It was a rough weekend in the Sprague household.
We lost our beloved Penelope — suddenly and far too soon.
We adopted her in 2021 after she had been dumped at a dog park in Chicago. She had clearly been abused. Multiple broken bones that had healed. A torn ACL. A rough start in life.
Last week, she went from a mild cough on Tuesday to respiratory failure by Sunday.
It was fast. Shocking. And devastating.
In the days that followed, I kept looking for answers.
Veterinarians told us she likely had an underlying respiratory condition — possibly pulmonary fibrosis — that made her especially vulnerable to pneumonia.
So, I did what many of us do: I went searching for understanding.
I asked ChatGPT whether early exposure to cigarette smoke, dust, stress, or neglect could have contributed to pulmonary fibrosis. I wanted to know if the people who hurt her initially had ultimately shortened her life.
It gave me some medical insights.
Pulmonary fibrosis in dogs is often idiopathic — meaning the cause is unknown. It’s uncommon in pitbulls. Environmental exposure can sometimes contribute, but in most cases, you simply can’t know.
Then it said something I didn’t expect.
It said it was sorry for my loss.
And it shared something deeper:
When you rescue an abused animal, it’s common to feel like you failed them when they die — like you didn’t ultimately keep them safe.
That hit me hard because that’s exactly how I felt.
But then it gave me something unexpected and unprompted:
I didn’t fail her.
Her biology failed her.
I couldn’t protect her from disease.
But I did protect her from a life without safety.
As you can imagine, I nearly fell off my chair.
The reason I’m sharing this is not for sympathy.
I’m sharing it because it provided a new perspective on AI.
AI helped me process a loss with valuable insights and dare I say, a degree of empathy.
As we prepare to launch our AI-powered leadership development platform, this experience gave me an unexpected perspective:
AI can support people not just intellectually — but within the context of their current life experiences.
It can help them think differently.
See differently.
And ideally, behave differently.
To provide insights to be better.
ChatGPT didn’t bring Penelope back.
But it helped me process losing my buddy.
And for that, today I’m unexpectedly grateful.
Christopher Sprague, PhD, is the CEO and Cofounder of the Enluma Leadership Group.
At Enluma, our success is defined by leaders who actually grow, not just take surveys or courses. By combining analytics and AI with practical, modern, and actionable leadership development, we help leaders and organizations move quickly to action and growth.
If you’d like to learn more, reach out via LinkedIn.