Photo by Bill Owen Marjorie Lewis, seen with her dog, Buddha, communicates with animals through telepathy. “I believe everyone has the ability” to communicate with animals, she said. “It’s just a matter of tuning into that frequency — with intent.”

WHAT'S IN THE STARS ... FOR SPOT

"I have two Geminis and an Aquarius and a Sag and a Scorpio," Patt Gately said. "And the other, I don't know."

Plenty of people don't even know the zodiac signs of their family members, let alone their dogs. But these Aussies are in good hands with this astrologer, based in Mount Airy , who understands her dogs in a way other pet owners might not.

Gately has studied astrology since 1986, but about 10 years ago, she combined her longtime interest in the science with her love for dogs through DogStarZ, personalized charts for dogs.

Most owners know only the birthday -- or thereabouts -- of their pet, which means the DogStarZ charts are based on the animals' sun signs. Gately gladly creates more detailed charts if owners know a more specific birth time. She also creates comparison charts for pets and their owners.

"Patsy, my Sagittarius, is like, 'Mmm, freedom.' I can relate," said Gately, a Sagittarius herself. "She wants to be outside the longest. She and I are real, real tied."

Gately suspects Patsy is a Cancer because she can never get enough to eat, she said, laughing. "Food, emotionally ..."

GROUP REIKI FOR DOGS

Paula Anzalone tunes in differently.

About a year ago, she learned Reiki specifically to use on her dogs.

"If I'm doing it on one, it seems to have an effect on all of them," said Anzalone, who lives in Gaithersburg with five dogs. "It's very calming and very soothing for them."

Reiki is a hands-on healing method used to promote physical and emotional well-being, as the practitioner serves as a vessel for energy to enter the patient.

She typically gives one dog a treatment each week, and lets the others sit in.

Her show dog, a standard poodle, improved her performance after Reiki treatments.

Her oldest dog has back issues, she said.

"I can help him with medication, but I'd rather not do that. Since I've been doing the Reiki, he seems to be a little bit better.

"He's pretty grumpy; he's an old guy. But he's been a little bit easier to deal with."

The health of all the dogs, in fact, has improved, she said. One of them had chronic diarrhea, which cleared up completely.

"I'm attributing this all to the Reiki," she said. "It has to be.

"If you're making a conscious effort to do something ... to help you become more in tune with your animals, this is one way you can transform you and your dog."

COMMUNICATING WITH ANIMALS

A longtime student of intuitive development, with Cayce books lining the shelves of her Frederick townhouse, Marjorie Lewis wanted to go straight to the source and learn how to communicate with animals through telepathy.

But she didn't immediately set out to learn; the medium just sort of presented itself to her. As a licensed massage therapist, Lewis began equine sports massage in 1994 and noticed she was communicating with the animals.

"I realized they were responding to my thoughts. I would think, 'It sure would help if you would lower your head.' And he'd lower his head. I began to recognize it's more than coincidence. It was every day and every horse."

So she practiced on her own animals at home, quickly learned it worked and began studying how she could, in turn, understand the animals. She attended trainings, and has been using animal communication professionally for about 10 years.

"I get surprisingly detailed images" from the animals, she said, "along with very intense emotions."

She may ask how the animal feels about a specific person, for instance.

"I believe everyone has the ability" to communicate with animals, she said. "It's just a matter of tuning into that frequency -- with intent."

Because people develop strong connections with their pets, Lewis can also locate missing pets through their owners by accessing that energetic cord. Unfortunately, given that animals can't read road signs, Lewis is not always given enough concrete landmarks to locate the pet.

In some cases, she said, dogs and cats purposely leave because of domestic situations, such as an owner's new girlfriend or boyfriend in the house, and they don't return until the situation is resolved.

While she can't diagnose or treat illness, she can often help discern the location and quality of pain and discomfort.

"Very often where they are limping isn't where the pain is occurring from; it's just a symptom," she said. "They can take me on a tour of their body."

Lewis has been connected telepathically with a number of dogs, cats and horses during the death transition.

"It's ... beautiful, joyful ... joy beyond description," she said.

Often times, animal communication sessions, usually done over the phone, turn into a therapy session for the owner, when they deal with behavior problems of the pet.

"Animals act out because they can't tell you what's wrong," Lewis said. "Animals are much more aware of our lives and our emotions than we realize. They're very honest and very perceptive about our physical well-being and our emotional well-being."

It was once a dog, for instance, who urged Lewis to convince his owner to get to the doctor ASAP or he was going to have another heart attack. And it turns out the doctor agreed with the dog.

"I don't walk down the street hearing dog and cat voices," she said, laughing. "I have to be tuned into it."

Although, it's not just dogs and cats she has tuned into. She's communicated with horses, birds, rabbits, groundhogs, even moles.

When a dog was tearing up a yard, chasing after moles, the owner was ready to put poison out for them. When Lewis explained this to them, and that there was another sunny field with warm soil nearby, they all left within two days.

"Every one of these animals has come here to teach us something," she said. "How many is it gonna take? Humans are so dense sometimes. People still have this idea that we are the keepers of animals; they come here voluntarily as teachers and friends."