The Animal That Changed You

Spurred by a bothersome text exchange between Jenny’s rescue friend and a local person who wanted to rehome four puppies, in this week’s episode, Katya and Jenny find themselves discussing what it takes emotionally to be in the field of animal welfare. The toll, the toil, and the tribulations.

They share their feelings about how to deal with privileged people and the ways in which humans justify their ideas about animals, the struggle to resist the urge to numb out in this line of work, as well as the importance of healthy detachment so we don’t carry all the pain around constantly.

This convo helps the duo lean into announcing the big changes coming at The Animal That Changed You, why it was time for this change to be made, and what they hope for with their new podcast: Somebody Save Me! Because at the end of the day, it's the triumphs that keep us going when it comes to saving lives. 

Katya and Jenny would love for you to let them know that you’re coming with them over to the new show and invite you to share what you think about it by emailing them at [email protected]. Get used to that new address and get in touch! And to Ophelia, dear Ophelia, the one who started it all - a forever love. RIP here, there, and everywhere.

The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook will remain open to you -- feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

Bully breeds - we love them, we’ve taken the time to educate ourselves about them, and we can talk about them until we’re blue in the face. But not everyone is as open-minded when it comes to these particular kinds of dogs.

Because of two upsetting meet and greets Jenny had to deal with recently, this week Katya and Jenny find themselves discussing how peoples’ negative biases can affect Pitbulls, even when they’re precious little wee pups. The duo shares about their own positive experiences with bully breeds and their own frustrations with people who make automatic assumptions. They also talk about the shift from The Animal That Changed You, which is ending, toward their new podcast: Somebody Save Me, which launches in a week! It's bittersweet but purposeful, and Jenny and Katya hope you'll join them on the ride because they're in it for you, hopefully with you.

And if you have more than one bully breed dog, they especially want to hear from you! How did you navigate the relationship between your dogs? How do you navigate other peoples' biases? Listen to this episode and then email your bully stories and tell K&J all about your bully love at: [email protected] 

Also don’t forget to follow the new socials at @somebodysavemepodcast on Instagram and TikTok! The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook will remain open to you --  feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

Whether you’re in the rescue world as a non-profit business or a for-profit business wanting to help non-profits, there are two common driving forces: passion and community. To dive into these topics more, Katya and Jenny are joined by Jonathan Weiner of The Mutt Dog, a clothing and apparel brand that helps raise funds for shelters.

With Jonathan’s perspective from a for-profit business and Jenny’s perspective from a non-profit, the three of them discuss the possibility of blending passion and business. Not only does it raise the questions of, “Can it be done?” but how it can be done to create a social impact.

Tune in to hear Jonathan’s insights as an entrepreneur with a brand in its early stages and the pain points it comes with, how Jenny and Katya can relate as they pivot the podcast, and why they all think “mixed breed is the new breed.”

To be part of a community that wants to provide support to shelters around the world, check out the clothing and apparel at www.themuttdog.com and be sure to follow @themuttdog on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok!

To keep up with what’s coming next for The Animal That Changed You, subscribe to the show and tell all your animal-loving friends, too!

Join The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook -- we're waiting to welcome you! Feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

The ability to see all dogs as perfect just the way they are -- this the blessing and the curse of an animal rescuer. To them, no dog is unsavable despite their challenges, but even though the rescuer may not find things problematic, others often do. And rescuers need adopters to keep on going.

This creates a delicate balance within the animal welfare community. Honesty is essential in order to build trust, in order to find each animal their right match. But that doesn't mean it's an easy or quick process. In this episode, Katya and Jenny tackle the topic of transparency.  How can we build dependable relationships with fosters and adopters while giving animals the best chance possible to find a family? How can we build trust with our dogs too, and never sacrifice the value of saving lives?

Other topics come up too in this episode from discussing a future Animal Care Expo trip to New Orleans to the upcoming changes to The Animal That Changed You podcast; from the reasons why social media can be detrimental to peoples’ perception of dogs to how breathwork can benefit the animal welfare community. You know how this duo does it - they bring it all, they swing wildly, and they open their arms wide to hold you close. Listen and feel the hug.

To keep up with what’s coming next for The Animal That Changed You, subscribe to the show and tell all your animal-loving friends, too!

Join The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook -- we're waiting to welcome you! Feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let go of all that pressure you’re putting on yourself to create a perfect environment as a foster, as a rescuer, as a human with an animal you love! Okay, whew, we all needed that! Especially for this week’s episode where Katya and Jenny get vulnerable about the strenuous emotions surrounding animal welfare and animal activism.

From Katya acknowledging how weighed down she can get by negative thoughts (and normalizing that no one is above being affected by it) to Jenny sharing how imposter syndrome shows up in the world of animal rescue, these ladies waste no time getting real and raw in this conversation.  There is the recounting of a harrowing New Year’s Day mishap. There is the reality of a match not working out when it comes to fostering dogs and how we can recover from admitting when a dog is not forever pet for us.

Jenny and Katya dig into topics like how to confidently show up in rescue even after you fail,  how not trusting yourself or your animal feels and affects them (and you,) the immense difficulty in having to say “no” to saving lives, and how social media can impact the progress of animal welfare for better and for worse. If you’ve ever found yourself asking, “Why am I doing this?” as it pertains to loving or helping animals, you're not alone. The two women are here for you...and this episode is dedicated to you. 

Join The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook -- we're waiting to welcome you! Feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

Opting to take a holistic approach to care for your dog or any animal versus utilizing conventional medicine might seem too ”woo-woo” for some people. But not for Katya, Jenny, and this week’s guest, Dr. Heather O’Leary, a holistic veterinarian with her own practice, TessaLoo Veterinarian Services, in Olivebridge, NY.

Dr. Heather joins Katya and Jenny to share stories about how she came to be a holistic veterinarian and the animal who led her down this path. She also shares what practicing homeopathic medicine actually looks like, why it is both similar to and different from regular veterinary care. Noting the differences raises questions about whether or not this approach to animal care is equitable for rescues and shelters, for everyone. And this turns the conversation towards the best ways that dog or cat parents can advocate for their animal's care regardless of what kind of medicinal practice it is. Jenny and Katya ask: What should they look for in a veterinarian? What about when a holistic vet is not available? Dr. Heather answers: It is always a personal decision. You are the expert on your own pet. She'll soon be releasing videos to help more people have access to her type of approach.

So if you’ve been wondering just what a holistic approach for pets looks like, you’ll want to listen to this discussion! If you want to learn more about the challenges that veterinarians face day in and day out, Katya and Jenny recommend listening to their friends over at The Vets Unleashed podcast. Lastly, if you want to help support a litter of seven puppies that Katya’s friend rescued from the middle of nowhere, donate to Better Together Dog Rescue and include the note, “Seven Pups from the Pines”.  Because it's all about saving lives here at TATCY, all of us in it together, with you.

Join The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook -- we're waiting to welcome you! Feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

When it comes to marketing animals for rescue, what works without making people feel guilty or obligated? How do you ensure your campaign is cute or funny, direct, and never boring? Jamie Ruden, the founder of Be Spotted and Dog Spotted, joins Katya and Jenny in this episode to share her expertise on the best ways to market rescue dogs.

Jenny and Katya seek advice on how to market pets that may be considered challenging, troublesome, or highly dependent. Jamie provides tips on which marketing strategies work to attract the right fosters or adopters in these kinds of situations and more. Jamie also talks about the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) and how to use keywords in marketing descriptions, emphasizing the need to be as clear and detailed as possible. 

Finally, Jamie highlights resources that offer education and support as well as build community among other fosters and adopters. Finally, the trio talks about why investing in a marketing coach or a life coach is necessary to uplevel personal and business goals. 

If you want to learn more about marketing tools and resources for small pet businesses and pet solopreneurs or if you are seeking information on how to connect with other animal lovers–this conversation is especially for you! 

Join The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook -- we're waiting to welcome you! Feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

Here’s a hard truth: whether we do it intentionally or not, we tend to think of rescue dogs as “broken." It may not be a conscious thought. It might not be deliberate. But our behaviors often show that this belief is there inside of us. This week we're bringing back Brittnie Battle of Charlie’s Angels Saving Animals (CASA), a 501c3 non-profit rescue transport organization in Tennessee, to share insight on how we can look inward and shift our mindset about rescue dogs.

Jenny and Katya catch up with Brittnie and explore a wide range of topics from kennel cough to caring for sick dogs to how shelters with limited resources do it, how they go on, when they can sometimes barely meet the basic needs of the animals in care. The trio discusses if these same dogs, many who experience a reality of scarcity in their environment, can bounce back and heal from the learned desperation and possibly from learned resource guarding, and how that kind of guarding may differ from dogs with a genetic predisposition to resource guard. 

Still, these ladies manage to keep things lighthearted and get back to chatting about whether “ugly” dogs (and cats) exist. Spoiler alert: they do! But they insist that there's magic to ugliness and that of course it doesn't mean these animals are any less lovable. Brittnie even shows how “ugliness” can be embraced by introducing Katya and Jenny to Mandu the Warthog Dog! Finally, Brittnie, Jenny, and Katya reveal their New Year resolutions and invite their listeners to donate and help CASA Transport and Better Together Dog Rescue reach their 2023 goals.

Happy new year, wonderful community of animal lovers. Big changes are coming next year and we can't wait to share more with you. Join The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook -- we're waiting to welcome you! Feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

If you’ve ever considered fostering a dog, this episode with Katya and Jenny might be the one that convinces you to do it. Jenny gets real about the sucky part of fostering and how she recently dealt with the pain of letting a foster go.

But then they dive into why you should try fostering, shedding light on how fostering a dog doesn’t just help animals; it’s something that is actually a beautiful gift that adds love, purpose, and connection to your life, even if it doesn’t turn out to be a forever fit.

In this episode, Katya and Jenny also share updates about next week’s live New Year’s episode, next year’s Animal Care Expo in New Orleans, upcoming workshops, a big grant Better Together received from Tito’s Vodka for Dog People, and where to donate if you have the means for end of the year donations.

If you're on the fence about fostering a dog or unsure how it can impact your life, this conversation is for you.

Join The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook -- we're waiting to welcome you! Feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much!

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.

Can the spirits of our beloved animals overlap? How connected are we to our beloved pets? Have you ever looked into an animal's eyes and thought… “I know you”?

In this episode of The Animal That Changed You, author, comedian, singer, and lifetime dog lover Alisha Gaddis joins the show to talk about manifesting dreams, spirit animals, and the animal who changed her, a childhood dog, a true love in her life, Duke. She tells Jenny and Katya how Duke passed while she was in college, and how she knew it, she felt it, on the very night he died as she dreamed a vivid dream of running and playing in a meadow with him. The next morning, she got the call that he’d passed, and as Alisha recounts the sacredness of their connection, you can practically hear Jenny's' goosebumps. Then Alisha opens up and talks about how since the passing of her brother, anytime she needs him, he comes to her in the form of a hummingbird, something Katya can relate to because Ophelia manifests for her all the time, all over the place, especially when she asks for her.

This is episode is full of dualities. Woo woo but grounded. Touching yet funny. It's Alisha standing for the connection to the animals we love and Jenny and Katya standing for the connection to the animals who save us, and yet despite this earnest, deep appreciation, it's also just three women talking about rocking a pair of stilettos to school drop-off and the importance of fancy dresses. Because animal people aren't always what meets the eye. And neither is an animal's soul.

If you have any stories of your own connection to your spirit animal or the spirits of your pets, email  [email protected] so Katya and Jenny can share it right here, on the podcast!

Join The Animal That Changed You community on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook -- we're waiting to welcome you! Feel free to check out the website while you're at it.

Please leave a rating or review of the show. Your support matters so much! 

Woof, meow, oink, moo, cheep (of course, you know that means thanks for listening.

Produced by Adode Media; a full-service podcast production agency.