Have you ever heard the saying, “little pitchers have big ears?” It’s used whenever adults want to discuss something, but there are little people around. Then the conversation gets delayed or moved someplace private.

It never occurred to me that this saying could also pertain to animals!

As an animal communicator, I communicate telepathically with other people’s animals all the time. And I purposefully connect to my animals when I want to ask or tell them something.

But I didn’t realize I sometimes communicate telepathically with my animals even when I’m not doing it deliberately. My dog Stella (my little pitcher with big ears) taught me this on our walk many years ago.

Dogs need to be leashed in Alexandria

We live in Alexandria, Virginia, a suburban neighborhood where dog-walking rules are strict. Unless you’re in a designated dog park, your dog must be on a leash. It makes sense —with so many dogs in such a small area, the rule keeps everyone safe. So I walked my dogs, Tibor and Stella, on leashes.

But I cheated a little.

Trails in the woods

There are deer trails in the wooded area of a local park, where we almost never run into anyone! They’re narrow, so we move through them single file. Back when Stella and Tibor were alive, I would let the leashes go once we were deep in the woods.

Tibor led the way, tail up and smiling as he trot over the next hill. When we come to an “intersection,” Tibor chose the way for us. 

I followed behind him, walking or jogging, depending on the trail. If Tibor got too far ahead, I called, “Tibor! Wait!” He would stop, look at me, and sniff the vegetation until I caught up.

Stella brought up the rear since she was officially known as my slowpoke. Her great joy was to sniff a bush every two feet. When she got far behind, I would look back and yell, “C’mon, Stella, hurry up!” and stomp my feet (in a funny way). That got her moving again.

Stella didn’t always listen

If we saw deer, Tibor stopped when I asked him to wait. Stella, on the other hand, took off after them. As she took off, I’d say, “Stella, stay!” But she’d shake her head NO.

She was only a foot off the ground, so once she moved into the woods, I lost track of her. We always met up after she got tired of chasing the deer.

Sometimes her leash got caught on a root. When this happened, she never barked. She just waited patiently for me to find her and untangle her.

I was worried that I’d never find her. I secretly wished she would bark when she got stuck, but she continued to wait quietly for me.

Stella changes her behavior

One night, on our last walk before bed, Stella was off leash as we approached home. As usual, Miss Slowpoke really wanted to take her time. Since on most nights, everyone else has already walked their dogs, I dropped her leash on the final stretch.

After checking to see if her favorite person was sitting outside smoking her last cigarette (she wasn’t), Stella started barking! It was unusual because there was no one around to bark at.

I whispered loudly, “Shhh, it’s too late to be barking!” Tibor and I ran over to her, and that’s when we saw her leash caught in a root. She was stuck. She stopped barking as soon as we came over.

The only explanation was Stella that had heard and considered my worried thoughts and decided to change her behavior. What a relief!

Service dogs respond to their peoples’ requests

If you’ve read Dogs That Know When Their Owners are Coming Home (Dr. Rupert Sheldrake), you hear stories about service dogs who responded to their person’s requests even before they spoke them out loud. I assumed—wrongly—that they were special.

Now I know all our animal companions can respond to what we think if we’ve learned to tap into our intuitive connections with them—even if we’re not deliberately sending them the thought like happened with Stella.

It’s a little weird that my animals are eavesdropping on all my thoughts. Still, I love the outcome!

Want to connect intuitively with your animals?

I created an online program, The Journey Begins, to help you do just that! It’s a self-paced course you can move through in your own time.

Learn more about The Journey Begins!