Dogs We Love Then and Now!

The Story of My Pet Podcast Episode 1! 

In today's episode I chat with my lifelong friend Karin Bousquet Olson. We remember stories of her childhood pet Mardi the Boston Terrier. We also discuss our love of cats and the several we each have had as adults. Finally, Karin details how her and her family found her current dogs Ginger and Cocoa, aka Puggy the Pug. I also add my experiences with her dogs as their pet sitter. I hope you enjoy our trip down memory lane. 

The animal rescue organization highlighted in this episode is Boxers Mutts & Wiggle Butts. You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram @boxersmuttsnwigglebuttsrescue
 
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Other episodes you will enjoy-

From Snakes to Chickens, and Dogs in Between, a Life

Transcript

Transcript

The Story of My Pet Podcast - Episode 1 - Dogs we Love! Mardi, Ginger, Cocoa and a bunch of cast!

 Hi, and welcome to the story of my Pet podcast. I'm your host, Julie. Marty Pearson. Today, we're going to hear some stories about pets I know pretty well. My friend Karin Olsen is here to share stories of her childhood pet and her two current rescues.
 
 [00:01:14]
 We have lots to talk about because we've known each other literally our whole life. So here's Karin. Thank you so much for being here. Hi. Thank you for having me.
 
 [00:01:26]
 I'm excited to talk about our pets. Yes. It's a great, fun thing to talk about, even when they drive us a little crazy. So to help you all understand how well we know each other, we grew up three houses apart on the same street. A cul-de-sac.
 
 [00:01:43]
 Yes. Our entire lives until we both moved out at different points to go to college. Our moms were pregnant at the same time. Isn't that right? Yes.
 
 [00:01:53]
 Okay. We were born two months apart. Oh, my gosh. Less than two months. I'm August.
 
 You're October. Yes. And my mom's August. And your mom's October. Exactly.
 
 [00:02:04]
 So that was helpful. So that's a lot about how well we know each other. So what we're going to start talking about today is your childhood pet. Okay. Tell us about the pet you had and whatever you want to explain to our listeners.
 
 [00:02:22]
 I will happily do that. So we were all set to talk about my dog, Marty, and as you asked me that question, I suddenly had a flash of two goldfish that we. And I wonder if they deserve a shout out. Absolutely. Okay.
 
 [00:02:37]
 So we have two goldfish, and I think maybe for a week, because that's what happens when you have a goldfish. And I distinctly remember that I had a gold one, and my brother had a white one with a gold cheek. And we sat in the kitchen window trying to name our new fish. The story is going to be very short, but I just had to share it with you because you'll appreciate it. And I named my fish Nancy, after Nancy Hampton, who lived across the street from us.
 
 [00:03:10]
 And my brother was having a hard time thinking of a name for his fish, so I told him to be creative and just look out the window at the first thing he saw. And so he needs his car. So he had two Goldfish car and Nancy. Oh, my God. That's hilarious.
 
 [00:03:26]
 That's all I remember about that. It must have been short because I do not remember Car or Nancy. That's so funny that that popped into my head. No, but the dog that we had. Growing up was a Boston terrier named Marty.
 
 [00:03:44]
 And this dog, I had no say in getting. My parents got this dog as a puppy when my mom was pregnant with me, right before they moved onto the street that we grew up on. Okay, so they had this dog before I was born. That's funny, because my dad got my mom the puppy before they got married that we had when I was born to the foo, which you will hear all about in another episode. How funny.
 
 [00:04:13]
 They were both puppies given from our dad's to our mom. That's pretty sweet. So basically, our mother's first children were dogs. Both of them. I wonder if there was a book at the time being passed around like.
 
 [00:04:24]
 Are you ready to have kids? You should start with a puppy, probably. It was the 70s. We won't give any specific numbers. We don't want to give away our age.
 
 [00:04:35]
 That's funny. I bet you there was a book. Now I wonder, did your dad do the same thing mine did? Call him your dog. As in, you need to pick up after Foofu.
 
 [00:04:46]
 Because this is what my dad did for us. Don't you take care of your dog. When we had no say in the matter? You know, I don't think so. Only because my dad loved foo foo our dog as much as she.
 
 [00:04:58]
 I said him, but she. So we both had female puppies that were our dogs. But my dad loved FuFu as much, if not more than my mother. Because every year at Christmas fufu got to share the box of seeds candy with my dad.
 
 [00:05:18]
 I knew later as an adult that chocolate is poisonous. A dog who could live to be 18, and she could sniff that seize box out from under the tree like nothing. We have pictures of him feeding her. It's not business. Aldo.
 
 [00:05:36]
 Guess not. I guess poodles are a special breed. Maybe they're okay with Bon bons or there were a lot of visits I didn't know about. Oh, my gosh, that is funny. Okay, so back to Marty.
 
 [00:05:51]
 And when we say Marty, you're not saying Marti like my last name. We are saying Mardi. Right? That's just a coincidence that my dog was Marty and you were Julie. Marty and we lived on Marty lane.
 
 [00:06:10]
 There was a point when I was really little, I thought maybe it was named after us. That's funny. So, Marty. Yes. M-A-R-D-I which we all know.
 
 [00:06:20]
 It's French for Tuesday. Did you know that her full name was Mardi Late? Which means tuesday, July 13. That was her full name, correct? Yes.
 
 [00:06:33]
 No, I did not know. But that does not surprise me. FYI, Karen's mom was a high school French teacher. Yes. And my maiden name is Busquet, which is French.
 
 [00:06:45]
 And again, I had no say in the matter. I did not name my job. Tuesday, July 13. That's so funny. You know what?
 
 [00:06:54]
 I'm going to put that full name in the podcast. I don't do respect. Do you know what is funny? Is that the first dog that my husband and I got now for our family, who you know very well, ginger Allegra. Yes.
 
 [00:07:09]
 Her birthday is July 13. No way. How crazy.
 
 [00:07:19]
 Marty sent her to you? I think so. Maybe so. They do have a very similar disposition. So Marty was a Boston terrier, and I think probably your listeners will know what that looks like now because it's a pretty popular breed now.
 
 [00:07:35]
 Kind of like French bulldogs. Right. So they have a squishy face and they're black and white, and they're very cute and very friendly. It's very easy going personality. But when we were growing up, that was kind of a rare breed.
 
 [00:07:49]
 Yeah. I don't remember seeing I remember Marty being very unique. Yes. Wasn't like a retriever or a Lab or cocker spaniels, which is what I always wanted. Yes.
 
 [00:08:01]
 Then you got it eventually. Yes. And it wasn't like today. I think you see a lot of bus interiors used in commercials and ads where that wasn't really something we saw back then. Yeah.
 
 [00:08:12]
 Kind of a funny looking dog. Squash face, which is fun. And skinny little legs. And no tail. Okay.
 
 [00:08:21]
 And 20 ears. A little stub of a tail. Yes. And when we would be out of town taking her on a walk or something, people would ask us all the time, what is that? Not even, what kind of dog is that?
 
 [00:08:34]
 Is that a rabbit? What is that? I remember Marty being kind of, like, a little weirdo. How funny. Yeah, she was funny.
 
 [00:08:44]
 The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Marty is when I would play the piano. She would sit and sing along the high notes. Probably it hurt her ears, but we. Thought it was hilarious, of course, because she would hal and sing along. That's so funny because we'll get to them, your current dogs.
 
 [00:09:04]
 One of them in particular, when there is piano music playing on the TV, will stop and look around and then go in the other room and look at the piano, like, Wait, is my mom playing the piano? Oh, my gosh. It's true. It could be something about their ears. That like, maybe super sensitive.
 
 [00:09:21]
 Pug has I don't know, maybe the breed. He does, though. Pug is very tuned in to piano music, specifically piano music, and has been from the beginning. That's funny. Marty would also scream and howl, kind of like Pug whenever the doorbell rings.
 
 [00:09:40]
 Oh, yeah. Do you remember my doorbell? Well, you didn't have a normal doorbell. It was like a song that went on for 30 seconds. I hated ringing that doorbell.
 
 [00:09:50]
 It was like I'm sorry. Anytime the doorbell ring was like, oh. People who don't know us because otherwise they wouldn't press that button. I need to knock. Yeah.
 
 [00:10:00]
 And luckily, your front door had a window in it, had a glass, so you could see them and be like, Hi, I'm here. I don't want to ring the doorbell. So Marty would sing with the piano, she would sing with the doorbell, and if we ever said the word kitty cat, if we looked outside or walked toward the door window and said, Marty, there's a kitty cat, her hair would go up, she would get a mohawk on her back, and she would sprint to the window and start howling and barking. I don't remember. Was she a big into toys or playing fetch or anything like that?
 
 [00:10:37]
 I don't remember her having toys in the house. That's what's funny, because we have so many in our house now. No. But she was for sure a tennis ball chaser. Okay.
 
 [00:10:46]
 And I think it's a breed of squish based dogs, maybe, that they have really powerful jaws, because you could pick Marty up by the tennis ball while she was still holding onto it and swing around. I don't remember her doing that, but I've seen that in, like, TV shows where they can do that. She definitely played fetch, and she was good on her walkies. I also remember being very patient because I would dress her up in Cabbage Patch kick clothes, and put her around in, like, dolly baskets and carts. She was very tolerant.
 
 [00:11:22]
 Yes. Did she swim a lot? She swims sometimes, which is also funny because our current dogs now cannot stand the water. They're very vague. They don't like the water.
 
 [00:11:33]
 But Marty was not opposed to swimming. And then when she got older in life okay. You might remember we grew up in a very hot place. So pools, and we still live here. Why?
 
 [00:11:47]
 I don't know. That's a whole different podcast, I'm pretty sure. And when we say hot, we beam. Literally every summer, we count how many days or weeks we have over 100. Kwh in a row.
 
 [00:12:02]
 And it's usually a lot like June, July, august is usually always 95 or higher. Yes. And often times like 105 or 110 or something crazy. That was just a normal where we. Lived on the street, we all had swimming pools, and we would just go from house to house.
 
 [00:12:21]
 Pool hopping. Yes. And you just get up and you don't get dressed. You just put on your baby suit. Right.
 
 [00:12:27]
 So you probably remember that you were able to just jump in. Right? And I took my sweet as time sorry, can you cut us on this podcast? It's okay. You can edit it out if you want to.
 
 [00:12:42]
 That's okay. I took my sweet time and be like one, two at a time. And it took a really long time. It was aggravating. So Marty, when she was older, would run around the pool barking as people were swimming.
 
 [00:12:55]
 And she would do this. She would fall in in the deep end when I was worried about her. So I would dive in to save her. And I think she did it on purpose just to get me in the water. Yes, because it works every time I would dive into save poor Marty.
 
 [00:13:14]
 She was a smart dog. She was pretty smart. She was just a tiny bit older than I was. So she passed away when she was 13 and I was twelve. Okay.
 
 [00:13:24]
 So that was 6th grade, I think. Yeah. That's funny. I do remember that now. But I also think part of the reason you didn't like to jump in is because you can't float.
 
 [00:13:35]
 I don't float. It's the thing we're saying. My dad doesn't either. But the dog was like, Just get in already.
 
 [00:13:45]
 She didn't tolerate nonsense. She was kind of a no nonsense dog. Yeah. So one of the strongest memories I have of Marty, unfortunately, is of when she passed away. Tell me.
 
 [00:13:57]
 Because Karen was distraught. And I remember coming down to her house. I don't know if it was the day off or a day later. And she'd come home early from school because the school called your mom saying she's hysterically crying and we can't calm her down. I don't remember that.
 
 [00:14:16]
 They had to bring you home because.
 
 [00:14:20]
 I can believe it. Right. I don't know why I remember that, but I just remember thinking she had sent home for crying. Only because I was a child that never cried. I cried.
 
 [00:14:32]
 Something was really wrong. Yeah. Oh, wow. But that you were just like so. Devastated for a very long time.
 
 [00:14:40]
 I guess marty's death was my first experience with death. Truly. I remember you were so upset to the point that you tried to get your dad to get another Boston terrier too soon, and it did not end well. You're right. Only because that Boston terrier was not Marty.
 
 [00:15:01]
 Oh, no. See, you just can't replace them. They are even if it's the same breed. That's right. So we had lady for three days.
 
 [00:15:09]
 Lady was very fat and she couldn't breathe very well. She had sinuso, so she was very snorty. And then when she slept very loud, snorer. So she would sleep in my room for these three days. For the three days, yeah.
 
 [00:15:23]
 Do you remember what happened with lady? My dad heard this thumping in the backyard. Bang, bang. And it was lady just ramming herself into the fence. She was a bit neurotic, that poor thing.
 
 [00:15:35]
 And I also remember that she either chewed or scratched something a lot while you gone during the day. And your dad was not going to have that. I'm not going to have that. She was definitely a dog that needed constant companions. Absolutely.
 
 [00:15:48]
 And she was older, and my parents had gotten Marty as a brand new puppy, so they trained her to their standards, which are high standards. They're pretty high.
 
 [00:16:12]
 Okay, we're back from a short break. We heard some snorting at the door, so I had to check on current dog. Okay. So we were talking about you trying to get a new Marty, but it didn't work out so well for the. Rest of my life, living at home, and even till now, my parents don't have another dog.
 
 [00:16:30]
 They pretty much think that Marty was the pinnacle. And, yeah, there was no replacing. No replacing. I know your dad considered cats at points, but it would only be outside cats, so he was never willing to go down that road again. So then when did you have your first pet as an adult?
 
 [00:16:50]
 Oh, that's interesting. Again, the fish. So in college, the fish is like a bee. I have to see what that means.
 
 [00:17:03]
 I'm sure that's what it is. So, in college, I had two different red beta fish. Okay. When we were in college, that betas were super popular. Yeah.
 
 [00:17:14]
 High school and college, we had some, too. My dad loved.
 
 [00:17:21]
 Fighting fish, I think. Is what they said. You were supposed to only have one. They would, like, kill each other. Right.
 
 [00:17:27]
 So I didn't have to. At the same time, I had one after another, and I believe the first one was called Rosebud, and the second one's name was Crimson Tide. Do you remember that? I don't specifically, but I absolutely would say yes. That was caring fish.
 
 [00:17:46]
 So I have those fish in college. And then when I was married the first time, my ex husband is a cat lover. I was always a cat lover. Always? First and foremost.
 
 [00:17:59]
 Yes, absolutely. My parents would never let me get one. So when my ex husband brought home this beautiful black kitty very young she wasn't even a year yet named Sasha. Oh, my world began. Absolutely.
 
 [00:18:18]
 And she was so sweet. Yes. And so regal. She was very sophisticated. Like, way too sophisticated for me.
 
 [00:18:26]
 But I loved I think the best thing about cats is when you nap, and they nap on you with you, and that purring. That's just healing. I think everybody needs a kitty to sleep on them in purr, and then everything is good. Well, in the world, we are all vibrations, and they talk about how purring they actually have scientific studies that have shown that purring is healing to oh, my God. Humans see, and sometimes cats even purr to heal themselves.
 
 [00:18:55]
 Sometimes cats who are in pain will purr because of that. It's like their own self soothing, but it's also their way of giving you love and telling you they like you. And I think your husband might be a little unhappy with me when you come out of the door.
 
 [00:19:17]
 My second son will be thrilled. Our son Hunter is an animal lover and he loves cats too. Oh, wow. Okay, so Sashi, she was a good girl. Sasha only had one name, so she was all black.
 
 [00:19:34]
 I don't know, probably green eyes or something. I don't remember her eyes very much, but she was very sophisticated. And then we got a second kitty who was a teeny tiny little gray tiger. I don't know what you call with the scrapes. Tabby.
 
 [00:19:51]
 Okay, so she was very small. I think she was probably a rent. And we named her Roxy after Chicago. Roxy was your tortoise shell one. Well, is that what she was?
 
 [00:20:02]
 Yeah, black and yellow. How many black and yellow? She was gray and black. Grey was black and white. She must have been yeah, too many cats in my head.
 
 [00:20:11]
 You've had a lot of cats in your life? Yes, but the third one thank you. You're welcome. You know the third one very well. And why he was named what he was joey joe.
 
 [00:20:22]
 Joe jo joe what? McIntyre. Correct. He didn't need a last name because he had one. Why did you say that name your first husband?
 
 [00:20:32]
 While Karen and I were attending a Joe McIntyre concert, tickets I had won on the radio. Yes, you used to do that. Thank you for including me. Yes, thank you again. Because we had been both huge new kids on the block bands.
 
 [00:20:50]
 And it was back when Joe McIntyre tried a single quarter and had a single and they were pushing it and had this small concert, and I said like small venue, 30 people maybe in a room, like in a hotel or somewhere. Remember how I bought him a beer? Remember how he said, I want a beer? And I'm like, come on, he brought him a corona. This is also a whole another story.
 
 [00:21:13]
 Karen may have had a viewed too many years before it because we were in the audience and she ran up to the stage multiple times. I mean, they realized we were in a small room, but the security realized they had to keep their eye on True. I love the picture that you took of me. Thank you so much. What I'm getting is autograph and I'm holding his hand and he has a desperate look in his face because my.
 
 [00:21:39]
 Hand is white knuckling. This is right before security has squirted me away. Why are we telling this? Don't worry, okay? Because all the while this was happening, your first husband was at home and found a cat in the dumpster.
 
 [00:21:59]
 Adorable little orange kitten that of course we wanted to keep. And so because of our experience at the same time, that cat became Joey Joe McIntyre. Joe McIntyre, he was so cute. He had the tiniest little pink he had like a tiny little person nose. It was pink.
 
 [00:22:18]
 Oh my gosh. And he was definitely a boy cat. You know what, he was a good boy cat. He was our first boy cat. And you know, Joey from Friends, he was like, that just like, big.
 
 [00:22:32]
 And he turned into this huge thing who loved to eat and was just so silly and playful. Yes. Oh, my gosh. But I also remember that he may have had an issue with peeing inside the apartment. Probably.
 
 [00:22:45]
 Yeah, that's the thing. Quick note, if you're going to get a cat and it turns out to be a boy, make sure you get them fixed as young as they can. I think at least £2 they have to be in order to get fixed because the earlier you fix them, the less spraying will happen. Okay. So all of our cats were fixed.
 
 [00:23:05]
 I do know that for sure. But maybe it's been like, a little too long to bring us back full circle to the piano. The piano I had in that house, in that apartment with our cats, I no longer have the piano music because the cats pee on it. And cat pee is forever. Even after all these years, I had to replace that piano music.
 
 [00:23:28]
 Yeah. That would say it was a good thing. Yeah. The cats didn't tune in like my dogs did when I played the piano. Yeah.
 
 [00:23:35]
 Might be different. I'd be interested to see how different animals respond. My cats don't necessarily respond to music. It's more of them responding at me, looking crazy, dancing around the house. That's more of what it is.
 
 [00:23:50]
 Love it. Yeah. And they're like, what's wrong with you? Cats are more judgmental. They are indefinitely judgmental.
 
 [00:24:00]
 But because Karen had these cats, I think it was before you got Joey that for my birthday one year, we went to our local county shelter, and I got to adopt my first cat because I had never had a cat. We grew up with dogs. My mom is allergic air quote, and I do believe she is. I've seen her have a reaction on the house, but I also think part of it is being afraid of cats. Okay.
 
 [00:24:32]
 Possibly tormented with one in her childhood that she doesn't remember. So she wasn't happy about me getting a cat. But I lived in an apartment, and that's what made sense. And so that's with my first cat, the one, the only Jack Sateen. Right.
 
 [00:24:50]
 Okay. Did you want to tell you I. Wanted to have a girl cat? I was told girl cats were better. What does better mean?
 
 [00:24:58]
 I don't know. Easier, better temperament. I don't know. Maybe because you had Sasha and she was so good, we thought, oh, girl cat. Yeah.
 
 [00:25:09]
 So I went, we're in the shelter and we found a cage that was full of kittens. I assume it was a litter. I don't know that they were all siblings. And there was one little fluffy one climbing up the door of the cage. And I'm like, oh, that one's cute.
 
 [00:25:28]
 And so we got her out and I asked the volunteer and said, Is it a girl? She flipped her up. Yeah, it's a girl. Here you go. Oh, good.
 
 [00:25:37]
 It's a girl. Well, it's hard to tell when they're really young. When I got her him about six weeks old. But a few days later, after I had been calling her Sateen. What was Sateen for?
 
 [00:25:57]
 La Rouge. Yes. Our favorite movie at the time. Very much so. Still one of our favorites.
 
 [00:26:04]
 So she was Sateen. Well, she never responded. Sateen I just thought, well, she's a kitten. She says, no, that's her name. Yet took her to the vet, and the vet is like, yeah, it's not a girl.
 
 [00:26:14]
 It's a boy.
 
 [00:26:17]
 So how does your mom heart feel at that moment when your child was not who you thought they were? I was like, what do you mean I have a boy. What do I do with it? It didn't really change anything, obviously, but really quickly that, yes, he was a boy, but he was a certain kind of boy. Finally decided on a name jack.
 
 [00:26:41]
 What was Jack for? Did you have somebody help you with his name? At the time, it was for Jack Daniels. I thought so. The favorite alcohol of my then boyfriend, now husband.
 
 [00:26:56]
 So the first time I said Jack, he turned his head right around and looked at me like, yes, you finally got it right. He figured it out. As soon as we started calling him Jack, he responded and he come to us. But soon I was learning that he really wasn't named for Jack Daniels. He was really named for Jack from Will and Grace.
 
 [00:27:16]
 That was his personality, just Jack.
 
 [00:27:21]
 He was a little flamboyant, and he was long haired and had this ginormous tail that you would just lay there and just loose it and look at you, like, fabulous. My husband would call him Mr. Pussy, and he would use an accent when he was voicing what he thought he was thinking in his head.
 
 [00:27:48]
 Yeah, he was a great guy. Yeah.
 
 [00:27:58]
 Really. My first roommate, because I was living alone in an apartment, and I lived with him for, like, nine or ten months, it was just the two of us. We were very bonded. And then my husband then boyfriend brought over a kitten that they had found in their backyard and tested it out. And Jack never had a problem with other cats he was happy with.
 
 [00:28:23]
 He loved people. He loved cats. That's awesome. He never was an issue. I could pick him up and take him place.
 
 [00:28:29]
 I'd take him to visit my grandma, take him to my parents house. And so that was social. He was very social, definitely. And a lot of times, cats are not. And so when people would come over, the other cats would leave, and he would be the one that would, like, come out, hey, here I am.
 
 [00:28:46]
 Pay attention to me. Who was the little one that your. Husband found that became Cosmo, also named for an alcoholic beverage at the time. Huge Sex and the City fans still am not into the reboot. FYI, we.
 
 [00:29:08]
 Wanted to name him Mr. Big because I loved Mr. Big, up until recently, at least. But then it was like, well, what if he's not a big cat? It doesn't make sense.
 
 [00:29:17]
 He didn't end up being a big cat, so it would have been fine. But instead, Cosmopolitan was huge, so he became Cosmo. And I would have to explain that to everyone because they would assume I named it after Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld. And I'm like, no. All these pop culture references.
 
 [00:29:33]
 Yes. That's so funny that we named our animals after all these pop culture things. That we were watching. And our third cat was, too. But our most recent cat wasn't.
 
 [00:29:43]
 Okay, your third cat. Our third cat, which was, let's see, that would have been after we were married in 2009, which we weren't married in 2009, but got Charlie in 2009. We found him abandoned in my parents'backyard. And he became an origin name story. He became our first bottle baby.
 
 [00:30:03]
 Yes. And I almost got divorced over me bringing him home. And then what happened? He became my husband's BFF. Literally followed him around like a little duckling.
 
 [00:30:13]
 Still does. So Charlie's origin story is we were huge fans of the show Lost, and Charlie is named after the character Charlie. I can't think of the actor's name who was also in the inbox no. Wait, no, that's Jack. Yeah, everybody said Jack and Charlie.
 
 [00:30:33]
 Okay. And the reason was, at the time, the episodes had just aired or were Erin, where Charlie dies. And he had been like a Pinnacle. Character British guy who was the Lord of the Rings. Yes.
 
 [00:30:44]
 Okay. I can't remember his name. And he died on the sub with the hand it's not Penny's Boat. And it was like this horrible death, and we all mourned him. So then oh, geez.
 
 [00:30:55]
 Charlie is just Charlie. Named for Charlie from Lost. I read that. And then my most recent cat, which is she'll be nine tomorrow because I rescued her from our backyard on my sister sorry, shauna 40th birthday. Oh, my goodness.
 
 [00:31:16]
 Yes. She'll be 49 tomorrow, so I might have to edit that out. And she is named Frenchie, not for Greece. Thank you. She's actually named after my grandfather.
 
 [00:31:30]
 That's right. My papa on my dad's side, whose nickname was Frenchy because he went by initials because he didn't like his name, which was Cashmere Marty, which is such. A freaking cool name. I know. So I named her Frenchie.
 
 [00:31:49]
 We went through a different name. We thought about naming her Squeakers because she has a very squeaky little meow. And there was something else. Well, we weren't sure. I think she was another one when we thought it was a boy.
 
 [00:32:03]
 Okay. So we named her Frenchie after my grandma because we thought. She was a boy, but it turned out she's a girl, too. But then Frenchie still works. And it does work.
 
 [00:32:11]
 She's like Princess Frenchie. I love it. Runs the world. That's so cool. And she's a tabby.
 
 [00:32:18]
 She's like, really true tabby with all the stripes. What is Charlie? He's a mix. There's definitely some bangle in him because he's got some big spots. But he also has stripes, and he has white.
 
 [00:32:30]
 Frenchie is a dark tabby. All her paws are black, and her whiskers are black and white. We're pretty sure her dad was a feral that roamed our neighborhood. It was a big, black, fluffy cat. Okay.
 
 [00:32:43]
 So we think that's where that came from. What color eyes do they have? Green. Both of them? Yes.
 
 [00:32:50]
 Okay. So I guess it turns out to be talking about my cat. That's okay. That's okay. Because I love the cats, and I'm living vicariously through your cat.
 
 [00:32:59]
 Yeah. So currently I have two cats and a tortoise. Okay. And currently I have two dogs, and. I don't even know how many anymore.
 
 [00:33:09]
 Birds, Hampshire, tarantulas. You have to have a dozen more. Than you can count. Wow. I tried to not count them.
 
 [00:33:17]
 That's really interesting. But there are two small ones in little boxes on my coffee table in the living room. Okay. The rest are in another room. I don't go in there.
 
 [00:33:26]
 That's interesting. I do hear the crickets that are in the laundry room, which are their meals. Yes. Wow. Do ever get to come out and eat?
 
 [00:33:37]
 No. They live in their cages. They do? Okay. I don't know if they have names, so why do I have tarantulas?
 
 [00:33:44]
 Because my husband likes tarantulas. When I met him, he had a tarantula that he then named Renee, which is my middle name. Oh, no. The first one was named Julie, and then that one died, and you got a new one, and that was named Renee. Julie just remembered another animal that I used to have in the same place with my cats.
 
 [00:34:02]
 Do you remember? I had a fish tank, but there was not a fish in it. Oh, you had an accelerometer that you got from my then boyfriend. Yes. So accolades are kind of like a salamander, but they live in water.
 
 [00:34:19]
 And at one point, it was like aliens. My husband bred them. Oh, my God. Yeah. They're used in research because they can regenerate their limbs.
 
 [00:34:31]
 Oh, my Lord. And actually have seen it happen. He had a big white one we named Twinkie. We had a white one with the red exterior, and his name was Powder. Oh, yes.
 
 [00:34:42]
 From the movie. Again, some pop culture. Yeah. Because at one point, he had hundreds because he was and he had all the tiny little babies. Oh, my God.
 
 [00:34:51]
 And he had everything. He had frogs and turtles. He really liked exotic animals. Yeah. I put my foot down at snakes.
 
 [00:35:00]
 There will never be snakes in my house for some reason. Transit don't bother me, I guess probably because he's had them the whole time I've known him, so I'm used to it. But there was a point after we got married that he brought him in. He was going to breed them. For what purpose?
 
 [00:35:16]
 To sell them. Okay. You can't really do that as much anymore because some of them are considered invaded species, but I'm not getting into all that. So he has them, he feeds them, he takes care of them, and they're in a room where the door shut mostly. He doesn't take them out to handle them or have them blown out.
 
 [00:35:35]
 The only thing I think he ever does is when they molt their skin, you have to take that out, and it looks like one of them, but it looks like they do. And he has started with babies, so every time they're growing, they have to molt so they can get bigger, and then they mold again so they can get bigger. I don't know if your listeners were. Prepared for this warning to cancel the content. Yes.
 
 [00:35:59]
 And the thing is, it looks like there's just another one. Where did that say come from? Yeah. Oh, my gosh. And it was funny because one time it happened and my husband goes, oh, that must be why he was eating so much.
 
 [00:36:14]
 He was getting ready to mow. I'm like? Yes, of course. That's why. Where do I live?
 
 [00:36:20]
 Yet I'm not allowed to have a dog. Yeah, that's a little bit partly because. We have very little yard, so I agree with that. And also because we have our tortoise, Rufus, and dogs and tortoise don't always get along. Oh, they don't?
 
 [00:36:34]
 Oh. What if he had a really tiny, tiny dog, though? Yeah, I don't know. It will happen someday. But right now we're not because Charlie is old.
 
 [00:36:42]
 He'll be 13 soon. He's a diabetic. He doesn't handle change well. Like Charlie or your husband. Both.
 
 [00:36:51]
 Yeah. And so we're just going to let him live out however much longer we get with them, hopefully years and not rock the boat. I think that's a good idea. Okay, so now that we had 20 minutes about cats, because we love them. Because cats yes.
 
 [00:37:09]
 We're going to talk about your current pets. Okay. Are you ready? Here we go. Because it's going to be a lot.
 
 [00:37:18]
 You're like, maybe they should make a cameo or something. Well, they keep one of them. They keep looking at the door.
 
 [00:37:26]
 My husband and I have been married for 15 years, and we have two children who are teenage boys, young teenage boys, and we let them know that they could get a job when we moved into our permanent house, which is the house we're living in now. So about eight years ago, January 8, July, we decided to get a family dog, and we went through a very long research process about what kind of breed would do well with young kids and would not be too small, but not too big. But maybe it would be kind of like a guard dog, but not like a ferocious thing. And plus, we wanted it to look cute and like a boxer, we want to look at it and be happy. But she needed to have a certain aesthetic for the family card.
 
 [00:38:12]
 It's true. We needed a certain aesthetic. You're right. Squishy face. And so a boxer, which is like, hands down, the only consideration.
 
 [00:38:22]
 So we rescued this little rent. Ginger is a rent Foxter when she was eight weeks old. Her name is Ginger Allegra, which was perfect, because when she was a puppy, she had these very long legs and she's very much a princess. Yes. She's not at all aggressive.
 
 [00:38:40]
 No. Sweet. She's the opposite. Yeah. We have a very hard time getting a second dog because she's so docile and submissive that she's a little cowardly.
 
 [00:38:53]
 Yes. And the only time she really gets upset is when she wants something. And like a cheese. Yes.
 
 [00:39:04]
 You may love. Or the water bowl is low. That's another dime. Or she just wants you to pet her. And she doesn't bark, she doesn't growl.
 
 [00:39:13]
 She whines. She wines and shakes herself like something's wrong. You just want to pick her up and save her. But she's too big to pick up. But yes.
 
 [00:39:21]
 That's the only thing she really does. She does wine a lot. When she was a puppy and we took her in for puppy classes, the teacher would tell us to use the little treats to get her to do something. But Ginger was not motivated by food. Yeah, she's not.
 
 [00:39:38]
 She actually lets her current dog eat her food. Yeah. And then looks at you like, why am I eating my food? It's like you're three times the size of it. Move miles away.
 
 [00:39:49]
 It's really funny. And it's strange that, like dogs, you would assume, and every other dog that I knew motivated by food. So she's motivated by love and attention, affection. Just petting her. Absolutely.
 
 [00:40:04]
 Looking longingly into her eyes. She likes to put her face right in your face. You know this very well. She likes to climb on top of you and put her weight across your chest and be like your mind can. You down face in your face.
 
 [00:40:15]
 Yes. That's Ginger. Yes. So she's a good girl. And then during quarantine, we made another decision in our family, which was to get a second dog.
 
 [00:40:27]
 And we wanted to rescue a dog. Yes. Because we have a conscience and we. Want to be good people. Right.
 
 [00:40:34]
 But I don't know if you know this. Everybody has the exact same plan in 2020. There were none to rescue. Right. Like, literally all of the shelters were empty.
 
 [00:40:44]
 We were looking outside of town. We were looking all over the state of California. There were no animals to rescue. We were just going to take any dog of any age. It didn't even matter what kind.
 
 [00:40:54]
 So when there were none to rescue, then we're like, okay, I guess we're getting ourselves I don't know. We're going to pick the kind that we want. Right. And so then we decided, what kind should that be? And so as a contrast to how we study for Ginger, we did no studying first we go, Pugs are funny looking.
 
 [00:41:18]
 Let's get one of those. And that was all the thought we put into it. What have we learned from that experience? Okay, so I wouldn't say that we regret it every single day of our lives. No, because Hug is a love hug.
 
 [00:41:32]
 He's a love bug, and you look at him, but he's a Pug. Why don't you tell us what you know of Pug? Because I know plenty. What's your experience with Pug? Well, now, I didn't get to meet Pug right away because corn.
 
 [00:41:48]
 It was real corn in the first month or two, you guys got puppet. Adorable, tiny little puppy. So cute. Love him. And at the time he was a puppy, it was, okay, he's a puppy.
 
 [00:42:02]
 I think I got to meet him on my birthday that year. So he was probably like a couple of months. Four or five months. Yeah. And he was crazy.
 
 [00:42:11]
 But he was so little and cute. And fun, and everything he did was so silly and funny. Right. Because he's a puppy. Isn't he cute?
 
 [00:42:20]
 And then what would have been less than a year later, like nine months later when they decided to go on their first trip, long term trip away from home, they're like, oh, no, Pug is still a puppy, and he needs a lot of attention. So step in. Auntie Julie's pets sitting at Anti. Julie's Pets sitting on Instagram. Thank you.
 
 [00:42:44]
 I had not done petsitting, like, as a job before, but I have done it for people. And at the time, I had the time and availability. So we set up for me to be Pugs sitter for it was, what, two weeks. Oh, my gosh. Was it really?
 
 [00:43:01]
 I think so. When you went to Minnesota and everything. That was a long trip. Yeah. We made one decision, which I don't think was the best, and we don't do that anymore, is you sent Ginger to your parents house thinking that, oh, I'll have my hands full with Pug.
 
 [00:43:18]
 But then Pug and Ginger missed each other, so that was harder. I forgot about that.
 
 [00:43:26]
 We should probably let the listeners know what Pug's real name is because we just call him Pug or Puggy or the Pug. His real name is Princeton Chocolate. Berenstein the Pug or Prince Cocoa Bear or Cocoa Coco. But mostly we just call him Pug. Yeah.
 
 [00:43:44]
 In the beginning, I mostly called him Coco. Yeah. But then I realized he really does respond more to Pug or Puggy. Once in a while, he'll look at you like when I say coco, but mostly it's Pug or buggy. Yes.
 
 [00:43:57]
 He's a black pug. Yes. And he has a tiny bit of gray on his neck, and he has a tongue that's too big for his mouth because it's always sticking out. And the perfect little curly, cute tail. Yes.
 
 [00:44:09]
 Which is how he gets away with. Everything on those cute little soft ears. Oh, my goodness. Yes. He's a very good snuggler.
 
 [00:44:18]
 Yes. Very loud snore. Snores really loud. You get right in your lap and just snoring and snore. And I would say at competition levels, nor dirt.
 
 [00:44:31]
 And the funny thing is, he'll be sleeping, but then he has to move to adjust. And it's like snort whenever he moves. Or if you move him, then you get like a mad snort. Like, how dare you make me move. Yeah, very expressive with a snort.
 
 [00:44:50]
 Okay. So what I learned quickly about Puggy was that you always have to have your eyes on him. If you don't have your eyes on him, he has his mouth on something. Eating something. Yes.
 
 [00:45:02]
 Including corners of rugs. Pug is motivated by food, as opposed. To Ginger, highly motivated by food and. Then also not food. He also thinks everything is food, correct?
 
 [00:45:13]
 Yes. Anything that is not food is also. Very few dog toys that survive more than a day with him. So true. Tennis balls are good.
 
 [00:45:23]
 Tennis balls are good. They last long, and he'll chase them. So the first day I was with Pug, just noticing he was scratching a lot, and I sat down on the couch, and he laid on me. We're getting comfy. Yeah.
 
 [00:45:36]
 We're going to get these pugnasts I've heard of. And all of a sudden, I see this little tiny black bug crawl across his backside. This is when we're 30 minutes away. Yes. They had literally just left, and Ginger was at the other house.
 
 [00:45:53]
 And I'm like, oh, my God, I forgot about that. So I checked. Yes. He wasn't infested or anything like that. It was a couple of Fleet that I saw.
 
 [00:46:02]
 And I have kind of traumatic response to that because somehow two of my cats at one point in the apartment thought, please.
 
 [00:46:21]
 Okay. Hello. We are back. We got cut off. I'm still learning.
 
 [00:46:26]
 And we were just about to tell the story of how I realized the pub had flee as Karen and her family were driving to La. To fly out on their trip the next day. Can I just tell you, we for sure did not do that on purpose. No. The only reason I noticed was he had chewed enough.
 
 [00:46:44]
 A little bit of his hair was gone. And so I saw the bug. Otherwise, you couldn't see black because he's black.
 
 [00:46:53]
 Man. So then we had to get all the information we needed. Inevitably, I took Pug and picked up Ginger from the other house, took them to PetSmart, and they got their baths and their flea medicine it was an. Adventure that involves my dad. He's not always a helpful person, so.
 
 [00:47:09]
 We appreciate that, but we got it done. And I learned a lot about pug. He's crazy and he'll eat anything, and he'll eat rocks. He will. He will.
 
 [00:47:21]
 So I was going to say really quickly one time, ginger with boxers, they have sometimes, like, hip problem stuff with her joint. So she needed some pain meds. And I accidentally dropped one of her pills when Pub was a puppy. And he came out from nowhere and. Hoovered it up, sucked.
 
 [00:47:40]
 It was gone before it even hit the ground. Oh, God. And so this is when he's a puppy. This medication was like, for a dog four times his size. We rushed him to emergency vet to get his stomach pumped.
 
 [00:47:52]
 And they called and said, does your dog ever eat things that are not food? We said yes, and they said, because we found sticks and rocks and cotton.
 
 [00:48:06]
 He does like to tear a toy up until he gets to the stuffing, and then he just choose and chews on it. And you have to pull it out of his mouth. But he doesn't chew on anything. He really will. Yeah.
 
 [00:48:18]
 So during that time, I think he chewed a corner of your rug. He chewed the cover off a few books, some piano music. Yes. Again with the piano music. Yes.
 
 [00:48:27]
 Piano. Jeez, am I playing that badly?
 
 [00:48:35]
 Yeah. But what we learned from that is pug and gender need to stay together because they are bonded, they play with each other. And I think what we lost that we had talked about jinger will play with him. She'll notice that he needs to be played with and grab a toy. She's not a big toy dog, but she'll grab a toy and shaking in front of his face, like, come on, let's play.
 
 [00:48:57]
 And then they'll climb all over each other and run around together. She knows when he needs to be occupied or when he's getting on mom's nerves, like, okay, I'll go handle him. She's a good babysitter. So now I'm the dog sitter for both. And it's much easier with both of them.
 
 [00:49:11]
 And Pub, as he's gotten older, he has gotten better. He can be on his own. He doesn't eat as much. But if it gets quiet and you. Can see the pugs, but you have.
 
 [00:49:22]
 To win something, he shouldn't be quiet. Is not what you want to hear. We'll find him immediately. And I think I remember that first year, so I hadn't been with him. I came over and we were going to eat in the backyard, and I took my shoe off, and it was literally like 2.5 seconds that I had set it to change my shoe.
 
 [00:49:43]
 And then Pub had the shoe in his mouth across the yard. What just happened? And you're like, oh, no, you can't live, publish. And I learned that the hard way too. He chewed up one of my no.
 
 [00:49:58]
 I get to wear them, my older birkenstock, but then they become my dog sitting, too. They're the ones I wear in the backyard with dogs, because then nothing is okay if something bad happens to them. So two days from now that we're recording Pugs turning two. Yes. So my husband, I was telling you, is worried about what the terrible twos will mean for Pug, because what have we been experiencing up to this point?
 
 [00:50:24]
 I don't know what it could be. I think it would be terrific, too. Yes. How about that? That's it.
 
 [00:50:31]
 He is so much better. He's so much better, and he needs his energy out like so many dogs. They have to have their enrichment, and they have to run, and they have to play. And then when he doesn't, he's the best metal bug, and he will lay on you, near you, on top of your head. And he also knows, because I know he sleeps with your boys sometimes, too.
 
 [00:50:54]
 When I say going to bed, he's like, okay, we're going to bed. Although when you try to get him to put him on the bed because he can't get on himself, then he thinks it's a game, and he thinks you're trying to play chase. He's so good at keep away. You can't catch me. His favorite game is you can't catch me.
 
 [00:51:12]
 But he has learned, like, that if I walk over to this side of the bed, okay, if I walk over there, you're going to come pick me up and put me on the bed. I've noticed that. And you're sitting there like, can we just go to sleep already? And sometimes she stays in the living room just to get a break.
 
 [00:51:30]
 And I will be watching them this summer again. So I'm sure we'll have some new stories to come and tell. You get two solid weeks. It's going to be yeah, it's over two weeks. 4 July again.
 
 [00:51:45]
 Okay. We're going to be out of the country, so you're going to have to contact my parents. I can't help you. I will be away. Every time I do an order at Target in, my favorite things are tennis balls.
 
 [00:51:59]
 I go, Remember, I got to stock up on those before buggy, because tennis balls never fail with him. If they're squeaky and you throw them inside, outside, whatever it is, I will be a prepared dog sitter. Okay? My parents will be home for backup. Yes.
 
 [00:52:20]
 But it was Pug that turned me into a dog sitter because he was my first to be like, hey, I can do this as a living. My full time real job is as a career and life coach, but I can do that from anywhere via Zoom. I have done that at Pug's house and other people's houses. Cool. And I enjoy it.
 
 [00:52:40]
 And when people say, oh, well, you have to really watch this with this dog, or she's a little old, and. I'm like, Believe me, I handled the bug. Anything I remember, we would say, it was like, you guys were my trial by fire. And anybody else like, no, I got this. It's good.
 
 [00:52:59]
 Okay, good. I'm glad we can do that for you. Yes. Okay, so we're going to wrap up this episode and mention one of the rescue organizations that we follow that you mentioned. One that you have?
 
 [00:53:13]
 Yes. We follow one called Boxers Mutts and Wiggle Butts, which is just so cute because that's what boxers do. They are the legally little buds, and. You can follow them on Instagram, Instagram and Facebook. And they frequently will feature a doggie who's getting ready to be rescued or available for rescue.
 
 [00:53:35]
 Great. So if anybody is interested in a boxer, check that out. And I will include links to their social media and the information on this podcast. Awesome. Okay.
 
 [00:53:45]
 Thank you, Karin, for being here and talking about all of our pets. We talked about all of them. That was so much fun. This may be more than one episode. Maybe so.
 
 [00:53:54]
 Yes. Thank you. That was a fun trip down memory lane.
 
 [00:53:58]
 I will talk to you all soon on the next episode