give a workshop here at our centre to teach us how to also talk with our pets. She says that EVERYONE has been able to do it by the end of her workshops - even the strongest sceptics.

We spoke to an SPCA inspector who also attended a similar workshop, and she confirmed that all the participants were able to do it. She also said that since then a few doors have opened up in her head and she now 'hears' animals often - usually as she passes by minding her own business. Animals calling her to help them or telling her what medical problem they have. Sometimes animals telling her that they don't want to be euthanased....

Julie and I would love to learn to do this, and if you also would then please contact us so that we can determine a date for the workshop.  We need to get a group together. It will be from 9am to 4pm and include lunch and snacks from a professional caterer. Our e-mail address is info@petlink-up.com and telephone numbers 012-7992131 or 0824164961 or 0782923669. Our telkom line is stolen more than it is on, so if it just keeps on ringing then please just use our cel' phones. Our reception goes up and down so please be patient and try a few times. Thanks.

Tiva is one of the many dogs that we buy from the police every month. We'd noticed that for the last 6 months the dogs coming from the police had been extremely thin and very nervous. Some were terrified and ran away when they saw a lead and choke-chain. Others, who we judged to be powerful dogs, and who reacted aggressively when teased through a fence, became completely docile or frightened when taken out of their run and faced with a 'criminal' with a 'sleeve' on ( a thick padded thing that fits over your arm so that the dogs can bite on it).

Tiva fell into this second category. He's a big brave dog who roared like a lion when teased through the fence. As soon as we took him out to let him bite the 'criminal' on the sleeve, though, he froze. Despite the other dog with him obviously enjoying himself chasing the very cowardly criminal, he just looked the other way!  When we put him back into his run he no longer reacted to the teasing either - not then or for the week afterwards. It was obvious to us that the police's training had put him off so badly that he wanted nothing to do with the game of attack-work. He hadn't associated our previous teasing with their training but as soon as he'd seen the 'criminal' with his padded arm, the penny had dropped.

We asked Nicole how Tiva had been so put off attack-work. We couldn't understand what the police could be doing to cause good dogs to hate it. This is what he had to say.

"A group of us stand with our police handlers.  A monster comes towards us." [this is someone in a 'full suit' which is so padded that he walks wide-legged and with arms sticking out almost at right-angles to his body - resulting in movement that doesn't look human!]

"The monster gives instructions to the handlers and if one of us tries to bite the monster before we've been instructed to, the monster waves his hand and the handler stamps that dog's head into the ground!"  [Some people teach a dog to go 'down' by standing on their choke - chain until the dog's head is forced to the ground. We assume that this is what he's describing.]

"A big white dog with only one eye gets his head trampled into the ground many times and I decide not to try to attack the monster at all. Rather have my arse kicked by the handler than have my head trampled into the ground!"  [Many dogs seem to have made this decision. They get punished for trying to bite the 'monster' so they don't. We have not confirmed with the police that this is the training method that they use, but Tiva's description sounds accurate, and explains clearly why dogs coming from them react the way they do.]

"I know that Grandma [that's me - Susan... and I'm not that old!] is kind and doesn't train the way the police do, but I wanted her to know what they do so that she can change it. Now that she does, I'll try my best the next time we do attack work. [The next time we teased him he once again was very aggressive. We took him out straight away and he attacked like a lion and has done ever since!]

She believes that pets are often ill or have behavioural problems as a direct result of their owners own problems!

Here are just a few examples for you to draw your own conclusions.

One man contacted Mary because his mongrel became frantic every time he  left the house. Mary 'spoke' to the dog and heard that the reason76+98 that he was so upset was because his owner's son had serious emotional problems as a result of his and his wife's friction. The dog knew that his owner had been abused as a child and wanted to draw his attention to his son for him to  prevent him from having permanent damage.  When Mary told the owner this he asked her who she'd been speaking to to find out such personal details!

A previously friendly Labrador cross Boerboel started biting everyone. Mary discovered from him that his owner was also becoming aggressive because he had liver cancer.

Mary was asked to look at an Afghan bitch who just wouldn't have puppies. She thought that she had a prolapsed uterus but the owner then told her that it was her who had one! The woman went for medical treatment and the bitch then had puppies the next time that she was mated!

Sometimes, of course, they have their own problems.

One horse was terrified of water - even a tiny puddle or wet ground. He told Mary that as a foal he'd fallen into a dam at his previous owners' place and nearly drowned. They made enquiries and found out that this was so. After Mary's treatment he no longer had a fear of water. Many years later Mary visited the stables and a grey horse greeted her madly. It was this same horse who remembered her! (She hadn't recognized him because he'd got a lot lighter with age, as grey horses do.)

Mary was asked by a vet to check a horse at Onderstepoort who had been operated on but who wasn't recovering. The horse told her that they had twisted his gut during the operation and that had they gone deeper they would have found a very big tumour that was causing him a problem. He said that he was going to die and that they shouldn't operate again. The vets decided to operate again, just in case. They found that the gut was twisted where Mary had told them, and that there was a huge tumour further in. The horse died just after the operation.

Lost dog located.