My life philosophy

Do not be angry, Do not worry , Be grateful, Work with diligence , Be kind to every living thing.

Nami Sugiyama

M.S., B.S., RVT, LAc, NCCAOM, CCRP, Reiki Master

How it all began

I grew up in a small town in Japan. From a young age, I loved to converse with animals. I would pretend that I understood what they were saying and carry on a conversation.

I attended college in the states and started volunteering at veterinary hospitals as an assistant because I loved being hands on with the animals. As soon as I graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in pre-veterinary medicine, I started working as a veterinary assistant and became a registered veterinary technician.

I have worked in multiple veterinary hospitals to help animals and people. My nickname became the cat/dog whisperer, as many fearful dogs and cats would let me handle them, when no other nurses or veterinarians could. I always intuitively knew what the animals wanted and what they felt. I did not think I was talking to them. I just thought it was from my experience working in the field for over 15 years.

A few years after I received my RVT license, I was involved in a horrible car accident. Due to the aftereffects from my neck injury, I had a severe pain and numbness in my left fingers. One of the veterinarians who trained me to be a RVT, suggested I try acupuncture. So, I did. It completely resolved my severe pain and numbness in my left fingers.

My curiosity inspired me to pursue further education in traditional Chinese medicine. Since a licensed human acupuncturist is allowed to perform acupuncture on animal patients under direct supervision of a veterinarian in California, my goal became to help animals and humans with my Chinese medicine knowledge.

Once I received my master’s degrees in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, I started working as a human acupuncturist. I was also working in a veterinary hospital as a RVT to have a better understanding about how our body and mind are deeply connected.

I met a wonderful veterinarian who is certified in veterinary rehabilitation therapy. I had a strong gut feeling that I needed to learn more about rehabilitation therapy so that I could help many seniors and special needs dogs who are less likely to be adopted or wanted from the society. At the same time, I studied to be a reiki master.

I began working at an animal rehabilitation facility in Los Angeles; where I had an opportunity to study and receive my certification in animal rehabilitation therapy. After one year of schooling, I became a certified canine rehabilitation therapist.

While I was working there; I met a very special paralyzed dog named Violet, that belonged to Camp Cocker Rescue. Violet told me so much about how I can help others by sharing my knowledge and skills to help many seniors and special needs dogs. Her rescue group was struggling to find her a forever home and I offered to become Violet’s foster mom and Violet has been with me ever since.

The universe always has a plan

A friend asked me if I had ever considered learning animal communication because she thought I might have some natural abilities that just needed to be honed.

My childhood dream had been to be able to talk to animals, so I decided to further my education and pursue animal communication studies.
I was not sure how I would get information from animals when I attended my very first animal communication class. After I was validated by the animal teacher’s guardian about my communication, the very first thing I thought was “wow, so this is it? This is exactly how I have been receiving the information from animals. I was not making it up!!”

For many years, I always thought I knew what animals were thinking because of my experience in the veterinary fields, but it was my “AH- HA” moment to realize that I have been communicating with them all along!!!

Don't make friends with the cockroach

A week after my first animal communication class, I had an unforgettable experience.

One day I came home, I saw a big cockroach on the corner of the kitchen counter. He saw me and I froze. I have never tried to kill any insects, but I was afraid of them.

I immediately start talking to him, sending a message. “Hi, Mr. I am not going to hurt you and I want you to leave my house, please. I can bring a cup for you so you can get inside; then I can take you to a safe place without touching you. Can you wait for me?” He lifted his front legs up and waved at me.

I ran out to a storage room where I kept plastic cups. I thought “well, a cockroach would never stay there, they normally run away and hide as soon as they see a human.” Then I slowly came back to the kitchen.

Surprisingly, he was still there. I told him, “Hi, Mr. here is the cup I told you about, could you get inside the cup so I can take you outside?” He lifted his head up and stood with his front legs up in the air. He waved at me again.

I received a communication from him “Hi there, thank you!!” He walked into the cup which I was holding on to so tightly at the very corner of the kitchen counter.
I could not believe what just happened. A cockroach walked into a cup which a human was holding and he was not trying to escape.

I immediately took him outside and released him near a big tree. As he walked off from the cup, he turned and waved at me again. “Thank you!!!”

When I told my husband this unbelievable experience, he said to me “don’t make friends with the cockroach”.

Animals continue to teach me so much!

After my deeper connection with the cockroach, I have communicated with so many different animals/ beings on earth or even animals in the spirit world with guidance from Nancy Windheart, my teacher.

I received a certification as a professional animal communicator from Nancy Windheart in December 2023. And special thanks to my beloved animals who have been the greatest teachers throughout my spiritual journey.

Animals have taught me so much and they have changed my perspective about life. My life changed completely for the better ever since I started my spiritual journey with animals. My favorite communications are with animals in the spirit world as they can share so much wisdom with me through our connection as well as animals with trauma / behavior issues. End of life communications give me an opportunity to offer my reiki skills and I immediately feel a release in their hearts by just listening to them.

I strongly believe that my work here is to be a bridge for animals and humans to have a better understanding of each other by creating a safe space for them through telepathic animal communication, my healing work and sharing my knowledge in veterinary medicine and holistic medicine.