Please note: Some parts of the conversation with Tilly have been edited out of respect for Dawn Brancheau’s family and loved ones.

Trainer Dawn Brancheau

My heart sank when I heard the horrible news last week about Tilikum, a killer whale at Sea World Orlando who grabbed a well respected and experienced trainer, Dawn Brancheau and caused her death.

I immediately felt a sense of sadness for the loss of Dawn’s life and a deep sorrow for the killer whale.

What do we know about Dawn Brancheau?

From what I have learned, Dawn loved all animals and children. She would never have wanted anything to happen to Tilly or any of the other animals. At a young age Dawn knew she wanted to work with the whales. The job at Sea World was like a dream come true. She was a kind and loving person and often volunteered at a local shelter and helped any animal in need. Dawn truly loved these whales. She will be missed by her very large and loving family.

Three tragic deaths involving Tilly…

What do we know about Tilly? He was captured about 25 years ago as a wild orca and was taken from his pod.  He has been involved in 3 fatal incidents, two involving trainers and one with a deranged man who was found dead the next day. This man hid in the park and waited until after it closed and then he apparently jumped into Tilly’s pool. Tilly has performed for thousands of visitors and created huge profits for the park.

Wild orcas can travel 100 miles a day in search of food

Killer whales are the largest member of the dolpin family and have complex social structures, family pods and communication systems.

For more orca facts

click here:

Many of us have very strong opinions about keeping wild animals captive in sea parks, zoos and aquariums like Sea World. What is the right thing to do? How do the animals feel about being held captive in an artificial environment?

Dolpins and whales in the news…

Capturing or slaughtering dolphins, whales and other sea creatures has recently stirred up a lot of controversy. The popular show ‘Whale Wars’ on Animal Planet follows Captain Paul Watson the crew of the Sea Shepherd in the battle against illegal whaling. (Warning graphic images in video)

The academy award winning documentary, The Cove, exposes the slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises in Taiji, Japan every year and how their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan and other parts of Asia, often labeled as whale meat. The majority of the world is not aware this is happening as the Taiji cove is blocked off from the public (Warning graphic images in video)

So what is the answer? Should wild animals be held in parks or aquariums?

Both sides argue their points…

Those who argue for continuing to keep wild animals in parks maintain that the studies, research and education benefits far outweigh rare accidents like this. They also advocate a need for protecting wild animals which otherwise would be poached or eliminated in their natural habitat.

Those who argue against keeping wild animals in parks feel it is simply cruel to place a wild animal like Tilly in a small pool. In Tilly’s case, he was captured as a wild killer whale and has now spent about 25 years in captivity. They argue that wild animals deserve to be wild and free.

What does Tilly think?

During a recent radio show I was asked to check in with Tilly to see what he could tell us about the accident. Not knowing any details about what happened I asked him to share his thoughts.

I was immediately hit with his frustration. To say he had a bad attitude was an understatement. I could feel his tension, anger and even some jealousy as I opened up to his thoughts.

• Was he remorseful?
• Was he playing?
• Could he have saved her?

His answers surprised me even though I really didn’t go into this expecting a certain response. I know one thing for sure. Tilly knew exactly what he was doing.

While I feel there is no easy answer here especially in the case with Tilly, my stance remains that I feel it is wrong to keep wild animals in captivity unless they are being rehabilitated or cannot be released into their natural habitat.

Warning! Sensitive listeners may not want to hear Tilly’s messages. Although there is nothing graphic some of the messages are difficult to hear

For a link to the interview on the ‘You Are What You Love’ radio show with host, Vaishali, see link below

Click here to listen to the show-Choose from archived show 2/26/10

View video after the tragedy - No graphic scenes

The world has lost a beautiful woman who loved animals and devoted her life to them.  As for Tilly, the show will continue according to Sea World officials.

No trainers are allowed in the water with the whales pending further investigation.

Read Dawn’s obituary written by family members:

Donations to Dawn Brancheau can be made to the Dawn Brancheau Memorial Fund, c/o US Bank, P.O. Box 809231, Chicago, IL 60680-9231.

Dawn, may you rest peacefully in the arms of angels …

Tilly, may you be able to live the rest of your natural life swimming free in the ocean…

I never know what it going to happen during a session.  Usually the animals are very excited to talk and share all kinds of intimate details with me even before your appointment time arrives.  I’ve even had a few anxious loved ones wake me up very early in the morning in anticipation of your session.

I am not a morning person so please don’t encourage this behavior!

Some messages don’t make sense right away…

Some of details are recognized right away and other times some thought needs to go into the messages. John Edward calls this ‘psychic amnesia’. I love the term because it really identifies what happens in just about every session I have.

Animals are usually excited to share their messages…

It is fair to say that the more excited you are the more excited the animals will be.  While I cannot control the content of what animals or your loved ones in spirit form will share I can ask them to be specific and give detailed information that only you could possibly know.

This is what is referred to as being an evidential psychic medium.

What is evidence?

According to The Collaborative International Dictionary of English, the word evidence is defined as:

Evidence \Ev“i*dence\, noun

1. That which makes evident or manifest; that which furnishes, or tends to furnish, proof; any mode of proof; the ground of belief or judgement; as, the evidence of our senses; evidence of the truth or falsehood of a statement.

If you don’t have enough evidence…you don’t have a case…

As a former deputy sheriff, evidence has always been very important. In law enforcement, if you don’t have enough evidence you don’t have a case.  I feel the same way about my sessions.  If I don’t get enough evidence I do the best I can to obtain details that only you or your animals would know.

Jason contacted me from Germany to do an email session for his beloved family dog, Willy who had just recently transitioned (passed away).

Since Jason lived in Germany he decided an Email Session would be best due to the time difference.  Below is the letter Jason wrote about his experience.

Jason and Willy’s Story-

“I just had my first email reading with Karen and I was (and still am) so impressed with her work. She contacted my deceased dog “Willy” who died last month. Karen described Willy exactly as he was when he was still on earth. Friendly, outgoing, lively and happy.

Willy told her that he is able to walk again and that his heart and lung aren’t aching anymore where he is now. That was what he died of. His heart and lung were damaged and he couldn’t walk anymore. I had never told Karen anything about that.

Willy also mentioned my other dog “Fini” whom he loved very much. I had never told Karen anything about Fini.

And then Willy told Karen that he was happy that he didn’t have to continue his diet in heaven. Willy was a bit overweight and my mother had put him on a diet when he was still in his body. Again, Karen didn’t know anything about his diet before he told her.

Another thing that amazed me is that Willy told Karen about a very vivid dream I had where he appeared to me. The dream was so vivid, that I wondered if he had actually come to visit me in that dream to communicate with me. Karen proved that to me, though I had never told her anything about that dream. She said Willy mentioned this very vivid dream I had and said he was indeed trying to communicate with me through it.

Yet another remarkable thing is that Willy used to sleep directly next to my bed in his basket. There was no space between my bed and his. After he died I always had the feeling that he was still sometimes sleeping next to me in his basket and I kept saying goodnight to him and sleep well. Karen didn’t know about that and yet she heard Willy say “I’m right by the bed and still around my dad”. He kept mentioning his basket. And that he still loves to sleep. Willy loved to sleep.

Then Karen asked Willy to tell her something only I would know to prove to me that he was indeed talking to her. He then mentioned “Lipton Ice Tea” which is my favorite drink. I have started drinking it since his death and I have several empty bottles of it standing in my room.
He also said that he was oblivious to pain and didn’t complain about his pain, which was so true. He was in so much pain before he died, but he never complained about it. He never made a sound.

Willy also told Karen that he was planning on reincarnating and gave her several clues as to how and where I will find him in the future.

But there’s more. Along with Willy came several other spirits to give Karen messages for me. I had just two days before the reading asked my deceased grandparents for a sign that they are still with me. The spirits Karen described where my grandparents and they told her to tell me that they are with me and bring me blessings. She gave me the first letter of each of their names and they were all right. She described my grandfather as a laid back person who repaired machines. My grandfather was indeed very laid back and he did repair machines as a job. She said that my grandmother was with Willy and taking care of him. My grandmother was a pet lover when she was still on earth. My other grandfather she described as very stern which was so very true. Of course, Karen didn’t know anything about my grandparents. Not even that they were dead.

Karen even knew that I have a cousin in Mississippi. (I live in Germany).

Karen is such a loving and caring person and she treats you like a friend. She is truly a God-sent angel and I highly recommend her. ”

When 7 year old border collie mix Duke transitioned (passed away) earlier this year Kathy and her family were devastated.  Duke had been a huge part of the family and helped raise both of their children.  Even though Duke told Kathy in a past session that he was happy and doing just fine on the Other Side, Kathy needed to hear more.

As I was waiting for Kathy to call me, Duke began chatting with me. He proceeded to tell me how frazzled his mom, Kathy was and that her work schedule was insanely busy.  I saw a tornado of swirling energy around Duke’s mom as he relayed this message to me.     

Kathy’s appointment time came and went.  No call from Kathy.  I tried to contact her to make sure she was okay and could not reach her.  Almost a half an hour later Kathy finally called for her session.

“I’m so sorry!” she said, “I’ve been going nuts at work and totally forgot about our session!”

Duke gave me one of those, I told you so looks.

Kathy explained to me while holding back tears that in the last week or so she was experiencing some strong indications that Duke was very present in the house and wanted to know more.

“I just miss him so much,” She softly cried, ‘He was my best friend, we connected on such a deep level.”

We got started with the session and Duke proceeded to leave Kathy speechless.

The first thing Duke showed me was a child’s tooth or some kind of tooth issue.

“Oh my gosh,” Kathy gasped, “my daughter just fell and broke her tooth! Duke was always so protective of the kids I’m not surprised at all that he was there.”

The next thing Duke showed me was someone getting a new hair cut. It looked like a bad experience and someone was not very happy.  When I asked Kathy about it she replied, “That’s my son! He just had to get his hair cut really short for sports and he

is NOT happy about it!” 

Kathy was right, Duke was very much watching around her and over the family he loved so much.  His detailed messages about what was happening in their lives gave Kathy that deep sense of peace and reassurance that even though Duke is physically not here anymore, his energy and love continues on.

In a recent session a cat named Blue told me to mention a light on in the house.  I was trying to focus on his location and for some reason Blue kept referencing a light being left on.

I finally asked his dad, William if that meant anything to him.  His response came with total disbelief…

“My young son has been devastated since Blue disappeared so I told him we would leave the light on in the house until Blue came home,” he said slowly, ” I can’t believe Blue knows that.”

I continued to describe Blue’s location and direction of travel.

“Blue told me he went out the front of the house and turned to the left.  There is a park-like area with an odd shape, it looks like the trees are in a perfect row, planted by humans not wild growth.” Blue was near some kind of field or open area.

William recognized this area immediately:

“That is an exact description of our area. The park you described is a reserve to the left of our door.  The trees planted in a row refer to an area just outside that area that is a creek restoration area.”

With that description the family headed out in search of Blue.  The next day I received this message:

“Blue’s back!!!… he was down the road.. to the left.. and had been in the park area you described.  A an old lady had been feeding him.. and he kept returning to her house. She saw a sign we put up… so cool.. thank you for your help.. you gave us all hope.”

A layer of mystery surrounds the idea of the reincarnation of humans but what about our animals?

Do they reincarnate?

Will they come back to us in this lifetime or in another lifetime?

How will we know it’s them?

The answer to these questions can often be found in sessions with the animals themselves.  In case after case, the animals show us that they are coming back to us.  Some even returning in this same lifetime.  I have selected a two recent examples of how our animals return to us. Some names have been changed for privacy but the situations and photos are unchanged.

Frank came to me when his beloved dog, Captain, also known as ‘Lil C’, died unexpectedly at the age of 4.  Frank and his other dog, Doobie were beside themselves with grief.

Frank felt that he could barely move through his pain when he arranged an appointment to connect with his deceased dog.  Doobie, Frank’s other dog was also feeling the loss and was lethargic and refused to eat after Captain died.

Captain

I connected with Captain and was able to describe the death experience to Frank from a third person perspective. Much to Frank’s relief, Captain’s transition (passing) had been quite a lovely experience and Captain was in very good spirits.  Among many loving messages that came through, Captain mentioned that he planned on returning to Frank one day and proceeded to give us several clues. Here they are in random order:

1.  Captain told Frank he would find him on a Wednesday

2.  Captain mentioned a beautiful human girl/female who would have something to do with him.

3.  Captain mentioned the letter “T” as having significance.

4.  Captain said there would be a ‘very obvious sign’ that it was him and kept mentioning the letter ‘C’ as in ‘Captain’.  Frank often called him Little C.

It was many months later that I received an excited email from Frank with a photo of this pup who had a very obvious sign right on his head.

Look closely….do you see the letter ‘C’ on his forehead?

Little Cash -Note 'C' on forehead

Here is Frank’s message to me:

Dear Karen,

As I was write this tears are in my eyes but they are tears of joy.

Everything Captain said happened.
I found him on a Wednesday.

A beautiful woman had the pups

As for the letter “T” having to do with finding him.. her name was Toni.

The real kick was the sign on his head that is in the shape of the letter C. Talk about “a sign”

I just want to let you know Captain’s ( Lil “C” ) passing and his return this has change my life for the better. I am very grateful for your help in bringing Captain back into our lives, especially mine. You truly have a gift. I’m so happy I’m on cloud nine, you truly are a Godsend.  Thank You so Much!

Lots of Love,
Frank, Doobie, & Cash

To my amazement there was the letter “C” right on the pup’s forehead!

What is even more surprising is now that Cash is almost a year old, the ‘C’ has completely vanished.  Even when you look beneath his fur there is no longer an indication of the letter “C” which is what led Frank to him when he first saw him.  It is apparently no longer needed.

Cash

The Return Of Meeper Do!

Kim scheduled a session with her deceased cat, Meeper Do!  Meep had recently transitioned (passed away) at the age of 19 and only one month shy of his 20th birthday.  Needless to say, Kim was devastated.  Nineteen years is a virtual lifetime and now he was gone.  The pain, sorrow and feelings of loss overwhelmed Kim.  The first session we had back in October of 2008 brought many wonderful and important messages.

Meeper Do! Age 19

Meeper Do! was just like Kim remembered him.  His loving, funny and articulate messages helped Kim realize he wasn’t really gone.

Meep was still around watching his mom go about her daily routine. In one session, Meep told me to tell his mom to ‘Watch the pots!‘.  I had no idea what this was and I almost didn’t mention it but Meep kept urging me to tell Kim about the pots.

Kim laughed out loud when I told her to ‘watch the pots’and explained that right before that very session she had put a pot on the stove to hard boil some eggs.

In her haste, Kim forgot about the pot of boiling water and it almost turned into a kitchen disaster. So again, our animals show us they see what is going on in our lives even when it comes to something like hard boiled eggs.

When I asked Meep if he would return to Kim he provided a very long laundry list of clues.  Kim was a bit overwhelmed but determined to find her beloved boy Meep again.

Here are some of the clues he gave in random order:

1. Meep kept showing me rain or some kind of showers.  We think this was to signify a springtime return

2. Meep mentioned an alternative form of transportation was involved, like metro rail or train

3. Meep said, ‘The miracle will happen on a Wednesday.”

4. A “K” or “C” name had something to do with this

5. Meep said he would return looking much the same as he was before, a little orange and white male tabby, his face would be similar

6. Meep showed me how small he would be when Kim found him again, he looked like a kidney bean 

7. Meep kept talking about an open space or park-like area that was near where he would be

Many months later, in the spring, Kim sent me a very excited email:

Dear Karen

I found Meep!

I had to take my car in to the shop and wasn’t looking forward to taking the bus. So instead I took the underground rail system.  The rail stops about 1 block from my veterinarian’s office and a park.  I decided to stop in and let them know I was looking for a new kitten and then walk home through the park.

When I walked in the gal in the office told me they had been trying to call me for weeks but I had recently changed my home phone number and the old one was disconnected.  They had a two kittens being fostered because the mom wasn’t taking care of them.  The kittens would be brought in at noon.  It was 11 AM.

There was a male and a female kitten. The male was a little orange and white tabby and the female was a brown striped tabby.  They were 4 weeks old (and looked like little kidney beans) born on April 1st, which was a Wednesday!

The kitten even makes the same ‘meep meep’ sounds that Meeper Do! made when I found him. The woman who is fostering the kittens has a last name starting with a “C”.

The deal was sealed when I picked up the little kitten and he gave me an eskimo kiss right on the nose. Just like Meeper Do! used to do!

Thank you so much Karen!

With love,

Kim and baby Meep!

Baby Meep returns

Molly, 10 yr old Yorkie/Shih Tzu mix

After the session Kelly wrote, “Wow, that (session) was great!  John and I are thrilled that Molly is feeling good, happy, and still funny/sassy, that’s what we love about her!”

Is There A Life After Death For Our Animals?

“Your book really helped me to confirm that there is life after death.  I always pray to god, and hoped there was, but your book really brought peace into my life.

I was going through a rough time with a lay-off after 12 years of service.  Your book really made me happy and being able to talk to Molly and know she is in a better place and happy is beyond words.  Thank you so much!!!  Kelly”

Kelly's new dog Nicky-Lynn - And two orbs, one on the right side of the beige part of the dog bed and the other in the upper right hand corner

I get many emails and letters but I had to share this one with you.

Peyton is a gorgeous young kitty whose mom, Cindy contacted me to have a session with him when he was having a health issue.

Peyton shared many messages during his session but after it was over I got this letter…from Peyton the cat himself!

“The Saturday before Thanksgiving my mom, Cindy came home to find me pretty out of it laying on the bathroom rug. She picked me and brought me into the other room where I just lay quietly. Nothing she did, picking up my favorite toys, opening my favorite food-salmon-yum, did the trick. She woke up my Dad who explained that earlier that day I was running around playing and eating.

They decided to take me to Emergency.

The vet told them to wait and see and if I didn’t get better, to take me to my regular vet Monday, which they did. By then I just didn’t have the energy to clean myself and just hid in my tunnel. At the vet, they did the dreaded blood work which showed them that my liver enzymes were very high, the worst they had seen!

My mom was very worried and decided she wanted to talk to me. She was referred to Karen Anderson and they set up a time to talk. It was great to finally be able to tell my mom how much I loved her and let her know how happy her and dad make me. Dad sings to me, which I love, and Karen told her how appreciative I was of that.

Karen saw all these energy blocks around my body and was able to tell her that I would benefit from a liver cleanse with herbs like Milk Thistle. She also explained that my diet of Fancy Feast was similar to the diet of McDonald’s for humans. She told my mom that I didn’t want her to worry but that I did need her help.

My mom felt reassured and was very happy with this discussion and immediately made an appointment with a holistic vet who agreed that Milk Thistle would be very beneficial. I was prescribed Denamarin which has Silbyin in it, which is the major flavonolignan from the extracts of the milk thistle seed. I took this along with the antibiotics for about 5 weeks having appointments along the way, each time with my levels going down.

I am happy to say that on New Year’s Eve my levels were finally normal!

I am now medicine free… thankfully; I hated that stuff.

I am back to playing with my favorite monkey toy and waking my parents up early in the morning and “hunting” them during hide & seek. I am eating well and at a good weight and am bump free.

The holistic vet also informed my mom of a new food to try which we are starting this weekend. She didn’t want to overwhelm me with so many things at once. I heard it has salmon in it so it can’t be that bad.

My mom & dad, Cindy Dely & Greg Martin and I want to express our deep thanks to Karen for helping us in this scary time!

Love, Peyton Dely Martin”

Photo above

There is nothing harder than saying goodbye to a dear and devoted animal friend.  I have mentioned before that I don’t think we ever get over it, I think we just get through it.

Losing a friend means taking time to reflect on your life and the time you spent together.  Cherishing the memories and the moments.

Karen & Raine

Raine’s mom Karen scheduled a a session to help ease the pain after Raine’s passing.

Raine’s beautiful energy came through immediately as I began the session.  The love just poured through her.  Raine spoke about the ‘early mornings’ and told me that mornings were special to her and her mom.  Karen responded, ”

“You mentioned early morning special times and I immediately thought of our recent practice of sitting in the kitchen with my daughter, feeding the cats their snacks. But I think it’s more likely that she was alluding to our times together when I worked in the newspaper industry (for approximately 10 years). I often got up between 2 and 3 am to work in metro Lexington as a manager. Raine always got up with me and I always enjoyed that quiet time together. It really was special.”

Raine also tried to get me to say a nick name like BOO or BOO BOO.  At the time Karen could not think of what this could be but later wrote this:

Raine also told me that she was with a dog and described him to me.  Raine said this dog met her when she transitioned (passed away, crossed over) and Karen recognized it to be her deceased dog, Lucky.

TJ & Samantha

TJ’s mom Samantha contacted me to have a session after her beloved cat passed on earlier that week.  Samantha wrote, ” I’ve been in tears since he passed away.”

I completed Samantha’s email session and sent her the link to listen to.

During the session,  TJ told me some very detailed information about his death.  Sometimes the animals don’t want to discuss how they passed away and I always honor that.  If they do want to talk about it, I allow them to do so.

When TJ’s energy came through he came sauntering into my space like a big cool cat.  His energy looked very big and very bright and I saw him as he was before he got so sick. TJ told me he was a big handsome boy and that he passed from a kidney issue. He was so cute how he just waltzed right in like he owned the place.  I couldn’t help but smile and fall in love with this handsome boy.  Tj told me he was a ‘cool cat’, very mellow and everybody loved him.  He also spoke to me in a low, gravely voice.  I have never heard one quite like that.

Samantha responds….

“I just got through with listening to your conversation with my TJ, I have to tell you that a lot made me in such awe!! You were right on, on how TJ died (well how he came through to you) we just had to confirmed last week he had a severe kidney infection and that he had been sick for a while, he used to be my “Big handsome Boy!”.

TJ was always the “cool cat” my friends always laughed at how he was the only cat in our household (we have 2 others) that would hang out with us at parties. We have pictures to prove that!

Yes he was so easy going and had a low groveling voice which we loved to death! and it made me laugh on how you described how he just waltzed in the place  that’s exactly how he was, he was so easy going and mellow and so handsome and was very silly in his hay day!”

TJ also told me he was with an “M” named person on the Other Side as well as a “B” named person.  Here is Samantha’s reply.

“(The “M” name) Marianne… I think may be my grandma! The ‘B’ name is my husband’s father, Bob who passed away a long time ago. Thank you again for doing this for us, I needed this and it has made me feel a little better.”

Even though we miss their physical presence in our lives, it is important to remember that our animal friends continue to surround us with their energetic presence.  They often know what we are up to and go with us in the car or when we run errands.

Remember to say your animals’ names often and when you think of them do it with a smile on your face.

I bid you peace and abundance.

Karen Anderson~Animal Communicator

Getting through the day after you lose a loved one can be excruciating.  As we try to live our lives without our best friends, the pain can be so overwhelming that sometimes it feels like we can’t even breathe.

Sadness, emptiness, guilt and sorrow permeate our days with a heaviness that never seems to leave.

Finding your way through each day can become overwhelming.

No one understands.

 You are not alone in your despair. 

In a loving tribute to two very special animals, Logan and Sassy, read on about how their mom’s, Michelle and Sue were able to begin their path to healing one step at a time. 

I hope you take your first step through your sadness…

Logan & Michelle

A very distraught and mournful client contacted me for a session with her deceased dog, Logan.  Logan died recently and his mom, Michelle was having a really hard time with his loss.  I always begin a session by letting the animals say whatever they want and on this day, Logan started off the session by telling his mom that he ‘liked her new haircut, tell her it’s beautiful…’.

Michelle was speechless and then she started to cry. She described her new hair cut to me in utter amazement.  After the session was over I received this reply…

“Karen, I  had my hair permed in China while visiting my mom.  Nobody seemed to like it very much comparing with the style I had before.  Then I had my second session with you as a gift to my Logan for the Christmas.  You started out by asking me if I did anything to my hair and my baby (Logan) said it’s beautiful.

I just couldn’t stop crying.  It’s so overwhelming to hear something like that after being around people in China who don’t believe this and think you are crazy if you do, and then you started to question yourself if it’s all your imagination.  Now, when I hear the bad comment about my hair, I respond proudly: I don’t care if you like it or not, as long as my baby Logan likes it.

I am amazed how correct you can tell his personality.  When my faith of him being with me in spirit weakens, I remind myself what you told me that he knew I had my hair done.  You are a real communicator, Karen.  Thank you for what you’ve done.”   Michelle, Logan’s mom

For Michelle, the path to healing is a slow one.  But each time she begins to miss Logan, she thinks of how beautiful he thinks she is and she steps a little closer to healing.

Godspeed Logan, may you be safe in the arms of the angels.

Sassy & Sue

Sue contacted me when her beloved dog, Sassy died.