Grief, Kinship, and the Animals Who Guide Us with Professional Animal Communicators

In this conversation, Certified Soul Level Animal Communicators and grief-intuitive coaches from The Animal Communication Collective (ACC)—Julie Hirt, Karen Dendy Smith, and Meredith Tollison—offer a vivid picture of animal communication as a soul-to-soul exchange that restores trust, deepens wholeness, and opens doorways to healing and transformation. They demystify why losing an animal often breaks us open more than losing a human, explore how animals help surface grief we have long buried, and share stories from clients who continue receiving guidance through images, humor, sensations, and inner knowing even after their animals have crossed the veil. The trio also reflect on how each of them slowly found their way back to the sacred after religious trauma, supported by magnolia trees, ocean wind, and the quiet companionship of the animals who stayed close to them. You can hear more from Julie, Karen, and Meredith on their own podcast, The Animal Communication podcast. 

Connect with The Animal Communicators:

• Website: animalcommunicationcollective.com
• Podcast: theanimalcommunicationpodcast.com
• Julie: juliehirt-intuitive.com
• Karen: karendendysmith.com
• Meredith: meredithtollison.com

Mentioned in the episode:

• Book: All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
• Book: Opal- The Journal of an Understanding Heart by Opal Whiteley
• Figure: Anna Breytenbach @ animalspirit.org

Connect with the Center:

• Website: wildspirituality.earth
• Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
• Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
• Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
• Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

• 00:00 — Introduction
• 05:32 — Interview begins
• 06:23 — Introducing Julie
• 06:51 — Introducing Karen
• 07:45 — Introducing Meredith
• 08:28 — Unconditional love & authenticity
• 13:33 — Julie’s grief origins
• 16:02 — Karen’s grief origins
• 17:41 — Meredith’s grief origins
• 19:21 — Grief unlocked by companion animals
• 22:34 — The felt sense of animals in spirit
• 26:27 — The claires / intuitive senses
• 30:48 — Accessing the sacred
• 31:38 — Julie’s spiritual upbringing
• 34:29 — Karen’s spiritual upbringing
• 36:13 — Meredith’s spiritual upbringing
• 38:21 — Reconnecting words
• 41:34 — Why grief feels different with animals
• 43:37 — Loss rituals
• 44:44 — The “placeness” of animals
• 54:38 — The animal communication collective
• 56:43 — Wild invitation
• 58:09 — Credits