Latest / Every Pawprint! Every Story! / The Dog Who Helped Geoff Keep Walking: Charlie's Impact on Mental Health and Recovery

Transcript

The Dog Who Helped Geoff Keep Walking: Charlie's Impact on Mental Health and Recovery · Every Pawprint! Every Story!

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Good afternoon or good morning, everyone.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of Every Paw Print, Every Story.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: For you new listeners, what this podcast is about is quite simple.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, every paw print, every dog, every cat has a story to our heart, to our lives.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: What we do is we invite families and friends into this podcast to share stories that will make you laugh, possibly make you cry.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: We do talk on occasion about pet loss.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: It happens, and we definitely want to talk about that to support you in your journey.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Also to get inspired.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: We've had a lot of amazing stories in the past.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think today's going to be special.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll kind of get in and I'll tee that up here in a minute.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: But really to kind of support you in your journey and where you are at with your fur kid and how they're supporting you and your growth in life.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: But enough of that.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm well.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: How are you, Dan?
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: I am good.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: And for you new listeners, um, yeah, I'm super excited.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: This is fun.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Jeff and I have some commonalities.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: He and I are both ambassadors of the real, which is a mental health movement.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you'll see that in in the hat that Jeff is wearing today.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um and Jeff, you you've got the New York skyscrape background behind you.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Is that where you're located today?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, this is a virtual background, but yeah, I I work in New York City and also in Greenwich, Connecticut.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome, awesome.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then how long have you been a part of the reel?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: I became a part of the reel in April of 2025, so a year and a few months.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it was very interesting.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: A mentor of mine, uh, he literally just liked one of Sean's posts on LinkedIn.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I suffered a mental health crisis back in 2021, and it lasted all the way to 2023.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And when I went to my rehab for mental health, and you know, I was dealing with mental health with alcohol, so um, I actually thought about leaving Wall Street and starting a men's focused mental health group, kind of similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, uh, where we'd meet every day and talk about issues.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I just, you know, didn't follow through and didn't have the money.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And and then I saw Sean and what he did, and Sean had a very similar job to what I do, kind of capital markets, investment banking, and impact.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we just hit it off, and I've been all in ever since.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I and for the listeners, we're kind of you know, reason we're talking about that is there there's a great bridge here in in the pet post that we had recently on LinkedIn or that you had recently.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, let's let's jump into that.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: How many, how many fur fur kids do we have a part of the family today, and what's their name?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh well, I grew up with dogs.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my dad in the early 80s, you know, he was a typical 80s father, and I was scared of dogs when I was three or four years old, so we got a dog.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that dog was Penelope.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: She was an English uh um uh English sheepdog mix.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think she had some brace hound in her because she was so fast.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: And back then, you know, the dogs roamed the neighborhood.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: I can't imagine that today.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Right then in the in the 90s, we got a golden retriever, Riptide, uh, and we definitely got a fence for riptide because uh, you know, electric fence, because uh that was not a mutt.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And uh Rip Riptide, um, tragically, he died at seven.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: He'd cancer and and died, and then uh we were fortunate enough to get uh breaker, uh who lived for 14 years.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we got him in 1999, and he was a sweet pup.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then um my ex-wife and I had cats.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: We had Toby, who was essentially like a main coon cat.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: He was enormous, he was like 25 pounds.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wow, and Toby Toby acted like a dog.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and he would sit on your lap and come when he was called, and you know, he was diabetic, so he uh he he died at 10.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but when I was on a golf trip back in 2005, I came home and there was a second cat named Murphy.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And uh Murphy was a tabby kind of uh orange and white uh tabby cat, very sweet.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And Murphy was 18 when he passed away in uh 2023, right around Christmas time of 2023.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but in 2019, we got Charlie, who is our English cream golden retriever.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it's very interesting.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: My daughter, who was in fourth grade at the time, wrote this letter uh to my wife, my ex-wife and I, and it was about um her taking responsibility.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: And she said in the letter, like, mom, you don't have to go to bar method anymore.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can exercise by walking the dog.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it was a very sweet letter.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And and within a week, we uh we had you know, we we went and got uh Charlie at uh Golden Gal's in uh up in Connecticut.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: So she's been life-changing.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: She's uh she's been the most sweet and uh caring dog and and really helped me through my uh through my recovery.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: Now I I I love these names, so naturally I'm gonna have to ask, but uh we'll start with Charlie.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: How did you get to name Charlie?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: And if so, what was the convention behind that?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: We decided on a girl dog because um I have two sons and me, so there are more men in the house than than than than girls.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: So we got Charlie and um I think my ex-wife and Riley, my daughter, named Charlie, and it's a we spell it C-H-R-L-E-Y, so it's a little more feminine than C H R L I E.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: So um that's that's that was her name, and it, you know, we found we picked that name pretty early on before we we went up to Kinetic to get to visit when she was only a you know a month or two old, and then we picked her up in March of uh 2019.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: So you you get to experience the puppyhood, uh the chaos of the puppyhood.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: And then how old did you say?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: How old did you say she is?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: She just turned seven.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then so Charlie.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: She acts like she's seven months.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, she loves her toys, and um, my ex-wife doesn't play with her as much.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: And as soon as I I mean I have 50-50 custody of the kids and the dog, and uh every time I go over the house, it's she runs her toys and runs her balls, and I throw the ball with her in the backyard, and she acts like she's seven months.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we'll we'll we'll come back to Charlie because Charlie's Charlie's the present one, right?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: There's nobody else that's around.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we only have Charlie now, that's it.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um I mean, I'm kind of curious with like Penelope, Riptide, and Breaker.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: What was the the convention or the reasoning behind those names?
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: I I I mean, especially like Breaker.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: I have no idea.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: No idea four years old at the time.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh but Riptide and Breaker, um, we spent uh a lot of time on Cape Cod because I grew up in Massachusetts and uh you know we had boats and it was very those were very nautical, you know, nautical names.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: So uh that's why we chose uh breaker and riptide.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, no, I love it.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: That that that's great.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, so with Charlie today, I know you mentioned that she's helped you a lot with um you know mental health and all of those aspects.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Let's I mean, let's let's talk about that.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, how how has she helped and what has she, yeah, what is just what has she really meant to you in your life?
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, she's been a lifesaver.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, um, back in 2021 when I was really struggling, um, you know, the one thing I would do every morning is walk the dog.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And um just she's always smiling and happy and um God, I'm getting emotional just thinking about it because it was like every morning I would do it.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, she's just um like even when I was really depressed, she knew and she would, you know, just look at me and come up on the couch and lie down on me and um, you know, grab her toys and have play with me, and and that would just give me a little bit of joy to help me get through a really difficult day with the the crippling disease of clinical depression.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: So um yeah, I mean I just do remember vividly walking every morning, no matter what the the the temperature, whether it's freezing cold or you know, blazing hot, every morning I would just get out and walk the dog.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And um, it just just helped me ground myself and give me a you know a fresh start.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: So it sounds to well, I think well ground yourself, but uh that that was key, I think what you just said right there.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's they're they're you're you're in the moment, they're in the moment for you, right?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: They're there for you, not not what you've accomplished, but you know, for you in that present.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: That sounds like that's kind of the a key thing that really helped you, right?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the I mean, dogs, God bless, being God bless them.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's you know, they're not thinking about how much money you have or you know what bills you need to pay, or you know, they're in the present constantly, and it's all about right now.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: And at that very moment, I am the only thing in her world.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, for a guy that suffers from depression and severe anxiety, you know, that means a lot, you know, especially going through a difficult marriage and personal situation and you know, just those little moments with Charlie, yeah.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, bring back joy and and good memories from you know those very dark days.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think you're okay, and if if memory serves me correctly, which I have a bad memory, um, that the LinkedIn post was you doing one of the real or Sean's monthly walks with Charlie.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um early on, my early days in the in the real, um, I didn't have many folks from New Jersey where I live.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: And every time I would post, I would post with my walk with Charlie.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I would put try to put the real hat on Charlie and uh not successful all the time, and take a picture with her there.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I would take a picture of me walking and Charlie walking and post that.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting because I'm in finance and um, you know, I'm I'm licensed with my broker dealer, and um, you know, it's it's kind of frowned upon to to post a lot on LinkedIn because you know, you don't want to be advertising on behalf of a client because that's forbidden, right?
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: But with the foundation, you know, it's it's not business related.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I post all the time.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, the the you know, Charlie's a lot more popular than me.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I post a lot.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I post every every month, you know, a walk.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and have most of the time with Charlie.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I I've gained like 2,000 followers on LinkedIn from my posts of me walking with Charlie.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Funny how that works, right?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: But no, you're yeah, I I I what is it?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: The food and pets.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's your two top main so yeah, we'll just keep posting the pet, and you're they don't care about you and I, it's the pet.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: Now, have have you had oh I mean I don't know if you've done this approach or not, have you like had any success?
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, hey, let me grow a walk-in group in your area with with more people bringing their pets?
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we now um I just found out about this a couple of months ago, but there is a tri-state real mental health foundation ambassador group, and it's it's uh bunch of men from uh Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, and we get together on a monthly basis and do walks.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's a guy, Tom Tamborino, who goes on walks too.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: He has two uh two labs, and he does his walks with with the labs.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: And um, we actually haven't we've talked about going together and and doing a big walk at Foundation House, which is here in Greenwich.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, haven't done that yet, but but that's that's definitely on the uh on the agenda, probably for the September walk, because uh this weekend is the the real walk.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's the third Saturday of every month, and I'm gonna be in Pittsburgh with my son.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm an avid Boston Red Sox fan.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up south of Boston, and my son's even more obsessed than me.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: So we're driving to Pittsburgh for a um the Red Sox Pittsburgh Pirates game.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, uh so I'll do my my walk in Pittsburgh, but I'll probably do another post because we'll we'll be home Saturday afternoon.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll do another picture with uh with Charlie and include that in my LinkedIn post.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: That that that doesn't the the popularity and the fans will definitely appreciate that.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um the other thing too, yeah, one of the things that I I think connected the the two of us was I took a little break from Instagram and Facebook for for a month just uh, you know, I was kind of going down rabbit holes and it wasn't making me happy.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: And um, so I went back a few weeks ago, and um the the algorithm knows, you know, it's uh the first thing I saw was golden retrievers, and the first thing I saw from the golden retrievers was this golden retriever fest in down at the Jersey Shore.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, oh my god, I immediately signed up, and uh Charlie went and I went two weeks ago, and uh there were 200 or more golden retrievers, and they had like a place for them to run around and play, they had a a foam pit and uh a pool and all these like businesses that support dogs, and I mean uh you know, you take uh you know the president or you know anybody dealing with mental health, and you take them to Golden Retriever Retriever Fest, and that that will solve depression and world problems.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: And naturally, I can only imagine Charlie probably just loves other people, loves other dogs, no issues there.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, she was, I mean, that was probably one of the best days of her life.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, she was just all over all these dogs, and we were taking pictures, and you know, I did a uh a face or a uh LinkedIn post um and you know, used AI and put all the pictures together and uh you know put put the real logo on it, and uh yeah, it was a really, really awesome post.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: One of my better posts, I think I got like a hundred likes or something like that.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: So it was uh it's pretty cool.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll have to get Sean to get a real sweater created so we can have that for the fur kids since the hats don't exactly work well, right?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely, yes, yes.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um now you said pool and uh foam foam pit.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Does uh does Charlie like water?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: She does.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: She does.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: She does.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we don't swim that often.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um Charlie is interesting.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: She's she was the runt of the litter, but she's a big dog, she's 65 pounds.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: She was the runt of the litter, so she's she's a little skittish, she gets a little nervous.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like we have a dog park in Summit, New Jersey, where I where I live, and um that's a whole nother story.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I I actually went to town council meetings to get it back because it was a temporary one last year, and I met 30 people from Summit last last year, and we have a dog park chat, you know, on text, and um I got it back uh successfully, and um, but anyway, we go to the dog park and there's like a 10-pound dog, and Charlie will be run on her back, you know.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: So she's like so submissive, but oh my god, you just throw a ball, like there's tennis balls all over the the dog park, and she just runs and runs, and she's great at retrieving or or fetching the ball, but not great at giving it back.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: She she wants to keep it.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: That you you were going to one like one of my next questions, some of the funny quirks and habits that she does that makes you laugh.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Sounds like sounds like that's one of them.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: She loves, she does not like to give the ball back.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I usually have two balls, and I I throw one, and then you know, she takes it, and then she comes back, and then I throw the other one, and then you know, that's that's our little game that we play.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: But um, and then like when I come in the house, um, she'll go right to her toys or right to her ball, and uh, you know, I'll throw the ball in the backyard, and then um, you know, she'll go get it, and then she'll run around the yard, and then I go inside, and then she comes right to the door and wants me to throw it again.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, she's she's just a character, she's got her own personality.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: I call her the only blonde that doesn't disappoint me.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love it in my life.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's hilarious.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then any fun like vacation stories with her?
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, we take her, we would um we would take her to Cape Cod.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I you know, as I said, I grew up in Massachusetts, and Cape Cod's a very special place uh for me.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we would take her um when we rented houses up there, and um we had a you know a house on a little pond on Cape Cod and she would go swimming in the pond and um you know play with her toys and fetch balls and um so yeah, she she she likes vacation.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: She doesn't love the car, um, but once she gets in, she gets comfortable.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: But actually now when I take her to the dog park, she actually she knows when she's getting in the car, she's going to the dog park and seeing her friends.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: So she jumps right in.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:46
  unknown: Yeah.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: But she okay, I was that was my next question, too.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Is that she likes I usually would walk her to the dog park, but she gets so tired, you know, that uh you know, and I just end up, you know, just driving her, you know, because it's you know, it's a it's a half a mile or a mile, you know, to you know, to get there.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want her being so exhausted, you know, because she just goes all out at the dog park.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's funny.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: And then like uh occasionally with like your walks out, because I know you mentioned as she's getting older, she tires out easier.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, how far on average do y'all go?
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, the walks are no problem.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, she can go miles, you know, no.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's just that that when she when she plays at the dog park with her friends, you know.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh Sonny is one of her best friends at the dog park.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: My friend Kevin um, you know, is always on text with he's always there, and uh, you know, she goes all out with Sonny and uh who's who's only like a one, and um you know, she just gets exhausted.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: So and like I always bring a bottle of water and you know, she drinks the water, but actually the new dog park we're building in Summit, there's a like a nice allocation of cash for the dog park.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna have water and drainage and a separate area for the smaller dogs.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um so that'll be really cool.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Is Sunny a golden awesome?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, Sunny's a a lab mix.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I guess likes the fetch balls too.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: So okay.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: But sounds like they're best buddies and they just wear each other out.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, every dog that goes there, you know, they they wear each other out, but um, but yeah, Charlie really likes Sunny a lot.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now, with with all the um, and you've probably heard some of these terms, with all the pets you've had in your life, right?
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: The ones you mentioned earlier, I know we've been mainly talking about Charlie on this one since you know he's still with you.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, thank you.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: It is a it is traditionally a male name, but it's yeah, Charlie is a girl, yeah.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Since she's still with you, um, did do you feel is she your sole heart dog or was one of the prior ones?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: No, she is.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: I had um I have because I went through this mental health struggle, and she was a big part of my recovery.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: And um, even now, like when I work from home, I bring her over to the to my place, and you know, I'll be on a Zoom call and I'll throw balls in the house and she'll go chase in the house, or uh, you know, she'll just sit by my feet, you know, while I'm on the calls.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, I mean, she's she's definitely my you know, my soul dog.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because I'm so grateful for her, right?
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because I do remember those moments when I was walking every morning with Charlie, no matter what the weather, I would take her out, and um that was just our special connection.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: So when you yeah, so when you've got her and when she's with you, it sounds like you're pretty much just you know, with her 100% of the time.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, yeah.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: She's uh yeah, I I mean obviously I loved all my pets, but um, you know, Charlie is just because of the recovery from my mental health um struggles after COVID.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: Right, you know, there's nothing like Charlie um in my world.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: Sounds similar to Rob's story, too, who for the listeners go back uh two episodes and listen.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um he's a real member as well.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: And and Winston, he talked a lot about that with Winston and how Winston.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Winston's a golden doodle, right?
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: So similar stories in how he helped and guided him through um these, you know, the darker times and you know, uh uplifted him.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a phenomenal story.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: Gosh, anything else as we're getting close to the end here?
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: Any anything else to share, or or maybe any, gosh, any like parting thoughts, words of wisdoms for for folks that you know currently with pets, you know, just from your experiences?
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, um I would say there's nothing like a pet and for me a dog, um, because they are so present all the time.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: You're the only thing, you are their whole world, you know, at that very moment in time.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, even last night when I went over to the house, um, you know, Charlie just came right over, and my son was on the couch, and she just jumped right up on the couch and you know, got between us, and I was rubbing her belly, and I'm like, oh my god, this is just the best.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's nothing like this creature for happiness, you know.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: And she's a big part of my mental health recovery, and I could not be more grateful.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great that's a great way to to end the note.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, thanks, thanks for being on here today.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and for the listeners, yeah, we'll definitely share some links to the real for them to kind of go learn more about this as well.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but um, don't get anywhere.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: The website is uh the real dot care.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's where you can find information about the real.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and the health foundation.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and we'll have a link to it in the article that follows this and then the the description within the podcast for the listeners.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, but don't go anywhere just yet, Jeff.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: But I yeah, just thank you so much for coming on the show and then just kind of sharing your story with uh with Charlie.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll be on the lookout for more LinkedIn posts with her doing her poses.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Dan.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is a real pleasure and an honor.