Rose De Dan was expecting more of a “Dr. Doolittle” experience when she took her first class on animal communication. Instead, she realized that she already knew what the instructor was saying and how to connect with her furred and feathered friends. 

“I had been doing it all my life,” she said. 

Now, the West Seattle resident teaches the skill to others, as part of the practice she runs entitled “Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing.” 

De Dan offers healing sessions for animals of all species, as well as Reiki and Shamanic classes for individuals interested in learning her art. 

Students from near and far have signed up for the courses, which De Dan teaches in a series of training calls.  

Lisa Craig, who resides in Australia, enrolled in both Reiki and animal connection classes with De Dan. 

“Rose seeks to bring the earth, animals and people into balance and her healing work has been of great benefit to many,” Craig said. “As a teacher, she supports each person on their own journey to be a healer. She is also courageous and refreshing in her passion for the wildness of life and the sacredness of our natural world.”

Another student Mitzi Koch found De Dan while searching for a teacher who could help her apply Reiki to healing animals. She is currently taking her fifth class at Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing.

“Everything resonated with me,” Koch said. “It was like coming back home, remembering how I felt when I communicated with animals and everything in nature, when I was a young child. The yearning to be and live that way again never left me.”

Koch recommends the courses to others. “Rose is an excellent teacher,” she said. “She has a deep, deep passion for her work and guides her students in a wonderful way, weaving in stories about her work and healing sessions and experiences.”

De Dan has found her calling in this work, even if her path has taken her a bit by surprise. Originally from New Jersey, she majored in English and then pursued a career in graphic design and the printing industry. 

She was living in Massachusetts when she made a decision that would change her life. She signed up for a Reiki class. 

“I showed up with an open mind but no expectations,” she said. “A world of wonder opened up. All of a sudden I knew that I was a healer.”

De Dan wanted to help animals, but searches for mentors left her empty-handed. “I couldn’t find anyone else working with animals,” she said. “I had to adapt what I had learned, and the animals ended up being the teachers.”

She continued studying Reiki with both human and animal clients. “I didn’t have a business plan,” she said. “But gradually, I had less and less graphic design work and more and more clients and students. I followed my passion.”

By the time De Dan moved to Seattle in 2000, she was a full-time healer. She started studying animal communication and shamanism as well. 

Currently, she sees animal clients in house visits and by phone consultations. She assesses each patient’s energy. “I can see where the animal is out of balance in the body and shift things,” she said. 

De Dan said that a number of calls come from owners of aging pets or those with serious health conditions. She also helps animals with behavior issues, like aggressive or fearful dogs. 

Healing animals has been a rewarding experience for De Dan, and she enjoys spreading the knowledge to her students. “Reiki is something everyone can learn, and it can benefit anyone,” she said. “Energetic flow is just as important as blood flow.”

She said new technology allows her to offer interactive classes at a distance. “People are getting so much more out of their training,” she said. “And it’s been a delight to hear from the students, about how much this has changed their lives. I try to find a way to inspire people, and doing it this way works.”

De Dan hopes her students join her on a larger mission, helping heal the world one step at a time. “All of our societal problems are due to our disconnection with nature and each other,” she said. “The animals have shown me a wild way to heal.”

By helping humans connect with nature and animals, she believes she can make a difference.

She asks others to join her and to spend more time listening. “Move from your head to your heart,” she said. “Just be a child, be open to experience. We’re all in this together.”

For more information, visit http://reikishamanic.com.