"I quit the rat race to become a real life Dr Dolittle - I really do talk to the animals"

A real life Dr Dolittle gave up her successful city career and six-figure salary to become a spiritual healer for ANIMALS.

Gemma Cantillon spent 25 years working her way to the top of several large multi-national companies heading their HR departments.

But after a successful career helping humans climb the corporate ladder, the 48-year-old has turned her attention to the animal kingdom.

In 2020 she gave up her mega earnings to train as a Reiki healer and now helps improve the mental health of pets and farm animals.

Since launching her services, she has helped depressed dogs, anxious cats a distressed crow and an injured pheasant.

The mum-of-one charges £65 per session and uses meditation to communicate with animals and relays their problems to their owners.

She also offers a remote service for pet owners who live far away, by connecting with the animals using their photographs as a conduit.

Despite the significant drop in income, Gemma, from Grantham, Lincs., says she has “never been happier” helping animals overcome their troubles.

She said: “There are two ways to do animal communication. You can go face to face or you can do it remotely.

“I often do it remotely and I ask the pet owner for a good quality recent photograph with the animals eyes visible.

“I meditate and look at the photograph and study it.

“Once I feel I have the connection I close my eyes and ask the animal questions. I ask general, open questions to start the process.

“I’ve never had an animal say they won’t communicate with me, sometimes it takes several sessions.

“I’m listening through my body for responses, sometimes I hear words.

“I do a face-to-face feedback session.

“Sometimes I have no idea what these messages mean, I tell the human what the animal has told me.

“I follow up with a full written report to the client.

“The most frequent ones that I work with are cats, dogs and horses but my training means I can communicate with any animal.

“I have a lot of people who come to me, a lot of repeat clients. Most people really love their animals, and really care for them.

“I can talk to the animals and ask them to share anything with their past and ask what they want to do differently.

“I always say I won’t ask an animal to alter its behaviour.”

Gemma is bound by a strict code of ethics and will not talk to animals without their owner’s permission.

She explains: “You need to get permission from the animal’s human before you can talk with them.

“With wild animals you’re free to talk to them but someone next door might not appreciate you talking with their cat.

“Animal communicators can’t diagnose anything medical in a session.

“It’s about respecting confidentiality. Sometimes animals share important messages things for their humans.

“I had a particular client with her dog Marley. It was the first time I worked with this client.