A real life Dr. Dolittle gave up her successful city career and six-figure salary to become a spiritual animal healer.
Gemma Cantillon, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, spent 25 years working her way to the top of several large multinational companies leading their human resources 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 huge 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, distressed crows and injured pheasants.
The mother-of-one charges £65 per session and uses meditation to communicate with animals and convey their problems to their owners.
It also offers a remote service for pet owners who live far away, connecting with animals using their photos as a conduit.
Despite the significant drop in her income, Gemma says she has “never been happier” helping animals overcome their problems.
She said: ‘There are two ways to communicate with animals. You can go in person or you can do it remotely.
‘I often do this remotely and ask the pet owner for a good quality recent photograph with the animal’s eyes visible. I meditate and look at the photograph and study it.
‘Once I feel like I have the connection, I close my eyes and ask the animal questions. I ask general, open-ended questions to start the process.
‘An animal has never told me that it doesn’t communicate with me, sometimes several sessions are necessary.
‘I’m listening through my body for answers, sometimes I hear words. I do a face-to-face feedback session.
Gemma Cantillon, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, gave up her successful city career and six-figure salary to become a spiritual animal healer.
Gemma spent 25 years working her way to the top of several large multinational companies leading their human resources departments.
In 2020 she gave up her huge earnings to train as a Reiki healer and now helps improve the mental health of pets and farm animals.
‘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 common ones I work with are cats, dogs and horses, but my training allows me to communicate with any animal.
‘I have a lot of people who come to me, a lot of regular customers. Most people really love their animals and take great care of them.
‘I can talk to the animals and ask them to share anything about their past and ask them what they want to do differently. I always say that I will not ask an animal to modify its behavior.
Gemma is subject to a strict code of ethics and does not speak to animals without their owner’s permission.
She explains: ‘You need to get permission from the animal’s human before you can talk to it.
After a successful career helping humans climb the corporate ladder, the 48-year-old has turned her attention to the animal kingdom.
The mother-of-one charges £65 per session and uses meditation to communicate with animals and convey their problems to their owners.
‘With wild animals you are free to talk to them, but someone next door may not appreciate you talking to their cat. Animal communicators cannot diagnose anything medical in one session.
‘It’s about respecting confidentiality. Sometimes animals share important messages for their humans.
‘I had a private client with his dog Marley. It was the first time I worked with this client.
‘This client asked me to communicate with his dog. They asked me some general questions, I think they were just intrigued.
‘I went in and did that. The dog shared with me some personal things that they wanted to happen when he passed away. I asked the animal what his wishes were.
‘The dog said he would stop eating and drinking within 48 hours and would become lethargic.
‘I went in very gently and told him what his animal was saying. She just took it with grace. Then, nine days later, the dog passed away and she was able to meet his needs.
‘I say that we are all souls that live in a different vehicle, my belief is that my soul is the same as the soul of any animal.
Gemma is subject to a strict code of ethics and will not speak to animals without their owners’ permission.
Gemma said she is also free to talk to wild animals if she feels they are in danger, including this pheasant she spiritually healed.
‘I contacted a chicken who wanted red grapes, not green. They have their own desires.
Gemma left her corporate career in HR behind after a family move to East Sussex caused a sudden change of mood.
She said: ‘I worked in HR for almost 25 years, working in various organizations for large corporations. All of my roles were HR leadership roles.
‘I left HR and my role in 2018, I took a break from my HR job and it was during that time that I felt it was time for a change. The business world no longer resonated with me.
‘I tried to find my purpose, I had another half of my life to find something. I had heard about animal communication and had no idea what it was.
‘I started taking courses and training in animal communication. It was a year after my training that I tried it. I found people with animals who let me work with them.
‘Once I realized I could do this, everything went well and quickly and I built up a bank of clients.
He added: “Going from a career where I was very logical and factual, it’s a strange career choice.
‘Everyone can do this, it’s not a gift for a few people. We are all born with telepathic abilities.
‘There are several hours of work for each piece of communication. I don’t look for a lot of information from the client, it’s mainly to check that I understand what the client is looking for. It’s a lot of time and a lot of energy. We all vibrate at a certain rhythm.
‘Because animals are in the moment because they don’t worry about shopping, I have to make sure I raise my vibration to match that of the animal.
“I was walking my dog and I can be quite receptive. There was a crow on a telegraph pole swinging back and forth, absolutely screeching with its wings spread.
‘I asked them if they were okay and they said they had been displaced. They said they had babies in a nest and they had to leave them. On another occasion, a pheasant in the field caught my attention and told me that he had an injured leg.
Gemma admitted that not everyone believes in her ability to heal animals through spiritual healing.
She said: ‘There are skeptics out there. I’m not here to change anyone’s mind. I tend to attract people who already believe and trust in me. A lot of people have worked with me and passed the details on to someone else.’