animal communicator · shaman · thetahealer®

Through her amazing gifts as an Animal Communicator and Shaman she was able to help us understand the needs and desires of our beloved canine companion as she was transitioning from this realm to the next. Rachel was also able to “check in” with our younger dog to see how he was feeling after the loss of his alpha and best friend, as well as assist in the healing of his old trauma. It was truly amazing to watch as the healing began to take place right before our eyes. Through Rachel’s gifts we were able to hear what our animals wanted to share with us complete with their personalities and humor. I am filled with so much gratitude.”

—CHERYL S.

“I am so pleased with how things feel today after Rachel’s work with my 3 cats yesterday. My cats go outdoors when I am home and for several months they haven’t been coming when I call, sometimes staying out after dark, a breach of one of our basic agreements. I asked Rachel to look at this behavior. Already there are such palpable changes. All the cats stayed nearby today and visited during their morning outdoor time.

Around 11 this morning a band of coyotes started howling across the canyon. This always freaks me out when I hear them in the middle of the day. I immediately checked on everyone. Max and China
Girl were hanging out just outside the door. Pelé was down the hill but appeared promptly.

We’re all inside now. All the cats are snoozing, and I am really happy. I am so grateful to Rachel for bringing peace of mind back to my house!”

—PEGGY PFEIFFER, Santa Fe

“The bottom line is trust, that’s what it all comes down to. I trust Rachel. Whether in person or over the phone I can count on her skills.”

—CONNIE LUDER

“Rachel has been indispensable in helping me create a close and loving relationship with my cat Luna and my dogs Bijou and Shanti. Her ability to tune into their minds is uncanny and her advice has made a huge difference in our lives.”

—BARBARA DE ANGELIS, Ph.D., Bestselling Author/Media Therapist

“Rachel is the most connected and profound animal communicator I have met. Nick, my 5-year-old grey tabby cat, who slept with me every night, went missing after Moose, a 17 year old orange tabby, decided to adopt us. I could not find Nick anywhere. After two months of desperate searching, I was given Rachel’s phone number and within 5 minutes of talking with her on the phone Nick was sitting right next to Moose in front of me while I was talking with Rachel on the phone. Within 2 days Nick was back sleeping at home, and within a week he was back sleeping with me.

A few years later I was teaching at the University. It was the first night of class. Moose had been going down hill slowly for about a year. I consulted Rachel regarding supporting him with his passing. She insisted that he was going to die this first night of class, and advised if I wanted to be with him during his passing not to go to class. I made the arrangements to stay home and sure enough he died that evening right in the middle of class. To be there with Moose in his last breath was a gift I’ll treasure forever, and if it wasn’t for Rachel, I would have missed this opportunity.”

—BECKY PRELITZ

“I want to thank Rachel for helping my dog, Kona, and me during my son’s terminal illness. Understanding Kona’s behavior, her confusion and sadness, helped to delineate our family’s feelings.”

—BEVERLY L. COOPER, L.C.S.W.

“Non-verbal communication is essential when working with animals. There are many levels of expertise in this endeavor, I have found that Rachel has a very high level of expertise in the field. She has been very helpful to many people and their animals.”

—MICHAEL W. LEMMON, D.V.M., Highlands Veterinary Hospital, Renton, Washington

“I have known Rachel Randel Since 1999.

As a client I have found her to be knowledgeable, always exploring and expanding her information base and willing go the extra mile to do what is best for her animals. She works well even under difficult circumstances and is especially level headed in a crisis situation. More than once I have relied on her deep understanding of her animals and her ability to sense what is best for them under complex circumstances and in the face of various options recommended to her from different sources. She is thorough in observation of them and has never been remiss in their care.

Rachel and I also share clients in common and I have had occasion to work in conjunction with her on some cases. All my experiences with Rachel and with others that she has worked with have shown her to be  competent, caring, sensible and reliable. Rachel has a gift for being in and around the dying process and has been very helpful for clients who are making that difficult transition.  She is professional and at the same time warm and compassionate. I would not hesitate to recommend her.”

—DIANA BOCHENSKI, DVM, CVH, Buellton Veterinary Clinic, Homeopathic Services, Buellton, CA

“Rachel Randel woke up my mind and opened my heart to the animals in my life in a profound and life changing way. She has helped me see the animals that live with me for the beautiful, evolved spirits that they are. We now have an entirely new relationship and I know my life is enormously richer for it.

As a volunteer for a bird of prey rescue and rehab center I work with wounded hawks, falcons, owl, and eagles. From what Rachel has taught me I now see these magnificent birds in a much more conscious way. I have been able, based on Rachel’s work with me, to get verifiable messages from the birds regarding their injuries. Not only do I work more easily with the birds, I feel that I am able to contribute more to their care and release. I also now see them, like my companion animals, for the wise ones they are. I see that they may be the ones rescuing and rehabbing me!

Rachel’s integrity and her strong inner compass and her commitment to the animals, to spirit, and to the truth make her someone you can absolutely count on no matter the challenge. I highly recommend her to anyone who cares for animals, for the earth, and for their own spiritual journey.”

—CHRISTINE THOMAS, Personal Life & Relationship Coach

“Rachel has been working on my dogs, horses, house and self for the last eight to nine years. In our first phone conversation we were not sure if she was what I needed. I decided I wanted to meet her–She was exactly what I needed.

She initially worked on one of my dogs, Maggie, who at the time had allergies. Four vets later I found Rachel. She worked with Maggie’s physical, emotional and spiritual planes. She was the only thing that helped. Rachel gave me great referrals and resources. She never was selling a product. She was telling about products available and what they could and could not do. I know she is the reason Maggie lived as long as she did. At the end Rachel was there with her support and awareness. Rachel has worked with my two other dogs and two horses.

Royce, one of my horses, had a leg issue. Before the vet was out, I had Rachel work on him. She used crystals to support his leg bringing his ankle up. It helped. Subsequently, he was X-rayed and we discovered the heel of his coffin bone was lower than his toe, thus putting strain on his tendons and ligament–thus the lameness. What Rachel had done was intuitively recognize the problem and worked on an energy level to assist it. My other horse, Raymes, had hives. Rachel worked with him on an emotional level and the hives subsided.

These are just a few examples of her work. What I find most interesting is how my dogs and horses respond to Rachel. You can tell they are communicating by their body language and behavior.

Rachel has worked on me. I am a Family Law lawyer. Sometimes I pick up some really bad stuff that belongs somewhere else. This one time I was having this feeling in my gut of a big tightened-up knot. I couldn’t get rid of it. It was draining my energy. Rachel worked on me and pulled this really ugly stuff out and, wow, did it shift my energy. I immediately felt lighter—the pit was gone. Rachel has also several times worked on my home.

I could go on about her–her honesty, her integrity, her compassion, etc. I am very grateful Rachel is in my life. I have never been disappointed. She is magical. I highly recommend her!!”

—CISCA STELLHORN

“Although I was always an animal-lover, with a myriad of pets, I didn’t get my first dog until age 26. Bo was an 8 week-old black lab, who was an “impulse buy” at an auction (I was so devastated by the loss of my water dragon a few days earlier that my Dad bought me a puppy to cheer me up). Bo was the perfect “first dog”—so polite and loving and trainable and eager to please. As a single gal, he quickly became the center of my life. Every decision I made considered what was best for him. I even started cooking his meals, and adding supplements. However, we still had a relatively “traditional” life, in that I was the BOSS and set all the rules, which he dutifully followed.

I consulted Rachel, upon recommendation of a co-worker, when I impulsively decided to adopt another shelter dog into our household which had previously been quite calm and stable. Bo was 11 years old, and it had always been just the two of us. But my younger brother, also “single with dog,” had just lost his 6 year old Rottweiler unexpectedly, during her first routine teeth cleaning (heart failure under anesthesia). Subconsciously I knew I could never be alone, without Bo, and sought a “back-up dog” while justifying it that Bo had suddenly become “lonely” when I was at work.

I first spoke with Rachel on the phone, and she advised against the idea… the odds were against a successful outcome. But I was stubborn, and I’d already “promised” this beautiful shepherd/huskie mix at the shelter that I would adopt her, as soon as she was available. After all, she was so quiet and docile… she would fit right in. Well, she fooled me. Before we even got home from the shelter, her true personality came out, and she was a holy terror. Libby barfed, peed, and vomited all over the house, between her episodes of shredding curtains, digging holes in the drywall, chewing door jambs, chewing through leashes and seat belts, stealing Bo’s food or humping his head, barking incessantly, trying to dig out of the yard, etc… It didn’t help that I brought her home 10 days before moving into a new house, after the “escrow from hell”, because I was fragile already. I cried every day for the first month. It was hard enough on me, but I brought this on myself. What had I inflicted upon my poor undeserving Bo… could he ever forgive me!? His needs were back-burnered, while all the attention was focused on Libby.

Frequent in-home visits and telephone consultations with Rachel were required, just so that Libby and I could survive the first year without killing each other. It was another year before we actually started to like each other. Rachel did recommend that perhaps my role was to save Libby from certain death at the shelter, rather than provide a permanent home. That took the pressure off, although I had no success in finding her a home, and I think it made me more hard-headed about making our relationship work.

Rachel recommended naturopathic therapies (such as flower essences) to help Libby adjust to our home and overcome some of her heavy “baggage.” She helped me to work with Libby to pick her name, which was reflective of her inner being (the name from her prior owners and the two I’d tried myself were not right). In fact, Libby selected the name Elizabeth, which means “gift from God” (even though I wasn’t feeling THAT at the moment!!). I told her Elizabeth (my Mom’s name) and Betty (my aunt’s name) were off-limits, so she picked another derivative… and it’s worked beautifully. Rachel worked to address root issues in Libby’s past, which were causing her to act out in destructive ways: betrayal and probable abuse from multiple previous owners, loss of her puppies which had obviously been removed only days before she ended up in the shelter, etc… But probably more significantly, she helped me to acknowledge my OWN control issues, which made me incompatible with Libby. Rachel pointed out that Bo & Libby had to establish a hierarchy, and it might not be what I would choose (I thought Bo was the “senior” dog who deserved respect, but it was their decision, and they picked the opposite). She also taught me that I had to fight only the big battles, and let the smaller issues go… that I would still survive, and maybe even be HAPPIER, even if I didn’t win every time.

Things calmed down, and after what seemed like an eternal period of “co-existence” without real closeness, Bo & Libby finally started to exhibit signs of being friends and enjoying each others company (such as sleeping next to each other). We’d occasionally have “flare ups”, so Rachel had sessions with Libby which I can only describe as “exorcisms”, but we were a committed family by then, and we did whatever it took, and we were all better from it. Libby finally let down her “wall” and began to trust me. She had been so afraid (of physical harm?) that for several years, I could not even stand straddling over her, while she lay on the ground… she immediately squirmed out and ran. Now we play “I’m gonna getcha!”, and I lie or sit on top of her, intentionally squashing/pinning her while tickling or stealing her toys (like an annoying older brother??). Libby continues to push my buttons even to this day (almost 7 years later), despite our close relationship, but now I accept that it’s just part of our relationship, and love her anyway.

By age 13, Bo had already undergone surgery for a large malignant cancer on his side (initially misdiagnosed as a benign fatty deposit which is common in Labs), when he was diagnosed with another malignant cancer of the nose, not even a visible lump yet. This cancer would be treatable only by radiation therapy. Without radiation, specialist gave him 3-6 months. Radiation might allow him a year, but due to the location of the cancer, could cause blindness or burn a hole in the roof of his mouth. I couldn’t imagine causing him more pain. He was still suffering as a result of the last surgery, from which he had never fully recovered (and that cancer had already started to grow back, which was expected). He was often unable to get up from his bed without assistance, and would cry and yelp repeatedly for me to help him up. I would drop everything to run to his side, even jumping out of the bathtub (thinking that perhaps he was desperate to potty). Then he would stand, turn around, and lie back down. I became resentful of him for his demands, which was a HORRIBLE feeling, even though I probably knew subconsciously that he just wanted my attention.

I asked Rachel for suggestions on cancer treatment, and she was a wealth of information and suggestions. She confirmed that Bo, like me, didn’t want the “traditional” treatment.  She referred me to a homeopathic vet, who first treated his orthopedic problems, before turning to the cancers. Almost miraculously, his mobility returned in full, which was one of the biggest gifts of all… no more yelping!  Rachel also referred me to Tracy, a physical therapist, who specialized in “non-traditional” modalities… both “hand-on” muscle/organ work and “hands-off” “energy” work. I never understood what Tracy did or does (I use her personally now), but I knew Bo adored her, and always seemed to feel better after a session. I also felt it very important that Libby was allowed to “participate” in these sessions. Rachel also gave me a variety of suggestions on diet, supplementation, and other naturopathic remedies. We optimistically and aggressively attacked the cancers with these methods.  Rachel suggested a raw food diet. I drew the line at this, even though I knew Rachel was probably right about the benefits, because it never felt right to me for Bo… one of the few times I said “No” to Rachel.

As the nose cancer grew, it became more visible, and disfigured his face. “Well-meaning” family members and strangers at the dog park would remark “that dog should be put out of its misery” or that it was “OK to put him down now.” But I knew Bo better than anyone, and knew that he still felt well enough to enjoy daily life, and he wanted to keep fighting. I mean, how many people would “put Grandma down” just because she got cancer, and we want to SPARE her any possible or future pain or suffering?? This just doesn’t make sense to me… Why should we make the decision for our animals, when we wouldn’t for our human loved ones?? This was the biggest gift from Rachel. She confirmed that I was right, and everyone else was wrong, and empowered me to stay the course. Bo wasn’t ready to die, and was willing to put up with the discomfort. He’d let me know when it was time. This was essential, as there’s no way to prevent the self-doubt from creeping in, when you stand alone against the rest of world, and even your family.

Every day became a bit more challenging, as the tumor made it difficult for Bo to chew, and eventually grew near his left eye, which became permanently closed. There were episodes of bleeding from the mouth or nose. We continued to adapt the household to accommodate his needs (putting mats on the kitchen floor where he began to lose his footing, elevating his food dish because it hurt his jaw to eat from the floor, etc…). He continued to lose weight. He developed a secretion from the bad eye, which suspended like the “spit” trails from the mouth of those drooly dogs. It had to be wiped about every 20 minutes, when it got too long (I made a point to never be gone more than 2 hours at a time by then). But his spirits remained good, and he still enjoyed a romp in the yard, barking through the fence at passersby on the sidewalk in the late afternoon (I call it “yappy hour”). OK, they were horrified by the sight of him, but I explained it through the fence to those few who were BRAVE enough to stop and ask (mostly kids), and they saw he was still the same dog underneath. I always saw him as the handsome gentlemen I’d adored for 14 years, and I hope they came to see that too.

By this time, I was blessed to earn my living from home, doing sales over the internet, so I was able to devote the time and energy required to Bo during his last months, which were really “doggie hospice.” As difficult as it was to go through, it was truly the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced, and we grew even closer than before. When he lost his eye, I pulled him out of his twice-weekly dog park chaperoned playgroup, although Libby kept going. This was the first time in years that Bo & I were alone together, and we enjoyed a slow quiet walk each time. He could make it only a block or two by then, but I treasured these short times together… just the two of us, like the old days. I would often just lie with him on his bed, “cooing” as you would to an infant, or singing to him. He was almost completely deaf by then, but I pressed my lips just above his ear, and knew he could “feel” what I was saying.

We were in fairly frequent contact with Rachel near the end (fortunately, much can be accomplished with Rachel by phone), and we knew that we were on the right path. Rachel had discussed the idea of having to put Bo “down”, and offered to provide names and numbers of vets who will come to the home. She even offered to be present when it happened. But I could never accept the idea of putting him down – I wouldn’t be able to do it. I think Bo knew that.

One Monday, Libby barreled into Bo, knocking him into a wall, as she was running out the door (she never did cut him any slack). He “sprung a leak” from the stretched skin on the top of his nose, and I couldn’t stop the slow blood drip. Well, I just put sheets down everywhere, to try to protect the carpet… no big deal. But he just seemed to drag after this. I called Rachel the same day. She called back the following day, explaining a personal emergency… she was not in a position to be “open” to any communications because her mother had died the week before, and basically her “channels were jammed,”… could she call me back in a week? I said “Sure, he won’t die in the next week, but call me as soon as you can.”

Well, was that tempting fate? Probably not… I came to realize afterwards that Bo really was on his own schedule. Sunday night (6 days later), I had an overwhelming urge to walk the dogs well into the evening. I finished a TV show and walked them at 11 PM, which I’d never done before. Bo could only make it one block by then. Half way around the block, I flashed back to our long walks together when we lived in Palm Springs, actually seeing our walks… we walked off-leash through the nearby desert. I realized that “he doesn’t need this leash anymore”, and for the first time EVER in the city, reached down and removed not just the leash, but the collar. For weeks, because of the eye problem, he’d been experiencing difficulties walking too far away from me and too close to the edge of the sidewalk (because he was taught to walk on my left, and had no vision on the left side, he would trip on sprinkler heads, or on the uneven surfaces where grass met the concrete, or at the driveways). To compensate, I moved as far to the right as possible, to try to keep him in the middle of the sidewalk, but it never worked. The moment I took off his collar, he began to walk next to my knee, as if glued to it, as I’d taught him when he was 6 months old. As we rounded the block, and approached home, I heard a voice in my head which was as clear and loud as if someone was standing next to me. It said, in my own voice, “This is our last walk.” In all the time that I’d worked with Rachel, and she’d worked to teach me to “listen” for when the dogs speak, this was the first time Bo EVER spoke to me. I was confused (or unwilling to face it), and assumed he meant that he would be losing the other eye, which would render him completely blind and unable to walk. I fell asleep with Bo on his bed that night, having what turned out to be our last cuddle. I woke up at 1:30 and went to bed, until I rose at about 3 AM when I heard him in distress (mothers can hear their kids labored breathing in another room). The details of his death aren’t necessary to share, but I can say that it was incredibly difficult to go through, even though it was really fairly quick… about 4 hours. Bo had his last walk and cuddle with me, had informed me of his intent, and then “shut down.” It was messy and bloody, but he died in my arms, on his bed.  It was 8 months since his diagnosis.

I cried on the phone with Rachel for 2 hours the next day. Wow, that was important… no one else understood (I didn’t know the call that kept beeping in was my brother’s wife, in labor, looking for a ride to the hospital… oops!). As Bo’s body was shutting down in the pre-dawn hours, I had wanted to help him die. I cursed myself for having failed to get the phone number of a vet to put Bo down at home (as if that person would come at 5 AM). And Rachel was regretting that she hadn’t been with us when Bo died, as she’d promised. But we came to understand that, since clearly he controlled the timing, Bo had specifically chosen this time, to be only with his “family” (Libby and myself), and it was to be a private experience. In fact, I do believe he chose a day when normally the cleaning lady would come at 7:30 AM (the time he actually died), but she’d rescheduled to the following day. This allowed me time to lie with his body and mourn, but still pick up the house for a good cleaning the next day, and also prevented the uncomfortable situation of having the cleaning lady walk in to view my flailing and wailing body on the floor. What a gentleman he was.

Rachel walked me through the months that followed… seeing his head in the rearview mirror, where he always sat in the back seat; seeing him lying on a dog bed; feeling a warm spot on the floor outside my office door where he used to lie; or the wonderful dreams where we were together again. It was a great comfort for me to see him in these ways, as fleeting as they were. Rachel explained that he was still very present to Libby, which made me a bit jealous, because I was unable to see him like she did… for me, it was out of the corner of my eye, or in my dreams.

I was numb from my loss, but Libby was going through the same thing, and we could be a comfort to each other. Libby immediately asked for another dog (through Rachel), but I replied that I needed at least 6 months and up to 2 years before taking that step. Time passed, and I got pretty comfortable being a “one dog household.” Immediately after Bo’s death, I’d taken Rachel’s advice to switch Libby to a raw food diet (she dropped 20 lbs and looks FABULOUS). As a vegetarian, it’s really difficult for me to prepare raw meat for ONE dog, and I couldn’t fathom TWO dogs. And it’s certainly easier logistically to have one dog instead of two dogs, when you’re trying to find a willing dog sitter or when you’re transporting the dogs in the back of a Honda sedan, etc… So I’d hoped that Libby had forgotten the 2 year maximum “mourning period” I’d named or decided she’d like to keep 100% of my attention and didn’t need another dog. Apparently not…

Rayya came to me in a way I was not expecting. Rachel had considered personally adopting her (from a rescue organization), but came to feel that she was really only meant to “direct” this dog to her final home. When Rachel called out of the blue, and left a message on my machine that she knows a dog she THINKS is supposed to live with me, do you THINK I returned the call? Not a chance! I was a “one-dog family” now, with no intentions of fulfilling my promise to Libby to adopt another. Well, Rachel called the next day, and caught me on the phone. To make a long story short, Rayya was in my home 4 days later. As much as this caught my by total surprise, I don’t question for a moment that she really was meant to be with us. Honestly, Rachel’s recommendation holds a lot of weight!

Rayya was a breeze, compared to Libby. Unlike Libby, she entered the home timidly, and happily accepted the bottom rung on the hierarchy. She adores Libby, and they have never fought in the year and a half they’ve been together.  She looked to Libby for direction, so she fit in right away (well, maybe Libby isn’t the BEST role model). Rayya certainly hasn’t been perfect… after all, she’d spent about half her life in shelters and 3 different homes before she joined us by age 2, and she was still a bit of a puppy without much training. She’s had some episodes which Rachel has addressed (those darn water sprite “infections”). But I have no doubt that Rayya was destined to be in my home, and am thankful that I trusted Rachel. My life is so much fuller with Rayya, and I treasure her. Even better, Libby adores Rayya too (well, I think she really enjoys bossing her around), and they are constant companions. Rachel and I believe that Bo had a hand in sending Rayya my way, probably because he knew that my next dog had to be a “low maintenance” dog to offset the hell I’d gone through with Libby, so I didn’t give up and switch to goldfish!

So that’s our story. At the moment, life is good (so we’ve not talked to Rachel much lately). Libby is probably about 11 years old, but is in terrific health. She looks to be about 7 years in age, and her teeth are gorgeous (which is important, because we don’t do traditional cleaning under anesthesia, since my brother lost his dog that way). I know the raw diet and supplementation is a major reason for this. But I also think that the dogs are more emotionally healthy than the “average” dog because, thanks to Rachel, there is a heightened level of communication between us.

When Rachel came into my life, I had no idea what an impact she would have. I envisioned that Rachel would be able to “tell” my dogs what I wanted from them, and then leave. I’m thankful it’s not what she did. While it was a bit more work for me, Rachel has continued to help me to create a real two-way relationship with my dogs, helping me to interact with them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The life-changing event was allowing me to experience the privilege of supporting Bo to the natural end of his life. As great as my loss was, I had an immediate sense of closure, which I would not have experienced had I “put him down” earlier. In fact, I later had the opportunity to refer my dear friends to Rachel when their dog developed cancer. What an honor it is to know that another family chose this to follow my referrals, and because of this, a sweet dog was able to live her full life as she chose and to die when her life was complete.

I can’t imagine my life without Rachel now. She visits when her wisdom is needed, and steps into the background otherwise. She suggests, but doesn’t push. She is truly a family member, and it is a comfort that I know I can call on her for anything.”

—DONNA HANCOCK, LIBBY AND RAYYA (AND BO)