Dog Save The People

Kristen Kidd is a photographer who launched the Woman’s Best Friend Project to share the dynamic bond between women and their canine companions as a riff on the traditional “Man’s Best Friend” idea. With it, she wanted to create a community of inclusion and understanding. Kristen has photographed dozens of women and their dogs as part of the project, covering important stories of the furry and female relationship. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - The Woman’s Best Friend Project website - https://www.womansbestfriendproject.com - The Woman’s Best Friend Project on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/womansbestfriendproject - Kristen Kidd Photography website - http://www.kristenkiddphotography.com - Kristen Kidd Photography on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kristenkiddphotography - Kristen Kidd Photography on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kristenkiddphotography - Kristen Kidd Photography on Twitter - https://twitter.com/photo_kidd - Harley’s Haven Dog Rescue - https://www.harleyshavendogrescue.com - Brandywine Valley SPCA - https://bvspca.org

Amy Shelle is the Founder of Dogs for GRETA, which trains service dogs for survivors of sexual assault diagnosed with PTSD. Usually, civilians have few options for service dog training as it is typically reserved for veterans. As a sexual assault survivor, Amy recognized an unmet need for services dogs for people with similar situations to hers. With degrees in animal science and social work, she brought that experience together to create an organization with a specialized service dog training program. The organization’s name was inspired by her previous dog, Greta, who was the first dog she worked with to help her heal, overcome trauma, and move forward with life. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Dogs for GRETA website - https://dogsforgreta.weebly.com - Dogs for GRETA on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DogsForGRETA - Dogs for GRETA on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsforgreta

Jenni Williams’ husband was serving in the British Army, which led them to move to the U.S. on assignment for a period of time. Due to the circumstances, Jenni was unable to work with her visa status. To use her time, she decided to do volunteer work instead, landing on fostering. It turned out to be one of the most important decisions she ever made. Over time, Jenni ended up taking in 15 dogs over the years. Later, she had a daughter, Eve, who was born with a severe disability of a very rare chromosome condition, as well as epilepsy. However, even though Eve is only able to show love in a nonverbal manner, Jenni is able to understand the nontraditional communication thanks to her canine soulmate, Jess, and the other dogs she had fostered. All of these experiences inspired her to write a book: Rescued — Adventures with Down and Out Dogs. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Rescued: Adventures with Down and Out Dogs book on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Rescued-Adventures-Down-Out-Dogs/dp/1695093143 (free on Kindle Unlimited) - Jenni Williams on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jenniwdog - Jenni WIlliams on Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenniwdog - Frederick Animal Control and Adoption Center (FCAC) - https://frederickcountymd.gov/15/Animal-Control

Jake Windell is an LA county firefighter who has a therapy dog, named Echo, who he brought into his fire station to help make a difference in the ongoing mental health crisis of the fire world. Firefighters are often seen as a tough group, where it can be sometimes hard to break down emotional walls. They risk their lives daily to save others and 1-in-5 firefighters actually suffer from post-traumatic stress or cumulative stress injuries (and even that is underreported, as it’s still not common to report this type of injury). However, through the Peer Support Team that Jake is involved with, they are trying to make actionable changes to address mental health. One of the successful efforts so far has been with Echo, where having a dog around provides comfort to the firefighters and allows them to feel more comfortable to talk about how they may be handling emotional distress. (Lindsay Bird, one of our West Coast Correspondents from Deity Animal Rescue, takes on hosting duties for this conversation) - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Echo The Fire Dog on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/echothefiredog - Patriotic Service Dog Foundation website - https://www.patrioticservicedogfoundation.org - Patriotic Service Dog Foundation on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/22tozerodogs - Patriotic Service Dog Foundation on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/patrioticservicedogfoundation

Lizz Whitacre is the Founder and CEO of Pawlytics, a cloud-based software for animal shelters and rescues who want to save more dogs. Lizz has always been interested in animals and got her first dog at 13, the oldest and most unadoptable one she could find. And while she gave them another chance at life, that dog then inspired her within the short few years they were together. A fuel started within Lizz, then 15, for a mission to help dogs and animals everywhere. By her senior year of high school, she became the co-owner of a Minnesota rescue shelter that she had started volunteering at. After pursuing different self-started companies and endeavors over the years within the industry, she is today running Pawlytics (a culmination of all her experience) with the aim of implementing an innovative and modern software system for the animal welfare industry in order to help have the most efficient process in place everywhere to find homes for every dog that needs one. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Pawlytics website - https://pawlytics.com - Pawlytics on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Pawlytics - Pawlytics on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pawlytics - Pawlytics on Twitter - https://twitter.com/pawlytics

Isabel Serna is the founder of Black Lamb Studio, a Miami-based design studio. She recently published a book, Dog Mom: A Love Story, that she wrote and illustrated. It was based on her experience with her dog, Charlie, a french bulldog who she got when she was 30 and who completely changed her perspective on being a nurturer and caregiver – even preparing her for eventually becoming a loving and caring Aunt to a recently born niece.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Black Lamb Studio, Isabel’s studio - http://www.blacklambstudio.com - Isabel Serna’s Dog Mom: A Love Story book on her website - https://www.blacklambshop.com/products/dog-mom-book - Shop for Black Lamb Studio, with other dog products from Isabel - https://www.blacklambshop.com - Special Offer: Use the code DOGSAVETHEPEOPLE for 15% off anything in the Black Lamb Studio shop - Black Lamb Studio on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/blacklambstudio - Black Lamb Studio on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/blacklambstudio - Amazon page for Dog Mom: A Love Story book - https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Mom-Story-Isabel-Serna/dp/1523508108

Hope Dawson is a mother of two kids and a wonderful dog, Coco, who all come together to be a family. After going through a domestic violence situation, Hope was able to go to the People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) program in New York City at the Urban Resource Institute (URI), where they were able to stay together. Coco helped Hope, and the kids, during this unsettling time and gave them much-needed support to get through it. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Urban Resource Institute (URI) website - https://www.urinyc.org - Urban Resource Institute (URI) on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/uri_nyc - Urban Resource Institute (URI) on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/URINYC - Urban Resource Institute (URI) on Twitter - https://twitter.com/URI_NYC - People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) - https://www.urinyc.org/uripals - Previous episode with URI CEO, Nathaniel Fields, and PALS Director, Danielle Emery - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/uri-pals-nathaniel-fields-danielle-emery

Dr. Chris Blazina is a licensed psychologist, retired professor, and award-winning author. He has been in practice for nearly 25 years, focusing in particular on men and their depression, anxiety, life transitions, grief & loss, relationship problems, and pet bereavement. In his work, Chris has found dogs to be an important companion and part of a male’s life that is not able to be found in the same way as with any human. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Dr. Chris Blazina’s website - http://www.chrisblazinaphd.com - Dr. Chris Blazina on Twitter - https://twitter.com/DrChrisBlazina - Dr. Chris Blaizna’s book When Man Meets Dog: What a difference a dog makes! on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/When-Man-Meets-Chris-Blazina/dp/1845848799/ - Dr. Chris Blaizna’s book Men and Their Dogs: A New Understanding of Man's Best Friend on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Men-Their-Dogs-Understanding-Friend/dp/3319300954/ - Dr. Chris Blaizna’s book Clinician's Guide to Treating Companion Animal Issues: Addressing Human-Animal Interaction on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/012812962X - Dr. Chris Blaizna’s book The Psychology of the Human-Animal Bond: A Resource for Clinicians and Researchers on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/The-Psychology-Human-Animal-Bond-Researchers/dp/1461461960 - Dogs Deserve Better - https://dogsdeservebetter.org

Rabbi Gadi Capela leads the Congregation Tifereth in Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island. Throughout his life, he has had a strong connection to dogs – from always having them as a kid to having several since in his adult life. During his studies and life experience, he has learned about why dogs have such a strong connection to us as humans. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople 

This is a special episode of Dog Save The People with two guests from the same organization. First up is Nathaniel Fields, the CEO of the Urban Resource Institute (URI). It’s a nonprofit organization that has done crucial work in the New York City community for 40 years now – including the development in the past decade of People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) program under URI. The creation of PALS in 2013 made it the first pet-friendly domestic violence shelter in NYC. Second up in the episode is Danielle Emery, the Director of PALS. Today, it serves as an important and safe place for dog-owners suffering from domestic violence to be able to escape to and stay together with their dogs, who play a crucial and important role as part of their family in the healing process. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Urban Resource Institute (URI) website - https://www.urinyc.org - Urban Resource Institute (URI) on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/uri_nyc - Urban Resource Institute (URI) on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/URINYC - Urban Resource Institute (URI) on Twitter - https://twitter.com/URI_NYC - People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) - https://www.urinyc.org/uripals