Cindy Smith, Animal Communicator
Deepening the connections between people and animals.

I facilitate communication between people and the animals in their lives. The easiest way to think of it is to imagine you are speaking one language and your animal is speaking another. I act as a translator between the two of you. My goal is to deepen the connection through mutual respect, compassion and communication.

Communication seems to be one of the major themes of my life. I have a Masters in Education from the University of Northern Colorado. I’ve been a counselor in the mental health field and a teacher in the high school setting.

I worked with developmentally disabled adults for 14 years, many of whom had limited communication skills. They helped me develop my empathetic and telepathic skills as we worked together to communicate. I also worked as a high school teacher for years and found teens to be another misunderstood group. They taught me to listen deeply and not make assumptions based solely on behavior. They showed me great strength and heart in the face of difficult histories, as do many of the animals I meet. Often I find problems between animals and people to be simple misunderstandings.

I draw on these experiences, combined with 35 years of meditation practice in my work with animals. Recently, I’ve begun using sports performance training with people who team with their animals in competitive events. The combination of communication with your animal, and mentally preparing for the event yourself, can often improve performance for both of you!

Since communication is telepathic I don’t need to be in the presence of the animal or person. I work by phone or email with people all over the world.

Dr. Nancy Kay wanted to become a veterinarian for just about as long as she can remember. Her veterinary degree is from Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, and she completed her residency training in small animal internal medicine at the University of California-Davis Veterinary School.

Dr. Kay is a board certified specialist in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and published in several professional journals and textbooks. She lectures professionally to regional and national audiences, and one of her favorite lecture topics is communication between veterinarians and their clients. Since the release of her book, Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life, Dr. Kay has lectured extensively and written numerous magazine articles on the topic of medical advocacy and veterinarian/client communication. She was a featured guest on the popular National Public Radio show, Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Dr. Kay's newest book is called, Your Dog's Best Health: A Dozen Reasonable Things to Expect From Your Vet.  Her award winning blog, "Spot Speaks" is posted weekly (http://speakingforspot.com/blog/).  

Dr. Kay was selected by the American Animal Hospital Association to receive the 2009 Hill’s Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award. This award is given annually to a veterinarian or nonveterinarian who has advanced animal welfare through extraordinary service or by furthering humane principles, education, and understanding. Dr. Kay was selected as the 2011 Leo K. Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year, an award presented every year by the American Veterinary Medical Association to a veterinarian whose work exemplifies and promotes the human animal bond. Dr. Kay has received several awards from the Dog Writer’s Association of America.

Dr. Kay's personal life revolves around her husband (also a veterinarian), her three children (none of whom aspire to be veterinarians) and their menagerie of four-legged family members. When she's not writing, she spends her spare moments in the garden or riding atop her favorite horse. Dr. Kay and her husband reside in Hendersonville, North Carolina.