Why do I need to care for the emotional wellbeing of my pet?

Animals are sentient beings although not every country has recognized legislatively that they have souls. They feel emotions just like humans do. They feel love, affection, pain and grief which are evident even in photos of animals in the wild.

As an animal communicator and animal medium, my many conversations with animals living and in spirit have highlighted the emotional experiences of animals, and how certain events affect them emotionally and psychologically. As a clairsentient, I ask animals to let me feel in my body the physical and emotional symptoms that they are feeling.

So often animals are experiencing grief for another animal or human family member who has passed over, which their human parents may be totally oblivious to. I spoke with a horse who lost her twin before she was born – she was still affected by that loss years later.

Animals may be dealing with the impacts of abandonment, low self-esteem or lack of nurturing if they were separated from their animal mothers at an early age or if their animal mother passed away. They may have been bullied by other animals. They may have been dumped and feel worthless.

The many rescue animals I have had conversations with have shared some of the trauma and abuse they experienced before finding their forever homes. Often they do not want to share the full details of what they have endured, and I respect that. They have come a distance on their journey and don’t want to revisit what they have started healing. They have shared that although the physical impacts may have healed, the emotional, mental and psychological trauma continues.

Do You Know The Signs Of Emotional Trauma Affecting Your Animal?

It is this hidden emotional trauma that many animal parents are unaware of. Often the past history of rescue, shelter or stray animals is unknown, so we just don’t know what awfulness our animals have suffered. If we do nothing to support them, the animals continue to carry the stress and memories which may progress and manifest as physical illness. They may also exhibit unusual behaviours as seemingly trivial events can trigger fear or flight / fight responses related to what has happened before.

So many animal parents report that their animals hide or cower if they hear loud voices or unexpected noises or if something moves unexpectedly. They can go into an automatic pattern of behaviour as self defense or preservation thinking that the past horrors are going to recur. I spoke with one rescue dog who explained that certain things triggered him, and it was like his brain was over-ridden with responses and he felt he couldn’t control what his body did.

Do You Know What Your Animal Is Feeling?

I spoke with a dog who had been passed on from foster home to foster home and was being very naughty. His human Mum loved him and just wanted him to settle in his new home. When I spoke with him, he told me that he had learnt that if he was naughty, he would get human attention which is what he was seeking. He had learnt not to develop bonds with the other animals where he stayed as there was no point – he would be moved to the next temporary home. When I explained that he was now in his forever home and his Mum wanted him to feel loved and secure with his new fur family, he said “I’m overwhelmed !” He had no idea that he could relax and build relationships and have consistency and certainty in his life. After the conversation his disruptive behaviour changed and he has settled in really well with his family and is enjoying his new life.

Sometimes actions we take affect our animals emotionally, even though this is unintentional. Animals see you as their world, and they value having one on one time with you and following routines. If something changes, it can affect them. If you bring home a baby, a new partner, have a visitor staying, babysit someone else’s animals, bring home a new animal or move house – all of these scenarios affect the energy in the home, affect routines, affect access to the humans and can be very challenging to adjust to. Sometimes if you bring home a new animal, your existing animals feel as though they must have done something wrong to upset you and you’ve had to find another animal to love.

Animals are also sensitive to our moods and to our vibrational frequency which drops when we get unwell. They can be affected by changes in our physical, mental and emotional health. Sometimes they take on some of our health symptoms so that we don’t have to bear the full brunt. They may get stressed or anxious about changes in our behaviour and routines. If we are sad or depressed and change how we interact with our animals, that affects them. I spoke with a dog whose demeanour had changed drastically from happy to morose and snappy. He explained that he wasn’t the one with the issues – his human Mum was dealing with grief from losing three close friends, and her interactions with him had changed and lessened. He was concerned for her wellbeing and worried. Once Mum got assistance, his behaviour changed as they resumed their usual interactions.

Fortunately there are healing modalities now available to support animals including releasing emotional trauma. I spoke with a horse who had received a couple of treatment sessions. He said he was so grateful and wasn’t aware of how the burden of carrying those emotions was affecting him. His behaviour changed markedly with having this emotional support.

Understanding what is happening for our animals on an emotional level and being able to help them and support their wellbeing can make a huge difference for them. Releasing the emotions can radically change an animal’s wellbeing, and enable them to live a calmer and more fulfilled life.


© Annie Bourke, Cosmic Heart Intuitive 2023



About The Author

International best-selling author and animal communicator/ animal medium Annie Bourke has conversations with animals living and in spirit to convey messages and provide peace of mind for their human parents. Animals are her passion and her mission is to raise global awareness of the importance of animals. She loves deepening relationships between animals and humans. She provides distance healing support for animals and humans.

In her podcast “What animals tell me” Annie shares some of the amazing conversations she’s had with animals. Her books “The Bridge to Animal Consciousness” and “Evolving Hearts and Souls – The Guide to Spiritual Awakening” are available on Amazon. She presents free online masterclasses for animal parents twice a month so that they can understand their animals on a deeper level.

Annie is currently accepting enrolments for her Animal Communication Mentorship Program, assisting animal parents to learn how to communicate with their animals living and in spirit telepathically.

Annie can be contacted through her website https://www.cosmicheartintuitive.com.au or via email at CHIntuitive@bigpond.com