Sandra Larson’s Blog

Dear Readers,

I still need your help. For those of you, who sent in your pictures and questions, thank you for answering the call! Please continue. Next month we will be talking about coping with the aging process of our animal friends. Then in January we’ll be discussing grieving the loss of an animal companion. So please send in your stories and questions about these and other topics for future Q & A Columns.

If you are wondering about something, there’s a good chance someone has else has the same question, too! (Sometimes your questions will appear in future newsletters based on monthly subjects. As I am not a vet, please avoid medical questions.) If you would like to be a part of this monthly column, please send your question, along with a photo of your animal companion to Sandra Larson at:

Email: sandra@sandralarson.com

Or send your information by mail to:

Sandra Larson
PO Box 1651
Little Elm, TX 75068

The advice in this column is based on Sandra’s experience and training as an animal communicator. Please avoid sending in medical questions as she is not a veterinarian and any of her suggestions are not intended to be medical in anyway. Be sure to seek proper professional advice and assistance for any of your animals’ physical or emotional needs.

Hi Sandra,

I just read your email about your monthly column and love it! I have a question for you about a feral cat that has adopted me and my back yard. I call him Mackie, the Outside Kitty (I have two strictly indoor cats, too). Mackie first started coming around about a year or more ago. At first, he was very skittish and would run away whenever he saw me move. But he seems to be coming around and now will sit just out of arm’s reach of me while I feed him. He never leaves the back yard now and he and his inside brother and sister keep company through the screen door. I have really come to love Mackie as much as I love my other two and would like to welcome him inside my house, especially since the cold months are coming. I talk to him through the screen, tell him I love him and want to take care of him and make him comfortable inside where he can play with his brother and sister, be warm in winter, cool in summer, and just be happy. He won’t let me pet him, and I’m afraid that he thinks I want to hurt him, when all I want to do is love him. I have made a little shelter for him, but he won’t get in it. I just ordered an outdoor heated kitty pad so that he’ll be warm when it’s cold. I just worry so much about him being out in the cold or in bad weather. Can you help him understand that he’ll have a wonderful and safe home inside with me and his brother and sister? I just want the best for him.

Thanks so much!

Esther

Dear Esther,

Blessings,
Sandra

Dear Sandra

My cousin Leslie Teal has told me that you are able to communicate with animals that you are not necessarily close by.

The situation is as follows:

My daughter and her husband (Tess and Mike) purchased a Doberman/Shepherd mix dog when he was 4 months old. They renamed him Murphy and he’s recently turned one. The problem is that Murphy is now running away at any opportunity. He recognizes that when he does this, the person he’s with gets angry, so he will not return. Is there any way you can find out what is driving him to behave this way? Both Tess and Mike spend a tremendous amount of time with him and treat him well. They don’t understand what’s driving him to this behavior. Any feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Grand-mom of the dog- Lori Miller

Dear Lori,

Blessings,
Sandra

Hi Sandra,

Spooks my 15 lb., 14 year old cat was not putting weight on his right front leg last Friday night and it looked swollen. I took him to the Emergency Animal Clinic at 10:00 pm and they found numerous scratches on his neck and a puncture wound on that right front leg. They gave him an antibiotic and took an x-ray of the right front leg and it showed no fractures. The next morning Northwood Vet Clinic called to let me know they had received the x-ray from Emergency. They wanted to know if Spooks was doing okay. When I said I could not get Spooks to swallow the liquid antibiotic he needed twice a day, they said to bring him to the clinic so they could give him an injection that would last for two weeks.

Yes, that was much easier for both of us. Therefore, Spooks has had the medical attention he needs, but I would like to know how the injury occurred. Could you communicate with him and let me know what he shares with you? I think I know what happened, but I need to know what Spooks shares with you so that I can provide better protection in the future.

Thanks,
Jon Ann

Dear Jon Ann,

Spooks: There was a neighbor cat that came around and I was defending my territory. We got into it. You think I look bad, you should see him! I won’t tolerate strangers being in my backyard. I won’t tolerate others unless they are a part of our family. I can be as ferocious as any dog can be!

This is what Jon Ann wrote back:

Hi Sandra,

The injury being caused by an invading cat fight makes more sense than a cat-dog fight (which I had originally suspected). Spooks started walking on the injured leg again after a one week recovery time. Spooks has two very long fangs that protrude over his lower lips. When he becomes angry and opens his mouth to hiss he looks like Dracula!

Jon Ann

Hi Sandra,

Here’s our question:

Jack has been putting on weight, more so than ever before. I don’t want him to get so heavy that he has trouble living freely. He’s been eating some of Sallie’s food which is much healthier and probably richer. In the past it has hurt his stomach. Perhaps he’s transitioning to a healthier diet, and eventually his weight will go back down. But I want to check in with him and see what’s REALLY going on. He also doesn’t seem to like his in-home grass plant much anymore, either, which stresses me a bit. His photo is attached from just month ago.

Sometimes I get so scared about finances that I make a poor decision to PONDER giving up almost everything - like if we had to move into a 1-bedroom apt. And when I do that, I consider what I would do with Jack & Sallie. I’m concerned the cats may feel insecure because of that.

Since you’re talking to Jack anyway, could you assure him & Sallie that I do value them and it’s only fear gripping me. You can remind them that I also PONDER what if Michael suddenly died, and they are certain that I don’t have ANY real intention of that really coming to pass

Love ya!

Vicki, Michael, Jack and Sallie

Dear Vicki,

Sandra: Yes! I’m going to tell her that everything is going to work out and that she needs to see that situation working out well, Miss Sallie, too. I know Sallie you worry a little more like your Mom. So, we will ask Vicki to choose to think thoughts of everything working out and to ask those worry thoughts to stop. Okay! I love you. And, Miss Sallie girl, if you have any messages for your Mom, let me know. You are such good cats. You are my dear friends, my long distance friends but definitely my good friends and I love you both!

As we continue with the CLARAC Approach, Step Four is Receive. It’s broken into six different intuitive senses. To help you remember all six, I’ve created the acronym SKATES which of course is an acronym within an acronym. Each month we will discuss the six different intuitive senses of receiving information.

R: Step Four is Receive.

SEEING

Clairvoyant is ‘one who sees clearly. You can see intuitively in three different ways: Eyes-closed; soft-focus; and eyes-opened. (Exercises A & B below will help you tune your clear seeing with your eyes closed).

Closed Eyes

In the beginning of this practice, you can look at an object or person. Then gently close your eyes to see what you see. Sometimes you will only see a color or multiple colors. Be aware of the color opponent process which has you see the exact opposite of color when your eyes are closed. However, if you look with your eyes closed, you can often see a dance of color combinations that have nothing to do with color opponent process. I used to practice with my eyes closed and often saw brilliant purples, grassy greens, and bubbling blues.

Often a picture will come to you as a still shot. You will know it is your intuition because it usually comes to you fast. It’s not something that you have to sit and analyze. Sometimes when I’m ‘hearing’ intuitively, I will suddenly, get a picture in my mind’s eye and not know where it came from. Recently, I was talking with a special little boy, who doesn’t talk aloud much, and having a wonderful intuitive conversation when suddenly he showed me a beautiful scenery painting with lots of green. I told his Mother and she said, “Oh, he loves green and we have a picture just like the one you are describing.” Remember, what you are seeing doesn’t have to make sense to you, but it will usually make sense to someone in the conversation. If you still don’t understand, ask for further explanations.

Often information will come in the form of a symbol or metaphor. One time when attending an Angel Therapy Practitioner© training with Doreen Virtue, I saw a mini movie of a woman dropping coins down from the clouds. I didn’t know what it meant. The person I was reading for told me her grandmother used to give her brother and her coins every time they went to visit. This was her grandmother’s way of showing her she had come for a visit. Some people see geometric shapes.

If you’re a visual person, you may also have vivid dreams. I’ve always had vivid dreams. Many of the stories you will be reading in my future young adult fictional books are based on dreams which I’ve had. Interestingly enough, before I became a professional animal communicator, I always had dreams animal dreams. In these dreams I would talk with animals that would shape-shift into people. Once, I even had a dream about an animal shape-shifting into another animal. My dog Buddy one time entered my dream and became a little boy who took me to the carnival where we rode the giant double Ferris wheel! (Look for Buddy to be one of the main characters in my young adult fictional books, too.)

You might also see a mini-movie. The movie may or may not have sound. If you are reading for someone else, be careful not to interpret these mini-movies. One time I was talking with a cat over the phone and she showed me a picture of her covering her face with her paws. I told the lady, “Oh, she must be embarrassed because she is covering her face with her paws.” The lady told me, “No she’s not embarrassed. She often covers her face with her paws and she is doing it right now while you are talking with her.”

Also with your eyes open or closed you might be able to do remote viewing. This is a process by which you seem to be able to project yourself into a scene and describe what you see. This can be a very valuable skill when you are helping to find lost animals. Several times I’ve been contacted to help find a lost animal. Once I received a phone call from Norway to help find a lost cat. The cat showed me that he was hunting a mole at the edge of a field which was right next to a forest. The woman confirmed my descriptions. I told the cat his person was worried about him and could he please return home as soon as possible. Within a couple of hours he had returned home and all was well.

As you know, I like to use the CLARAC Approach to connect with animals. However, once I was driving home on the Dallas Tollway when I got a phone call from Pennsylvania. A woman on the end of the line was desperate to help her mother find their dog. Immediately, I began describing in great detail the terrain where the animal had been lost. It was as though I can ‘see’ the landscaping. She called a couple more times, but sadly, I did not here if the dog was ever found.

Another time I was contacted about a lost cat which I’d seen in a remote viewing session. I saw the cat in a cement alleyway near a store. The woman insisted there were no such areas near here home. About month later, she told me she had discovered the store and had asked the clerk at the store if he had seen her cat. He told her he had seen the cat on very day that I had described the location. There are so many stories like this with remote viewing. Often, I’ve been able to describe in great detail neighborhood homes, fences, and fields. It’s amazing what you can know when you ask for help from your angels, guides and the animals themselves.

Here is a word to the wise about closing your eyes when talking to animals. Be sure to keep your eyes open when safety demands it. Also, be careful when you are with large animals. Once I had been asked to talk with an Arabian mare. There were two horses in the field, but I was only talking with one of them. I think the second horse just wanted to be included in the conversation, so she moved in very close. My friend who was with me was chatting with the horse owners and for a moment wasn’t watching the situation. All of a sudden, I opened my eyes to see I was in a horse sandwich, so I pushed the sides of each horse and they fortunately they gently moved apart. So, if you plan to close your eyes during the animal communication session, make sure you are in a safe situation.

Soft-Focus

Do you remember those pictures inside of pictures they used to have in the weekend newspapers? There was a time when I couldn’t see the picture inside the picture, but then a kind person explained how to use a soft focus to find the picture. She told me look at the picture almost as if I were day-dreaming. Honestly, I’ve always been good at that. I discovered I’d been looking too hard at the individual elements as separate pictures. But when I stopped trying so hard and just relaxed my eyes. Poof! I saw the picture all of the separate parts created. Using a soft focus which is somewhere between having your eyes opened and closed you can often see energy fields around people and animals. Some who are visual began to see the auras, which are colored energy fields around all life. A good time to have a soft focus is when you are falling asleep or just as you are waking up. Once when I was staying at a friend house, in the middle of the night I woke up to see fairies on the ceiling. I was shocked and a little frightened because they were not the sweet fairies with wings, but rather the scarier looking ones artists have painted that live in the deep woods. When I came fully awake, they were gone. My feeling was that they were real and not simple from my dream state.

Clear Seeing Exercises

A. Picture a pleasant familiar outdoor scene. Now put yourself in the scene. Take the opportunity to look in a 360 degree way. Now describe it to yourself in as much detail as you can. Really immerse yourself in the scene. Make it come alive. Write down in a list format the elements you saw in your mind’s eye but, don’t show it to your partner. Now with your eyes closed, silently describe the scene intuitively to your partner. No talking. Just send the scene intuitively. After you are sure the picture has been received, ask your partner to write down the description of your scene on paper. Give your partner gently feedback and have them check off the hits from their sheet. Now switch with your partner. If you were the sender before, now be the receiver.

B. This time use your imagination to create a place you’ve never been to before. Just make it up. Create as much detail as you can. Maybe it’s a place you’ve always wanted to go or perhaps it doesn’t exit on Earth. Have fun with this by making it strikingly dramatic. Write down what you saw. Then follow the same procedure as before in sharing with your partner.

Dear Jennifer,

Blessings,
Sandra

First of all, to give you the history of my puppy pack.

Jazzmine, is a 17 1/2 year old Daschund that we have had since she was 6 weeks old. She is a survivor. She has survived the tornado that hit our house in 2000, relocation to New Orleans, my oldest son, Zach, moving away to LSU for college, Hurricanes Cindy and Katrina, Evacuating to the Double Tree hotel’s 10th floor for 4 weeks until we could return home, death of my husband, relocation back to Texas, the adoption of Bindi & Stevie (which brought back her playfulness), having her left eye removed, and Charlie moving in. She is a courageous little girl who loves to snuggle under a blankey.

Bindi & Stevie were rescued along with their brother Irwin and mom from a kill center. Their story is similar to a lot of others but we fell in love with their pictures. Yes, they were named after Steve Irwin and his daughter Bindi. They celebrated their 2nd birthday in June. They are chi weenies (Daschund/Chihuahua mix). They are playful, loving and very curious. Jazzmine was going through some health issues and Zach was getting ready to move back home from LSU Aug. 2007. I wasn’t sure Jazzmine was still going to be around and my youngest son, Jeremy has always wanted a puppy to be his own. When we found Bindi & Stevie (Irwin had health issues and wasn’t adoptable right away) we both fell in love with them. We kept them a secret until my son came home. Once we got the puppies Jazzmine spruced up and started playing and acting like a puppy again.

Charlie - I received a call from a friend at our warehouse asking me if I could keep a dog for the weekend July 2008. He was found in the parking lot. She explained that they had called the number on his tag and talked to the vet but the owners had moved or said they had their Charlie. Whatever the reason I took him in. Jeremy fell in love with Charlie when he saw him and wanted to keep him. Charlie has adopted us and is part of our family. He is very loving. He is about a 7 year old Daschund who loves to dig and snuggle under a blankey. Since being around Bindi & Stevie he has learned how to play and chew bones. He has taught Stevie how to dig under the fence and get out.

I came to the Dallas Psychic far in August to see Katiri’s jewelry. She told me I should talk to you about Charlie. I made an appointment. I told you about Charlie and his digging. I asked if you knew what I could do because I had run out of things to try. You contacted Charlie. You told me he was a funny guy. Charlie is very funny with his body language and expressions. When you asked him why he was digging. He told you he loves to dig, loves to dig. You were making little digging motions with your hands when you were talking and you were giggling when you told me he loves to dig. You suggested the sandbox as something to consider. A trainer friend of yours uses it for solutions for diggy dogs. I said I would do anything to get him to stop digging up the yard and getting out. You asked Charlie if he would like a sandbox to dig in instead of the yard. He replied, yes, yes I love to dig.

He digs around the perimeter of my yard and escapes under the fence. He comes back. Sometimes Stevie accompanies him. I have patched their previous holes with wire mesh and only lack about 8 feet from having a wire mesh perimeter around the bottom of my backyard fence. One place, in the center of my backyard fence I made a flowerbed and planted 3 day lillies. A couple of months ago my brother-in-law built a 4′ x 4′ wood frame for the sandbox. I then was trying to figure out where to put it. I wasn’t sure I wanted it in the middle of my backyard or put it behind my garage and kill the grass. One by one the day lillies disappeared. I looked one day and they were all gone. I went out to look and they had dug them all up and the flowerbed was filled with little holes. I knew then that the puppies (what we call Bindi, Stevie & Charlie) were telling me that is where they wanted their sandbox. I removed the pave stones and flattened out the flowerbed, leveled the wood frame. All the while the puppies were watching and kept walking through the dirt. Jeremy and Zach filled the sandbox with sand and before we could finish leveling and raking the sand they were in there messing around. We hid a couple of treats but they didn’t care for the taste of the sand. Charlie gets in there and digs a big hole and lays in it. Bindi starts digging and the sand just flies. The fence behind the sandbox has sand stuck to it. It looks like a big cat box with sand all over the ground around it. They are all having so much fun digging and playing in it. Sunday, the day we installed it, Bindi & Stevie came inside about 10:30pm. Stevie had sand in nostrils and Bindi had sand on her nose and the top of her head. We were laughing and asking them if they were having fun. All 3 of them were smiling and wagging their tails.

Thank you so much for your help with the diggiest dog and making my puppies even happier.

It was awesome meeting you and your puppies and I can’t wait for you to meet my puppies. They are going to love you.

Jennifer

(Fran called me frantic that she had lost her cat Boots. We spent a short time talking with Boots and asked him to return to his home. I told him his family was really worried about him. Shortly after our conversation, she left a message on my phone and this is what she had to say):

Sandra,

It’s Fran. I just had to tell you the good news. He’s home. Thank you, thank you, thank you. He came to the back porch. I opened up this door and there he was. He’s come home. Thank you so much. Bye!

(Later Fran wrote this about her return cat Boots and the loss of her cat Neek. She and her husband love cats and have rescued many!)

Hi Sandra,
I wanted to thank you once again for helping my sweet boy Boots find his way back into the house! He has been extremely affectionate ever since (for about a month, every time he saw me he’d throw himself at me so hard I thought he’d break a rib) and I know he’s not going to be tempted to do the “back yard adventure” thing again, no matter how many of his brothers and sisters like to sneak out or run out for a little fun.

I lost my sweet young boy Neek (Sneaky Pete) a couple of days ago. We don’t know what happened, Jeff found him in the alley. He had passed sometime in the night. We are all grieving for this sweet little fellow who chose us, not the other way around. We don’t know exactly where he came from, but one day I found him in the house just making himself comfortable, and he had apparently been hiding out with my other cats for some time before he decided to show himself. Lately he had chosen to live back outside and would not stay inside, and as he’d come from the back yard it was impossible to force him to stay in. We had him for such a short time, just a couple of years, but he was such a blessing to us. The only comfort I can feel is that life continues and I’ll see him again, as well as the others I have lost this past year. My best friend also passed a month ago, so it’s been a very difficult time for me right now. Thanks again for what you do, I wish I were able at the moment to take some of your classes and still plan on that. You have been such a help with my crew!

Fran

Saturday, May 9th about 11am, I was cleaning my house. I noticed something moving outside my front door. I looked out the window into my front flowerbed and saw 3 peacocks (2 males and 1 female). Their colors were so vibrant almost electric. They just looked so magnificent. I went outside to look at them and was standing about 5 feet away just watching them. I ran inside to get my camera. I got back outside ready to take a picture and had dead batteries. I ran back inside to get Jeremy’s camera. I tried to take a picture from about 6 feet away and his camera lens was all foggy and the pictures didn’t turn out very well. I ran back inside to get Zach’s camera. I had to explain what I was trying to do. His camera was in his car in front of my house. The whole time I was out looking at the peacocks and trying to get pictures, they were eating bugs and cooing to each other standing in the same place they were when I first saw them. Once Zach came outside, they started moving. He was able to get some pictures of them in my neighbor’s yard, on the brick wall that separates our neighborhood from the street and walking down the street. I have attached the pictures for you. I don’t know where they came from or where they went. I have only seen them that one day. None of my neighbors had ever seen them. I am so lucky to have gotten to spend a few moments with such beautiful and magnificent creatures.

I have had a couple of people tell me that they were a message meant for me, which is why they kept moving away. They were a sign that balance, harmony and peace would be coming to me. Three peacocks represented my sons and me.

Dear Jennifer,

Blessings,
Sandra