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Welcome to a brand new episode of The Story of My Pet Podcast.
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I am your host, Julie Marty Pearson, and I am super excited to bring you this new episode.
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Thank you so much for being here and supporting the podcast.
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I hope you enjoy Hello, and welcome to a new episode of The Story of My Pet.
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Leah, I am so happy to have you here.
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Welcome to The Story of My Pet.
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Oh, it's so great to be here, Julie.
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Lee and I connected through Pod Match, which have mentioned before, but it is a great program.
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It's something that you sign up for and put your info in and then you get matched.
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Guests and hosts get matched to be on podcasts and I use it myself to be guests on others, but I also use it to find guests for my show.
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So that is how Lee and I connected.
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So I'm super excited to meet you and get to know you better.
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I always like to start with have you always been an animal lover?
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Did you grow up with pets?
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Absolutely.
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So, when I was young probably 3, 4, 5, my parents actually raised greyhounds.
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I remember being four years old and seeing a greyhound give birth and it was just magical.
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From the time I could walk, we had always had dogs.
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There would sometimes be a gap of maybe a year or two where we would have a grieving process and then we would get another dog.
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We always tended to adopt unicorns, which if your listeners are not aware, a unicorn is a dog who, for one reason or another.
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has to be the only dog in the house.
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When I was seven, we adopted a dog whose name was Dixie, and we adopted her when she was nine months old, and had her until she was 18.
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when we met her, she was just crouched in the corner of the shelter.
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She had already been returned twice.
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because people adopted her thinking she was cute and didn't realize she was a puppy and had puppy tendencies.
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thankfully my parents were very patient with her Her whole life, she was just the sweetest to humans, but she was imprinted on with just an intolerance to other dogs.
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She wasn't, she was scared by them.
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She was not aggressive.
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But she just could not be around other dogs.
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She could not be in a kennel.
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We went on road trips with her.
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She went on all of our family vacations which I think is one of the reasons that her death really hit me hard.
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Because she, it was like losing a member of the family.
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by the time she had passed.
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I had started my career and I was in a very demanding job but always knew that I wanted to have a dog of my own.
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And so after many years of navigating nonprofit leadership I told my husband when I turned 40, I said that I didn't need a present, but I needed to have a dog.
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It was non-negotiable.
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we adopted my dog, Layla, who unbeknownst to me is also a bit of a unicorn.
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She is a very aggressive female.
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But
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she
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they
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seem to find the right people in you though, it sounds like.
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She is the loveliest dog.
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She is a neighborhood favorite.
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She has three or four aunts in the neighborhood.
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We have to go by their house every single day so they can love on her.
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I love that.
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And she even has dog friends in the neighborhood, but she just does not.
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Want another dog in the house.
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We currently have three cats and our oldest Charlie, who is almost 16, was not happy when I fostered a few years ago, but it was a good way to warm him up.
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We had six kittens and then we only adopted one, so it was all like, oh, this is better.
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But the reason we don't have a dog currently in our fur family is because of Charlie.
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We don't wanna stress him out.
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In his golden years, he does not deal with change.
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Well, he has anxiety, so we're like, you get to live happily, we'll get a dog when it's the right time.
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So it sounds like you are definitely in that mindset to give our pets whatever they need, even if it's just them being the only one.
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what I will say about having a unicorn is it does help me as I'm educating people.
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It helps me kind of learn.
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Like my next book is going to be about introducing a new dog in the house.
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Oh, that's great.
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Because I think that it's really important to do that correctly, especially if you're someone who's passionate about rescue.
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Absolutely.
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I worked for less than a year part-time in one of my local shelters doing dog adoption events.
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I would take the dogs out to the community events and help get them adopted.
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And I can't even count.
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all of the times where a dog got adopted and one day later, two days later, they were back.
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My cat doesn't like it.
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It chewed this up.
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It jumped over the fence.
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It's like people, it's an animal.
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Would you do well in a brand new environment without understanding why you're there in one day or not?
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People don't realize that putting them through that also makes it even harder to get them adopted later because you're traumatizing them.
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You're not helping them in any way by bringing them home for a day or two and then sending'em back.
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So it sounds like you really understand that and I appreciate that and I'm sure you doing a book around that, especially for kids is so great because I think at this point we need to educate the kids and really get them the next generation to be the ones that help.
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Get us out of this overpopulation crisis we're in.
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Right,
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Well, and it's so funny you say that because when I adopted Layla, the first thing my shelter gave me was a document about the 3, 3 3 rule.
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Mm-hmm.
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And the 3, 3, 3 rule is something that I think the general public doesn't have enough knowledge in.
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It is universally accepted in shelters and rescues, which is pretty rare in and of itself to have a lot of experts who all agree on one thing.
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and I think it's worth talking a little bit about the 3, 3, 3 now, because that's actually the topic of my next book.
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If you are not aware, the 3, 3, 3 rule is a set of well-documented behaviors oftentimes, kind of concerning behaviors that dogs especially go through in the first three days, three weeks, three months that they are in a shelter or when they have been adopted from a shelter.
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so like in the first three days they are really decompressing.
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And so a lot of people will be concerned when they see the dog is sleeping the whole time or they don't, really eat those first couple of days.
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In my case, Layla didn't poop for a couple days.
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But these are things that happen to most dogs.
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if not all of them, at least some of them happen.
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And then right in that first three weeks, they are starting to feel comfortable with you.
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And so if they have any quirks that might be annoying, like.
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Chewing on things or, having a tendency to run away or something along those lines, that's when they start to show up.
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And so people will be inclined if they aren't aware of the 3, 2, 3 rule to return the dog.
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Because they say, oh, you know, I can't have a dog that chews up my sofa.
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I can't have a dog who does this or is going to be like this, when really that's the time that you want to go to obedience training or something like that.
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Because a lot of these behaviors.
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Are actually trainable.
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Layla is considered a flight risk.
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she escaped her foster about a month before we got her, and she lived on her own for 18 days.
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Thank goodness.
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We have an excellent Casey Trappers network who had a bead on her.
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But knowing that she was a flight risk, we were able to train behaviors and train tendencies in her to help her know how to get home just right.
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Understand how to be on the leash.
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we don't leave her by herself outside because.
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She loves her home, but she's a squirrel chaser and she'll chase that squirrel down.
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Nothing will de
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One of our dogs growing up was the same way.
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If the gardeners left the gate open and we didn't catch it and we let him out, it was like, go on Adventure time.
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But it sounds like a lot of what you're saying is.
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And I saw this so much was you have to be, you have to prepare yourself.
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You have to ask the questions so you can give the best environment to them so that you are setting them up for success.
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exactly.
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And the biggest thing I think is that people don't understand that it takes about three months and they usually are not patient enough to give a dog that time and frankly, you need to.
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Understand that, particularly in those first three weeks, you need to be spending a lot of time with your dog.
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You need to understand that because they cannot speak for themselves.
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Um, right.
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And
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even though we want everyone to adopt right now to save animals, we also want people to be prepared and understand you can't adopt a new animal and then just leave it by itself.
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Of course, it's gonna chew something.
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First of all, you need to give it something to chew so it knows that's what I should be chewing.
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But you can't, and especially those first few days.
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Decompression.
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I remember one time Anna, one of the dogs was brought back to the shelter and it was because it wasn't playing enough with my kids.
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We wanted a dog that would play with my kids.
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You didn't give it two days.
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The dog is overwhelmed.
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It's exhausted.
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They don't sleep well in the shelter.
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They're constantly on edge So I learned so much being there because what all of what you're saying is so true is a lot of the issues we have in the world with pets and animals and overpopulation is because people aren't educated and they don't understand.
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And the three, three rule is great, but for some pets it could take six months.
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For some pets, it could be a month, and they're like, I'm home.
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This is great.
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I'm never leaving.
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So it's so important to educate people because they just don't understand.
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With, for me the reason I'm creating that book is, it's going to have a sweet story because my books have sweet stories.
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and it's not going to be an educational book.
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It is meant to be a book that introduces some of these topics, and then.
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Shelters and rescues can use them as discussions.
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Like it should be a start to the discussion.
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Right.
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Just like you said, we educate the children and a picture book is for ages four to seven, and so the parent is going to be reading that with them ideally.
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So it's also a little bit of a soft education for the parents.
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because I think that, what it really comes down to is empathy.
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And I think that a lot of people, especially if you're new to adoption, it's hard to feel empathetic when a dog chews up something of yours.
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And because you might not understand.
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Why or understand the motivation, right?
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It's not an a personal attack on you, it's the dog working out whatever it's going through.
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I get really upset when Charlie decides to sit up and then throw up right where he is on the bed and it's like, Charlie, can't you just move?
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He's 16, his bones hurt.
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He doesn't wanna jump down and back up all the time.
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Yeah, there is definitely, I think empathy in terms of understanding what they've gone through as animals.
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And sometimes we don't know all the facts, but also understanding they're animals just like us.
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You can't expect them to be perfect or respond or change overnight.
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And they need support and training is so important.
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And consistency, right.
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Boundaries and all of those things are so important.
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And a lot of times, it was just like you were talking about with chewing where if you.
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If you see they're a chew, you don't get mad about it.
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You find a chewing toy for them to occupy themselves with.
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they need that stimulation, just like your kids need that stimulation, right.
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Just like we adjust to people's quirks and personalities, we need to give them what they need.
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I dog sat a lot after COVID and one of my friends who I dog sat a lot for, she has a pug.
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He needs to always have something to chew on to be playing with, he is either a hundred percent active, chewing, playing, or sound asleep, snoring like a, freight train.
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So as his auntie, I learned that I always had to make sure, because if he wasn't, he would go find something, a book, a magazine, the couch, the rug.
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So you had to redirect him.
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It didn't mean he was a bad dog, he just needed certain things to be happy and content.
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Yeah.
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Exactly
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pugs are special creatures.
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But you love them.
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Like once you have them,
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So we've talked about this book, you're gonna write all these things and we kind of didn't start at the beginning with what made you decide to start writing children's books and to make them about, pets and dogs?
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I didn't start out writing children's books about dogs.
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My first job I was a director of education for Symphony Orchestra.
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Oh, okay.
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And I.
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One of the things that I started while I worked there was a story time series.
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And I learned very, very quickly that classical music has a distinct lack of kid friendly classical music stories that are recent.
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if I wanted those stories, I had to make them myself I had loved creating stories as a child and kind of put it away when I was training to be a musician and found it again and didn't necessarily know how you published until I met an independent publisher.
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Who was doing a performance for us.
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And I said, well, you know, how did you get connected with.
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Your publisher and he said, well, I just published myself.
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I said, oh my gosh, you could do that.
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And I do feel like COVID maybe normalized that a little bit more.
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But this was about 10 years ago and I just didn't even know that world existed.
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And so I spent a couple years learning how to publish and my first book was a classical music story.
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It was a musical twist on Goldilocks it has a very, very small audience, but the audience that has it really loves it.
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But I didn't feel like I wanted to take my career in a new direction when I started writing full time and mm-hmm.
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This was around the same time that I met Layla and just really started, embracing rescue animal advocacy.
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It was something that really was important to me, especially as I was hearing stories about overcrowding and.
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All of the terrible things are happening right now with dogs just getting dumped because the shelters are full, I felt like I wanted to not only use my writing platform for engaging stories, but I also wanted to be able to advocate and fundraise.
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And so the story that I've written this time, which is I guess the origin story of the series That will be moving forward.
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Was called the odd dog.
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And you always have a little bit of inspiration from your own personal stories, and there's definitely little Easter eggs in there that nod back to Layla, my dog, right?
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But, I didn't want to create a story about my dog.
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So we worked really hard to create a character.
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I knew we had hit on the right look for the character when I heard repeatedly and still hear repeatedly.
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That reminds me of a dog I had when I was a kid.
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really wanted this sentimental nature of this character to come through.
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We used watercolors so that it would look.
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It would have kind of a past look.
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It would park back to a time if your listeners ever see the book.
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I always say it is anti ai.
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Like no AI could ever create this character.
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It could only come from my illustrator's mind because it's this.
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quirky dog and instead of real legs, it has stick legs.
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I was looking at it before we got on to record.
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It's almost like Pigpen from Snoopy.
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Yeah.
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Where it kind of has action, but it's a part of the dog's fur or something.
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You know?
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There's definitely a diff Yeah.
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You would not make.
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I put in things with ai, like, give me a calico.
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I'm like, that's a very perfect looking calico.
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Not all calicos look like that.
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So I totally get what you're saying.
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I love that.
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And, we definitely use Snoopy and Charlie Brown as kind of an inspiration.
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Like we have a typewriter font to kind of harken back to Snoopy's typewriter even when this dog is clean, it has.
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Dirt spots all over it, and it's just part of the charm, right?
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when you adopt a rescue dog, especially a mutt it doesn't matter how much you groom them they're there to be loved.
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not to be a show dog, They wanna capture that odd dog.
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People are very stuck on looks when it comes to dogs like people would all the time when I did adoption events.
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Well, what kind of dog is it?
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I don't know.
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We don't do genetic testing and if it's picked up on the street or found abandoned, we have no idea.
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And we've also learned with genetic testing, sometimes dogs are not at all what we assume they are.
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everyone should embrace the mutts because I mean, we're all mutts.
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We all come from 10 different places.
00:17:28.066 --> 00:17:37.236
And yes, breeds Often have tendencies for certain behaviors, but that doesn't mean every dog of that breed is gonna be exactly the same.
00:17:37.286 --> 00:17:37.496
Yeah.
00:17:37.625 --> 00:17:45.635
I had a friend who just adopted and she had shown visual show dogs she was talking about this new dog who is just cute as a button.
00:17:45.695 --> 00:17:50.245
His name is Timber She said, you know, it drives me crazy that I just chewed up my couch.
00:17:50.296 --> 00:17:51.286
I would never give him up.
00:17:51.286 --> 00:17:52.935
He is such a sweet, loving dog.
00:17:53.235 --> 00:17:55.185
But the reason people will go with.
00:17:55.816 --> 00:18:00.346
specific breeds is because you can pretty much predict the behavior of that breed.
00:18:00.806 --> 00:18:03.086
But for me, I kind of love the Wild Card.
00:18:03.086 --> 00:18:10.105
I feel like Layla is a unique one of a kind dog, and I think every mutt is a one of a kind dog.
00:18:10.105 --> 00:18:22.185
They do, they completely overcome any stereotypes you could ever have of them, and it just makes them unique individuals, and again, it's all about getting to know your dog And taking that time.
00:18:22.286 --> 00:18:30.651
And I think that once you do that, even if a dog takes longer to warm up to you, You almost care about them more.
00:18:30.651 --> 00:18:34.280
It probably took Layla a year to really, really warm up to my husband.
00:18:35.060 --> 00:18:41.651
and now, I mean, she's his sleeping buddy, every blanket he ever lays on, she has to lay on herself.
00:18:41.681 --> 00:18:44.860
She watches for him all day and he had to earn that.
00:18:45.411 --> 00:18:48.346
and I think he cares about it more because he had to earn that a bit.
00:18:48.955 --> 00:18:58.695
I saw a video, I think it was on Instagram recently, and it was a woman and her cat, basically chronicling how he was trying to win over this cat.
00:18:58.695 --> 00:19:04.905
Like, I'm going to get you to, and then you get to the point where the cat is on him and they're sleeping and their best buds.
00:19:05.046 --> 00:19:07.026
It's always the ones you gotta work hard for.
00:19:07.026 --> 00:19:12.336
And I will say Charlie, who I mentioned earlier we found him abandoned alone at.
00:19:12.401 --> 00:19:14.681
Probably around two weeks old in my parents' backyard.
00:19:14.681 --> 00:19:19.211
We think maybe a feral cat had kittens and was moving them, and he got in a spot.
00:19:19.211 --> 00:19:20.171
She couldn't get'em out.
00:19:20.921 --> 00:19:23.500
At the time, my husband was not working.
00:19:23.500 --> 00:19:31.060
He had been laid off and I was still in school for my doctorate and we already had two cats in an apartment.
00:19:31.090 --> 00:19:32.245
We were not supposed to have any.
00:19:33.230 --> 00:19:41.010
So when I brought Charlie home, because my parents had no idea what to do with a tiny kitten, he literally almost divorced me.
00:19:41.010 --> 00:19:43.641
He was so mad at me, like, we can't do this.
00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:51.110
Cut to a few weeks, months later, where I went to school for my doctor, it was a couple hours away and so I'd go for the weekend and come home.
00:19:51.651 --> 00:19:54.290
Come home, him and Charlie Best Buds.
00:19:54.411 --> 00:19:56.840
Follows him around like a duckling still does.
00:19:56.840 --> 00:20:00.141
And I'm, I always like to say to Charlie, you know, I'm the one that saved you.
00:20:00.191 --> 00:20:04.451
But that also shows you with animals, it can take time.
00:20:04.550 --> 00:20:06.411
Some need time to feel safe.
00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:10.370
They need time to feel like you're not gonna abandon them like others have.
00:20:10.370 --> 00:20:18.500
it sounds like your husband really was devoted to making Layla realize that he was a safe person, that he would take care of her,
00:20:18.550 --> 00:20:19.480
Oh, definitely.
00:20:19.490 --> 00:20:27.201
and now one of the things they love to do together is, explore trails and take nice long walks and it's good for both of them.
00:20:27.250 --> 00:20:36.225
And let's me have a little bit of, you know, I work from home, so it gives me a little bit of time to do my work without, my loving dog who wants a walk every couple of hours.
00:20:36.941 --> 00:20:39.131
I think that's the other thing I've really learned.
00:20:39.370 --> 00:20:46.060
Through working and volunteering and rescue and shelters, but also as someone who now works from home too, that I think co.
00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:49.480
You know, I'll be at the desk and realize it's been three or four hours and I haven't moved.
00:20:49.530 --> 00:20:50.730
Thank God for our pets.
00:20:50.730 --> 00:20:56.941
They keep us sane, but they also, especially dogs, maybe push you to do a little exercise to go outside.
00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:59.280
My cats all love to be outside.
00:20:59.280 --> 00:21:00.661
We have a very small yard.
00:21:00.955 --> 00:21:11.036
But on the weekends when my husband is home and he's out gardening or doing something, they all get to go out and explore and just sit in the sun and, you know, eat grass and then throw it up.
00:21:11.036 --> 00:21:11.965
Whatever they wanna do.
00:21:12.836 --> 00:21:13.016
Right.
00:21:13.016 --> 00:21:13.195
I love it.
00:21:13.586 --> 00:21:13.915
Yes.
00:21:14.110 --> 00:21:23.965
And, and so it is important for us to give them that time'cause it's so important to pets to have the outside and nature, but it's also important for us to keep them safe.
00:21:23.965 --> 00:21:27.115
And that's why we never let any of them out unless we're out there with them.
00:21:27.475 --> 00:21:32.006
Our Calico pumpkin is a princess and thinks she runs this house.
00:21:32.306 --> 00:21:35.786
She kind of does, but she loves to go outside.
00:21:35.786 --> 00:21:41.245
She thinks she's a tiger in the jungle and she rolls around and gets as dirty as possible.
00:21:41.245 --> 00:21:43.076
And I'm just thinking, why are you doing this?
00:21:43.076 --> 00:21:45.806
But she loves it like she thrives.
00:21:46.026 --> 00:21:50.556
You know, we know we wanna give our pets what they need, but sometimes we have to figure out what that is.
00:21:50.556 --> 00:21:52.326
Not every animal's gonna be the same.
00:21:52.375 --> 00:21:52.865
Exactly.
00:21:53.921 --> 00:21:57.850
Odd dog is your version of Layla.
00:21:57.850 --> 00:22:14.080
There's some Layla characteristics and I do love, I've had a couple children's books authors on and they'd always talk about how even if they didn't focus on making that dog or cat or animal about the one they have, it always gets a little of the personality or the quirks dropped in.
00:22:14.320 --> 00:22:17.891
So what part of Layla did you really let shine in that book?
00:22:18.490 --> 00:22:25.570
I would say that this book was really my thought of what if knowing that she had been out on her own.
00:22:26.161 --> 00:22:28.980
When we first met her, she would do these really funny things.
00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:40.760
Like the first night, she was wired that she jumped over the back of my husband's chair, there's a little spot in the book where the dog is just about to jump off of the back of the chair.
00:22:41.040 --> 00:22:44.790
she's so excited to get to squirrels that she will actually climb the tree.
00:22:44.790 --> 00:22:49.215
She can get up like five or six feet, I always kind of wondered like, how did she learn that?
00:22:49.816 --> 00:22:54.855
So I just started imagining like, okay, what if a dog who was on the wild.
00:22:55.921 --> 00:22:58.471
Learned things from other animals.
00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:01.711
Like what if, oh, what if they learned how to fly from the birds?
00:23:01.711 --> 00:23:04.080
What if they learned how to climb from the squirrels?
00:23:04.441 --> 00:23:13.100
And then, what we, the way we shaped the story was she learned these things, but her parents have no way of knowing that she learned these things.
00:23:13.100 --> 00:23:17.000
But then when she gets into the house, she does those same things and.
00:23:17.715 --> 00:23:25.875
mom is afraid when I practice, my flying dad was worried for my safety when I tried to swim and climbing in the house is never a good idea.
00:23:26.455 --> 00:23:28.100
And we really thought about and we went, no.
00:23:28.100 --> 00:23:28.730
You know what?
00:23:28.830 --> 00:23:32.881
I don't want it to ever be a question that this dog isn't where they're supposed to be.
00:23:32.881 --> 00:23:32.971
Right.
00:23:33.990 --> 00:23:44.830
And one of the ways this story kind of zigs versus a pretty typical story formula for a picture book is that a lot of times the main character will have rules of three.
00:23:44.830 --> 00:23:46.300
They'll have like three.
00:23:46.975 --> 00:23:48.685
Obstacles to try to pass.
00:23:48.766 --> 00:23:51.885
And then they solve those obstacles, those three obstacles.
00:23:52.256 --> 00:23:57.296
But one of the things that is maybe not obvious in the book is that odd doesn't learn a thing.
00:23:57.695 --> 00:24:05.316
Odd does have quirks, and then there's problems with the quirks, but it's not odd who learns something, it's.
00:24:06.455 --> 00:24:12.276
His mom and dad look at him and say, okay, let's find ways to channel the energy.
00:24:12.276 --> 00:24:19.776
And so in this case, they find a park where OT is able to do all these things in a way that is constructive.
00:24:20.326 --> 00:24:28.485
So it's not about changing the animal, it's about the home and the parents adjusting for the animal's personality and quirks.
00:24:28.536 --> 00:24:30.185
It's that classic redirect.
00:24:30.185 --> 00:24:32.846
Like you find a toy instead of letting them chew,
00:24:33.415 --> 00:24:33.715
Yeah.
00:24:33.776 --> 00:24:34.975
Redirection.
00:24:35.006 --> 00:24:36.985
We all need it for different things.
00:24:36.985 --> 00:24:39.266
I need it from online shopping.
00:24:39.316 --> 00:24:40.245
Don't chew on that.
00:24:40.245 --> 00:24:40.905
Chew on this.
00:24:40.915 --> 00:24:43.346
don't dig there, dig here, whatever it may be.
00:24:43.615 --> 00:24:50.135
And as a dog mom I get way too much joy finding the newest toy that I think my dog, that Layla's going to love.
00:24:50.135 --> 00:24:52.086
I'm still gonna keep trying because it's.
00:24:52.405 --> 00:24:54.090
It's fun for me too.
00:24:54.830 --> 00:25:01.671
I've, I see that even with my cats, like I've tried so many different enrichment toys to keep pumpkins.
00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:07.310
Little brain active because she loves being outside, but really can't be during the week.
00:25:07.620 --> 00:25:10.080
very few things are even of interest to her.
00:25:10.080 --> 00:25:13.711
She'd much rather be real insects than things like that.
00:25:13.715 --> 00:25:13.725
Yes.
00:25:14.580 --> 00:25:17.550
You know, cats and dogs need you to find that thing.
00:25:17.820 --> 00:25:19.860
A lot of dogs, it's the tennis ball.
00:25:19.860 --> 00:25:21.540
you find what works for them.
00:25:21.730 --> 00:25:24.250
sometimes the size, you gotta find the right ball size.
00:25:24.250 --> 00:25:29.891
You don't want them to swallow it, but they have to be able to grab it and, carry it with them, whatever it may be.
00:25:30.260 --> 00:25:35.270
And like Layla doesn't like regular test balls, but boy oh boy, she loves the squeaky ones.
00:25:35.320 --> 00:25:38.201
And she loves, of course, the sleeping ones when we're watching tv.
00:25:38.201 --> 00:25:50.721
Like she, she adores completely taking over the entire room because she has actually figured out how to direct the squeaky part so it's outside of her mouth.
00:25:50.780 --> 00:25:54.441
So it is the maximum noise she can possibly make with this thing.
00:25:54.441 --> 00:25:57.560
I know she does it on purpose, even if she can never tell me.
00:25:57.560 --> 00:26:01.790
I love our little pet quirks are what make them so special, right?
00:26:02.060 --> 00:26:02.211
Yes.
00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:05.600
And sometimes we don't even realize it till they're not around anymore.
00:26:05.600 --> 00:26:07.040
We realize, oh, I miss that sound.
00:26:07.040 --> 00:26:08.661
It used to annoy me, but I miss it.
00:26:09.350 --> 00:26:09.360
Yeah.
00:26:10.161 --> 00:26:14.951
Well, it's funny how our dogs, how all our pets, excuse me, I'm being very do today.
00:26:14.951 --> 00:26:15.820
Like you, it's okay.
00:26:16.181 --> 00:26:17.230
I know you're a dog lover.
00:26:17.560 --> 00:26:29.790
You know, my mom was really the caregiver for Dixie, our childhood dog, in her later years, When she passed she took it really, really hard, but then it inspired her to adopt a senior dog.
00:26:29.850 --> 00:26:33.391
And that dog also makes little appearances, an extra in the book.
00:26:33.391 --> 00:26:34.411
Her name was Wink.
00:26:34.961 --> 00:26:37.000
And she adopted her when she was 15.
00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:43.580
This dog had been sent to the shelter at 15 years old, and my mom said she's gonna die in the shelter if someone doesn't take care of her.
00:26:44.151 --> 00:26:46.070
And that dog lived another three years.
00:26:47.435 --> 00:26:53.105
Again, my mom took that really hard, but it inspired her to adopt another senior dog.
00:26:53.185 --> 00:26:54.475
Who really needed her.
00:26:54.985 --> 00:27:04.346
And for her at 71, she wouldn't consider adopting a puppy, but she's happy to adopt seniors.
00:27:04.955 --> 00:27:08.546
and give them the best life they can for, a couple years.
00:27:09.145 --> 00:27:09.566
I love
00:27:09.566 --> 00:27:09.895
that.
00:27:10.086 --> 00:27:34.405
Please tell your mom thank you because I just, you know, people who adopt senior dogs are so amazing, such heroes, and they're rescues all over that are specifically for senior dogs because seniors end up in the shelter There are ones that end up there because their family drops them off for a reason, but a lot of times it's because their owner has passed away or has put, been put in the hospital.
00:27:34.586 --> 00:27:42.475
I saw that several times in the shelter and it was heartbreaking because they don't understand where's their person, I'm in this scary place.
00:27:42.475 --> 00:27:47.586
They've, lived 5, 10, 15 years in someone's home and now they're in this place.
00:27:48.205 --> 00:27:48.566
Gosh.
00:27:48.566 --> 00:27:50.036
It's just, it's heartbreaking.
00:27:50.036 --> 00:27:52.465
But yeah, it takes a really special person to do that.
00:27:52.465 --> 00:27:55.016
That's amazing that that's how she kind of gives back.
00:27:55.076 --> 00:27:56.066
But it also makes sense.
00:27:56.066 --> 00:28:01.826
You know, we talked about getting my mom a dog, but she just was like, I can't handle, I can't walk long distances.
00:28:01.875 --> 00:28:09.766
There are things like that allow us to really, you wanna make sure you're getting the dog that's right for you, your lifestyle, your home, whatever it may be.
00:28:09.766 --> 00:28:11.625
Because that does make a big difference.
00:28:11.935 --> 00:28:23.266
I think it's, I feel like someone who maybe lived with Purebreds their whole life might be more interested in their later years in getting a senior dog because they are so easy to, they have medical issues.
00:28:23.266 --> 00:28:23.596
Yes.
00:28:23.685 --> 00:28:25.995
But in a lot of ways, they're a lot easier to take care of.
00:28:25.995 --> 00:28:29.235
They sleep like 16 to 17 hours a day.
00:28:29.316 --> 00:28:32.046
you can go out and they might not even realize you're gone.
00:28:32.115 --> 00:28:32.385
Right.
00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:39.691
Oh yeah, Charlie, sometimes he would have no idea if we weren't here'cause he sleeps sometimes five hours, eight.
00:28:39.750 --> 00:28:46.901
There's some days I, come into my office and it, I come back, go in the bedroom in the afternoon and he's like in the exact same spot.
00:28:47.175 --> 00:28:54.855
I mean, yes, it's frustrating'cause he does throw up a lot and he's diabetic, so we have to give him shots, but we would never not do that.
00:28:54.855 --> 00:29:03.556
So it's very special if someone can adopt an older dog and a senior dog who really just needs a space to enjoy their last years.
00:29:03.796 --> 00:29:08.895
I after seeing that with her, it's definitely something that I want to do as I get older.
00:29:09.375 --> 00:29:10.725
I love that, that
00:29:13.036 --> 00:29:16.425
we try to save as many as we can, even if it's one at a time,
00:29:16.475 --> 00:29:16.776
yes.
00:29:17.076 --> 00:29:24.865
So you mentioned to me, a res animal rescue organization in your area in Kansas City, wayside Waves.
00:29:24.865 --> 00:29:26.425
Can you talk a little bit about them?
00:29:26.965 --> 00:29:27.685
Absolutely.
00:29:27.685 --> 00:29:32.865
So, wayside Waves has been a Kansas City Institution for more than eight years.
00:29:33.445 --> 00:29:36.336
they are just a wonderful facility.
00:29:36.695 --> 00:29:38.405
They do tons for the community.
00:29:38.455 --> 00:29:44.465
They do monthly shot clinics where people can get all of their vaccines for around$15.
00:29:44.526 --> 00:29:46.625
They even have a PET Memorial Center.
00:29:46.625 --> 00:29:48.605
They have a hospital included in there.
00:29:48.995 --> 00:29:52.836
and one of the things that I really love about them is they're deeply embedded in the community.
00:29:52.836 --> 00:29:57.586
They have a fantastic humane education, department.
00:29:58.485 --> 00:30:04.605
Who has an anti-bullying initiative and a curriculum that is actually used nationally.
00:30:04.665 --> 00:30:16.770
Several shelters have used their curriculums and they, I would say that they are just so caring and really try to find every possible way they can to serve.
00:30:17.730 --> 00:30:22.441
Their community to be able to make pet ownership real and accessible.
00:30:22.931 --> 00:30:39.245
And so I honestly would say that if you wanna see an organization that's doing it right, like if you've ever thought about starting your own shelter rescue, it's worth making a pilgrimage because they have taken every possible measure to make an environment that is.
00:30:40.280 --> 00:30:42.050
Less stressful for the animals.
00:30:42.230 --> 00:30:49.580
That makes pet ownership more easy to do, and also makes a, in a lot of ways, affordable.
00:30:49.580 --> 00:30:55.250
If someone's a little afraid, they can't afford to have an animal, they have a pet pantry.
00:30:55.370 --> 00:30:57.560
They have the monthly vaccination clinic.
00:30:57.560 --> 00:30:59.211
They have a vet in house.
00:30:59.211 --> 00:31:01.780
Like they are just doing all of the right things.
00:31:01.780 --> 00:31:03.730
It sounds like an amazing organization.
00:31:03.790 --> 00:31:13.631
Kansas City is lucky to have a couple fantastic organizations because we have the highest per capita pet industries in the world.
00:31:13.631 --> 00:31:22.020
Greenies is based in Kansas City Hills is like, there are several large, pet companies, international pet companies that are based here.
00:31:22.560 --> 00:31:27.431
And so, there's a ton of community support for these organizations as well.
00:31:27.431 --> 00:31:31.875
And, I think they are really doing what they need to try to, make a difference.
00:31:31.875 --> 00:31:33.961
Just Normalized ownership, really.
00:31:34.120 --> 00:31:39.016
and it definitely shows, in just their care and empathy in the community.
00:31:39.066 --> 00:31:39.965
And it's so important.
00:31:39.965 --> 00:31:46.715
People don't realize how fundamental community support is for any nonprofit, let alone pet ones that are struggling.
00:31:46.715 --> 00:31:46.776
Yeah.
00:31:47.076 --> 00:31:50.615
I know so many rescues and shelters that are just struggling right now.
00:31:50.615 --> 00:31:55.945
Not all of us are in a position to adopt or foster but there are ways you can give back.
00:31:55.945 --> 00:31:57.955
your time is a great donation.
00:31:58.076 --> 00:32:00.385
Every rescue organization needs that.
00:32:00.445 --> 00:32:03.596
Your sharing on social, whatever it could be.
00:32:03.921 --> 00:32:08.750
But also, you know, what you mentioned with Wayside Waves is the education piece.
00:32:08.810 --> 00:32:17.870
And I've seen a lot of organizations do that, especially going into schools and teaching, utilizing the animals in that, whether it's dogs or cats or whatever.
00:32:18.080 --> 00:32:28.191
And like we talked about earlier, that's really key because not only are we educating the kids to grow up differently, the kids take that information home and share it with their parents and their family.
00:32:28.401 --> 00:32:36.941
And that's really, I think, long term how there's gonna be change in terms of pet ownership, the overpopulation crisis, and all of those things.
00:32:36.941 --> 00:32:38.441
So I really, I love that.
00:32:38.441 --> 00:32:46.840
And I say everyone, go follow wayside waves on social wherever you hang out and follow them, support them, share them.
00:32:47.576 --> 00:32:56.786
That's what I try to do with this podcast is there are so many organizations, nonprofits, rescue shelters, that just need a little more visibility.
00:32:56.895 --> 00:32:59.745
I didn't even know all the organizations in my own community.
00:32:59.745 --> 00:33:09.155
Ones that do spay and neuter clinics, ones that do vaccine clinics, food pantries, pet pantries, all of those they may be in your community if you're listening to this.
00:33:09.250 --> 00:33:12.401
Find them and help support them however you can.
00:33:12.520 --> 00:33:27.590
And I would absolutely agree with one of the best things that you can do is sharing, like if you see a dog or cat, whose story inspires you, what we hate to see is when a, an animal gets rehomed because someone didn't, they think they can't afford them.
00:33:27.615 --> 00:33:28.935
And there are always options.
00:33:29.461 --> 00:33:31.020
There is always something you can do.
00:33:31.020 --> 00:33:35.161
You do not have to give up your family pet because you're struggling financially.
00:33:35.221 --> 00:33:38.941
sharing on social media makes it a very safe space.
00:33:38.941 --> 00:33:44.490
To communicate that information because you never know who needs it at that time.
00:33:44.941 --> 00:33:45.151
Yeah.
00:33:45.151 --> 00:33:52.110
I try to go onto my pet podcast Instagram at least once a day to kind of go through and see what's happening.
00:33:52.300 --> 00:33:57.100
I do share a wide variety, especially because we have two shelters where I live.
00:33:57.100 --> 00:33:58.750
One is a county and one is the city.
00:33:58.941 --> 00:34:03.020
unfortunately, they both have 30 to 40% euthanasia rates because.
00:34:03.090 --> 00:34:06.211
They're governed by, county, state, city laws.
00:34:06.391 --> 00:34:11.431
They can only have so many dogs at once, which means some dogs have to go one way or another.
00:34:11.431 --> 00:34:12.510
It's heartbreaking.
00:34:13.115 --> 00:34:18.956
But if you share posts about the dogs that don't have a lot of time, you never know.
00:34:18.985 --> 00:34:25.706
We've seen dogs from my local community get adopted hours away in Southern California, as well as out of state.
00:34:25.916 --> 00:34:28.856
People will travel if they feel a connection to an animal.
00:34:29.006 --> 00:34:33.235
So you don't know what the power is by liking sharing.
00:34:33.651 --> 00:34:35.121
Supporting whatever it is.
00:34:35.121 --> 00:34:39.860
Those little things do make a big difference, and I've seen it, it happen in my own community.
00:34:40.131 --> 00:34:57.651
And also find people who are volunteers, people who volunteer regularly, and if they have social media, they're often posting things that need a boost, And so I follow a lot of the amazing rockstar volunteers at my local shelter, and I just post and repost and comment because I know.
00:34:58.006 --> 00:34:59.566
The algorithm pushes it.
00:34:59.906 --> 00:35:03.115
Or you get on a newsletter email list and share it with friends.
00:35:03.115 --> 00:35:09.386
There's a lot of different ways that you can share the information and help those organizations and the animals.
00:35:09.986 --> 00:35:14.086
One of the things that I'm doing, with my odd dog book.
00:35:14.496 --> 00:35:20.016
Is I am working with shelters and rescues to organize book signing fundraisers.
00:35:20.115 --> 00:35:24.646
if they are a shelter and they want people to come to their facility, we'll do one at their facility.
00:35:24.646 --> 00:35:31.816
But a lot of times, especially with foster based rescues, we will find a mutually agreed upon location like a coffee shop.
00:35:32.301 --> 00:35:37.191
Where I'll do a book signing fundraiser, and I donate$5 from every book.
00:35:37.581 --> 00:35:42.621
And it will usually raise between 200 and$250 for the shelter rescue.
00:35:42.981 --> 00:35:50.651
And so if there's anyone who would be interested in working with me to do that, I am planning to make that a national push.
00:35:50.831 --> 00:36:09.471
I am happy to come out for a couple days and do like a mini book tour where I'll go, you know, I can always find things to do like author visits or things like that, and help to raise my hope is eventually to get to where we're raising 500, a thousand dollars every single time, and I think we can.
00:36:10.026 --> 00:36:12.036
We could absolutely do that together.
00:36:12.036 --> 00:36:23.941
So if anyone is interested in that or wants to get more information or understand how I do that, in case they might wanna do it themselves they can email me at hello@storiesbyleah.com.
00:36:23.990 --> 00:36:24.471
Perfect.
00:36:24.831 --> 00:36:35.781
And I will put that, email in the show notes as well, as well as your website, so I'm sure they can connect with you via the website little events like that make a huge difference.
00:36:35.781 --> 00:36:39.321
People don't realize what$200 can do for a foster based rescue.
00:36:39.381 --> 00:36:45.081
That's how much cat food or dog food, or vaccines or medicine, flea meds, whatever it may be.
00:36:45.081 --> 00:36:54.501
So that's really great and I applaud you for utilizing your book and your stories to help others, and we will definitely put that out there into the world.
00:36:54.501 --> 00:36:58.731
So if anyone is interested, definitely connect with Leah about that.
00:36:59.091 --> 00:37:06.921
Sounds like a great opportunity, but also something fun for you to travel and meet people who run rescues and organizations.
00:37:07.201 --> 00:37:14.891
I would be lying if I wasn't eyeballing my neighbor's RV and thinking, oh man, I can totally take Layla on the road like that.
00:37:14.891 --> 00:37:17.291
That's probably gonna become a thing eventually.
00:37:17.861 --> 00:37:18.731
My dog, I love that.
00:37:20.321 --> 00:37:38.371
But yes, I really, I come from a nonprofit background and, I just really wanna help and I come on podcasts like this because I want to get in front of new people who might, share my passion and share my vision and see if we can find ways to collaborate and help make a difference together.
00:37:39.246 --> 00:37:42.186
And it's exactly why I keep this podcast going.
00:37:42.186 --> 00:37:49.956
There may be a connection or I always say if one dog gets adopted or one thing gets done because of it, then it's worth it for me to do it.
00:37:50.286 --> 00:37:52.481
So everyone listening, you can go to the show notes.
00:37:53.121 --> 00:37:54.261
Connect with Leah.
00:37:54.261 --> 00:37:59.391
Go to stories by leah.com, follow her on social media.
00:37:59.421 --> 00:38:05.211
Buy her book, the Odd Dog, and I'm sure there'll be new books to come and I can't wait to hear about those.
00:38:05.641 --> 00:38:08.401
And check out Wayside Waves near Kansas City.
00:38:08.401 --> 00:38:11.761
Support them as well as your own local organizations.
00:38:11.761 --> 00:38:14.731
And Leah, I just, I'm so glad that we connected.
00:38:15.151 --> 00:38:23.101
It was so great to have you here on the podcast and And to hear, the story behind you creating these children's books.
00:38:23.161 --> 00:38:27.031
I really love it and I'm so glad we connected and I just really thank you for coming.
00:38:27.631 --> 00:38:28.740
Thank you so much, Julie.
00:38:28.740 --> 00:38:32.281
The feeling is more than mutual and, I hope I'm able to come on again.
00:38:32.971 --> 00:38:33.121
Yeah.
00:38:33.171 --> 00:38:34.446
Thank you so much, Julie.
00:38:34.446 --> 00:38:35.886
I really appreciate it.
00:38:38.326 --> 00:38:44.296
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Story of My Pet podcast.
00:38:44.626 --> 00:38:48.346
I appreciate you listening and supporting the podcast.
00:38:48.346 --> 00:38:58.546
And if you haven't already, wherever you are listening to this episode, make sure you hit follow or subscribe and leave us a rating or review.
00:38:58.576 --> 00:39:04.266
All of that helps the podcast grow and get to even more listeners and help us.
00:39:04.951 --> 00:39:08.851
Educate and advocate for animals in need around the world.
00:39:09.511 --> 00:39:16.861
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00:39:17.221 --> 00:39:26.371
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00:39:27.001 --> 00:39:31.028
Thank you so much for being here and much love to you and your pets.
