UNLEASHED (at work & home) with Colleen Pelar

Jenny Roberts has spent years doing the invisible work that holds a veterinary practice together. As a customer service representative (CSR) at Partners Animal Hospital of Asheville, she's the person who answers the call when someone's pet might be in crisis, who notices the doctor hasn't called back, who makes sure the schedule doesn't quietly implode. In this conversation, Jenny talks about what...

Valerie Bogie spent sixteen years training animals in zoos and aquariums before a convergence of burnout, a cross-country move, and a chance connection led her to veterinary social work. Now she splits her week between animal behavior consulting at a board-certified behaviorist practice and her own business supporting veterinary and pet professionals navigating caregiver burden. In this conversati...

Holden Svirsky came to animal behavior sideways — through a layoff, a shelter volunteer shift, and the slow realization that what she'd studied about human learning applied just as well to dogs. Now a behavior consultant and longtime shelter professional, she chairs the Pet Professional Guild's Shelter and Rescue Committee and thinks carefully about what sustains people in this work over the long...

Melissa McCue-McGrath has spent over 20 years as a dog trainer, and she's writing a book called The Misadventures of the World's Okayest Dog Trainer — which tells you something about how she holds this work. In this conversation, she talks about carrying old cases in your heart, the particular loneliness of a field where there's often no one to debrief with, and why "forgive yourself" might be the...

When things are going badly, it sometimes helps to remind ourselves that “this, too, shall pass.” The flip side of that, of course, is that the good times pass as well. That can seem depressing at first, but what if instead it was simply a reminder to really soak up those good times while they’re there? That’s the philosophy of dog trainer Morgan Jenkins, who finds encouragement from remembering t...

“Be kind” is the kind of advice we hear so often that it seems almost trite. But what does it really mean to be kind and why does kindness suddenly seem so much more important than ever? How does kindness look- to others, to animals, to ourselves? Dog trainer Kim Brophey believes in the power of kindness and giving people grace. Not only does she believe in it, she’s developed a whole system desig...

Lili Chin didn’t set out to be an animal artist—she set out to be an animator. But a crisis with her own dog drew her into the world of dog training and animal behavior. From there, one thing led to another and suddenly she found that she was the “go to” person for illustrations of animal body language. Now, her adorable drawings can be found in books, posters, and brochures, helping people unders...

“Have fun!” These are words we say fairly often, especially to kids. But do we ever say it to ourselves? Do we ever give ourselves permission to “have fun?” And as we get older and assume more responsibilities, what does it even mean to “have fun?” Do we even remember how? Not to mention, who will take care of all the Stuff That Needs Doing if we leave to “have fun?” My guest today is well aware o...

It’s never too late for old dogs—or humans—to learn new tricks. At 77, animal behaviorist and best-selling non-fiction author Patricia McConnell, PhD, CAAB, has shifted gears and is now publishing her first-ever novel. A murder mystery set amid the world of competitive sheepdog trials, Away to Me features plenty of suspense but rest assured—all the dogs make it out safely! Patricia came on the sho...

The benefits of play therapy and animal-assisted therapy are both well established. Engaging in play and spending time with or learning to care for animals can be valuable interventions for children and adults alike. It makes sense, then, that combining these two approaches can be doubly magical. This is exactly what my guest today discovered—entirely by accident—twenty years ago. In the two decad...

Psychotherapist and dog professional Ann Howie built her professional life around doing animal-assisted therapy with her own dogs. Then for years, none of her dogs wanted to do that work. She had to adjust her entire vision around what was actually true. We explore the difference between listening to yourself and actually following through—two separate permissions. Ann shares her wisdom about shif...

My guest today always thought she’d be a teacher when she grew up- and in a way she is, but not how she thought! Instead of teaching children, Ellen Yoakum trains dogs and mentors dog trainers in her work with Pet Harmony Training. She joined me today to discuss how self-knowledge makes her a better behaviorist, the importance of knowing and understanding systems, and remembering that the answer t...

Dr. Melissa Trevatan-Minnis is not a pet professional, at least not in the way we traditionally think of them. However, as both a psychologist and a shelter volunteer, she’s familiar with the burnout and mental health strain common among those who work with animals. Now, she’s on a mission to change that through a new research program specifically designed to provide pet professionals with support...

"Don't give up." It's advice we hear all the time, seemingly from everybody, about everything. We hear it so often that it can cease to have any real meaning, and become just a kind of feel-good motivational poster quote that we repeat without thinking. It’s something that’s easy to say and to tell ourselves, but that becomes a lot harder when you actually stop to think about what it means and try...

We often hear that life is short, but dog trainer Heide Maglott knows from personal experience just how true that is, and just how quickly things can get turned upside down. After losing both her husband and her best friend in the span of just five years, she responded by embracing her single life, spending time with her animals, and building up her training business. She came on the show today to...

 “It’s not about you!” So often, we hear those words used as a rebuke or as something said sharply to snap us out of a fit of self-centeredness. Certainly, most of us don’t necessarily like being reminded that it’s not about us…but what if, instead of making us feel bad or ashamed of our selfishness, those words could be liberating? What if the realization that it is not about us actually made us...

Kim Palermo is a bit of an anomaly among the guests on this show—someone who is actually doing today what she hoped she would be doing when she was ten (more or less, anyway)! Almost twenty years ago, she took a leap of faith and left a good-paying job to open her own dog-walking business. Now, she runs an updated version of that business (she added training!) with her husband and gets to train do...

Empathy is a common trait among those of us who work with animals—one could even argue that sometimes we have too much of it. My guest today knows full well the importance of empathy, as well as the emotional toll that empathy can take on a person. In her work as a humane enforcement resource officer (HERO), Moani Makaiwi sees both the best and the worst of human-animal interactions. Working in an...

We’ve all heard and read about search and rescue dogs. Most of us doubtless have an image in our mind of intrepid canines locating people lost in the woods or rescuing individuals trapped under piles of rubble. But what actually goes into canine search and rescue work? What does it entail and what is it like going out with your dog, hoping to find the best, but knowing you might encounter the wors...

Normally on this podcast, we talk to people who work with animals. Today, we’re talking to the person who works with the people who work with animals. Tara Cojocaru is the volunteer coordinator at the Humane Society of New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas. There she works to organize and support volunteers at the shelter, making sure that everyone knows where to go, what to do, how to do it, and...

We often see people who take big risks or try daring things and admire what we see as their fearlessness. But are they really fearless? Are they genuinely not afraid of things, or are they deep down just as nervous and scared as we are at the prospect of public speaking or starting a business or moving far away from family and friends, and they’ve just learned to hide it and do things anyway? Dog...

What do New York City, Hunter S. Thompson, and Latin legal terms have in common? Not much, but they’re all related to my guest today, who moved to New York to pursue a Thompson-inspired writing career and found herself taking up dog training instead, while sporting a tattoo that only lawyers recognize. Kellie Stevens is the owner of Gonzo Dog, where she specializes in helping anxious and fearful d...

Social work is hard. Shelter work is hard. Putting the two of them together seems like it would be almost impossible. But that’s what my guest today has done. Kelly Bremkin is a veterinary social worker who provides mental and emotional support for shelter workers, helping them to navigate the demands and emotional pressures of their job. Over the years, she’s learned a lot about what support real...

Yvonne Rosenberger hoped to be a flight attendant, ended up behind an insurance desk, and realized she didn’t want to die there, so she took her friend’s advice to open her own pet care business. In the process, she’s learned one very important lesson—never say never. Yvonne joined me on the show today to discuss all the things she was never going to do—from getting married to owning her own busin...

Children, both animal and human, instinctively know how to play. The drive to have fun and engage in games is there right from the beginning. As we get older, though, we begin to shut down that instinct to play. We get distracted by the responsibilities of adult life and forget how to simply enjoy the moment. And when we lose access to play, we lose access to its amazing ability to help us heal an...