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Every Pawprint. Every Story: Why Pet Grief Deserves a Voice · Every Pawprint! Every Story!

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, welcome to every pawprint, every story.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Dan Popovic.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is a new podcast set up for pet families, pet lovers.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the show exists to create a forum for remembering those we lost, sharing stories that comfort and inspire, and building a community that understands pet grief.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Purpose of the podcast is to create a space for remembering pets we've lost, celebrate the joy pets bring into our lives, you know, support one and another through the emotional reality of pet grief, basically really normalizing the conversations about grief, healing, and ongoing connection.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, what can you expect from this podcast, the podcast structure?
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not so much me talking, um, as you can imagine, and and starting with this first podcast, got to get my groove in as a host.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm gonna most of these podcasts will really center around interviews with families, uh, talking about how the pets became a part of their lives, uh, fun rituals, um, and talk about the hard conversation.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if they lost a pet, you know, how that impacted them, what did they do?
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And how can we learn from their loss and help supporting us in our recovery?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: But then also just learning and getting inspired from the the rituals and and how their pets became a part of their family.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: So definitely want to hear from you listeners.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: This show is really about you, uh and it's really a community to support one another, and it's just a fun, gentle conversation where hopefully we'll have a lot of laughs, we may cry along the way, but how this podcast came to be is is kind of centered around my personal story or my personal journey.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: We have lost uh Marley.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Marley was a female Doberman, uh, gosh, about two and a half years ago.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the the loss was pretty profound.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I I didn't expect to, I didn't realize that it would impact me the way in which it did.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, really lost my groove.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, she just meant so much to the family.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: She was with us, did everything with us, was such a protector, took her everywhere.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, just a gentle soul that just loved everybody that she met.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And losing her was quite an impact.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I've gone through losses before, right?
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Losses of jobs, lost my father.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, losses are all very different, but this this loss had a significant impact.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I started writing about it.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: It was my way of healing, and it just it it's grown into more, which which has inspired this podcast, but she really inspired a lot in my life.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but really what I started the journey initially was just to you know remember her, create, create stories.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I didn't want to lose that.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to lose sight of those memories.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: That was my biggest fear when she was gone, that over time those memories were were would fade.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: And hated that, hated thinking about that.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I just sat down and started writing, started writing about all the amazing times, the challenges, the the fun rituals.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: And gosh, a year later, a book was born.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And during that time, uh I had folks read it, beta readers, and that's when a light bulb started going off.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: People were like, Well, this is relatable.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously, everybody that has a pet has had a pet, um, you can relate.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, I've got stories in there talking about one of them is a great example of banana routine, where every morning, the ritual still exists today, um, I would get a banana, and they would just, you know, be going bonkers and crazy.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and if I were to sneak one or Sherry to sneak one on the side, the moment they heard that banana peel, they would come running, and then gosh, a drool puddle would begin.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was that word relatable from the beta readers, relatable and emotional.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: That came up a lot because yes, there's there's emotion in there as far as how I handled losing her and how it impacted me.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: But really writing the book helped me heal, helped me kind of guide me through that time.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And even today, I'm so excited that I I wrote the book.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I hopefully you'll you'll pick up the book, but within the book, it just it it gets a little insight about me.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's a personal connection, it's it's my stories that I'm excited to share with others.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a little scary from the aspect that um you'll really get to see a lot about you know who I am, how I think, but it's really more about um what she meant to our family um and how powerful that bond was.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I think it's something that you would relate to.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you would relate to a lot of our experiences, and that's what excited me about the book and how I realized as I started talking to folks that that relatability is powerful.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and then opening up the opportunity and conversation to talk about loss.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: We all handle it differently.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: I handled it by writing a book.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, as I've been talking with a lot of folks lately, um, you know, some handle it by distracting themselves, uh getting busy with work, um, tearing up their house to remodel the bathroom, um, jumping right in to get another fur kit.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: We all handle it kind of differently.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: But the one thing that's kind of constant and the same is there's a void that is maybe hard to describe for some of us, but it's relatable for us that have had the pets and have gone through the grief.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that void is the fact that they hold us accountable to a handful of things every day, be it um taking them on a walk, uh obviously feeding them, taking them out to the bathroom.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then when that's gone, that's that's a significant emptiness within us that we're trying to figure out how to solve for.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what really inspired this podcast on top of the book.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And these are areas that I'm inspired to explore more, to talk more about, to um just just share with with the the families, um, but learn from everybody.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I still pick up the book.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Gosh, this this is what excites me.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: I still pick up the book, you know, at least once a week, if not daily, when I'm going through rough patches during the week, and uh, you know, there's a lot of them, right?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: We all have a lot of these ups and downs and whatever's going on, but gosh, when I pick the book up and I open up a chapter and I start reading it, it's just amazing the the mood, the the change in my demeanor.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it that's powerful, and it's that is what I hope to bring to others with the book and sharing the story, bring to you with this podcast, but then learn from others how we can grow and support one another.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then just to kind of share with you a little bit more about um the book, in case you do pick it up, uh you know it I really did it to speak to you, speak with you where you can relate to it.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of the chapters will end with reflective questions and practical exercises.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, in the start of the book, um, we had a scare with Marshall.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: There was, you know, he flipped his stomach.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and for those of you that aren't familiar with something like that, that's pretty life-threatening.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I talked about Marley early on.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Marley's the one that we lost that inspired the book.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Marshall's her brother, he's still with us.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thankfully, he'll be 11 in March.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's we're we're just thankful that he's still with us.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, hug him every day.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: But um that first chapter starts off with this scare, but you know, when you think about the reflective questions, here's an example recognizing urgency.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever experienced a situation where your instinct told you something was wrong, but you hesitated to act?
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: How did that moment impact the outcome?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: And these questions tie back to the chapter.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: For example, with that question, as you read that chapter, my wife came running upstairs um noticing Marcia was pacing something was wrong.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I was on a conference call and I just kind of shrugged it off.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Luckily, the conference call ended, and uh but I look back at that and I'm like, man, um, could have handled it differently, but thankfully the outcome worked out, and you know, we were able to save him.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, flipping a stomach is serious and obviously can lead to death.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So those are some of the things you can expect with the book.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'll share more about my personal story, my personal journey uh as I go into more episodes with this podcast, but it's really focused around interviewing families.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's the relatability because if you know, if you have pets, if you had pets, these experiences are relatable.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: The loss is profound that only you and I can fully understand.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it's talking about that and but then really learning from others on um how did they handle it?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: What did they do?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: What can I learn from it?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and then as we as we grow with this podcast, I want to bring in, I don't know, maybe more insights, more educational content.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, um, there's five insights that I was able to gather from 2025 going into 2026.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: The first insight was pet grief is finally being recognized as a legitimate mental health issue.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that's something I'll explore more and talk more about.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: We know about the physical benefits that we get with our fur kids, but also the mental health, the companionship that comes with that.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: The we have a stressful day, we're anxious, we come home, and they just change our mood.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've had stories of folks going through breakups, going through divorce, but man, their fur kid was there for them.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: So really talking more about this, you know, and then really explain why that matters to the individual, and then workplaces.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: We're starting to see workplaces, and you'll notice in one of my interviews that workplaces are start start, ah, I can't even talk.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: See, workplaces are starting to recognize this impact.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: I had one interview was talking about, hey, their their employer said, Hey, you need time off.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever you need, we understand you're going through a hard time right now.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever you need, that's phenomenal.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Ten years ago, 20 years ago, you wouldn't hear that.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna get into talking more about that and these cultural shifts, um, but just really creating a support community for each other.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: And every now and then I'll pack pop back into these podcasts, talk more about you know, my experience, but just it's really sharing more about the stories with with Marley that are in the book, um, and then uh maybe reading some chapters.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: But I hope you stay tuned.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: I've got some amazing interviews coming up that I think you will enjoy.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: They will inspire you, they will help you get through a rough patch, a tough time, they will help provide a guiding light in case you uh recently dealt with pet loss or experienced it not too long ago, um, or if you're even looking and getting ready to get the next fur kit.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I'm really excited about this journey and sharing this with you all.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and as a part of that, please reach out to me.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to hear from you, would love to interview you, would love to hear your story about your fur kids, you know, how they came to be a part of your family, um, how they got their names, um, and then obviously talk about the hard stuff.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to thank you for being a part of this podcast and this journey, and uh be on the lookout for more um as we continue with every paw print, every story.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, every fur kid has a story that matters and leaves a print on our lives.