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How a Lifetime of Loving Pets Inspired a Mission to Help Pet Caregivers Thrive · Every Pawprint! Every Story!

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Good afternoon, everyone.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is Daniel Popovic.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of Every Pop Rent, Every Story.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host and see Leanne.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I've messed up already right out the gate.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: But for you new listeners, what this podcast is about is quite simple or little for kids talking about our pets, our dogs, our cats.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: We invite families in to talk about the joy they bring.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully you'll come in here, hear some of these stories.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: You may laugh, you may cry.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: We do talk about pet loss.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's inevitable and it's it's a profound impact.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um hopefully you'll get inspired.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of amazing inspirational folks that have been on this show, starting up businesses, getting in through the days.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's phenomenal.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: But most importantly, really feel supported throughout your journey and whatever journey or phase you are in currently with your fur kid.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm super excited today to welcome in Liana, new uh new uh family to our show.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, Liana, good mor well, good afternoon for me, good morning for you, right?
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, welcome to the show.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really happy to be here.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, Liana, just for the listeners, Lianna and I previously met, so we'll we'll say it, we'll save the teaser for the end of the uh the podcast, uh, but I'm excited to kind of get into that, but then just you know, really talk about the fur kids, right?
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: So let's let's start there.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: How many do we have a part of the family today?
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: I have Ellery now, so just one senior dog.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: He's 16.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh I've had four that have passed uh who are also very close to my heart.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I consider them part of my everyday life as well.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but Ellery's my current living baby.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh he's uh a Yorkie mix, um, but kind of big for that.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: So he's 20 pounds.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so not everybody thinks Yorkie when they look at him.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but he's super sweetheart and uh, you know, a really great companion.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: So he said 16.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: He's 16.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: 16, okay.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: And say the name again because wow, you that is an unusual name.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's Ellery.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: E-L-L-A-R-Y.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it's actually a name that older people tend to recognize because there was a mystery author, Ellery Queen, that um was popular and I don't remember exactly when, but uh yeah, it's a newer name to a lot of people.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Very cool.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: No, I love yeah, I love the story on that one.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'll definitely have to look that up.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Glad you said older people.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel older, but I don't recognize that name.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe I'm still younger.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think probably younger than that.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I uh Ellery, right?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I mean I'm uh probably messed that one.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So how did how did that how did Ellery become a part of family?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: What's the story behind that?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: So um my now ex-wife and I, and she and I are still really good friends.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she's an active part of my life too, and in part because the pets kept us together.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but she and I had two cats, Aster and Sage, and um decided we wanted a dog.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: She was always gunning for a dog, and I kind of reluctantly grew to like, okay, a dog would be fun.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: And we looked and looked and looked and met tons of dogs, and um finally were on the way to a um pet shop that or you know, pet uh, yeah, I guess they are called pet shop, but not selling pets, you know, a pet store that sells supplies.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: And they had a rescue event, and there was a dog that didn't have a very thorough profile and had kind of a distant picture.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so on the way there, I was like, you know what, if this doesn't work out, I think we should just pause looking for a dog right now.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think this is the right timing.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we went there, it was in Los Angeles, and um, I saw him and I knew he was mine.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it was just love at first sight.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: This is my dog.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and he has reddish hair and I have red hair.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that felt like a connection.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: He has the most gorgeous brown eyes.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he is just uh yeah, love at first sight, knew that that was my dog.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And uh Jenny, my ex-wife, was just like happy with like me saying yes to a dog.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, she was instantly on board too.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, he's he's a heart dog.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I've got soul pets and heart pets, and uh he's he's definitely a very strong heart dog.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Interesting.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you said that.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I had a different, but that led that's gonna lead to my next question.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: So difference between soul dog, heart dog.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I think a lot of people use them interchangeably, and I I totally respect that.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, maybe people that don't feel connected on a soul, like just soul isn't a word that they connect with, tend to use heart.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but the way that I think of it is my heart animals are just I just fill with so much love.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: They exist in my heart, love them with my full heart.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: They're not like less than my soul animals, but I feel a stronger spiritual connection with, and really it's been two cats that I've had as soul cats.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um I call them soul kitties.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but uh yeah, I I've had uh two dogs and one cat that I consider heart animals.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but that's just uh my lingo.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know that community connects with those.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, I love it.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um I had to ask that.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, because I had in the these interviews I've been doing, you're the first that's mentioned that.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that's awesome.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um now, so I know you touched on this when we previously met, um, but Sharon for the listeners, like what are some I I don't think you you mentioned that you take a lot of vacations with uh Ellery, but like what are correct me if I'm wrong if I misheard that, but like what are some of the maybe what are some of the fun outings or common routines that you guys do together?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: So he's never been on a vacation.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he actually, I'm unless you count visiting Sammy.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my ex-wife and I used to travel from Los Angeles to the Bay Area with uh two cats and two dogs and uh a full carload of stuff in this like Toyota Echo that fit absolutely everything you could possibly imagine, even when you didn't think it would fit.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: So um he has been on the road uh quite a few times, um, but not on vacations.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um he has some issue.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he's uh lots of rescue.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to give a bad rep to rescue dogs because I think a lot of rescue dogs have excellent behavior and are, you know, just like any other dog.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but he does he's got some issues.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh love him with my whole heart, uh, including, you know, the little bit of troubles he has.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: But he he actually his anxiety isn't as bad as it used to be, but he had pretty severe anxiety.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and he could be a little reactive.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Again, not so much he's aged out of some of that.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then some other issues that I don't talk about as much.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I won't ask.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he was always super healthy.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now he has some health issues, but um yeah, not so much travel.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: But we go on daily walks.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I now call them sniffs.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: I actually wrote a Substack article about that.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he is so slow these days, so they're more of like a meditative time than an exercise time.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but uh yeah, um daily walks, great way to connect.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: He was hiking with us for a little bit um after my slower or you know, previously elderly dog um passed, but he just slowed down so much.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's hikes.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And really, I think his favorite thing in throughout the day is to be in my office.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: So he is always trying to convince me to go to work.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: And when I work on a day off, which I'm in my office today and it's a day off, um, he is just like so happy.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's like the, you know, the the best days are work days because he just loves snoozing on my office floor.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I work from home and uh can't imagine going back to the office because, or you know, an in-person office, because I think he would just be devastated that we would spend time.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's really like if I go down the hall, he trots forward and tries to get me to come in the office.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then if I turn to the bedroom, he's just he's like disappointed.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's fine.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I will say I think that's a highlight of his day.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Oh God just keeps ranging on you to get into the office.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Get to work, and he's in there with you right now, I'm assuming.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: He is, he's snoozing on the floor.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, very content to be work.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'll call him working.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: He's my coworker, and um, he snoozes on the jaw, but that's like his task for the day.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love it.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the one thing is you were talking about the story with with the cats, the the going up to the bay, um, the reactive.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: How did he handle like driving in the car?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, he was so anxious driving in the car.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: So we had the cats sharing a kennel and uh Zila, uh our other dog, in a kennel.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, obviously it's a not uh it wasn't a van.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: So Ellery had to sit on our laps in the front, and he would just pant the whole time, he would cry.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it was really like you know, an eight-hour drive of a stressed-out dog, and we would stop.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, it was yeah, he uh and now he actually rides in the car just fine.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's you know, he's he's grown in his life.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: He's actually the only baby that I've gotten as an actual baby.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he was nine months when we got him, and I have a preference for getting older pets.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, not such a kitty and puppy person.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so uh I think that was a reinforcement that I'll be getting older pets in the future.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's a yeah, I Marley was a puppy, so yeah, it's definitely a different stage of life that you've gotta that first year, you better come with some game and persistent, not persistence, but consistency.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I there's another word I'm looking for endurance, right?
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Because yeah, they're gonna test you.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: And Allery had the worst uh separation anxiety ever.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we could not leave the house without him absolutely freaking out.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: So we literally one person was home all the time.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's why we got Xyla.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and immediately his separation anxiety ended as soon as he got another dog.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: And then she started crying when we left.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: So it was like, oh no.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, she it they ended up being fine, but it was funny the first, like, oh my gosh, we got a dog for a separation anxiety, but the dog has separation anxiety.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: So uh yeah, okay, so you okay, so you had uh Ellery, then you got Xyla.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: She was uh so we had so the order of the pets is actually Esther, who's a soul kitty of mine, and she's a rescue Devin Rex.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I grew up with Devin Rexes that were uh from a breeder, and I didn't want to get a pet from a breeder, so I was thrilled when I found uh Devin Rex from uh rescue.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then we got Sage, who was a Sphinx rescue.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: So we had a little naked boy, um, and he was more monkey than cat.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then um we got Ellery, uh, and then Xyla.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then after Aster passed, we got Saren.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and he's another soul kitty of mine, and he was a senior.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so he was actually the age that Aster would have been if she hadn't have passed.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he was 14.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we had him for less than two, and I say we, I it was he actually went with me during the divorce.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but oh my gosh, that love at first sight.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of people don't think that for senior pets, but the connection was absolutely as strong to him than any of my other babies.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, just uh he was such a great cat.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I love the names because yeah, you're you're you're testing my ability to go back and pronounce them.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what's what's the the story behind the the names here?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: So Aster came with her name.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we it means um star in Greek, and it's also a flower.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: So she had a nature name.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we got sage and picked a nature name for him too.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then Ellery, we wanted a nature name, um, but didn't name him a dog or a flower uh or a plant.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um Ellery means alder tree grove.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that was his nature connection.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then we got Xyla and named her, and Ellery, I don't remember if I said this, but his name when we got him was Doggy Dog.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so he absolutely was getting a new name.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: But uh Xyla, she was peapod, so also desperately needed a new name.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's funny.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh although that was nature oriented, but I just can't imagine calling a dog like pea.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, um, so she uh became Xyla, which means woodland creature.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then Saren came with his name.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: It also meant star, which kind of felt like an an Aster connection to me.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I see the two as connected.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: I really feel like Aster brought me to Saren.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so he, you know, he's 14.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: There's no he could have been Peapod and we would have kept his name as a senior.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um but uh yeah, so they're all, you know, Saren.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: I still think that's the natural world, you know.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: We're thinking of stars up there, um, even though it's not plants or woodland or something like that.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, like you said, so obviously these four kids are are gone today.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um were all of them, go back again.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: I know you said it.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um which which ones again?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: All of them were seniors, except we got uh Aster at age two, Sage at age three, Xyla at age two, and Saren at age 14.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so they were adults but not seniors.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Saren's just really more of your older.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then how how how long did uh we get to have Saren as a part of the family coming up?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he it was less less than two years.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um I had him less than one year where I'm living now.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's actually kind of a funny story.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if my ex-wife would like me to tell this, but I will anyway.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I desperately wanted him, but Ellery really isn't good with other animals.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he gets a dominance issue and will pounce on them.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it really didn't feel fair to bring Saren, but gosh, my heart wanted him so bad.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: And um, so I ended up getting Ellery training.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh he, you know, he was around the other cats, but Sarah, you know, as a senior, I didn't really want to introduce him to dog pouncing on him because the other cat, it, you know, wasn't they weren't in, he wasn't injuring them, they would get over it in 30 minutes.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: But um, you know, as an older cat, that seems like a horrible thing to introduce into your life.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I got Ellery training after I saw we actually um I uh evacuated and we've had lots of fires in Santa Rosa.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: And um in uh 2020, I evacuated to my ex-wife's house, even though we weren't together anymore.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just Saren did not care about the dogs at all.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: They were separated by a gate, but he just was like, whatever.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it kind of gave me reassurance that maybe I should bring him.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: And oh gosh, I went, I mean, the people in my life were so tired of me hearing back and forth over whether or not to take Saren.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because he seemed fine with Jenny.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but uh I got Allery some training and um ended up bringing Saren over and he was just thrilled to be with me.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, he chatted so much, he just rubbed all against me.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And this is meanwhile, while he was living with Jenny, I visited him like three times a week.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like he, I was like obsessed with him still.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but uh he was so thrilled to be here, and then um he actually switched to hissing and hiding from Jenny when she would come visit, which was devastating to her because she loved him too.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um but he, I think, just was like, there is no way I'm going home with you.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: This is my home.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: I am so happy.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and Ellery never pounced on him.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: He lived uh here for less than a year, but it was less than a year.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I tried to keep them separate still, like and have Saren be a half-house cat, and he just refused.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it was like getting them near each other.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I kept Ellery on a leash and kept him close to me while I was transitioning to Saren being out.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I think Ellery thought I was protecting him rather than protecting Saren because when Saren would come out, Ellery would come to me, kind of like, oh my gosh, that cat.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's funny.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, but anyway, it all worked out.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I had Saren with me for as long as you know, had the rest of his life.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: And when he passed, obviously it's hard to lose any pet that you're really connected with.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um I've been really connected with all of them.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, very grateful that I got to have him here with me every day instead of just three times.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I think Jenny probably would have gotten tired of me coming three times a week eventually.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I actually did still visit Sage once a week.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Sage is her soul family.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he's my heart baby.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but uh once a week I went and cuddled him.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, it was like his dream hour because he just wanted to be cuddled and loved.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, finally, she's just giving me attention for a straight hour.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or you know, so and uh he um yeah, he was he, I think that's a large reason why Jenny and I are so close to be friends because during the divorce we were still seeing each other.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it was during COVID.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: So we were like the only people that could see each other.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh but yeah, he's uh he passed uh about a month before Saren did.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I was actually with him when he passed.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um actually, Jenny and I have both been with all of them the moment that they passed.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um I you know, when Zyla was rushed to the hospital, I made sure to call her in the middle of the night and she was able to come.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, we've remained close to the pets, even though they don't live with each other and you know, whatever, whichever direction.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: But um yeah, with each other too.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I think Sage is part of that.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: So it sounds like in listening to you, all of these fur kids were a part of each other at some point in their life.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: So Aster and Sage never knew each other.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Or sorry, Aster and Sage knew each other.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Aster and Saren.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we got Saren after Aster passed, but I've always seen them connected.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like I really feel like Aster brought me to Saren.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um so uh and they their names both mean star and they're both soul kitties for me.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, I still think of them as connected, even though they never knew each other in the flesh.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Did did um so it was three cats, two dogs?
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so then if Aster didn't know Saren, obviously Aster and Sage were with each other.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that so loved each other.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, just uh I probably sage loved Aster.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: Sage was, like I said, more monkey than cat.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: He had a lot of energy and um could definitely annoy Aster, but they cuddled like crazy.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I have the cutest pictures of them, I have pictures of them all over the house, but one of them I have is of them just cuddling together.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: So they were really close, and he mourned her so strongly when she passed.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that's actually when I became most connected with him.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm no, I'm glad you you said that because I was gonna ask you that.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um we had two, they were brothers, and there were no, there weren't brothers, and so there were sisters.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's been a minute, but yeah, when one of them went, the other one shortly followed, and indeed there wasn't much we could do to I mean, I think they were both probably 15, but it was just you saw the one lost the soulmate, and they just didn't was there a similar experience with yours or not so much?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so they definitely mourned, um, but they didn't their health didn't, you know, they were seemed sad.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and actually, uh, as much as LRE could be a pain in the butt toward the cats, um, he was the biggest reaction when Aster died.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've had wakes for all of the pets and kept them at home with their bodies and shown the other pets so that they'd understand that they died.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: And when he saw Aster's body, he nudged it and started like screaming out.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he was like really upset when Aster died.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um Not long after he started having night terrors.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think that first death for him was the hardest, um, even though it's like a cat and a dog.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then other animals, you know, he's been less uh extreme about, I think, probably because he had that first loss and you know, recognizes one.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was gonna about I was about to ask you that with Xyla, if there was a similar, but I guess to your point, if he had already experienced it, maybe he knew what was happening.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and he loves being an only dog.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we couldn't do that when he he was a puppy because of his severe separation anxiety, but um, I am honoring his wishes and keeping him as an only dog, although that is so challenging because my heart has so much room for other pets, and I really crave a multi multi-pet household.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's so much what I want.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh yeah, so uh he's he's gonna be an only dog, um, unless like some I don't know.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: I that's my commitment to him.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: So it's good.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: No, that yeah, that's good, fair.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then I think you mentioned it too.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: So he doesn't really have separation anxiety as much anymore now that he's older.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: Nope.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, fortunately, yeah, and he's just much calmer as an only dog.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, he had dominance issues, so every now and he'd be fine sometimes, and then every now and then he'd get a chip on his shoulder and start like standing over the other animals and stuff, which really what you know.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to bring in another animal and have them experience that.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and he's just calmer and you know, seems so content.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: So it's for him, not for me, that I'm keeping him as an only pet.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um no, definitely understand that.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then talking about, yeah, like you're saying, the the anxiety, separation, anxiety, and that's the reason you got Xyla to kind of help with that.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it sounds like in in the beginning it worked, but then Xyla ended up getting separation.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: No, it ended up being fine.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's just when we um brought her home, like the first couple times she cried, and then we were like, oh no, like, did our new dog get separation anxiety too?
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so but it actually didn't end up being a thing, but it was a fear when we first brought her.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: And she's actually funny because um we did not want a barker.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she's a poodle mix, and we brought her home on a trial basis because we did not want a barker.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: As soon as we loved her, committed to having her, she became the biggest barker in the world.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, oh my gosh, she just would not shut up.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: It was like a constant conflict with her, trying to get her to be quiet out the window.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, once you love them, you accept a lot of things about them that you wouldn't necessarily have if you knew the full story.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, maybe they're smart that way too, right?
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, you know, I'm just gonna wait to do my barking until you're absolutely good.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: And now that I know that I'm good, I'm gonna start.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: And remind me, how old was she?
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: So she was two when you got her?
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: And she died at I think she was 15.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was 2022 when she passed.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it and she was very elderly for a long time.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, all of my pets have had quite a bit of caregiving needed throughout their lives.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's not only at senior years or terminal stages that pets need caregiving.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Sage had IBD, um, Aster had recurrent mammary cancer.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think, you know, it's for some of us, it's a lifelong thing with our pets, um, which is uh part of why I'm passionate about serving pet caregivers.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's been an intimate part of my life.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: It almost feels like a tea teaser lead-in to tease the audience with what's coming next.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Should we give them a teaser of what's coming next?
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, happy to.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm starting the private practice, Heartmore Pet Care uh Pet Guardian Wellness.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and my website is petguardianwellness.com.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right now it directs to my substack, um, but it will direct to a coaching group I'm opening this fall in October.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: And um, it then will eventually open up to my website.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: So petguardianwellness.com is uh where you'll be able to find me indefinitely.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and in the fall, I'm opening a six-week coaching group um navigating a pet caregiving uh pet caregiver strain with resilience.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it's going to be a structured group that covers um synchronization with your pet and their needs and your needs.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's going to cover um uh sleep, which I think a lot of caregivers really struggle with.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh fear and guilt.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, those are such, you know, almost universal experiences to caregiving.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and anticipatory grief, which is, you know, really prominent topic too.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: So um, and we'll have an intro, uh talk about our values and what we're really aiming for in our pet caregiving, uh, as well as taking care of ourselves.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's so essential to take care of ourselves while we're caregiving.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, even if our priorities are pet, like you can't do that unless you're caring for yourself too.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we'll wrap things up in the last session.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's uh gonna be a new experience in the world.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know that there's other pet caregiver groups that have been created.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm really looking forward to providing that service.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I have a lot of experience as a board certified health and wellness coach.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm bringing that expertise to uh pet care giving now.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's awesome.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll definitely, as you mentioned, we'll definitely get those links.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: We'll add them to the description of the podcast, the article that goes out so folks can easily find you.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then um the timing of yeah, when this goes out is will be close to when you're launching.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that'll be great.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then you'll probably have like uh an ability for folks to kind of pre-register or reserve a spot or something.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, registration will open at the end for the end of August.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm actually gonna do a workshop first um that will kind of introduce people to the concept of the group and setting values for what you and um, you know, like a guiding principles for what you want to set big picture for your pet.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: So um, that'll come out the day that the group launches for its registration.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: And you you touched on a little of this already, but I'll I'll ask it again.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, or I didn't ask it, but like, and this is phenomenal.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I'm love doing it, love doing this, love meeting folks like you.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: What's been really the drive and the inspiration behind doing this?
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, really all of my pets.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I've had caregiving moments with all of them, um, uh, you know, throughout their lives, like with uh Aster and Sage in particular.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and Saren in my you know brief years with him, uh, was always a senior.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um and Ellery now.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so really it's an honor of them.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, like I said, they're all still very present in my life.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: I don't consider them, you know, past in a big sense.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so think about them every day um and really driven to do this in honor of those, you know, special relationships I've had with them.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's awesome.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I know we're getting close to to time.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you mentioned I get probably two more questions I'll ask you.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: We'll we'll definitely close, but um, you mentioned sleep.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: Is it from the aspect of well it's probably both, but obviously the importance of the caregiver getting proper sleep to be able to be rested to care for the the pets.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: And um that's really the the crux of what I'm doing is really focusing on pet guardian wellness um and our own wellness in order to care for our pets.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you have to synchronize the two.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's not something that uh you can successfully caregive when you're super drained.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think all of us have had moments where we haven't slept and have snapped at our pets, you know.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think that's uh probably a fairly universal experience when we're sleep deprived.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so really uh, you know, being I I'm not to say that our wellness isn't important in its own right.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: That certainly is true, but I think a lot of us pet caregivers tend to give and give and give and not take care of ourselves.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: And our priority is our pets, but our priority, you know, needs to be ourselves too when we're doing that, or we really can't be there for our pets.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: So um, sleep is actually a topic.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: By the time this comes out, I'll have written a Substack article on it.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: Nice, okay.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: So it'll have some clear strategies, and some of them, you know, are more general sleep strategies, but some of them also be specifically pet oriented.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I hope people check that out.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I definitely will, and I'll share it back as to your point, just as most recently as this week.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned IBD a minute ago, not that I mean we we had some interesting bouts with two different fur kids every two hours, and then like, you know, you go to bed at 10, and at midnight you're up, at two o'clock, you're up, at four o'clock, you're up.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh goodness.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then you got a rest of two days, you're getting two days of sleep, and then all of a sudden a different fur kid is having the same issues like, oh my gosh.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, I'll definitely read that.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um and whatever I can do on my end to to help, you know, get folks, get the buzz, get the awareness.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then on so as we kind of close this out, I know you've kind of touched on quite a bit of this, and without stealing too much into what it is you're doing, you know, just from your experiences, your journeys, I guess what what advice or inspiration, maybe advice would you give other pet families, you know, caring for their fur kids?
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think for that I'd really go back to that synchronization issue where, and it's not just our pets and ourselves, it's also the vet.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we get so much advice from our vets that's so valuable, but implementing it isn't always possible.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: And we also need to like be the best advocates possible because we do know our pets best.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so synchronizing, you know, this medical care and uh your pets well-being and your own well-being is really important.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the service that I'm I'm providing is to be able to help people navigate that.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's great.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, thank you, thank you again for being on the show today.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: Excited to get this out there, excited to see where you're going next with with the the toolkits, what you're working on.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but again, listeners, be on the lookout in the description of the podcast.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have information in there to find Liana to register for the the events.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then we'll also have it within the article, the links to go again, you know, find your website, find the Substack.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: But again, thank you for being on the show today.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: This has been my pleasure.