Everyone who lives with an animal knows that they communicate with their actions, vocalizing, and body language. Most animals express their feelings, wants, and needs in ways that are unmistakable, even to us dense humans.

But there is a group of people who believe that it's possible to hear animals speak and communicate with them. By listening and responding to animals' thoughts and reading telepathic images from their minds, humans are able to ask questions and actually get answers.

We happen to fall into the camp of believing that these things are possible. Animal communicators have helped us through tough spots with our pets. "What can we do to help you trust us?" we asked of our rescued dog Leaf. "Why aren't you eating your cat food?" we wanted to know from our cat Speedy.

When our beautiful yellow Lab, Taylor couldn't walk around the lake with us anymore and appeared to be in great distress, an animal communicator helped to prepare us for the fact that Taylor wanted to leave a body that no longer served and was riddled with pain.

Two dear author friends have books that we think clarify and bring into perspective this mysterious world of animal communication. Marta Williams has a new book, Ask Your Animal: Resolving Behavioral Issues through Intuitive Communication. It contains a great foreword by actress Vanessa Williams whose kidnapped dog Marta helped her to find. For more about Marta go to www.martawilliams.com.

Another author friend who writes in a delightful and entertaining style is Amelia Kinkade. Her book The Language of Miracles: A Celebrated Psychic Teaches You to Talk to the Animals takes readers on a well-lit journey with its practical tips. Her website is www.ameliakinkade.com.

As for our skill level, we seem to be able to pick up some images and thoughts from our own animal family members, but we don't have confidence yet in an ability to catch communication from other people's pets.

What about your experiences with animal communication and animal communicators? Has anyone proven to you that this form of interspecies connection is possible?