When an Animal Chooses You: The Moment Everything Changes

Dog making gentle eye contact, symbolising a quiet moment of spiritual recognition between human and animal.

There are moments in life when something quiet happens - so quiet that if you aren’t paying attention, you might miss it entirely.

An animal pauses near you.
Looks at you.
Stays.

And in that instant, something shifts.

When an Animal Approaches

I’ve always believed that when an animal chooses to approach you - really chooses you - it isn’t accidental. It’s not just curiosity.

It’s recognition.

I’ve felt it many times, both with my own rescue animals and with wild ones who appear unexpectedly. A fox lingering longer than expected. A bird arriving at just the right moment. A horse pressing its forehead gently against mine, as if it already knows me.

A moment of closeness with the first cat I rescued in the Middle East

The Quiet Language of Animals

These moments don’t shout.
They don’t demand.
They simply arrive - full of meaning.

I believe animals move through the world guided by something purer than logic. When they step into our lives - especially when we feel a deep emotional pull - it’s often because something within us is aligned with something within them.

Shared values.
Shared sensitivity.
Shared truth.

Casper safe and alive after being rescued from abuse

Painting Animals as Messengers

This belief shapes every painting I create.

I don’t paint animals as subjects.
I paint them as messengers - carriers of something gentle, wise, and deeply familiar.

When a collector tells me they felt an immediate pull toward a piece, I understand that feeling. It’s the same feeling I get when an animal steps forward and chooses to stay.

The painting didn’t just catch their eye.

It recognised them.

The First Ascent - Oil painting of an animal depicted as a spiritual messenger, painted with warmth and reverence.

If you’ve ever felt chosen by an animal - or drawn inexplicably to a piece of art - you already understand this language. It doesn’t need explaining. It only needs listening.