Donna Quesada: Well, Candi Cane, it is wonderful to finally meet you.
Candi Cane Copper: Same here.
https://vimeo.com/430868082
DONNA: I want to thank you for joining us today and just from here on out… do people call you Candi Cane or Candi? When I was reading up for this interview, I saw it both ways. I thought I would check.
CANDI: Whatever you like. People call me by both.
DONNA: It’s just a joy to finally meet you. I’ve been following your work as a fellow animal lover, and we’ve been friends on social media, but we’ve never actually met. From one animal lover to another, I want to personally thank you for everything that you do for animals, and just say how glad I am to have you as part of the Awaken Community.
CANDI: Well, thank you so much and I also want to thank you. It’s an honor to be here today. I’m very excited and proud to be part of the family now.
DONNA: Thank you. We have a special way that we like to start these interviews. I consider you an awakened person with a connection to Nature and animals. From your point of view, and the way you live your life, what does awakening mean to you?
CANDI: (Laughs) Ask me the big questions first. I think it can present itself in many different ways. For everybody, I’m sure it’s very different. Let me share with you what it means to me, personally. I can’t speak for everybody on the planet. I’m going to say that the moment when I was awakened was… I had been working with the animals for several years as a communicator, but still very nervous to present myself in the regular world. You talk to animals; you hear them speak. You are judged with a little bit of a side-eye occasionally. I was feeling a lot of that with my insecurities, as I say, when I “came out,” basically.
And one night I had a dream. A beautiful paint horse came to me in my dream and he said “I have a special message for you. You’ll know when it’s time and you will see me.” I was like, “Wait don’t go away. Tell me!.” He said, “In time… relax.” And I forgot about it. And then, a year or so passed. And then one day, I was doing a reading at a ranch down by where I live. I live in Chumash Country. Full of Native American history, out here in Chatsworth, by Stony Point Mountain. You would know the area. I was on the ranch and I was working with my client. And we were finished and something was pulling me to the back of the ranch. And I thought, I’m just going to walk around… take a look at the other animals. And I get to the back of the ranch and what do I see… I see this big beautiful paint horse. It was unbelievable. Standing there in front of me. And I walked right up to him and he said “Hello Candi.” Oh, here we go.
DONNA: Now, you are hearing this telepathically?
CANDI: I hear their voices in my head. Sound. It isn’t just a vision or intonation or a feeling. I hear them speak. He said, “I have a message for you. I used to be a Chumash Chief, up in the hills, here by Stony Point. I’m still here and we are watching you. And we want to tell you to have strength.” I’m going to cry right now. I always cry. “And continue this mission. You must carry on. Be their voice.”
And then, he said a couple of other very personal things. And I thanked him and I looked away for a second. And when I looked back, he was gone. For me, that was my moment. Everything changed in my life. My mission was clear. My path was wide-open in front of me. My confidence was fulfilled, and insecurities were removed. And I was just perfectly focused on what my life was supposed to be right now. I know that we all struggle with that—not only the meaning of life, but what is the meaning of MY life… What am I supposed to do? How do I feel fulfilled?
But for me… I think the awakened moment for most is when they have found their place in the universe… not to be separated but quite the opposite. Taking their little drop of water that they are and pretty much jumping into the ocean… mashing with the universe as one. To me, that is how it feels.
DONNA: That is so beautiful. I’m processing this. You knew what your life’s destiny was. And some people go their whole life trying to figure out what they are supposed to be doing. What am I here for? Or they are living out somebody else’s ideas for them. As a teacher, I hear that from students quite a bit. They are choosing a path that their parents have chosen for them. Or out of cultural expectations. But not only did you find your life’s mission, which is touching your soul’s destiny, but you had the courage to act on it.
CANDI: And it was very scary and I didn’t do it ‘till I was a little older in my life… ‘till I was forty. So, I had many, many other versions of Candi Cane where I did a lot of different things… an entrepreneur… very successful… I’m grateful. It never felt… yes, you are making money. Yeah. If your life is not buying things… if that isn’t your gig… it shouldn’t be. Then you are very unfulfilled.
DONNA: How long ago was that?
CANDI: This was about… I’m going to say, maybe, eighteen years ago.
DONNA: So, awakening to you is to be in touch with your mission here in this lifetime. And how would you articulate what that mission was from that point on? To help other animals or spread the word? What is that message?
CANDI: I think it’s just to speak because I was born this way. I was always able to hear the animals ever since I was a child. And it didn’t seem uncomfortable to me until I got older. And then, hello, am I crazy? What’s wrong with me? Why am I hearing voices? Why am I seeing things? Visions? All of that. I’m sorry, I lost focus from the beginning of your question.
DONNA: How would you articulate your mission?
CANDI: Just plain and simple. To do what I can do. Speak for the animals.
DONNA: Now, that was eighteen years ago, but I remember hearing a story that you must have told on something that I watched… that you knew about this ability from the time that you were very, very little.
CANDI: The very first time I realized that I was different, I was probably about three or four years old. And my dog was very sick. My little chihuahua Seymore. My first dog, who I have right here (holds up picture) on the Santa Monica fishing pier.
DONNA: Wow. We are locals. I grew up in Santa Monica, too.
CANDI: I was probably about three years old in this picture. And he was crying. Screaming. I heard him and ran into the bedroom and told my mom and dad, “something is wrong.” And they didn’t hear anything. So, they said to me, “no, you are having a nightmare. It’s okay. Everything is fine. Go back to sleep. It’s ok, honey.” And then, a few days later, unfortunately, he had kidney failure. And he passed away. And I thought to myself, at that point. You know, mom and dad, maybe you are not hearing what I am hearing.
Donna: He tried to tell you.
CANDI: He told me. I heard him. He was crying and screaming as loud as he could. It was very hard for me as a child. And then, I would always bring home… growing up in L.A., we didn’t really have farm life. My big place was to go to the La Brea Tar Pits. And I’d bring home frogs and squirrels and snakes and turtles. Anything I could get my hands on.
DONNA: And in Santa Monica when we were kids there was something called Pacific Park or something.
CANDI: Yeah, POP! We are showing our age now.
DONNA: A lot of people don’t remember that but us locals, you would.
CANDI: Of course. Sand crabs. Whatever I could get my hands on. Bring it home and nurture it and get my pet.
DONNA: You confessed that sometimes people look with a side eye. If… for some people, it’s too woo woo… how can you talk to the animals? What can you say and would you share a story that would make a believer out of a non-believer?
CANDI: Again, when I started, I was very insecure, and here I am taking money for this service. But now, through the years, when I get somebody like that… And it isn’t too often anymore. I’m very fortunate because all my clients are referrals. I do have my web-site, but really, my whole business has grown through the years, just word of mouth. And when I do get somebody questioning, I tell them the truth and this really is the problem. If they take me on as a client and they are questioning me in the session, or they give me a trick question, the animal is going to be like “why is my owner not trusting this person?” And the animal is not going to trust me either. It’s just going to be a complete waste of money. And I might get mad. I haven’t in a long time but I still might get a little mad. It’s just not worth it. And we will refuse someone every once in a while. I can always tell when it comes up. But it doesn’t come up in the public very often, at all. It’s more widely accepted now. For that I’m very grateful.
DONNA: And what would be a story that most touches your heart… where you were able to make a difference in an animal’s life or a relationship between an animal and his or her person?
CANDI: Oh, wow. I have a lot. I’m going to say… and this is very close to my heart… It’s very controversial. I’m a vegan, of course. So, if I was eating my clients, what kind of person would I be? I’m making a joke, of course. I work a lot with race horses at the track. And it’s very difficult for me because it’s a very hard situation for the… they didn’t ask to become race horses. They weren’t born and say “run me around a track until I can’t do it anymore and then send me to the slaughterhouse.” And I had a very high-end trainer hire me at Santa Anita Park. And he was not too sure and he was pushed into it by the owner.
This owner has many horses with him… twelve horses. That’s a lot. And he’s making a lot of money every month with this client. I know he couldn’t say no to her. Probably a couple hundred thousand dollars every month with everything. I came in and he was a little “side-eye,” not paying much attention, but listening. And I told him things that day that literally blew his mind.
We had a horse… first time out, told me he was going to win. Knew what to tell the jockey to do. And that horse came in first by like three lengths. It was unbelievable. From that day on, he became a true believer, as they say, and I still work with him to this day. For that, it means a lot to be because I’m in the trenches with these horses that… not all race trainers are bad. I’m not saying that. Like any other place where animals are used for a purpose there are good and bad people. But I think it’s really changed him around and he calls me all the time now. And I feel like I am making a difference in that field, which is difficult to get into. It’s subversive… someone like me being at the racetrack.
DONNA: I imagine. Was the horse disturbed… were able to deal with some of the problems that the horse was having with the owner?
CANDI: They are always very grateful when we talk. It’s like a therapy session. And we have also helped to save a lot of animals on the track that need to be retired that he wasn’t aware of. I’m grateful to him. I won’t say his name but he’s very well known. A very famous trainer, with a Triple Crown and all of that. And I feel like I have personally helped him become enlightened. Awakened. And he sees it in a whole different way now.
DONNA: He looks at his horses not just as commodities, but as beings.
CANDI: And again. If he says “do they want to race anymore?” and the horse is like “I can’t do it, I’m done.” That’s it. He retires them back to his ranch.
DONNA: Not to the meat market?
CANDI: No. But that still happens all the time.
DONNA: Those are the stories I live for. To have people regard the animals not as commodities but as spirit beings that share this planet with us. To me, that is the height of awakening… when we can get together with the animals. So, for that, I am fulfilled by hearing these stories.
CANDI: I agree with you because when I work with my regular clients, they are already into it. It’s preaching to the choir. It’s easy. They are open. But when you can make a big change like that, it’s nice.
DONNA: You have gained a fair amount of notoriety and celebrity for what you do. I’ve seen your clips on Animal Planet and these things. As you were saying, you are preaching to the choir with most of your clients. And so, the question has always been, and this is my next question… Why is there such a disconnect between the way we love our pets, and “we”… the general “global we”… the way we are with animals that are eaten?
CANDI: Yes, the big question, being a vegan. Once you turn that corner, it’s so black and white. How can you love your dog or cat and then sit there and have a steak? How can you not make that connection? But I think it goes back to what you were saying earlier when you were talking about people finding their new path in life. They aren’t brain-washed, but influenced by what society wants them to be. Being vegan still has that weird…
DONNA: Hippy vibe.
CANDI: Or people say, “what do you eat?” I eat everything. Everything that doesn’t have a mother. I think it’s upbringing. Wanting to fit in. Sometimes it’s just hard for people to stand out. I still stand out all the time when I go out. Vegan. It’s getting more popular, thank goodness. But it’s hard. It’s a hard road to go, still.
Read and Watch Part 2 Here: Awaken Interviews Candi Cane Cooper Pt 2 – We Are All Energy All Connected
Read and Watch Part 3 Here: Awaken Interviews Candi Cane Cooper Pt 3 – AfterLife Of Animals
Candi Cane Cooper is an internationally acclaimed Animal Communicator and author who has been helping animals and owners all over the planet to coexist in harmony. The best way to solve any issues with your animal is to simply have a conversation with it and Candi has the ability to do so.
