Seeking Center: The Podcast

Pet Loss + Signs You Can’t Ignore: A Soul Pet Story - Episode 168

• Robyn Miller Brecker, Karen Loenser, Gale Wilkinson • Season 2 • Episode 168

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If you’ve ever had to say goodbye to a beloved pet, this conversation will speak to your soul.

We’re joined by Gale Wilkinson—animal communicator, dog rescuer, and now author of a powerful new book that chronicles her journey through losing her beloved dog Samson, discovering her spiritual gifts, and using that pain to help others heal.

Her new book, Samson’s Story: A Tale of Pet Loss Grief, Love, Hope, and Magic, isn’t just a guide through grief—it’s a lifeline. Robyn can attest to that because she used it after she lost her own beloved dog, Eddie. Every page is infused with wisdom, vulnerability, and the reminder that love never dies—it just changes form. Samson is still guiding her... and possibly helping her find him again in this lifetime.

We’re talking about pet grief, animal communication, reincarnation, and what it really means to stay connected to our furry family—even after they cross over. Plus: synchronicities that will blow your mind, and Gale’s mission to rescue dogs in need through her nonprofit, Gale Loves Dogs.

Get ready to cry, laugh, and believe in a little bit of magic.

In this episode:

  • The signs that led Gale to Samson (including some mind-blowing name synchronicities!).
  • Why pet grief can hit even harder than human loss — and why that’s valid.
  • How Gale unlocked her intuitive gifts
  • What animal communication really is — and how you can stay connected to your pet, even after they’ve crossed over
  • How Gale's book can help you navigate pet grief
  • Gale’s powerful mission to rescue dogs through her nonprofit

RESOURCES FROM GALE WILKINSON

MORE ABOUT GALE WILKINSON

Gale's professional background is in finance, strategy, and marketing. She has worked at Nielsen in new product consulting and Orbitz in strategy and data. More recently, she started two venture capital firms - IrishAngels and VITALIZE Venture Capital - where she has helped hundreds of people invest in early stage startups. She holds degrees from Notre Dame (undergrad) and Chicago Booth (business school).

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You can also follow Seeking Center on Instagram @theseekingcenter.

Robyn: [00:00:00] I'm Robyn Miller Brecker and I'm Karen Loenser. Welcome to Seeking Center, the podcast. Join us each week as we have the conversations and we, through the spiritual and holistic clutter for you, we'll boil it down to what you need to know now, we're all about total wellness, which to us needs building a healthy life.

Karen: On a physical, mental, and spiritual level, we'll talk to the trailblazers who'll introduce you to the practices, products, and experiences that may be just what you need to hear about to transform your life. If you're listening to this, it's no accident. Think of this as your seeking center and your place to seek your center.

Robyn: And for the best wellness and spiritual practitioners, experts, products, experiences, and inspo, visit theseekingcenter. com. We're going there today. If you've ever had to say goodbye to a beloved pet. This conversation will speak to your soul.

We're joined by Gale Wilkinson, animal communicator, dog rescuer, and now author of a powerful new book that chronicles her [00:01:00] journey through losing her beloved dog Samson, discovering her spiritual gifts and using that pain to help others heal.

Gale story is one of heartbreak, love, magic, and synchronicity. Her new book, Samson Story, A Tale of Pet Loss, grief, love, hope, and Magic isn't just a guide through grief. It's a lifeline. I can attest to that because I read it after I lost my own beloved dog Eddie.

Every page is infused with wisdom, vulnerability, and the reminder that love never dies. It just changes form. Samson is still guiding her and possibly helping her find him again in this lifetime. . We're gonna talk about pet grief. Animal communication, reincarnation, and what it really means to stay connected to our furry family even after they crossover.

Plus synchronicities that will blow your mind and Gale mission to rescue labs in need. Through her nonprofit. Gale loves dogs. Get ready to laugh, cry and believe in a little bit of magic. Hi Gale. Hi Karen. 

Karen: We've looking forward to [00:02:00] this for such a long time, since you shared your book with both of us. We loved it so much and we know this is a story that needs to be shared with all of our listeners. 'cause I think all of us feel so much for our pets and when pet grief hits us, It's so different than human grief, because our pets are so beloved and are unconditional. 

Robyn: Exactly. And we knew you with Samson and then we knew as you were going through this process. And then when you actually, did end up losing him, we knew how devastating that was for you.

And as Karen said, having lost pets before it is next level. And especially when it's a soul dog or a soul pet. There's such this very unexplained bond, and we would love to hear more about who Samson was and what made your bond so uniquely powerful. 

Gale: I love the term soul dog. I think a lot of people experience that, and I heard that so [00:03:00] much when I was doing research for the book and talking to folks after Samson passed away.

So I would say he's one of my soul dogs, maybe the brightest one, and I found him in 2017. I knew at that time I was ready to adopt my first dog as an adult. And so I had been watching some dogs on Rover and there was this lovely brown lab named Penelope who was about five years old, and I told the Chicago lab rescue that I would like to foster to adopt a dog.

They told me to go to their site and pick one out, but I said, I have no idea how to pick one. They're all so cute. And all I know is I want an older one, a friendly one, and I can pick them up on August 5th. And that was in 2017. And so very funny, started to hear the name Sampson as I was out and about in various ways.

So I was with Penelope, that same dog in the dog park. There was a husky there with his owner. And I kept in my mind calling this Husky Samson, even though I knew the Husky's name was Jameson, which I thought was super weird. And then I was actually on a date with a guy a couple weeks later in Wicker Park in [00:04:00] Chicago, and there was a gal in front of us getting ice cream and.

He is what's the name of your dog, Samson. She had this little dog in her arms and she said, no, it's Gus, or whatever it was. And I looked at him and I asked, where did that come from? I've been thinking of the name Samson. He said, I don't know. It just popped in my mind. Oh my God. And then a few weeks later I finally got the email from the Chicago Lab Rescue and they said, Hey, we found your dog.

He is six to seven years old. He is a yellow lab. He's super sweet. He loves walks. He's got a thyroid condition, so he will be on medicine. He's ready to pick up on August 5th, and his name's Samson and I about fell outta my chair. But when I met Samson, I knew he was meant to find me. In fact, he found me the day after I was processing a lot of childhood trauma and grief that really just came to me.

 At that time in my life unexpectedly, and I had already set up getting him and so he literally came in the day after this. So it was a magic moment in my life. 

Robyn: So then what ended up happening [00:05:00] last year inspiring you to write this book? 

Gale: I found out that Samson was declining rapidly at the beginning of May of 2024.

We have a property in Tennessee where we've been spending the winters. And then we were on our way to Chicago. So we made it to Chicago, and I could tell on the drive Samson wasn't doing great, so it took him to the vet the next day. And they said that his liver and kidney levels were pretty high and they wanted to do some more tests.

Brought him back a few days later and they confirmed with a cytology analysis that he did in fact have pretty bad cancer. So the doctor at the time gave us about a month, maybe up to two months of time left with him. And at that point I kicked into, okay, what is coming now that I know that we're at the end of Samson's life here.

And during that time a lot of things unfolded and I talked to animal communicators, which I know we're gonna go through here in a little bit. But one of the things that they shared, that Samson told them is that he wanted me to write a book. And he has told me that many times before to share information and stories.

 And [00:06:00] so I had a very clear understanding that. I needed to write his story. And so we spent that time during his sunset period just really being with him and right after he passed away, I started writing the book. 

Karen: Just going back to what we were saying before, Gale, not everybody can relate to losing a pet, How does. That feel different than losing a loved one or a relative or a family member. 

Gale: There's a wonderful Ted talk on this by an emergency vet named Sarah Hogan. But she summarizes it very well. And there are some reasons that losing a pet actually does feel different than losing a person.

And I think the biggest one is the fact that animals love us unconditionally. So it's that acceptance and that love that, actually, and there's science behind this. There are more neural networks and pathways that are built between an animal bond versus a human bond because there's nothing negative about the relationship with the pet.

It's all positive coming from the pet to you. And scientifically speaking, that connection just is a little bit different than with a [00:07:00] human. The other things that make it a little bit more difficult is we are making the decisions for our pets. I would liken it to an aging parent or a special needs child.

That's the closest human corollary that we have where we have to make decisions on behalf of someone else or our pet. And a lot of times people struggle with that because the pet can't tell us exactly how they're feeling and we have to try and make that decision. And then there are some other things, oftentimes a pet is more than a pet, sometimes they are a serviced animal. They've been through us through really difficult times. Or the pet is a link to someone else, whether it's a human or another pet, and losing them, you feel that first loss even more, which all of these things in collection make losing an animal really difficult.

Karen: That really explains. Yeah, 

Robyn: it does. And even hearing you talk about. In that way. It makes me, first of all, I feel like I feel Samson right now. And also having gone through pet grief somewhat recently as well I just wanna cry . 'cause it's [00:08:00] speaking such truth in that way.

I can remember how I felt right after we had to say goodbye to Eddie and I hadn't felt that kind of sadness and grief in many years. So how were you and when did you start actually capturing all of this For the book? 

Gale: I did take some notes while he was still alive, but not many.

I pieced his sunset period together aft after he passed away. And then there's a portion of the book where I write letters to Samson, and that's to help chronicle my journey with the grief. That's at the very end of the book. So I did write that down as I went through it. But really I think that Samson wrote the book, even the title A Tale with the TAIL crossed out and then TALE of Pet Loss, grief, love, hope, and magic popped into my mind. And when I was stuck on something, I would ask Samson, and he is the one that told me to write him letters to help share my story. And so It was a situation where I really wanted to share his story.

I [00:09:00] think he wants to share his story, and I just trusted that I am meant to be more of a conduit to help this information get out to a lot of people. 

Robyn: So let's talk then about animal communication. So we're gonna talk about how Samson started communicating with you, which clearly he did even before you got him with the way that all worked out, right?

There was that connection. That we can't see even before you actually physically had him. But where did animal communication, because you even talked about how you reached out to animal communicators during this time. While He was sick. So was that something you were Always open to?

Karen and I know you, so we know animal communication is something that you've been interested for a long time. Where did that come from? And how do you define it, Gale? 

Gale: I think of animal communication as the telepathic connection where you get information from an animal it could be literally any animal, wildlife, cats, dogs, horses.

For my personal journey, my [00:10:00] seeking journey started in 2017. Samson did come in literally at the very beginning of when I started to recognize that there was magic and there was something. Else going on in the universe that I needed to learn about. And from that period on, I did a lot of different readings where I would go to experts and try and learn different things about myself and my past and past lives.

And in 2019, as I was on that journey, I remember seeing a video on Facebook and it was a woman in South Africa and she was working with a black leopard. The black leopard's name was Devil in whatever language it had been named in. And it wanted to be renamed spirit. And she did work with it. She communicated to it and the cat turned around 'cause it had been a problem and now it's not.

And I watched this short video and thought, what is this? And I'm so interested in it. So I took a course on Udemy from a woman named Claire Bloomfield, who lives in the uk. I think I only spent a hundred dollars, and I literally just wrote down what Claire did, and I started to practice on [00:11:00] friends, dogs and cats.

And the way that it works for me and I've listened to a bunch of other communicators and talk to them, it's pretty similar for everyone. You effectively do grounding and protection work. You get into meditative state and you're listening for information that's coming through from another source.

In this particular instance, it would be an animal. And the things that would come through were mind blowing to me how I knew them. I don't know. Every single reading I've done, and I've probably done 40 or 50 readings for folks at this point in time still blows my mind and I just have to trust that it is real.

And I am actually talking to these dogs telepathically. And I don't even have to be with them. I do it all with a picture. So I wanna see their eyes and know a little bit about them, and then I open the channel and I just listen and I write everything down. 

Robyn: Wow. And I also want people to know that Gale comes from such a different professional world, which is what also adds to the credibility, I'd say, of who you are and what you're doing.

You're from the financial and investment world. [00:12:00] So this is a very different side of you that, we're very honored to be able to share and so grateful that you're following that path too and trusting it because it is so different than the facts and the data and all of that.

And I love that you are even able to bring some of that into the book, which is helping people from. From that kind of data perspective, see how they too can connect with their pets and how that might work. How did Samson then start communicating with you after he passed? 

Gale: the day that he died, we had him put to sleep with a euthanasia vet that came to our house around noon on a Saturday.

And that evening, I remember hearing him very clearly for the first time. And I was at a fire in my backyard with my husband and a couple of friends and I had a surprise visitor that night. It was a gal named Amy who ran the Magic Dog bus in Tennessee, and she was in Chicago. She was [00:13:00] actually going to see us and take Samson and I to an organization's event.

It's called Live Like ru. It's a cancer fighting organization. They do wonderful things for families that are impacted by dog cancer. And so they had a fundraiser that evening. It was their sneaker ball. And Samson and I were gonna be guests with Amy. And unfortunately, Samson declined very quickly and we couldn't go, but Amy was there and she told me the event was wonderful.

 They actually honored Samson at the event. He was up on the big screen and they were gonna give him, told myself I wouldn't cry, but here we go. they were gonna honor him as a live grew dog and give him his bucket list. And that night at the fire I heard him tell me very clearly, mommy I didn't need to be there because you gave me my bucket list.

I already did it, and it should go to the other dogs. And it was so sad for me that he missed that because he was such a light and he was so much love, and I know he would've absolutely been thrilled to be with all the people there today, but it was really [00:14:00] cool to hear him tell me. That he'd already lived his life exactly like he wanted.

And I know that was him talking to me. And from that time forward I've been able to communicate with him relatively easily after his passing. And if you talk to animal communicators it's a lot more difficult for us to talk to our dogs who are alive because we know them so well and our ego gets in the way.

 But once he passed, this was my first dog as an adult that passed, and I was really shocked by how clear that channel was. 

Karen: so when he was with you, did you ever have those moments where you felt like you were telepathically communicating to him? Did you have that or did that really not happen until he crossed?

Gale: Not really. To be honest and I think all of us. Who have animals we can attest to. We know them really well. We do talk to them. We feel like they talk back to us, and they are, we are all communicating. But the format through which I do animal communication, it comes in a different way.

For anybody that does mediumship or psychic readings or IC record readings [00:15:00] or any kind of readings, it's similar to that where you just, you can know stuff, you can hear stuff, you can see stuff, you can feel stuff. And it's very clear that it's not me and I didn't feel that clarity until after he passed away.

Robyn: So then what were the messages that started coming through that then inspired. The book and really even the format of the book. 'cause it's unique. 

 

Gale: Yeah. I just would ask him to help me and an outline would pop up or the first paragraph would pop up.

I'm actually surprised when I read it. I feel like it actually does read like a real book, and I've never written a book. And I 

Robyn: It does gale It's really well done. But 

Gale: It's really Samson. Yeah, and there was an event that happened in July, so this was a couple months after he passed away.

I was very depressed at this point in time, and I walked through all this in the book and I talk about my own process and the stages of grief. And for me, the depression was the hardest, and I think that's probably typical for many people. And so that night around midnight, I'm in bed [00:16:00] and I'm not asleep yet, and I can definitely sense that Samsung is right above me to my right.

And actually my sister's dog passed away a few years prior. Cooper chocolate lab is to my left and they're both right there. And just like I talked about at the fire where I could hear him, like I hear the other animals, that's what started coming through. And so I grabbed my phone and I wrote down everything that Samson was telling me.

And we go into this in the book, but actually Samson's decline, I believe, was caused by a shot that he had from Zoetis, and it's called labrella. So just caution everybody to please research if you wanted to give your dog labrella or really any shot. Or any medicine because it's not clear, especially for new drugs if they're safe or not.

So he told me, and I was very upset at this point in time 'cause I had just realized that it was likely that shot that led to his decline. He said it's okay. that this happened. You weren't meant to know about it until now. But we are supposed to sound the alarm on it. And he started [00:17:00] to tell me about, what he wanted me to do to get better.

And this is a key theme with animals. They do not want us to be upset. They want us to get better as fast as possible. They want us to love other animals and to be happy because they can feel that. They are still here with us for a couple months after they passed away, I believe. And so he was telling me, about what I needed to do.

He was telling me about the book. He was telling me about how he wants to come back and how that's gonna happen. He also told me that we would get another dog. It would be the third. Foster that we would keep. And I hadn't thought about this because as soon as Samson told me he was coming back, I was gonna hold my second dog spot for Samson.

He had other plans for me and Cooper also gave me some cool messages for my sister that night. So I wrote all of it down. And that's all in the book as well. 

Karen: So wait, you just gave something away there About Sam saying he's coming back Yes. 

Gale: He told multiple animal communicators that he would come back. He told me the same thing and I asked him first before he passed [00:18:00] away. I did specifically ask him, what signs will you send me and if you are planning to come back. What does that look like? And he told me he would be a smallish yellow dog, similar in look and feel, but smaller than he was in this life and that it would happen four to six months later and he would be with a dog named Lily. So those are the things that Samson told me. And he said I would start to hear a name when it was closer to him coming in, and that's how I would know that it was him. He gave some messages to different animal communicators, even about random things like, it will be his left paw that he uses as a way to say, I love you, versus in the Samson body he uses right paw.

Karen: , as we know, Jamie Breeze is another animal communicator that you talked to as well, and she had similar story.

And I love the fact that you said that Samson is gonna give you those clues. Names, just like he gave you about himself before he came into your life as well. So I just wonder, like for some people listening, that might be a really bizarre [00:19:00] concept that their pets could actually come back to them.

Robyn: And even hope, like I think it gives people so much hope if they can actually believe and grasp that and knowing that, we do know Jamie Breeze and her dog came back and she a thousand percent knows this is the same soul that she has already been within this lifetime. And I know when we've talked to other.

People who've lost their beloved soul pets when they hear this, they're like, oh my God, how do I start to figure that out? And not everybody's gonna be an animal communicator like you, but the possibility that they exists is tremendous. 

Gale: In fact, one dog just by me Murphy, is reincarnated from another dog that I had as a child.

His name was Elwood. And there's a crazy story I won't go into, but it is in the book. It's very cool. And so I cannot explain that story through any data logic or anything other [00:20:00] than magic. So it has happened to me. I know that it's real. I believe, based on my research and trying to really understand how it happens, that there are a couple different ways reincarnation can take place.

So one is that the full soul comes in again. And I think that's what most of us think about. But there are also other forms, I believe, where aspects of the soul can come in, or it can be a helper soul. So your soul can come in and out within another dog's body. So that dog has his own soul, but there are aspects or the full soul coming in and out as a helper.

 And there are also different schools of thought on. How long it takes for an animal to, to have to be on the other side before they can come back. I think it can happen as fast as you want it to happen or it's meant to happen. Some say it needs to take years. Like Murphy took , 10 years before he came back after EL passed away.

But I hope Samson comes back, much faster than that, obviously. And then. Some people say that reincarnation has to be [00:21:00] written in the cards. I don't believe that. I think you can ask for it. So if you want your soul dog to come back, ask for it. 

Robyn: Talk about an empowering. And you know what else? One other thing I do wanna bring up about animal communication is that it can be for both living or. Pets that have passed on. 

Gale: That's correct. And some communicators specialize in talking to pets who have passed. Some specialize in reincarnation.

Like Jamie Breeze is a great person to talk to. If you wanna get insights about where should I look, when will it happen, what will the dog look 

Robyn: like, yeah. And then for those pets that are actually living, but you're trying to better understand them, for instance.

When you foster a dog and you don't know its background, talking to an animal communicator that does specialize in talking to the living pets is super helpful because you get that background that you may not have been able to get from the place that you adopted or foster that pet. So I just wanna bring that up too.

Gale: Yep, 

Robyn: So with the [00:22:00] book you've said it's short by design. So what do you feel that pet parents most need to know in these really hard and fragile moments? 

Gale: Whether your pet has been given a diagnosis where they don't have a lot of time left, or you've just lost one, know this, you did everything right.

This is not your fault and your pet does not want you to feel guilt. I think are the most important things to remember. Dr. Hogan, back to that TED talk, which everybody I think she'll listen to. If you're struggling with pet loss grief at all it really can be helpful to remember that. We are doing the best that we can at all times.

If we can't control for it, for all accidents that might happen We as people will look at an event that was bad. So the loss of a pet is bad, and we will replay it in our minds again and again, and try to dissect it and analyze it and understand what did I do? What could I have done differently?

Why didn't I do that? And we almost beat ourselves up, but she says, [00:23:00] Hey, this is an evolutionary process where if you put your hand on a hot stove and you burn yourself, you go and you think about, what did I do? Because I don't want that to happen again. So there is a reason. Because we're human, that we go back and we replay all of that, but we have to acknowledge that's not because we did anything wrong.

It's just because that's how our minds work and we have to accept that everything's okay with what went down. And our pet really does want us to move forward and to forgive ourselves for anything that we're upset about in the process. 

Karen: Can you talk about the structure of the book, because it's really good, like the way you tell his story upfront, but then all the information that you give in the backend, how did you decide to do it that way?

I know you said Samson told you, but what is, what was the intention around the way you told the story

Gale: Yeah. There are a number of books on pet loss, grief, and I actually. List a number of them in the first appendix. So there, there are lots of great stories, but the way that I wanted to tell this one is to start with what [00:24:00] actually happened with s Samson.

 So it starts on the day that he passes away, which a lot of people tell me it's really hard to read, so you can definitely skip that part of the book if you need to and come back to it. And then I go back in time and I tell his adoption story and just his life, so you get a sense for who Samson is quickly.

And then I spend a lot of time in his two and a half week period, which I call the sunset, and that's when I know he's gonna pass away. And how do we. Come up with a treatment plan or a non-treatment plan. 'cause sometimes you shouldn't do anything and just spend time with them. And what kind of food did I try and what did I do right?

And what do I wish I would've done? I wish I would've blocked off the back stairs because he fell down them. And a lot of ailing pets do this. So if you have one, please make sure that they can't fall downstairs. And just. The ups and the downs and there are great things that happen. Like I told a lot of people in our neighborhood and it was really awesome to, not have to hold it in.

And I had random strangers crying to me about their pets who passed away years [00:25:00] ago. And I just realized, we need to talk about this. And it's not something that is acceptable in society. So after we get through the sunset period and we talk about the experience of a vet coming into do euthanasia, I talk about tips for during that.

Sunset period. What specifically can you do tangibly to try and make it better for yourself and your pet? And then we talk about, guilt and grief specifically for pet loss because those are the two things that come up in the data that I have, which is really hard for people. And then we talk about the magics or reincarnation and animal communication.

And we touch on things too. After your pet passes away, that can make it a little bit better for you. And then finally, we go through the letters that I wrote to Samson during my own grief process. So you can see my ups and downs. 

Robyn: you collected data from over a hundred pet parents what stood out to you the most?

 

Robyn: The 

Gale: thing that I was surprised the most by is that 70% of respondents felt guilt about their [00:26:00] pet's death. 70% felt guilty. And that's really unfortunate. But I understand it, back to. Replay. We all go back and we think about everything. What's more helpful in the data is getting the open-ended responses about what people wish they would've done differently.

And when you read through those people wish they wouldn't have felt so guilty, they wish they would've forgiven themselves. And when I asked how long the process took, the average number of months from those who felt like they had gone through, it was 13. Yeah. So over one year Of the grieving process.

So if you're in the middle of it, just know that this is totally normal. 

Robyn: That stood out to me too big time. And having gone through a very quick, Goodbye to Eddie, where we didn't know how sick he was. And we were doing, in quotes, all the right things by kept going to the vet and nobody saw anything until it was way too late and to the point where he basically [00:27:00] had a week to live.

 

Robyn: And, I definitely. I struggled with that guilt. And it isn't quite a year and I miss him so much. I also know that had he not left, I wouldn't have met our dog, Lucy. I. Who you introduced us to, which I definitely want to relate to what you are doing now in terms of Gale loves dogs and your connection with animals.

I see the bigger picture and it's still just so sad. 

Gale: I know. It's awful. I still cry. Random moments about Samson tried to cry a lot before I got on the podcast today, but I still cried past. But it's one of those things where for as hard as it is, I am so glad that I had him and now I have.

Three that are running around right now, and I'm sure that when they pass away it's gonna be just as hard different, it's different with every dog, it's still hard, but I will probably be doing this for the [00:28:00] rest of my life. Yes. More dogs. More dogs. 

Karen: for those when we first met you, we, Robyn and I were like, God, she's like such a badass executive, so strong and fiery and we saw your sort of exterior, Gale, and it's so incredible to hear your story through this and to have walked with you through some of it to see how a dog could. Impact your soul in such a deep and profound way. And was any of this unexpected for you after you adopted him?

Did you find yourself just almost blown away by the depths of love that you felt and how did that change you in this journey? 

Gale: I don't think I realized it until later, how he really taught me. What unconditional love was. And I think all pets do this. They're here for a reason. So from all of my.

Communications with various animals. Oftentimes the [00:29:00] reading is about the animal, but it's for the person. They have messages for their person. They're trying to help their person. There is a soul contract with their person. And so I think that Samson and I have been in multiple lives together and our contract in this life he was supposed to come in and basically do a couple things.

One is help me to heal personally. Learn what unconditional love was, but also to set the stage for the next chapter of my life, which I feel very called to help people through their animals. Specifically dogs things like the pet loss, grief, and how do we get better products for our dogs that are actually healthy and sustainable, not plastic.

And how do we Rethink dog rescue and rethink animal rights laws and things like that, that I believe that the next chapter of my life is really where I should be spending on that. And that's definitely due to Samson. 

Robyn: And when you think about what you said at the beginning of this conversation, that he came into your life the day after you learned so much [00:30:00] about trauma from childhood and so forth, what a healer and what a teacher.

And it is incredible to see, even in the time that we know you, how much you have found this calling and this next chapter. It's profound and that you could really honor both sides of yourself because you are such a badass in all aspects, right? And you can be somewhat more vulnerable in this one.

And through that vulnerability, you're helping so many other people heal. And live more fulfilled lives. 

Karen: And in your story too, I think even for people who don't have this relationship with a pet, to understand the simplicity of what a pet can give to you, right? It's as you said at the beginning, it's, there's no actual verbal conversation.

but you're together, they're with you. They sit with you, Unconditionally loving you, and it's such a great role model for all of us here we are, we're [00:31:00] always thinking we have to do so much for everyone in our lives. And there's such wonderful examples of just be there.

 just love. and the profound effect that it can have on us. I've never thought about it until this conversation in just that way, but it's so simple and yet so profoundly powerful. 

Gale: It is very simple. The core themes that come through the animal communications that I do is that one, they're always willing to talk.

They all love their person so much. They all want consistency and routine. They all wanna feel a part of a family and like they have a job or they have a purpose. And that's really the core. The other thing that I hear every single time that I ask it 'cause I get questions a lot, when is it the right time to put my dog down if they are sick?

' The dogs and in cats always say, I trust my person a hundred percent. So when you, the parent feels it in your gut, you will know. And the dog or cat or your pet, whoever it is, trust you to make that decision. And if you think it should be done sooner, great. If you wanna wait, [00:32:00] that's fine. Because at the end of the day, like Every single one I've talked to put a hundred percent love and trust in their person. That's the only place they wanna be. They're very happy. In fact, they're so happy until the very end. So when we think that they're in pain I've had some people have me do readings and they're like, my dog has this massive tumor and I feel like they're in a ton of pain.

The dog actually didn't tell me that they were in a ton of pain. And I really think that's because. If they're here, they're walking around, they're eating, they're drinking, they're okay. It's when they can't do those things that you really know, hey, like this is the end. And they have been totally fine up until that point.

So that's why we can't feel guilt or remorse or sadness for anything that's happened. As long as we just pay attention to the signs and, we say goodbye when we think it's the right moment. 

Karen: I've heard they don't fear dying the way we do. No. ' cause they're so connected to that love and they know why they're here.

Like you said, they know they have a purpose for being here and it's just [00:33:00] another good lesson. Just make the transition. They'll stay close by, they'll still send messages. If we listen and look for them. 

Gale: Yeah. Samson told another communicator that's really good named Mary Helen Schmidt.

He said I want to be a rocket and I wanna go really fast. And I think that part of that is because Samson had really bad joints and hip dysplasia in his life and it impacted him. He couldn't do a lot that other dogs could do. And so he knew that as soon as he passes away, he can literally go anywhere.

And he is so excited for that. 

Robyn: Wow. What other signs would you suggest that people can ask for from their deceased pets? 

Gale: I think the big ones are names, so familiar names songs that remind you of them. And then there are things like colors that often come through. Birds is a big one.

Butterflies. If there is a person that you think of with your pet or any kind of name or something like that. Your pet can use that [00:34:00] as a way to be like, Hey, I'm here. This is me. So when I asked Samson before he passed away, he told me he would send me birds in unusual places and pink and green things, as well as send me yellow labs and golden retrievers.

So I saw a lot of those things, especially right after he passed away. 

Robyn: And you ended up adopting a golden. Mix Yes. She's a golden mix. Yeah. 

Gale: And her name is Lark, which is a bird's name. She came with that name. 

 And back to that download I had from Samson, he said, the third foster you'll keep, that's the very last thing he told me, which I thought was super weird.

 And Lark was the third foster that we got. Because we had gone back to Chicago Lab Rescue and this is a point of contention for people. Do I get another dog or not? 

Robyn: I was just gonna ask.

Gale: Do I get one or not? And for me, I needed another dog around. I had Murphy. Murphy was very depressed after Samson died. He loved his older brother. And so I know for myself and for Murphy, we needed [00:35:00] to foster. We weren't ready to adopt, but I went to the Chicago Lab Rescue, Hey, can we start to foster asap?

So about six or eight weeks after Samson died, we got our first one. Lark was the third one. And we weren't planning on keeping a dog. But it was a bird. And she reminded us so much of Samson. The only reason I came outta my depression was because of Lark.

Robyn: And we remember when you were just fostering Lark and she would come on the zoom in your arms and you could see her light. and I've been fortunate enough to meet her in person too. she's light. And so it makes sense. 

Karen: Can you talk for a minute too, for those who might not quite understand about the letters that you and Samson, the communication that you guys had, what is that?

Just describe that a little bit and how you got yourself comfortable enough to actually do that and really feel into that communication. 

Gale: There were two parts of the book that I didn't know how to write. Immediately, a lot of it came, just popped in there. But I didn't know how to cover guilt and grief until about three months [00:36:00] after Samson passed away.

And I, feel like I had to go through enough of it, and then it clicked for me. And the other piece was, how do I tell my part of the story? Because I always wanted to focus on Samson, which is why the book is called Samson Story. But I felt like I needed to share my thoughts and there are even.

 Really terrible things that I did like there right after Samson died and Murphy was misbehaving and I wished any for anything. I could trade Murphy for Samson, and there are these things that happen that are just real. And I wanted to share that in a really raw way. So I knew I needed to write the letters because Samson said write me letters.

 I started to do that. Maybe, a month after he passed away. And so I did go back in time and what was happening and what would I tell him? And it's very similar to the animal communication care and where I would try to just be, empty in terms of my ego or thoughts and then what kind of comes through.

 And in that instance, it's not just. Hearing someone else, but it's letting my [00:37:00] higher self talk through to Samson and basically tell him what I was going through at that time so that people could understand, when I was in the car and I wanted to trade Murphy for Samson, I said that out loud.

So by sharing that in the letter, you can see what the daily good and bad was of that period. 

Karen: it's so therapeutic to get it out of your. Thoughts and then actually having that tangible letter that you can go back and read over and over again.

I think for those who are grieving, it's something tangible that they can do if they just trust. Process just allow it to come through and they're beautiful. And they're so raw and honest and open and it's really a powerful way to face your grief and really walk through it instead of avoiding it or just.

Trying to just shuffle on through, like you really took the time to feel into it and learn from it. Learn what the lesson really was for you and that connected you and Samson even [00:38:00] more so forever, I think. 

Robyn: Yeah. I agree. It's such a way for you to process and it's something that everyone can do on their own.

So that is such a useful tool. That we all have. also tell us where all of this has led to creating Gale Loves dogs. 

Gale: Yes. I believe that I am supposed to really focus my efforts here. And so the book is recently out, but I also want to share more content. And one of the things that I've done over the last few years is rescue dogs.

So Robyn mentioned Lucy. She's one of the 19 dogs that I've helped to find a I wanted to formalize that. So I recently opened a rescue called Gale Loves Dogs. So what I will be doing is helping people find animals that fit their lifestyle. So rather than tell me maybe what breed you want do you want it to have, Short hair because you don't like to groom a dog and have medium energy or high energy, or be older or be younger kid [00:39:00] friendly. There are lots of different attributes to think about and because I live in Tennessee, part of the year, unfortunately, there are a ton of amazing animals and shelters here.

And so I want to be able to pair people up with the right dog for them to make sure that there's a great match. So that's the goal. All proceeds from the book will actually go to. Gale loves dogs and be used to save many more dogs. 

Robyn: Yeah, and I think what you and I have talked about, which is something that I just is think is such a gift, is such a gift, is that you really, because there is a little bit of magic in who you are and what you do.

There is something about when you reach out to you about, I'm looking for a dog and this is what I'm looking for in terms of what you just brought up. This is my lifestyle and this is what I think could work. I think by the person energetically putting that out there, it's like this ping and somehow you [00:40:00] are the connector and you're able to pick up on that.

And then that soul, that other, that dog comes just at the right time and you're able to. Pick that up and be like, here you go. And I know for me, and I know I'm not the only one, you were like, Robyn, I think this is your dog. it just gets the dog for your family. And I remember at the time not knowing if we were ready and you are like, I so believe it.

I will hold onto her because I know you're driving through Tennessee and you'll just see, and it was that kind of magic, like we got outta the car and it was like. Yep. 

Gale: Lucy did go sit by Robyn's family immediately and wanted nothing to do with anyone else. It was pretty special.

Robyn: yeah. And she's changed our lives, changed our lives. My hope too is that by hearing that, by hearing Gale story, by Gale putting all of us out there, that we can all help pair these soul animals with their [00:41:00] rightful. people in this lifetime because it is such a life changing experience, to have that kind of relationship and love and I'm just so grateful for Samson, for you and for all of it.

How can people find out more about Gale loves dogs? Where can they go? 

Gale: Yes. So the book, first of all, has its own website, so that's pet loss, grief.info, and it's available wherever you buy books. So paperback and ebook right now. . And then Gale Loves dogs.com is the rescue website. So if you want to do what I do and Foster, I'm looking for fosters. And you can be located anywhere. I'm gonna figure out how to identify the fosters that wanna pull out of shelters local to them, rehabilitate the dogs for weeks to months, and then.

Once we know the dog's personality, we can pair them. ' cause the other thing you can do on the website is tell me, here's what I'm looking for when I'm looking for it. And then that will gimme the [00:42:00] information to make those energetic connections on the dogs and the families. And then also I will accept donations on the website.

But the cool thing I'm trying to reimagine dog rescue to find new ways of getting revenue and to save lots of dogs. So that's one of the reasons why I was like, it's a perfect fit to have the profits from the book go to try and do this with the dog rescue. 

Robyn: Thank you so much.

We're gonna have all of the links and we'll also put the link to that TED Talk. You talked that you mentioned. Yes. In our show notes, we cannot recommend enough if you've gone through Pet Grief or know someone that has or is going through it to pick up this book and also check out. Gale loves dogs as well, so thank you, Gale.

thanks, Robyn. Thanks 

Gale: Karen. 

Robyn: And thanks, Samson.