Forever Bond w/ Dr. Linda Harper

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After A Loss, Keeping The Positive Legacy Alive

Photo by Adriana Acevedo

Photo by Adriana Acevedo

About The Episode

Ever since she could walk, Linda Harper has had a special adoration for dogs. Growing up in Minnesota, she began rescuing dogs from local thrift stores with her sister at just three years old. When Linda was 12, she dreamed even bigger by drawing up the plans for her own kennel for rescues – prompting her dad to ask, “Why don’t you save people instead?” Fortunately, she has been able to do both. 

Linda started her career journey by running a traditional clinical psychology practice in Chicago with her husband for three decades and counting, where she then started to bring therapy animals – mostly dogs – into her practice. They would help the people who Linda was working with and allow them to feel more comfortable and safe. 

Over time, the human-animal bond became one of Linda’s most common areas of clients and she shifted her focus in the past 5 years to specifically offering workshops for animal lovers full-time. Now Linda only specializes in pet loss support and pet bereavement.

In that time, her soulmate dog – a senior dachshund named Chilidog – became one of her therapy assistants and helped her for half a decade before he passed. In his wake, however, Linda didn’t want to dwell on the sadness. Chilidog had brought her such happiness and she wanted to keep that spirit and perspective going. She was inspired by his impact on her to start her Healing Hearts Workshops to help people focus on the positive ways we can keep moving forward, even with the difficulty and sadness that is normal with loss, with powerful exercises drawn from psychology and neurobiology.

Chilidog emboldened Linda to share his message with those challenged by a loss of their own and to help us all not just see it as a “loss” that stops then. He showed Linda that even if he was gone, their bond lasted forever. In fact, their story had just begun.

About The Guest - Dr. Linda Harper

Dr. Linda Harper is a clinical psychologist and pet bereavement specialist who focuses on pet loss support and pet bereavement. In 2004, she founded Blessed Bonds, a nonprofit shelter organization committed to housing animals that belong to those who may be experiencing a crisis that prevents them from caring for their pet temporarily. Since 2001, she has also been involved with the Best Friends Animal Society and their “Sanctuary” in Utah as a workshop leader and speaker and for over 15 years has worked with the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association to facilitate a pet-grief support group (also known as WINGS) and to help train professionals for the Pet Loss Hotline. Linda has also written several books, including The Power of Joy in Giving to Animals.

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