Online · 50 minNaomi Chen · Seattle
Senior animals and end-of-life conversations
$120 / session
4.98
Portland, OR · she/her
Mara Ellison
I sit with the dogs who can’t tell you what’s wrong in words.
4.97· 312 reviews
1,280 sessions
14 years practicing
Verified voice
Mara has spent 14 years working with anxious, reactive, and grieving dogs — the ones who startle at the mail truck, or go quiet after a companion dies. Sessions are unhurried, over video, with the dog in the room.
About this work
I came to this work after my first retriever, Juniper, stopped eating after we moved. A communicator in Bend sat with us for an hour. What came through wasn’t mystical theater — it was practical. Juniper hated the new hallway lighting. We changed the bulbs. She ate.
I trained for six years under two working animal communicators in the Pacific Northwest and now keep a small practice so I can actually follow up. Most of my clients are people who have already tried training, medication, or a new routine and still feel like they’re missing something the dog is trying to say.
I work live, with the animal present. I don’t do cold reads from a photo, and I won’t tell you your dog is a reincarnated warrior. I will tell you if they want the crate door left open, or if they’re still looking for someone who isn’t coming home.
Works with
Anxiety, grief, and big-feeling dogs. Languages: English.
Usually within an hour.
4.97 · 312 reviews
“June started pacing every night after my dad died. The trainer said it was attention-seeking. Mara sat with us for 45 minutes and said June was looking for him at the back door at 9 because that’s when he used to come over. We put his old jacket there. She stopped. I still don’t know how to explain that to people. I don’t care.”
“Pepper had been nipping at guests for a year. Mara asked if we’d rearranged the furniture. We had — the couch used to face the window. Pepper was losing his job as lookout. We put a chair back at the window. The nipping stopped in a week. Skeptical going in. Not anymore.”
“Otis is 13 and slowing down. I wanted to know if he was ready. Mara was very careful and very clear: not yet, but he wants shorter walks and to sleep in the living room. We moved his bed. He looks like himself again.”
