Dog Save The People

Holly Sjogren is an elementary school teacher in Huntington Beach, California, where she also doubles as a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs of America. The nonprofit trains and matches service dogs to those who are visually impaired, as well as autistic children and more. Holly tells Ellen Ballon Dante, our West Coast Correspondent from Deity Animal Rescue, about her experience bringing the dogs in tra...

Heidi Huebner is the Founder and Director of the Pets Unstressing Passengers, or PUPs, program at LAX. Airports can often be stressful and anxious places to travel through, but PUPs bring in therapy dogs and volunteers to help bring comfort and relief during their travels. It allows people to take a moment to slow down amidst the rush, connect with the dogs and with one another, and sprinkle in jo...

Ashley McCaffrey is an Air Force veteran and special education teacher who’s healing journey from PTSD has been bolstered by the aid of Hope, her service dog. Having the black lab by her side has allowed Ashley to feel more comfortable with everyday tasks, such as grocery shopping, as well as providing crucial support during a tough time teaching in the pandemic. The inseparable pair were matched...

Dr. Linda Harper is a clinical psychologist and pet bereavement specialist who helps people to overcome the loss of their pets by focusing on the positive takeaways and how we can keep their legacy of love alive and strong. Linda found this approach after the loss of her own dog, Chilidog, who inspired her to start these Healing Hearts Workshops. For more information about the episode, guest, and...

Alexis Devine has trained her sheepadoodle, Bunny, to “speak” using buttons that play pre-recorded words and phrases. Through this deepened level of communication, Alexis found that their bond had been strengthened, and that dogs can teach us to be better at expressing our own feelings and listening to others. www.dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/alexis-devine

Jack Jackson is the Co-Founder of the Don’t You Want Me Project, which highlights the empowerment and healing the queer and trans community has found in the unconditional acceptance of their dogs. Jack shares about the project, his dog photography, and how his Boxer named Jet impacted his life in a new city. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsave...

Chris Hannah is an elementary school teacher who along with his “deaf superhero” pitbull, Cole, has made it a mission to help teach students the importance of empathy. In particular, they try to teach this in relation to those with special needs, like Chris’ nephew. They started The Team Cole Project to make this happen and so far it’s been effective, with students being able to see these lessons...

Christine Hassing is an author, leadership mentor, and inspirational speaker. Her soulmate dog, Roo, inspired her first memoir “To the Moon and Back to Me” and sparked her passion for writing. But while Christine’s first book focused on her own dog relationship, her new book “Hope Has a Cold Nose” illuminates the stories of veterans and the healing power of their service dogs. Dealing with PTSD, v...

Sally Muir is a dog artist, author, and former knitwear designer. Her lifetime love for dogs eventually became her artistic muse, focusing on the beauty and patience of dogs in their old age, and what they can teach us about how we live our own lives. European Correspondent, Nina May of Wunderdog Magazine, talks to Sally about her work and how her own senior dogs inspired her new book, “Old Dogs.”...

Host John Bartlett talks to Ellen Furlong, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Illionis Wesleyan University, about her lifetime work studying dog behavior – which includes an emphasis on the importance of smell for dogs. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/ellen-furlong

Sylvia Heisel is an award-winning fashion designer and now the Co-Founder of DogPark Production. It’s a company she started with her husband, Scott Taylor, to rethink the idea of what dog parks could be. Initially they were making 3D-printed furniture and concrete features for parks, but now they have expanded to entire parks – including the new Dog World Dog Park in North Carolina that they worke...

New European Correspondent, Nina May, talks to Nick Poulton about Dudes & Dogs, a mental health wellbeing initiative for men that is based around the simple idea of going for a walk together with your dogs and opening up about your feelings. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/nick-poulton

Host John Bartlett talks to Kate Leaver about how her new book, Good Dog, which tells positive stories of how dogs help people cope with life hardships and how that's backed up with science. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/kate-leaver

Host John Bartlett talks to Michael Burke, dog behavior consultant and life coach, about how our own actions can be reflected in our dogs. He shares what he has learned through his own experience with dogs, and insights from his extensive dog psychology and mindfulness training. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/michael...

Host John Bartlett talks to Philip about how he co-founded the Institute for Human-Animal Connection and what he's learned about the dog-human relationship in his decades of research. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/philip-tedeschi

Host John Bartlett talks to Topher Brophy about his journey to fatherhood that really started with becoming a Dog Dad to his furry soulmate, Rosenberg, who he adopted after struggling to find his purpose in early adulthood. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/topher-brophy

Host John Bartlett talks to Elizabeth Lo about her experience filming the 'Stray' documentary and how Istanbul's way of living with stray dogs as an independent part of society and really enriches the city life for the whole community . For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/elizabeth-lo

Host John Bartlett talks to George Hahn about how he fulfilled a promise to his childhood dog, who he neglected, to get his own dogs as an adult and take care of them. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/george-hahn

Host John Bartlett talks to Dr. Robert Garafalo about the journey of his dog helping him through his HIV diagnosis, and his new book 'When Does Heal' about how dogs have helped people with HIV across the country (a collaboration with returning guest and dog photographer, Jesse Freidin). For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes...

Correspondent Ellen Ballon Dante of Deity Animal Rescue talks to a fellow single mother, Lara Bazelon, about how the pandemic puppy she got for her family and two kids ended up actually being even more important for herself. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/lara-bazelon

Host John Bartlett talks to Peter Bogyo about his book, "A Dog’s Life: A Collection of Humorous Tributes Celebrating Man’s Best Friend." They discuss what he discovered across writing obituaries for different dogs and the happiness people shared during their dog’s life together. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/peter-b...

President-elect Joe Biden’s dog, Major, will make history this week as the first-ever rescue dog to live in The White House. Host John Bartlett talks to author Joy McCullough about the importance of this moment and how the qualities of a dog parent mirror a good leader. For more information about the episode, guest, and featured social media or guest links: https://www.dogsavethepeople.com/episode...

We are re-issuing our interview with book author Dean Koontz as it was the most popular episode of Dog Save The People during 2020. With the circumstances this past year of the pandemic, many found comfort and normalcy in the simple act of taking their dog for a walk every day. With Dean, observing his dog’s curiosity during walks, helped him to re-look at the world, he started being more observan...

For the last day of the year, we thought it would be a good time to look back on the many guests we’ve had the pleasure of hosting on the podcast throughout 2020. During this crazy year, our dogs have kept us sane: whether helping provide normalcy during daily walks in the wild outdoors, keeping us company during an isolated time, or just giving us something to chuckle about during sobering moment...

Porochista Khakpour was struggling with an undiagnosed case of late-stage Lyme Disease, having to go through medical treatments every day. As a suggestion to help Porochista get through her disease recovery, her doctor encouraged her to consider an emotional support dog. He said there could be a positive impact on her health as a result, and he was right. She got a poodle puppy and never looked ba...