“Carrots!”: A Short Story Excerpt from Conversations with Animals and Nature (2024)
Written by the animals and Alonna Donovan, Animal Communicator at Critter Chatter Animal Communication Services
The following is a short story that was featured in an anthology of stories written by fellow animal communicators and the animal kingdom. Enjoy!
Communicating with animals allows us humans to be a source of enrichment for animals in unexpected ways, as well as animals serving as a beacon of spiritual growth for humans. My life has certainly changed for the better since I decided to start practicing animal communication. Suddenly, experiences that once would have felt generic became much more vibrant and interesting.
Here is a story of how animal communication enriches everyday experiences for both humans and animals. One of my most cherished memories of animal communication occurred on a business trip, of all places! My partner and I run a business together, and we needed to travel out of state for a business meeting one March, a few months into my taking animal communication classes with Dr. Maia Kincaid. Since we were taking our dogs along with us, we searched online for dog-friendly short-term rentals at which to spend the night. We came across a guest house located on a quaint little farm. The property was home to a myriad of barnyard animals, which included roosters and chickens, a sheep, miniature ponies, and even a deer! Of course, the minute my partner said, “I found a property with animals on it”, I was sold!
Excited about our upcoming trip, I started talking to the animals ahead of time, before we even left. The listing description of the rental didn’t give many specifics on the animals, so I wanted to learn about them. I thought it would be a great opportunity for some practice! Plus, since I was planning to stay at their home, it seemed only neighborly to introduce myself. Indeed, my hosts were very friendly and started telling me about themselves. They described to me their respective genders, personalities, relationships with one another, pen arrangements, likes and dislikes, interactions with visitors, conversations with their guardians, and lifestyle. One particularly spunky miniature horse told me that his name was Hamilton and that he was in an enclosure of five horses. He gleefully described his comical and lighthearted antics around the farm.
While in the process of getting to know my new friends, I let them know I was planning to visit their farm and explained I would be bringing my partner and two dogs. They were very excited to hear about this and said they were looking forward to our visit. Then I heard them say in unison: “Carrots! Bring us carrots!” The animals referenced a practically unused bag of baby carrots sitting in my refrigerator and urged me to pack it for the trip.
Now, I know next to nothing about barnyard animals, having never owned any myself. I wasn’t even sure if carrots were an appropriate snack to feed barnyard animals. But when I checked with them again, I heard perhaps even more loudly and clearly, in one accord: “Carrots! Bring us carrots!” The animals told me that their caretaker communicated proficiently with them. However, she had not yet observed their rampant desire for carrots. They reiterated once again: “Carrots! Bring us carrots!” The sing-songy chorus of their request echoed in my head to the point that even my distractible brain didn’t forget to grab that bag of carrots on the way out the door!
When we arrived at the farm, we met the human hostess, a very kind middle-aged woman who offered us a warm welcome. She showed us around our little cabin quarters where we would be staying. As soon as the necessary introductions were over, I let her know that I had brought along a bag of carrots for the animals and asked her permission to feed them. She paused as though thinking it over, then looked at me dubiously and stated, “You can if you want to, but I really don’t think that the animals will like the carrots all that much.” I thanked her as she left, and my family and I situated ourselves for the night. We'd had a long journey that day and it was very dark. It seemed that a more thorough exploration of the farm and interactions with the animals would need to wait. However, I did speak with the animals and let them know that I had arrived at their farm and was excited to meet them.
My family and I attended our business meeting early in the morning the following day, throughout which I eagerly looked forward to returning to the rental property so we could meet the farm animals in person. Once we returned and settled back in, I grabbed the bag of mini carrots from our cooler. We then made the rounds on the farm. First, we met the miniature horses that I had spoken with ahead of time, including the spunky male horse named Hamilton. I had learned by now that Hamilton wasn’t the name that his people called him, but he told me he loves the name Hamilton because of the energy of it and the fact that “Ham” could be a derivative nickname – and boy was this little mini horse quite the ham! Indeed, he was in an enclosure of five horses, just as he’d told me in advance. He and his mini-horse counterparts just gobbled up handfuls of the carrots with pure delight! In addition to the miniature horses on the farm, we also interacted with the sheep and deer. Every farm animal happily gobbled up the carrots and concurrently participated in a magical act entitled “make a bag of carrots quickly disappear.” They chorused elatedly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! We're so happy you came, and we loved the carrots!"
After returning home from our trip, I shared my story about the carrots in my animal communication class. We asked the animals to confirm their request for carrots, and they vehemently confirmed their carrot-love. They also confirmed that they have been hungry for carrots for some time and felt grateful that my communication with them drew attention to this fact. Our animal communication teacher, Dr. Maia Kincaid, astutely pointed out that sometimes we humans hear information from the animal, but don’t always consciously realize it until we turn our attention towards that information. Animal communicators can provide a service to the animals by helping an animal’s human guardian realize something that they already knew. For example, now that the hostess of our rental property knows that the farm animals love carrots, the animals can anticipate more of this delectable root vegetable in their future!
In the end, not only did I benefit from thoroughly enjoying my experience visiting the farm, but the animals also benefited from having their carrot-driven palate highlighted and hopefully indulged more prolifically moving forward. Thus, the farm animals and I became mutual benefactors of our shared experience. Now I have a delightful memory, and the animals have a delightful new addition to their diet!
Key Take-Away:
Animal communication benefits humans by adding richness and dimension to our everyday experiences, transforming experiences from ordinary to extraordinary. The reverse is also true: animal communication also provides animals the opportunity to elevate their quality of daily experiences.
You’ll Also Love…
If you enjoyed this story, you’ll love Conversations with Animals and Nature, an inspiring anthology available on Amazon and Lulu. This book features 85 stories written by the animal kingdom and 43 animal communicators. Best of all, every purchase supports goes to support the animals!