Robin's Nest from American Humane - Sampson the Science Service Dog

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

In this inspiring episode, we welcome neuroscientist and inclusion advocate Joey Ramp-Adams, whose life was forever changed after a traumatic accident in 2006. Her devoted Golden Retriever, Sampson, became more than a service dog—he became a lifeline, learning over 245 commands to assist with the effects of Joey’s brain injury and mobility challenges.Together, Joey and Sampson broke barriers in the scientific community, advocating for service dog access in research labs and helping shape national policy. Known as the “Science Service Dog,” Sampson not only helped Joey reclaim her independence but also paved the way for inclusion and accessibility in STEM fields. Now retired, Sampson’s legacy continues to inspire—and Joey’s mission to ensure equal access for all is far from over. Tune in for a heartwarming and empowering conversation about resilience, advocacy, and the extraordinary bond between a woman and her dog. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share this remarkable story.

Welcome to Robin's Nest. Many of us feel a deep bond with animals, from the pets we cherish at home to the endangered species in nature. Join us for lively, informative conversations where together we will build a more humane world. Today's episode is hosted by Georgia Boyer, my communications colleague at American Humane,

who is a longtime animal lover. Let's listen to our conversation with Georgia. It is my great honor to welcome Joey Ramp Adams, a trailblazing neuroscientist and passionate advocate for inclusion. She's the devoted handler of SAMSEN, the renowned science service dog. Following a life-changing accident

that resulted in a brain injury, Joey's journey of recovery inspired her to help others. She has since become a leading voice for service dog handlers in academic and research settings. Her work has not only impacted the lives of individuals with disabilities, but has also brought meaningful change on Capitol Hill. Joey has transformed what it means to advocate for accessibility and inclusion, and I can't wait to dive into her remarkable story. Okay, so we have Joey Ramp Adams here. Welcome to Robin's Nest podcast. It's so great to see you again. I feel so happy and privileged that I get to do this podcast because I got to know you really well

over this past season of Hero Dogs. So Samson was the service and guide Hero Dog winner for the 2024 season. And we have his owner with us here today on Robin's Nest. So welcome. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me and Samson who's asleep right down here.

Yeah. Samson, I can personally say that he is the sweetest boy of all time. He has just got the best personality. So when you submitted him for the Hero Dog Awards, why did you do that and what about him is a hero to you? Well Samson is a hero in multi-fold. When I had an accident back in 2006 and ended up with a lot of broken bones and a brain injury and went through a lot of years of surgeries and but the most significant thing was the brain injury and went through a lot of years of surgeries. But the most significant thing was the brain injury, which developed into a more progressive injury to where I lost the ability to speak or understand language or to be in social settings at all.

And so aside from that, I also had mobility complications. And now I was in my late 40s when this happened. So I didn't understand what was happening in my brain or in my body. No doctor could really tell me what was happening. So I decided I was going to go into neuroscience and understand what was happening in my brain. And the only way to do that was to get a service dog. Now Samson is my second service dog. My first service dog was retired early for medical reasons.

Samson was with me for a decade. And we together entered science and service dogs were not allowed at all in laboratories when we first started down our path. And so every semester we had to kind of fight an academic system and show them that a service dog could work in a laboratory. And Samson had to wear goggles and he had to wear boots on his paws, he had to wear a lab coat, he had to wear the same equipment I did, and he had to learn very extensive tasks to do that.

And it hadn't been developed prior to us entering into science. So he was with me 24-7. He was with me every single class, every single day. He made sure I got to the grocery store. He made sure I got to doctor's appointments. He made sure I made my classes, but he also introduced and he opened up a whole new culture for science that has now changed policies worldwide to allow others access to science who have service dogs who would not have been allowed prior to Samson entering into becoming the science service dog. Yeah. I mean, it's so remarkable because he is a hero and he truly has helped you so much, but you're a hero yourself because you embarked on this journey.

Not only I find it so remarkable that you wanted to learn more about what was happening to you, and that really started the entire journey that you went on. So can you talk about what it's like going through something that's brand new like that and you do have your service dog with you along the way. What were the biggest challenges and how did it, how did it help and how did it feel to have your companion with you as well as a service dog. I mean, he's so much to you. He really is. When I was first told that I was disabled, that word just didn't even register to me because one day I was one person

and the next day after an accident I was someone completely different. And it took me a long time to understand what that meant. I travel around the world now and I travel internationally to give talks and presentations and I explain to universities what that feels like to be disabled and to be in an academic setting. I had to learn that the hard way. I had to learn that by, you know, trial by error. My mother used to say, one of her favorite stories was the very first sentence I spoke was, I can do it.

And that has always been my mantra, I guess. So when I entered, when I was told by doctors that they couldn't do any more for me, they didn't understand what was happening, I couldn't take that as an answer. I was homebound. I couldn't understand the language people were speaking to me anymore. No one could explain that to me. I was actually even misdiagnosed multiple times. I had advanced-aged Alzheimer's. I was told I'd be hospitalized within six months and potentially dead within three months. This is what I was told I'd be hospitalized within six months and potentially dead within three months.

This is what I was getting from doctors, but it didn't resonate with me. So I wanted to understand more. Going into neuroscience, not even being able to understand language was a huge step. I had a lot of good advocates that worked with me, but then then we ran into the the obstacle which I never even thought about was having just going into a general chemistry course with a service animal. It hadn't been done before and they said you can't do that and again that word can't. I knew there had to be a way. So I started working with the

university lab managers, I started discussing it with disability advocates, and when I say discuss, this was all in writing because I couldn't speak language and I couldn't understand what they were saying to me. So we developed all of these new kind of protocols on the fly. But as the years progressed and my research, I started getting into research. I was told, you will never have a career in behavioral neuroscience

because you have a service talk. I was told by professors, why do we have to dumb down the science for people with disabilities? I was told all kinds of, you know, just crazy things and that service dogs are not allowed. So working with SAMHSA and having to develop protocols that I didn't even know had to be developed was a learning process. I worked with some fantastic individuals who taught me a great deal and who also taught me how to advocate.

I used to be super fiery and I still am to a sense, but I was taught how to- I was going to say, wait a second. Well, I was taught how to advocate with grace is what I was told. That has changed significantly because when I'm advocating now, I'm talking to people and I don't back down, but I also don't make them defensive. I can give them solutions. I can give them solutions. I can tell them why this is important. I can explain what the solutions are, what the barriers are, and how to move forward.

And in doing so, I've worked with the three major science organizations who have now developed policies to allow for service animals into laboratories. And I'm now trying to get some language changed in the CDC biosafety guidelines, and I'm working with our congressmen with making that change happen. And we are also now working with building organizations who are making laboratories accessible and inclusive. So I see the change happening, but it was a long and very arduous road. Yeah, I believe it. And only someone with a personality like yours could do it. So I do want to commend you because you are a tough cookie. You are. So it's you're breaking down barriers and

you're changing the landscape, which is just so remarkable. Now, will you share what Samson's nickname is? Is it the science, what is it? The science dog? He's the ambassador for service dogs in science, but he's Samson the science service dog. Samson the science dog, that's it. We started a social media presence and it was more to raise awareness. We wanted to make sure to raise awareness, to let people understand the barriers at the time that we were experiencing.

When I started the social media platforms, it was really more cathartic for me. And then as Samson's followers will tell you, Samson kind of took over and now Samson gives his own viewpoint on how we are moving through these barriers and what it looks like on the other side. And he's known for his very gregarious personality and his best day ever attitude. And, but he's also known for being a no-nonsense dog and making sure that people get the things that they need. Because we get in, well, let me back up a second. I wanted to make sure that no one experienced

what I experienced. So I developed a company called Empowerability Consulting. And what we do is we help people who were in my situation to help them move forward. Because I was headed towards my PhD, and I was prevented from succeeding in getting my PhD because of the barriers that we faced. I was actually limited by someone else's opinion of me rather than my actual abilities to succeed. They said that a service dog would never be allowed to move forward into a PhD program and that ended my pursuit. I didn't want that to happen to anyone else. So through the social media platforms

and through a lot of our advocacy work, Samson has been able to raise awareness. We also developed SAMHSA's Legacy Foundation, which provides financial support for individuals with disabilities who are going into science, academics. But we also provide financial support for people with disabilities in general who are facing any kind of barriers. We provide scholarships for people with disabilities, some scholarships specifically for Service Talk handlers,

and we provide support. I've gone into court cases with individuals. I've helped them navigate the barriers. I've talked to their universities. I become their third party liaison to help them navigate the systems. And it's been amazing. We've seen some progress.

Some of the universities are actually purchasing. We helped develop a service dog specific lab coat, because that was one of my most frequently asked questions. It's very cute too. Thank you. Yeah, we tried to adapt lab coats and make sure that the dog could wear them, but we worked with someone who manufactured a very specific lab coat for service animals that you can order. Some universities now are even ordering in

like four different sizes, you know, small, medium, large, and extra large. They're ordering in four different sized goggles and in multiple size boots to have them on hand so that when a service dog handler comes in, they can help them by providing the personal protective equipment they need because it's very expensive. So, you know, we've been able to do a lot of things, but I really attribute that to Samson's presence on social media and being able to raise that awareness as Samson the science service dog. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah, because I remember even in New York when we went to the Today Show, someone in the crowd recognized him and they knew because of social media where he was going to be. So he really is like reaching the masses, which is the beauty of social media. Yeah. We have, I think he's got over 90,000 followers now on social media. Yeah, we have, I think he's got over 90,000 followers now on social media. Last year alone we traveled over 72,000 miles and we went internationally. I get emails in from Australia, from Scotland, from Ireland, from the UK, from Canada, all over the world people who know

who Samson is and they follow him and they look to him for inspiration sometimes. We even go beyond science and sometimes just provide some what I have written a book and it's going to be published August 26th and it'll be in all major bookstores and it's called Insistent because I was called Insistent when I was in school. But in my book I call it Trinkets of Hope and Samson provides little trinkets of hope for people and I'm constantly getting emails or messages from someone that says, you know That's just exactly what I I needed to hear today. Thank you and they have nothing to do with science They have nothing to do with even you know being disabled. They're just going through a rough patch that particular day and

Samson's presence and his words of wisdom we call the wolves of wisdom the marshmallow floofs, wolves of wisdom because they call him the marshmallow floof. And it gives people whatever it is that they need in that particular day. Sometimes it's guidance or direction, sometimes it's just an encouraging word or a happy dog on the face of a social media platform. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And he does have an aura to him, which I think is so special that he almost is like a therapy dog in a lot of ways too. He has a calming presence to him. And I just love that about him. And we did a, we, on our New York media trip, we did a lot of hectic things and he really truly just stayed calm and present and worked and he was great.

Yeah, and he did a lot of that for me. His, his tasks go much, much further than being a calming presence. Oh, much further. Yeah. Tell us about what he does. Yeah. Okay. Well, because of my brain injury, I was significantly broken on my left side and I lost a lot of the use of my left hand. My left leg sometimes when I'm walking,

my brain tells it to take a step and my leg just doesn't get the message. But my brain thinks it has, so we keep going forward, but my leg doesn't move. And so I lose balance. I have a hard time going up and down stairs because my left leg just doesn't want to lift up. And so oftentimes when we're walking he helps me

balance and I can brace on him. It's just a matter of placing my fingers on on his back or he has several different types of harnesses and vests that he wears and one is an actual harness. And you know, so traveling through areas I can balance and brace on him. If I have to, say for instance, I drop something on the floor, he's trained to pick it up for me because if I drop my head below my waist, I have a tendency to black out because of my brain injury. And so he'll pick it up for me and hand it to me. But in the lab, we don't want him to do that

because of the contamination on the floor. So then he was trained to just come to my side and I could lean down and balance on him so that I could get down and I could pick it whatever up I dropped. And then some people say to me, well, why don't you just get someone else to do that? Well, first of all, that takes away my own independence. Second of all, a lot of times working in the lab, there is no one else in there.

And if I drop the only pen and everyone who works in a lab knows there's only one pen and you hope it works. But if you drop that and you know what do you do? You have to lead to a lab to go get another pen or I can just balance on him and pick that up. He also does medical alert. If I, my brain can't filter out environmental stimuli. It lost that ability. Like most people, if they're walking around a corner and somebody comes around the corner and they get startled, your brain has this magic ability

to just dump the chemicals in there that calms you down. My brain doesn't do that anymore. So if I'm walking around a corner and I get startled, I stay in that elevated state for the rest of the day up to three to ten days. So you know he makes sure that if I start getting anxious about something, it could just be someone talking loudly, my brain hears it as a threat and I'll start tapping my fingers or something and he'll come and he'll warn me

and I can look around and say, oh these guys are just telling a joke, it's not a big deal. I can let it go. If I don't do that, my brain will continue to register that as a threat, unconsciously. Your brain unconsciously registers 280 times faster than it does consciously. So you're always taking in stimuli. Going through an airport, I get overstimulated. I cannot navigate through an airport. So when I get off a plane, my husband texts me where I need to go. I put on the speaker and he tells Samson, okay go

forward. Samson, turn left. Samson, turn right. Well he's following me on an app and he can get me from one plane to another terminal. Could be, you know, multi terminals away. Without that, I couldn't travel alone. There's just so many other things. He helps me upstairs. So many things. So many things. I mean, I could really go on.

He knows 245 different commands. Wow. It's so cool. And like you said, it helps you maintain your independence, which is so important. Yep. I love that. So let's pivot a little bit and talk about,

you've done some advocating on Capitol Hill as well. Can you talk about that and that journey? Yes. So I was contacted, it's been almost two years ago now, by an individual who had been denied access to a lab because they, in the Center for Disease Control, they have a biosafety manual called the BMBL and it's their sixth edition. And it states in there, this wasn't in the fifth edition.

It is in the new sixth edition. And it says, animals and plants not associated with the work being performed in the lab are not allowed in the lab. And what that's being translated to is, service animals are not allowed in a lab. And now this is in their biosafety regulations all the way from a very basic general chemistry course. So this individual that contacted me had been not only denied access to their lab, but had been terminated from their job. So I reached out to the

CDC and long story short I had worked my way up the chain of command and asked them, I requested that they change that to say service animals may be an exception based on risk assessment which is supported under the ADA. So didn't get anywhere, so I contacted my congressman, Congressman Juan Ciscomani, and he decided to champion the cause. And so I went to Capitol Hill and I met in the House of Representatives, I met his legislative assistant who he and I have worked very closely in contacting the CDC. We are this close to getting it changed and we've gone back and forth with them. They didn't want to change it until the next edition which could be 10 years

from now. And now, if you could imagine, this poor individual has gone through their degree program and is working in their career and was told that they can't work there anymore because of a misstatement. And the CDC had already said it was a mistake on their part. Right. This person can't wait 10 years to get a job. So the last I spoke with the legislative assistant was just about a week and a half ago. And he said he had a letter from the CDC on his desk. And I have not heard back yet what that letter exactly says. But the last correspondence was that they were looking at

making an amendment on their website to state that, which would support anyone who was having difficulties. And then of course, we would have to wait till the new edition came out, but hopefully that would be sooner than later. So if that doesn't happen, then Sampson and I are testifying before Congress. Absolutely. Yeah, that's, I mean, it's got to happen. And good for you for spearheading that. That's amazing.

Thank you. It's so cool. OK, so let's do something more fun and light. And we'll just let us know what you think. I know we asked this question before when we were doing the Hero Dogs, but Samson's superpower. What do you think it is? Samson's superpower.

Oh my gosh. He did. If you had to pick one. If I had to pick one. If I had to pick one. I think it's just Samson's ability to connect with people and just raise their spirits on any given day, in any situation. I think that that is the thing that just makes him absolutely brilliant. We walk through an airport and people are grumpy and they're fussy and they walk by this little floofy dog

with this great big huge smile and they smile. We gave them a little bit of something that day. So I think if that, if I had to pick one, his superpower would be just the way he makes people feel. He lifts their day and he lifts their spirits. Yeah. I could not agree more. I feel like that is his superpower, which is great.

And let's, so is there anything else that you would like to share or talk about before we wrap up today to share with the Robins Nest audience? Well, I mean, obviously, I want to thank everyone at American Humane Society. I mean, just for all that you do, one, but for giving us the opportunity to show the world that service dogs can and do work effectively and safely in laboratories laboratories and they can assist their handlers in being successful in jobs and education and in life. I definitely want people to understand that.

There are misconceptions, but there are answers and solutions out there. And I would just ask everyone to kind of open their mind and look at it from maybe a little bit of a different perspective. Life is too short, and so everyone needs to help each other be the best that they can be. Yeah. I totally agree, and that was beautifully said. Truly, Joey, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. You are such a special person. You are breaking barriers.

You, like I said earlier, are a tough cookie and you make it happen. It's just so fun to watch. I know it's hard work, but it's just so cool to watch your journey and to witness it firsthand. It was so special. Samsonson I mean I can't say enough I love that guy. Thank you. He's an amazing guy for sure. Yeah he really is.

Joey thank you again for visiting Robin's Nest it's been such a pleasure. Thank you very much thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for tuning in to Robins Nest. We want to hear what you think. Please make sure to review the podcast on your podcast platform. Watch for upcoming episodes that will include new and exciting discussions. If you love animals, you'll love this season of Robin's Nest.