Speaking in animal tongues

Twenty years ago, William Kilfoyle had a conversation with a dog that changed his life. He was working as a massage therapist at the time, and one of his clients noted that her Australian shepherd seemed depressed. Kilfoyle, who had studied psychic work many years before, decided to try to psychically communicate with the animal. The dog told him a story he had no way of knowing but that his client confirmed: Her owners were splitting up, and they planned to send her away. After mediating the conflict between dog and owner, Kilfoyle realized he had a gift, and his career as an animal communicator was born. These days, Kilfoyle helps clients all over the country understand their pets’ behavior problems, determine whether a sick pet is dying, and even help locate lost animals. He continues his massage therapy practice, and he’s recently added pet-sitting to his list of services, due to popular demand from animals and humans alike.

Why have you focused on animals over people in your career?

Animals are just so pure and simple. I am dealing with their owners, and that can be difficult, but people are just so complex. We’ve got past lives. We’ve got karma.

Do you have to physically be with an animal to talk to it?

No, I do readings over the phone all the time. I do them all over the country. All I need is the animal’s name, a description, their age helps, and then how long the person has had them for a pet. Then, probably within 30 seconds, I can zero in on them. If they have something to say, I’ll tell the owner.

Do animals ever refuse to talk to you?

Yes. The more difficult animals to communicate with have been guard dogs, or dogs trained with security training. Even on a psychic level, they are like, “I don’t know you. I’m not going to communicate with you.”

What would you say to our skeptical readers?

Nine times out of 10, I tell the owner something I couldn’t possibly have known. I will tell them what their cat, who I haven’t seen over the phone, is acting like. A lot of times there’s a specific thing, like, they really don’t like this person. I’ll give them a description of the person, and the owner will say, “Yeah, I know who that is.”

What’s the most common problem pet owners call about?

Behavior problems. They’re urinating where they’re not supposed to, for a cat. Marking territory. A lot of times there are some dynamics we can change. … One of the more difficult ones is end-of-life issues. Is the animal in pain? Are they ready to cross over? Is it tolerable, or should we put them down now?

Do animals ever say they are ready to go?

They do. As soon as they’re in terrible pain, they kind of check out. The spirit is not in the body all the way. And so a lot of them have already kind of crossed over, but the body is still hanging on. And so they’re not experiencing too much pain. I think people kind of do that, too.

Do we underestimate our pets’ intelligence?

Definitely. There are different levels of intelligence, just like there are with people. Animals are sentient beings. They have their needs and wants. They’re every bit as intelligent as we are. When I communicate with some of them, it’s just like talking to a person.

How do pets feel about baby talk and nicknames?

With animals, it’s more about the energy behind it. They appreciate the love. I have seen some animals that are more security-minded, like a German shepherd. His owner was hugging him and kissing him, and he was like, “Could you tell her to ease off on that a little bit?”

What is the language of animal communication?

It’s a combination of thought and visuals. I don’t hear it. It’s more like a thought, but I know it’s not mine. And then it’s feelings, too. They’ll send me a picture of a person, and then there’s a feeling that goes with it: They like him, they don’t like him.

Is the language different for different species?

Yeah, I think so. I just communicated with some rabbits, and they are really laid-back. … Cats are pretty intense creatures. They are sole predators, and they can live their whole lives by themselves, and they’re OK with that. They appreciate company, but they don’t need company. A dog is a pack animal. They really need the pack to feel good. So dogs are more like people when I tune into them. They are like, “Hey, let’s figure this out.” They want the pack to be happy and healthy.

Do you communicate with animals in the wild?

When I am camping, wild animals have come up, like deer. We went camping last year, and there was a bear knocking garbage cans over in the campground. Of course, I had to get up and go to the bathroom. So I tuned into him and said, “Don’t eat me, OK?”

And he said, “I just want some food. You got any food?”