In Their Own Words

Talk2theAnimalsRadio

Every time Janet Roper invites me to be a guest on her Talk2theAnimals show, I know both I and the listening audience will be in for a lively time. Her enthusiasm bubbles over and makes even my serious topic (pet loss) come across as uplifting, even as an occasional cause for laughter and joy, rather than the downer it could be in a less-skilled interviewer’s hands. She keeps the conversation going by adding pertinent insights of her own, presenting devils’-advocate points of view, and asking probing questions. All in all, Ms. Roper produces a show well worth listening to with stimulating, thought-provoking topics, and I thank her for having me on as a guest.

Sid Korpi, animal chaplain and author of “Good Grief: Finding Peace After Pet Loss”

It has been my pleasure to guest on Janet Roper’s radio program, Talk2theAnimals. Janet is a wonderful host who not only leads her guest through the interview, but is an interviewer who listens and responds appropriately and with warmth and understanding for the topic.

Darlene Arden, Certified Animal Behavior Consultant

Speaker/Author – The Complete Cat’s Meow: Everything You Need to Know about Caring for Your Cat

Janet-
I have been a guest on several internet talk radio shows, and the host is what makes the difference for the audience. There are so many shows now it is challenging to choose which ones to spend your valuable time listening to.I really enjoy being a guest on your shows for several reasons including they are addressing animal issues that no one else is talking about, you provide substance and get to the core of the issue and are not afraid to go for it, you are prepared and make the guest feel very comfortable, and most importantly, you are not a control freak and allow the guest to express themselves for who they are. You never forget it is about the animals!

It is an honor and privilege to know you and work with you knowing you are making a difference for animals everywhere.

Sincerely,
Laura Lluellyn-Lassiter

Author, Animal Advocate and Communicator

Animal Communication

“My friend said that Janet was really good helping to determine what was going on with her cat. I certainly was curious! Some time after that, I started seeing an issue with my dog. He was scratching and twitching frequently and I could tell he just wasn’t feeling like his normal lively self. I sent Janet a photo and some questions. Janet’s responses were focused on things I wasn’t expecting. She said the dog was happy enough but was itching terribly and probably needed a change in diet and shampoo. I made those changes and our Bandit is 100% back to normal. Happy too! We’re all happy now. Thanks Janet!”

Year first hired: 2011
Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert

Maureen H., Minneapolis, MN

Janet Roper is a gifted animal communicator who helps bridge the worlds between animals and humans. She opens a deep spiritual communication and as a compassionate listener is able to encourage pets and other animals to communicate openly with her. Janet is also an accomplished talented writer with her inspirational stories published in popular anthologies.
Allen and Linda A., Minneapolis, MN

“I worked with Janet when my dog Maverick was just two years old and we couldn’t understand some of his unusual behaviors. Janet was able to help us understand what was going on, realize that there was nothing wrong, and she provided a much-needed sense of relief. She has a unique ability to connect with pets and people – I highly recommend her!

“Janet also helped us help Maverick handle his visits to the vet. Maverick is normally freaked out when it comes to having his toenails clipped at the vet – the last time he was there it took 4 people to hold him down while they did it. So this time, using Janet’s advice, the night before the appointment I held each of his paws, pointed to his toenails and explained to him what was going to happen and why it was important to have them clipped. I told him about how it hurts when his toenails accidentally scratch us, and how dangerous that is for my dad, who is on a blood thinner (and scratches of any kind are a big deal with him). I also told him how if his toenails get too long, he could break them and have more pain. I reassured him that it was not going to be a big deal, and that everyone involved loves him and wants the best for him. Yesterday he had his toenails clipped at the vet, and they were amazed at how much more calm he was during the procedure – it only took 2 of them to do it and they are thinking of removing the muzzle and going without it next time because he was so calm through the whole thing. Talking to him in this way and explaining what’s going on really helps – it was a much better experience for everyone involved yesterday as a result – especially Maverick!”

Caroline M., Wayzata, MN

What do you get when you combine viral communication expert plus animal communicator? Answer: Janet Roper. I have been very impressed with her reputation before I even met with her. During our meeting she was creative (thinking outside of the box), personable (good listener) and truly an expert both in the field of social networking and animal communications. She has valuable advice for a person who needs advice with their beloved animals and their social networking sites. I look forward to collaborating with Janet as we both play to our strengths: me, visual communicator; Janet animal and viral communicator.
Wendy B., Minneapolis, MN

I have had Janet talk with my cat two different times, a year apart.  Each time I thought the answers were consistent with how my cat behaves.  Janet also mentioned that she didn’t recall the content of the first conversation when we were discussing the second one.  In each conversation, my cat said she didn’t want a companion cat which has been a concern of mine.  It has helped me have more patience with my cat in knowing why she does some of the things she does.  I have found these conversations helpful and believable.  I also enjoy Janet’s light touch and sense of humor in the conversations.

Ann M who lives with Priscilla, Queen of the House, Minneapolis, MN.

During the question and answer period I felt affirmed in knowing that my own intuitive sense of my animal friends is right on.

Louis from Minnetonka, MN

Janet enjoys her work and brings a real appreciation of the animals’ points of view.
Alice from Minneapolis, MN

What do you suppose a dog talker wears, my friend and I wondered. We were chatting over coffee at Nina’s in St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill, shortly before animal communicator Janet Roper was due at my new apartment. It was a silly question, really, and not one intended to be disrespectful. But it isn’t every day that you get to meet with an animal communicator. What we were really asking was what she would be like, and in all honesty, coming face to face with our own open-mindedness. A long flowing skirt, we decided, and a healthy amount of jewelry. But not too much—working with animals all day, you don’t want too many distractions. It was our vision of someone in tune.

Janet had already sounded completely down to earth on the phone. And as a trained yoga teacher, I have spent enough time studying energy and practicing meditation to understand her theory that we are all made of energy and, if receptive enough, we can tap into that energy to learn more from each other—even animals. I was really intrigued but still a little uncertain. I was open to trying, though.

I was having some issues with my dog, Mica, and our transition into an apartment after months of squatting at various people’s houses during my divorce. She is a herding dog who has always considered it her duty to patrol her house and her yard; as in, she barks. As soon as I was able to get my own place again (an apartment), I worried constantly about barking and eviction. For the first week, I didn’t even give her a chance to show me that she could stay home alone without barking. I took her everywhere with me—even Nina’s—or arranged for her to go to my parents’ house while I was at work. When I finally got up the guts to leave her at home while I met friends for a drink, she of course complained because I’d set the expectation that she could go everywhere. I couldn’t even bring myself to wait and see if she stopped. Instead, I did something crazy: I called my friends and told them I wasn’t coming. Because my dog was barking. When I hung up, I cried. I was doomed to spend the rest of my life in the apartment with the dog. I didn’t share any of this with Janet; I was too embarrassed.

When Janet showed up at the apartment, she actually was wearing a flowing skirt and jewelry. But what intrigued me even more was to see that her skirt and her jewelry were turquoise. In yoga, both the color and the stone are associated with the energy center connected to communication. I decided it was a good sign, as was the way my dog reacted to Janet. When Mica meets new people she is a little shy and suspicious. She warms up with treats and will certainly check the person out and let them pet her, but with Janet she acted in a way I had never seen before. No barking, no talking, no turning in circles around her legs. She just sat down and sniffed like crazy.

“She must smell my horse,” Janet said, very matter of fact. I couldn’t help but think it was more than that, especially as Mica continued to act like Janet had been to our house a million times. If Mica was that comfortable around her, than there had to be something special. In fact, Mica lay by Janet’s feet until she told me that, when I am home, Mica barks to protect me. At that point, Mica got up, stretched, let out a few half-barks and sauntered into her kennel. “Did you see that? The best thing to do is just say, ‘Thank you, Mica.’” She turned and thanked Mica, and Mica was quiet the rest of Janet’s visit. When I’m not at home, Janet went on, it’s like Mica’s time off. She can rest and take it easy.

According to Janet, she can tell me this because when she communicates with dogs, she often gets a word followed by images (thankfully, she admits, no smells!). And with Mica, Janet also saw a lot about our walks through the new neighborhood.

“She’s not back walking with you,” she said. “She’s out ahead, prancing and trotting along, sniffing, checking things out.” And this is indeed exactly how Mica walks. She also, Janet went on to say, loves the stairwell.

I wanted to laugh. It had been taking forever to get up and down from our third floor apartment. Mica would pause at each landing, look at me and wait. I thought she was being hesitant. One time, she even lay down on one of the landings. I thought she hated our apartment so much that she didn’t want to go back. But Janet pointed out that with all the smells in the stairwell, it’s kind of like a kid going into a candy shop; she just can’t decide which one to check out first. And sure enough, since then I have noticed Mica sniffing along the stairs, acting more curious than hesitant.

As Janet talked in her comfortable and down to earth way, I looked at my dog relaxed in her kennel, and I felt like crying out of pure relief. Divorce changed every familiar part of our lives. We have lived in four different places since January, and I have been a stress ball negotiating the process of selling a home and extricating my life from my husband’s. The day I canceled plans? It was the day we closed on the sale of our house; I cried all day. I was the mess, not her. Mica just went along with every change, sleeping at the foot of my bed, waking me up in the morning with her nose in my face and making me smile on our walks. She has been my sense of peace, and ultimately I understand that this is what Janet is telling me. I also understand that I don’t have to completely understand how it is that Janet communicates with animals to see the benefits.

The way Janet sees it, she’s a translator, and I believe her. She gets messages from the dog and puts it into language that people can understand. This echoes a sentiment I’ve heard a lot lately. Whether you’re talking to an animal communicator, a vet or an animal behaviorist, it’s often the human that needs help understanding the pet. And whether you can grasp the idea of energy and communicating with dogs or not, Janet showed me there is a definite role for communicators. She helped me go from believing that I would need to bring in an animal behaviorist to teach me to teach my dog not to bark, to a relaxed dog owner creating a familiar routine for my dog in our new home. I now marvel every time I thank Mica after she barks, and she stops. I let her take her time in the stairwell. And we both enjoy our walks.

Janet shared an interesting tidbit before she left; when she gives talks, the room is usually silent once she gets to the Q & A. But afterward, in private, people will ask all sorts of things. It makes me think that we’re hungry for communication with our pets. We want to understand them because they play such huge roles in our lives. We buy them dog beds and treats and toys; we talk to them when we get home and while we cook dinner. We treat them like humans until someone tells us we can actually communicate with them; then, we balk.

I can’t pretend to completely understand how Janet does it, but I do know this: she’s straightforward and kind, not at all “out there,” as the title of animal communicator might lead some people to think. And she gets dogs. And she will help you understand your own.

I told my friend that we were right about the skirt, but that really, when it came right down to it, talking to dogs was about so much more than that. I would recommend working with Janet without hesitation.

Alissa J. , St. Paul, MN

For ten years, my cat has rarely left my side, sticking by me through several apartments, a cross-country move and back, sharing a house with  a dog five times his size, numerous “dogsitting” guests over the years—he has tolerated it all with dignity and sweetness.

This all changed when we brought our new baby girl home from the hospital. To say the least, he was not excited about Lucy. He decided to express his anger by constantly urinating in three different rooms of our house! I tried mopping religiously, having my husband clean the cat box fastidiously, begging, and pleading with the cat. I took him to the vet to make sure he had no health problems. None of these things are easy when you are stressed out, overtired parents of a newborn.  Finally, after these random acts of urination had been going on for a couple of months with no change, I resorted to threatening. I told the cat he had to shape up or ship out. This was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I was desperate and did not want to get rid of him, but he was causing major damage to our house, several rugs, new carpet, and even some furniture! I didn’t know what else to do and I was sick over it.

On my mother’s suggestion, I made a call to Janet who contacted my cat. As soon as I had her on the phone my cat jumped up into the chair I was sitting in. After a lengthy conversation with the cat (with Janet acting as translator/interpreter) I began to understand the nature of his issue. He was jealous and needed more of my attention. He did not want to move out. He was angry and wouldn’t stop the random peeing until I understood. He didn’t want to share me with the baby but agreed to stop peeing outside the litter box if I would agree to be more loving and make more room for him in my life again.

Although many people scoff at this stuff, it worked!! Once I had a sense of what he was needin from me, I started to make a concerted effort to give him time and attention. Petting, treats, time to sit in my lap, just like it was before the baby. It doesn’t take much, just a little time each day of gently talking and letting him know I still love him. He has not peed outside the litter box in months! What’s more, he is now very interested and protective of the baby. When she cries he comes around to make sure everything’s OK.  He loves to sit on the edge of the chair as I rock her to sleep. He lies on the floor next to her while she plays. He lets her pet him and even plays with her, meowing and swishing his furry tail back and forth for her to grab. He is so interested in her and she loves him! She giggles and gets so excited when he comes into the room.

Thanks to Janet and her remarkable gift of communication, not only did the cat’s random peeing stop, but he and I reached a whole new level of understanding and –best of all- he is “buddies” with my baby daughter. Things have worked out better than I had even imagined they wouldl!  THANK YOU JANET

Minneapolis, MN

I want to thank you for communicating with my horses Sparky and Woody this February. Although I wasn’t having any specific problems, I was thrilled to receive more insight. Being an equine professional, I was relieved to find many of my feelings were correct. I was also surprised (not really) to hear new information.

You nailed my horses opposing personalities! Woody was the “chatty Kathy” I imagined, and I didn’t know that treats were so important to him. I have never been big on feeding treats, but I have tried feeding him some. It has made a big difference in his attitude. Now mind, I am not stuffing treats at him, just a pellet or two before and after we work. Also, you stated that Woody wanted to take me for a ride, and described (correctly) some real life scenarios. I have recently incorporated some “Woody time” into my warm up. I will walk and jog him (I choose the gait), and let him decide where we go. As he runs out of ideas, he waits for me to tell him what I would like to do! He has reached a new level of confidence in the ring (not that the average rider could tell he was distressed before, he really doesn’t want to be a full time lesson horse-but he shows up for work, bless his heart!) I have also made this a workout for me as I close my eyes and feel where he wants to go, and I adjust my body to accommodate it.

I was impressed that Sparky told you, out of the blue, that he likes the saddle he is ridden in currently, because you didn’t know that I had to have one custom made for him!!! I just found out that he has a chipped P2, and I will be going to Lexington to have surgery. I am also planning on contacting Lynn at Wisdom Horse Coaching, as Sparky had told you that he would like to do that—now that I am getting somewhat caught up. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I have taken six months to reflect on our conversation. Thank you for sharing your gift of animal communication with me and my horses. I am confident that our conversation has improved my understanding of horses and improved their life also!

Thanks again,
Stephanie, Carbondale, Illinois