Believe in Dog

Presley & Taylor are country music recording artists  – and sisters! – known for creating beautiful harmonies.  They are also huge animal lovers and have 3 dogs! Presley & Taylor recently released a heartwarming song called “Choose Me” which tells the story of a shelter dog finding their forever home. The lyrics remind me so much of how my dog Penny joined our family that I was almost in tears the...

Episode 32. Building a Community of Pet Parents with the DogHood. While Purvi and Ruchi both grew up in India, it was just 2 years ago, while living in the San Francisco area that dogs brought them together. Purvi shares her story of growing up afraid of dogs and never thinking that she’d one day be a “dog person” after giving in to her husband’s & sons’ desire for a dog.  Purvi jumped right into...

Episode 31. Erika Kovacs with Pinups for Pit Bulls. A lifelong dog-lover, Erika is one firecracker of a Dog Mom. Erika is a vet tech by day and spends her free time advocating for pit bull dogs with the Pinups for Pit Bulls organization. Ericka even modeled in the Pinups for Pit Bulls 2020 calendar…as Miss March 2020 … or Miss COVID!  But Erika shares with us how she was able to redeem herself in...

Episode 30. Ekene Okeke of Shuree’s Organics. Ekene is a first-time Dog Mom who started her company, Shuree’s Organics to provide safe and healthy treats for dogs. After not growing up with pets, it didn’t take long for Ekene to fall in love with the Dog Mom Life, even if there have been challenges along the way – from behavioral issues to injuries. Each of the Shuree’s Organics treats contain onl...

Episode 29. How Billie Groom of UPWARD Dogology is Helping Dogs with a "Checkered Past" While Billie Groom didn’t grow up with pets, the dogs started finding her when she was in her 20s.  Billie’s passion was ignited when she stumbled upon a dog hiding under a log on a beach and found her a loving home. After traveling through the U.S. in a renovated bus and running an informal dog rescue in North...

Episode 28. Katy McQuaid, Author of Everybody Loves Grace. Katy McQuaid spent 32 years working for the CIA – Yes, that CIA! – and is now an award-winning children’s book author of the Everybody Loves Grace series.  Grace is Katy’s Finnish Lapphund dog.  (These dogs were actually bred to herd reindeer in Scandinavia!) Katy’s book series shares Grace’s dog’s-eye-view perspective of their road trips...

In Part 2 with Jennifer Ganz, we’ll hear more about her work with students, the 20+ dogs she’s fostered for animal rescue organizations and the social club she started for sighthound dogs in the Baltimore area. I give some background on the Project Mickey Humane Education Program. (Trigger warning for mentioning animal abuse.)  And also discuss the connection between Adverse Childhood Experiences...

Episode 27, Part 1.  Creating a Humane Education Career with Jennifer Ganz, School Psychologist.   I feel so fortunate to have met Jennifer Ganz through Baltimore’s animal welfare community. We had so much to talk about that it turned into 2 episodes! A lifelong animal lover, Jen started her career as a teacher and then pursued further education to become a school psychologist.  I found Jen’s dedi...

Episode 26. Krista Karpowich of Wag Out Loud Krista’s passion for our dogs’ health and wellness is unmatched. As the creator and host of the Wag Out Loud Pawdcast, Krista is one of the most knowledgeable pet parents I’ve ever met! Krista’s love of dogs inspired her to obtain a certificate in Canine Nutrition and create Wag Out Loud to share everything she’s learned along the way.   Find the Show N...

Episode 25. Margrit Strohmaier, Author of What to Know Before You Get Your Dog Inspired by her daughter’s “relentless campaign” for a dog of her own, Margrit is the author of What to Know Before You Get Your Dog. When she couldn’t find a children’s book that described the responsibilities of dog ownership in a way that kids could understand, Margrit decided to write it herself.  Then with the boom...

Episode 24. Animal Welfare Round Table: Mythbusters Edition On this episode, we’re welcoming back previous guests Annie Pruitt , Kaitlyn Thomas and Liz Weiner . Between the 4 of us, we have nearly 30 years combined experience in animal sheltering and community pet support. Special thanks to Chuck Nunn,  audio engineer for the Round Table - who also joins in the conversation when we put him on the...

Episode 23. Peter Ciancarelli of Allie’s Canine Crew Peter is a Dog Dad Extraordinaire! When Peter’s dog Allie was struggling with health issues, he had a difficult time getting the right answers for her – even a veterinary college’s animal hospital couldn’t help.  So Peter then started seeking out holistic veterinary practitioners and began working Dr. Margo Roman – one of the pioneers of gut mic...

Episode 22. Jasmine & Marc of Round of A-Paws Pet Rescue   From the Round of A-Paws Pet Rescue in Baltimore, Maryland, I’m excited for you to meet Jasmine, the founder and President, and Marc, the Vice-President. While Baltimore has its share of problems, our animal welfare community is a huge bright spot. My experiences volunteering with B-More Dog have introduced me to an amazing community of pe...

Episode 21. The Adventures of Paddington & Zurich with Carla & Wayne Greenside.   There’s nothing I love more than an unlikely animal friendship. So when Carla reached out to me to share the story of Paddington (the horse) and Zurch (the Swiss Mountain Dog), I was immediately smitten. Paddington & Zurich spent 10 years together as best friends – doing everything from romping in the snow to grazing...

Episode 20. Shy & Fearful Dogs: Brittany’s Story with Maria Montgomery, Trainer. After hearing the Shy & Fearful Dog Roundtable ( Episode 17 ), Brittany Roger reached out to me with her own story. While Brittany was a lifelong animal lover, it wasn’t until she & her husband adopted Sam, an elderly obese chihuahua, that they learned exactly how much they didn’t know about dog behavior . . . after a...

Episode 19. Kaitlyn Thomas of Finding Knox. Coming home from work one day to find that your dog isn’t there is pretty much the worst nightmare of any dog owner. When this happened to Kaitlyn, her plea to get her dog, Knox, back went viral. And Kaitlyn found a way to keep the momentum of her sudden unexpected platform going and turned it into the Finding Knox organization. Finding Knox’s free micro...

Episode 18. Kimberly Gauthier of Keep the Tail Wagging. Kim is one of my favorite Dog Moms to follow online.  Kim adopted littermates in 2011 and started blogging about her life as a dog mom. When her dog, Rodrigo, started experiencing health issues, Kim discovered the raw feeding model for dogs. When she changed Rodrigo’s diet to raw feeding, all of his health issues cleared up. For years, Kim ha...

Episode 17. Dog Mom & Dog Dad Round Table: Shy & Fearful Dogs. We’re trying something different this week!  On this episode, we’re welcoming back previous guests, Mindy FitzGerald from Episode 2 and Liz Weiner from Episode 7 . We’re also welcoming my husband, Tim, to the podcast for the first time. Today we’re having a round table discussion about pet parents living with shy and fearful dogs.   We...

Episode 16. Shannon Glenn, Executive Director of My Pit Bull is Family I don’t know about where you live, but I see stickers for My Pit Bull is Family all over Baltimore and throughout Maryland. This organization was so supportive when Maryland’s pit bull advocates were working to get a breed specific law changed from 2012 – 2014 and I still these stickers daily. My Pit Bull is Family has become a...

We’re back from summer break. I’m celebrating 5 years with my dog Penny and the good news that most of her hearing has returned.   Our first repeat guest. Michelle Serocki from Episode 3 is back today to tell us about the birth of Pit Bull Advocates of America.   Michelle and I discuss: The origin story of Pit Bull Advocates of America and how Michelle saw a need and changed her mission from a loc...

This one is personal. My own dog Penny has been dealing with a chronic health issue for the past 6 months. In May, she was prescribed a common ear medication by our vet. A few days later I noticed that Penny wasn’t responding to things normally, like not barking at the mailman and not greeting me at the front door.  I realized Penny wasn’t hearing properly. Apparently in a tiny percentage of dogs,...

Join: Join the Pandemic Pets Daily Gratitude Challenge ! Share one photo, video or moment each day that you are grateful for with your pets during these challenging times. Special free gift coming soon for group members. Di's Story: A brindle pit bull named Snorkle with an underbite and a lust for life changed Di’s world forever. Di & I discuss everything from growing up with “outside dogs” to the...

I found out about Pittie Clothing Co. as I was researching for Episode 11 with Sarah Lauch & Live Like Roo Foundation . I love their bright, fun patterns. As a pit bull owner, I know how difficult it can be to find cute clothes that properly fit your dog. Erin Crowley founded Pittie Clothing Co. so she could finally have matching pajamas with her dog. But after having experienced negative public r...

Sarah Lauch was already a lifelong animal lover and an active shelter and rescue volunteer when she met the dog that changed her life. Roo (shelter name Cisco) was an owner surrender to Chicago’s open admission animal shelter due to his trouble urinating. Unfortunately, Roo’s health issue was caused by a terminal cancer diagnosis. Sarah decided to give Roo the best possible life for all his remain...

Have you ever struggled with your dog’s health?  Or with getting a proper diagnosis for your dog? Have you ever felt like your veterinarian wasn’t listening? Or felt pressured by your vet to make a decision that you didn’t agree with or couldn’t afford?  I’ve been there. On a beautiful spring morning at the end of April 2014, my Lucy collapsed on our walk around the neighborhood. I struggled to ge...