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John Carney

'I bought a dog the other day. I named him Stay. It's fun to call him. 'Come here, Stay. Come here, Stay'. He went insane.' 
Obviously, when American comedian Steven Wright first made this remark it  left a lot to be desired as far as communicating with animals goes, and there is a lot more to it than you would think. 
Rosina Maria Arquati, for instance, is an animal communicator who says she can telepathically speak with animals and find out their thoughts.
'As we humans evolved, this talent has been lying dormant in us,' Arquati said. 'It's just like using Skype today. Once you lock into this you can communicate with your pet easily.'
Recently, one of Arquati's dogs told her telepathically it was going to die. Arquati took her to a vet,  where the dog was  put down. She explained that the dog was very old and tired  of the medication it was constantly getting.  It was ready to die and did so peacefully.
'I know there are many people out there who will hear this and think I should be put away in the nearest mental hospital, but it's the truth,' she said. 
'Years ago this was classed as being a very 'hippie' thing. Now it's as if it has come full circle and is called a very 'yuppie' thing to be involved in.'
You can see why after reading stories like the one in last Monday's South China Morning Post that told  how a  toy poodle called Tiffany  had a complex dietary regime  designed by a  nutritionist who  was regularly flown in from Japan.
Each 800 gram package cost up to HK$1,500. But as Tiffany's owner, Nicola Ng,  who bought her three years ago in Japan,  considers her to be a  'daughter', you can begin to understand the extravagance when an owner loves their pet this much.
This is the bedrock of Arquati's work. It is easy to laugh it off and be sceptical, but you could never accuse her of not caring. Ironically, her husband, Dave, is a veterinarian and involved in the more practical elements of pet care, but he fully supports her work, no matter how alternative it may seem. 
Arquati became a professional animal communicator 15 years ago and  says her clients want to find out more about their pets. But at times it is the pets that give away a little too much about their owners.
'I was working with a dog that realised that the family was arguing all the time and were talking about divorce,' Arquati said. 'The dog was upset because he didn't know which owner he'd end up with. I could tell this from talking to the dog as the family looked very loving when I first went in there, but they obviously weren't.'
 Arquati  recently  had a meeting with a dog called Lexi at the New Age Shop  in Old Bailey Street in  Central, but because she knew the animal  she did not consider it a proper  communication session. 
'I know Lexi well, so all we have is a chat,' Arquati said. 'When I'm with her she's just giving me an update on what she's been up to during the day.
'You know when you talk to a friend on the telephone? It's that kind of everyday conversation. 
'But with new animals you are finding out something new about them all the time. Something that will either help the animal or the owner in the long run, and that's animal communication.'
Arquati also works as a bereavement counsellor to help owners through their pain when a  pet dies. If it was a family member or friend, the grieving process could last forever, and Arquati argues that the same applies for a family pet.  Often it is the children  that need the most help.
'Children definitely take the death of a pet the worst,' she said. 'Particularly for very introverted children, their pets become their whole life, so when one dies it has a devastating effect on them.' 
Arquati's one great hope is that  communication can help people appreciate animals as amazing companions, and  that a special bonding and relationships can grow. 
'As more people come to value and understand animals, fewer animals will be abandoned. That would be the greatest benefit of all.'




Pets have their thoughts and feelings too, says woman who 'talks to the animals'