Karen Duke

From my earliest memories, I’ve been a storyteller, both through words and images. I was four years old when I began creating my own storybooks, fully illustrated and with talk bubbles for the characters. Most of my stories were about little girls who saved animals, so it’s no great surprise that I was drawn to veterinary chaplaincy. I love stories about animals, and through my work with Pet Chaplain, I’ve been privileged to hear many inspiring tales about the amazing bonds between people and their animal companions.

Like Rob, I grew up in a pet-loving home surrounded by dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and parakeets.  I’ve had the pleasure of knowing many incredible animals in my life. My pet chaplaincy work has deepened my appreciation for those animals with whom I’ve shared my home as well as the wondrous, mysterious creatures I glimpse when out in nature. It has also given me the opportunity to meet dozens of animal lovers from around the world, whom I consider to be among the kindest and most compassionate people I’ve ever known.

I hope my contributions as a writer and artist are making a difference in the lives of people who find their way here. Thank you for joining me on this journey!

Welcome message from Rob

Like many of the people I support, I grew up in a pet-loving family and have personally experienced the heartache of losing beloved animal and human family members. I founded Pet Chaplain because I recognized that people who love animals and grieve their loss need access to the same emotional and spiritual support resources available when we lose a human loved one.

The grief I witnessed at the veterinary college where I served as chaplain and the pet-loss support group that I facilitate can be intense, and many people struggle to find others to confide in after losing a beloved pet. My goal is to help people find sympathetic listeners and safe spaces where they can share their grief and begin to understand the social and emotional impacts of the loss.

If you're grieving for a pet, I encourage you to find someone with whom you can safely share your stories about the animals and sacred places you love. This is one of the primary reasons Karen and I created the Pet Chaplain Learning Series. We encourage you to explore your grief with kindred spirits, express your love for animals, and transform loss into a mission to serve others like you.

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A journey of compassion

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From one chaplain’s vision to a community of care

More than two decades ago, hospital chaplain Rob Gierka began exploring a largely unrecognized dimension of spiritual care: the profound bond between people and their animals and the intensive grief many people experience when their pet is lost.

His journey began with offering spiritual care to hospitalized people and their families. Again and again, animals were part of their stories—beloved companions who brought joy, offered comfort, and played an important role in their families.

Those experiences inspired Rob to begin a deeper exploration of the human–animal bond and the spiritual needs of people who had lost a beloved pet. What began as one chaplain’s vision gradually evolved into a broader calling: helping people understand and honor their pets and provide mutual support to each other when a pet is lost.

Today, that mission continues through the Pet Chaplain Learning Series and the support resources in the Pet Chapel.

The timeline below traces the people, experiences, and milestones that have shaped Pet Chaplain’s journey and its continuing evolution.

Mid-1990s

The foundation for a calling

Rob Gierka began his chaplaincy training and ministry in the 1990s, serving as a hospital chaplain and a Stephen minister and head of congregational care in his place of worship.

Those experiences eventually led Rob to recognize the important role that pets play in people’s lives and the profound grief that many experience when they’re lost.

Rob blessing a cat at the annual Blessing of the Animals held every October at Duke University Chapel in Durham, NC.

April 2004

Rob founds Pet Chaplain

Rob founded Pet Chaplain as a community service organization offering interfaith spiritual care for pet loss. He counseled grieving pet keepers, accompanied them while they navigated difficult end-of-life decisions, and planned and led memorial services.

Woman with cat in vet office

Jan 2005

Spiritual care comes to veterinary medicine

Rob was invited to serve as the on-call chaplain at the North Carolina State University Veterinary College and Veterinary Teaching Hospital. For nearly two years, he made rounds through the small- and large-animal clinics, offering spiritual care to grieving pet keepers as well as veterinary faculty, staff, and students.

Newspaper

Sept 2006

Rob’s story reaches a wider audience

Rob’s innovative work at NC State’s veterinary hospital began attracting local and national media attention. His veterinary chaplaincy program at NC State’s veterinary hospital was featured by NPR, North Carolina Public Television, National Geographic, The Raleigh News and Observer, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Nov 2006

A community of support takes root

Rob began facilitating a pet loss support group through the Raleigh SPCA. What started as a local gathering became a lasting source of connection and compassion for people grieving the loss of an animal companion. The group continues today, meeting monthly online, and concludes with a spiritually inclusive memorial service for lost pets in the Pet Chapel.

Two love birds

Jan 2013

A creative partnership begins

Rob met writer and artist Karen Duke, and the two soon became partners in both life and the Pet Chaplain project. Their complementary skills helped transform Rob’s vision for pet chaplaincy education into a growing body of teaching, writing, and creative work.

Jan 2015

Research deepens Rob’s vision

Rob earned his doctoral degree in adult education from NC State, focusing his research on the human-animal bond and pet loss. Stories he gathered during his research with a small group of vet tech students became an important foundation for the educational program that would follow.

Aug 2018–Dec 2022

Pet chaplaincy education begins

Rob and Karen launched their first online course in pet chaplaincy studies. Over the next five years, dozens of students from around the world explored the spiritual dimensions of the human-animal bond and the experience of pet loss. What began as a six-week course grew through research, student feedback, and years of teaching into a comprehensive fifteen-week program.

Jan 2023–Mar 2026

The Pet Chaplain Learning Series takes shape

Rob and Karen paused their online course in 2023 to transform years of teaching materials, research, and experience into the Pet Chaplain Learning Series.

Working with a team of expert advisors—including chaplains, clergy, a veterinarian, and university professors—they developed four books exploring the human-animal bond, pet loss, Western culture, and spiritual care for pet loss.

Hiker and dog at sunset

Our journey continues…

Today, Pet Chaplain is growing in new directions. We’ve expanded our services in the Pet Chapel, are working on a guide for book study groups, doing community outreach through Blessed by the Animals events, training local in-person support group facilitators, conducting workshops in the human-animal bond, and planning a road show to a city near you.

What began with one chaplain’s desire to comfort grieving pet keepers has grown into a broader mission—one grounded in the belief that the relationships we share with animals deserve to be understood, honored, and cared for.

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