Welcome to Big Blend Radio's Pet Connection Podcast, where every third Wednesday we celebrate our furry, feathery and scaly friends. Welcome everyone to another episode of the Pet Connection here on Big Blend Radio. Of course, we've got Angela Laws, the community manager of trusted house sitters.com, and if you don't know about them, you should go check it out, trusted house sitters.com. Today, we are very excited to welcome author Allison Rand to the show to talk about her new memoirs called Walking Allison, a poodles most true story of helping her human navigate life. Okay, so we know that our pets, our fur babies or scaly ones, it could be cuffed ones, you know, they really do guide us. They don't often tell us what to do, but they do guide us, right? And they don't, they're just basically this amazing friend in life, family member. And I think this book is really part of it. It's a follow up from her memoir called A Place Called Grace. So first, I'm going to say, Angela, welcome back. You're in England today, not Scotland. You're always in a new place. Welcome back. Thank you. Hi, Lisa and hi, Allison, and it's always good to be here and talk about our favorite subjects, which is animals. And yes, I am here in in Brighton, England. I know I didn't drive. I flew down from Scotland today. And then I'm about to start. I am starting a sit looking after a seven month old labrador puppy called Lenny. And his mom and dad leave tomorrow. So I'm here with them this evening and have been this afternoon, learning the ropes and learning the house. And they leave them very, very early in the morning. And so Lenny is downstairs with them and I'm upstairs talking to you. But yes. Oh, I love it. It's adorable. Nancy and I just arrived in Tucson. See everyone? This is so funny how this happens. We just arrived in Tucson last night, Tucson, Arizona, driving from North Carolina, Asheville. And we've, you know, Eva is part of trusted house sitters and she is on our shows all the time. She's, she gets our mail. She helps us be digital nomads. And she has a new puppy. So last time we were here was in the fall of last year and sadly her pup Sarah passed and went over the Rainbow Bridge. And we knew Sarah from a puppy and she had 12 good years. And also a rescue from a pound and poppy. We could work singing poppy, the puppy. If you know that song anyway, she's just about two years. But you know, she's a pound dog. So we don't know. She's been fostered a couple times. But you find things out. She's been obedient strength, but she is full of energy. She's part bit pull. She is the sweetest, most loving dog full of energy. So playtime is at the max and it's exciting to be around her and we're so happy that they are on going on their trip. There's a significant trip that they're going on. And we're so happy that they're leaving her here for us to play with. Because honestly, it's part of our travels is like who are we going to be play with now. For three days we haven't had a dog in our life, you know? It sucks. We can't go three days without dogs. It really sucks. So in that mode, I want to bring our guest on. We've got Alison Rand and I want to say Ron's because I used to live in South Africa and it would be a lot. But Alison Rand is here. And again, talking about her newest memoir, Walking Alison of Poodles, the most true story of helping her human navigate life. So welcome to the show. How are you, Alison? Oh, hello, Lisa and Angela. It's wonderful to be here with you. Thank you so much. So do you understand that need of having to have a dog in your life every day? Like could you go three days, five days a week without any dog contact? I couldn't. It would make me really depressed and very stressed. My dog keeps me balanced as you'll hear when I talk about my new book. It's amazing what dogs do for human beings. We so underestimate the power of the human animal bond, in my opinion. So when I talked about you in the beginning of this, I talked about the power of dogs, how they don't really tell you what to do, but they could guide you, right? And they don't like, you could be going through something and maybe you've done something wrong, but they just kind of look at you saying, I'm still here for you. Do you agree with that? And yet they will still guide you on some different paths. Oh, she literally all the time, actually. And that's why my book, the second, my second memoir is called Walking Alison. It's from her point of view because she really walks me. She guides me through my life as you'll hear about this book. She's guided me through severe illness, through internet dating, through falling and loving, through my life and through a lot of loss as well. And she really is the leader of our path. I mean, I am her mother, her momma, her human mama, but she guides me more than almost any friend I've ever had. Then at the beginning of the book, and I'm not all the way through, so just hold on. And because I don't want to, no spoilers because Nancy and I are both terrible at like now we'll tell everybody everything. Well, that's why I want everybody to know everything. But the reality is, you know, in the beginning you show about Daya, your poodle and how she reacts to being, you know, a little puppy with her babies, her siblings, not her babies, her siblings and what it's like and how she's like this person, you know, it's very interesting how you did that. Your first memoir is from your voice and then you chose like Daya on this time. Tell us about that strategy of what made you think I'm going to do it from her voice. Well, when my first memoir ended, it's called A Place Called Grace, a number of people who read it wanted to know what happened to me because it ends in a bittersweet way. It's definitely not a fairytale ending. And as I contemplated how to write a continuing memoir, I knew there was a lot more to say, I just didn't feel that telling it from my own point of view was the way to go. So I decided that my beloved dog, Daya, who knows me as well, if not better, than I know myself should be the narrator and tell my story, which does intertwine with her own story. And actually we're born on the same day. We're both born on April 2nd, so she's born on my birthday and I knew it was meant to be at that point. And she was actually born just six weeks after I lost my first dog, Alba, who I talk about at the end of my first memoir, which just devastated me more than we can say as we all understand. So she was born on my birthday and oh boy, from the time I met her, the breeder said that she was hoping that I'd be home a lot and I said, yeah, I'll be home a lot. She said because this one has real separation anxiety. She cannot be alone and that was made clear to me from the time she was six weeks old. And that was very, very difficult in the beginning of our relationship together. Oh my lord, it was crazy. I didn't know that I could do it, but I got trained. Ah, this is so fascinating. Tell us a little bit about what your first memoir covered in your life. My first memoir was called a place called Grace. And as I said, it was very bittersweet and open and honest memoir of finding my resiliency after so much loss through the help of a quirky octogenarian aptly named Grace. And in this story, I was the narrator, as we said, and I was a struggling actress in New York City. And after a divorce, I was feeling completely unmoored and needed this major adventure. So I made this bold decision, I guess you could call it that, to leave New York and move alone alone to Rome, Italy, where I knew no one. I didn't speak the language well or have any work lined up. But I made a life there until this terrible accident forced my return home. But while back in New York, I went through a series of terrible personal losses, including a health scare. And I was floundering until this woman, Grace, this quirky octogenarian came into my life. And she helped me get my resiliency back. So it's in a way the opposite of eat, pray, love, or under the Tuscan Sun, where we all have moved to Italy after a divorce, trying to find ourselves. And I don't end up with Prince Charming, but I ended up with, for me, something more important, my resiliency through this wonderful, wonderful woman. And you know, as I said, a lot of people wanted to know what happened to me after that, because it doesn't end on a perfect note, it's very bittersweet. So you're not Disneyland, yeah, but that's what a memoir is about, realism, right, right. And I knew that I had more to say, I mean, a lot more has happened, but I did not feel that telling it from my own point of view was the way to go at all. So after thinking and thinking, what can I do, I just knew it had to be told by Daia that, as I said, she knows me so well. And I thought, what a challenge this would be to tell my story, my real story, intertwined with hers, because everything in the book is true in her voice. And I tried very, very hard not to anthropomorphize, because she's a dog, and dogs are fantastic. And I wanted it told, is best to my ability in her point of view. I thought it was great, because it gets down to, like, what is a dog thinking? And it makes us as, you know, pet people look and go, what are they thinking? We always think that, like, what are they really thinking when they look at you with these eyes? And we all read those lists on the internet going, if they wag their tail this way, or a cat does this, what does that mean, you know, right, right, the reality is if you spend enough time and be observant, you won't figure it out. But I think you bring that question of what do dogs mean to us, and it's so important that we understand that the benefits they give us so that we treat them better, as much, as good as we can. I mean, Nancy and I, I mean, I remember driving through a tornado zone, tornado alley at this time, a couple of years ago, for a pet sit with this little sweet doxon, Millie, and she since passed. And we could barely see as we were driving, I mean, it was, it was terrible. And I kept going, Millie, we're coming, we're here, Millie, we're going, no matter what, we will be there. And I'm talking to Millie in the car like a crazy human being, like, just, it, but all I could think of is Millie, and of course, we made it, and as soon as we got there, Millie came out, and I have video footage of those doxon ears flying, you know? I love that dog. And even if it's a short time in our lives, you know, you, you fall in love with them because if you stop and really bond and connect, you'll start to realize what they give back to us, and it's so much more. And it's, isn't it amazing that, um, how many of us really need that connection where it's not a finger pointing discussion with a friend or something who wants to bring up? Well, remember this, yeah, this, this way, you're allowed to have a, um, moment with animals where you are you and that contemplation is allowed to be had time, animals, and training, and walking in, and caring is about patience and time and breathing, right? You breathe through it all, you slow down, you do not rush things with animals. It doesn't work. You slow down, you are in that zone, you have to stay focused, which means the other side of your brain flips over where you start to have introspection. So do you think that happened for you with this, with, with Daya, that, that introspection happens? And I want to get to Angela on this too, as is, you know, she's an animal lady, but, um, with Daya and that relationship and your previous dog too, Alba, that introspection happens where you have that breathability where sometimes we don't have it with humans, especially clothes. Our closest friends can be annoying at times when we really need them to most, you know what I mean? Absolutely. I'm not knocking my friends. I'm just saying. No, it's, you're right on a hundred percent. I become a different person because of having now two dogs in my life as an adult. I grew up with, with dogs with poodles, but having them as your own, where you are their caretaker, it, it changes you. I feel I'm less selfish and less anal retentive and I try to, I really try now to see the world more through Daya's eyes. It took a while, um, poodles are very smart and, oh yes, look my dogs were so, so smart and Daya is especially intelligent and it, I needed to get trained in order to have a, a happier, beginning puppyhood with her because she was walking all over me. She did things I did not know what to do, which I write about in the book. I didn't think it would work out until I got trained. Um, and then everything was completely blissful and this dog literally pulls me by the leash into making my life so much more joyful. We have met so many people just on our walks and not just people we know, but strangers and other dogs and, um, she engages with everyone. She is in love with life, this dog, very different from my other dog, Alba. This dog loves babies, uh, children, she doesn't care about bicycles or skateboarders. She gives strangers knee hugs and they tell me them, this is the nicest thing that's happened to them, maybe for a week, um, she just gives love. I've never really had a dog quite like this. So she, um, just who she is, I have tried to view the world a lot more differently, um, with more joy and, um, acceptance of others. For some reason she's brought all of that to me. She has also helped me deal with so many losses in my life. I lost my brother and my mother and, uh, it's still painful, even though it was a number of years ago. And I've gone through a reoccurrence of breast cancer with my dog, uh, and she is the one who helped me get through it more than anyone else. And what's interesting is taking the focus off of myself was the best giftable, though I was going through cancer, um, still putting the focus on Dea was what really helped me get through it. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Um, I've always put the focus on the dogs, but especially when you're going through serious illness for me. I really agree with you. Um, a friend of ours, Adam Roberts, he's since passed and every time I, I choke every time I think of that, um, he is a, he, he, I just think of him in the living, you know, um, a wildlife conservationist and, um, his wife, uh, works to eradicate puppy mills and, um, he, he's done gazillions of shows with us. He, he worked with Born Free as, as Nancy, my mom has had a history with them and, um, he would do shows from siteies and, you know, the, it, it, which is a going on, uh, international animal trafficking and, and things like that. And we've done a series of shows and it got to this point of like, why are women killing giraffe? Like this is weird. Like, you know, it's not like you're killing for the pot. You're not shooting animals. And we got into this discussion of like why women, why did we change our way of like, now we're going to go trophy hunt, right? Which is totally opposite to what we're talking about today, but it was really a weird thing. And then we also started to talk about the other side of women and men in helping animals. What is it? And he said people that are going have gone through or going through extreme trauma or grief, you know, things like that, like you're talking about, he said, they are the ones who understand that deep pain, that deep loss, that deep, you know, that, that black hole that we're all talking about, not the stinky one with the stars in it, but the black hole, right, that we understand that. So we understand what, what the animals are going through with this lack of voice. And you know, it's, it's important and I want to go to Angela on this because she's been around animals her whole life, horses, dogs, cats, everything. And she also deals a lot between pets, pet parents and the caretakers. So Angela, what do you think about what Alison is saying? And then also that understanding of how these animals, we care for them and then they care for us, that relationship. One of the things that I always say is that those people that don't understand this and have never had that relationship, I feel really empathy for them for the reason is that it's a privilege that we have these animals in our life. And, and, and unless you've been there and you've experienced it, you are missing something really, really profound. And I think one of the times, or the time that that really comes to the fore is at the time that we lose them. And we all have to face that every single pet parent that they have to face that. And from my work as a pet bereavement support worker, and I volunteer with a charity here in the UK, which has a pet bereavement helpline. And the one thing is that when we lose them and when they leave our lives, the loss is so profound that for many, it's worse than losing a human member of the family and one of the three. And I truly, from all the people I speak, and my own experiences that, that word unconditional love absolutely is 110% of that relationship. It is unconditional. You don't experience that with any human being. There's always a reason, there's always something, there's always, you know, I will love you if you clean your room. I will love you if you do this. I will love you. They are there in the moment, every moment. And Allison going through serious illness and having them come through and getting you through that, I've experienced that with one of the pet parents that I have pet sit their labradoodle, and he came into the life of Bill when he was going through chemotherapy for stage four cancer, and they did not know if he would survive. And Mary, his wife, when Anne brought Barkley, this labradoodle into their lives, when Bill was going through that, Barkley is now 11 years old, Bill, thankfully, he got through it and he's better, but he still gets checked out, but the relationship and the bond between those two, and I look after Barkley when they go away and they go on vacation, and Barkley and I have got this bond that's really, really strong, but the bond he has with Bill and that relationship, I have never seen that. And that's not just with them, but it's with others, and my own, with my Holly, I have never seen that with another human being. And that's not to say that that doesn't exist and that we don't love the human members, but it's just a different relationship, and it's a different bond, and it's something that there is no explanation for it, it's something you feel and something that you look. And Lisa, we know that we go in and we care for these pets when their pet parents go away, and we have that bond, and while we're there, and that relationship is really, really strong, and we think, "Oh, yes, they're ours, we're there people," but when they're crying, I'm a baby. And I leave crying too, but when they're real, when their people walk back through that door, actually, we are not there. It's... Yeah. Yeah. It's really apparent, like right now, here we are with Poppy and Eva left to go for a luncheon, and she's still here as we do get everything together, and so we're doing this because Poppy's straight from the pound, so we're easing her into this, because if she leaves, Poppy tears up the house, so we're in this zone and Poppy went nuts when she left, and then looked around and said, "Oh, I've been playing with these people for the last few hours. Okay, I've got my turkey ball and my little treat thing, okay, and she's fine." So we're easing her into it, and that's that relationship, is this unspoken, you look in a dog's eye. So Alison, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But you know this is huge. I think that Daya has become all my dogs, my best teacher in life, and I write about, there's a chapter in my book about meditation, and Daya makes fun of it, because she... Dogs naturally meditate. They live in the moment. That's what I struggle to do with mindfulness meditation, so it's a funny chapter, it's an interesting chapter about how I do try to pursue that with Daya on my lap, and finally, she just feels, "Let's just go out and smell the grass, and roll around, and look around, and then you'll be happy, mama." And it's just very, very interesting, 'cause she teaches me all these things every day. And also I wanted to make a point. There is something called the loneliness epidemic in our country, and it's very serious. And during COVID, in particular, everyone got puppies. I already had Daya, thank goodness, but everyone was getting puppies. And dogs became our savior, at least living in New York City when the whole city was shut down. There was not a soul here. Everyone seemed to have other places to go, but I was here with my dog alone. And without her, I don't know what we would have done. It was an incredible time. And so now everyone else has these puppies, and I don't think they know what to do with them because they're all suffering from separation anxiety. They already had it, but it's just, again, what dogs do for us, just by this one example of COVID, how everyone was rushing to get puppies, because they knew they couldn't stand to be alone or lonely. And dogs, of course, help us with that more than anything. That's a good dog walks too, because I always tell people, it's like, if you want a healthier life, get a dog, because I feel like dogs get us away. They nudge us like we need to play, and you set up the computer or the TV or on your phone for how many hours, you know, you need to get off your butt. And dogs let us know, we need to go outside. We need to pee. We need to poop. We need to go for a walk. We need to play. We need to do this. I want that. We do have routines according to the humans, and that's something I know Angela knows all about. What we do as pet centers, we sink into that routine and try to emulate it as best we can, so the dogs feel comfortable, right? But and that's the thing is that trust, I think routine is part of trust. And walking is a huge trust thing, communication, understanding, here's the dogs that's coming down here. What do we do now? Do we walk away? Well, that a dog walk is a special bonding thing. What do you think? Oh, I actually when I when she walks me, she still walks me. I do. They walk us. That's true. I do look at the world through her eyes, especially after having written this book and her voice. I just look it. I look at nature more, which is a wonderful thing because I believe nature really is the most spiritual thing for us, especially living in an urban city like Manhattan. So we go to River Clyde Park, which is where I live on the west side by the Hudson and we walk by the river and we do meditate and look and gaze out of the water. And we sit on a bench every day two or three times a day and just look and smell and my whole life has changed because of that. I don't know what I would do if I did not have a dog to walk me. I don't know what I would do. My life would be completely empty as we've all discussed. The dog walking, people look at his, oh, that's such a pain. No. Once you start walking, your body will feel better. It just makes you more aware of your surroundings and dogs want to know what neighborhood they're in for them to not understand. If you keep them in an island in their house, right, it's their house now, if you keep on an island, they don't have an understanding. But they want to know, I hear this dog bark over here. I want to meet that dog. Angela, what do you think of that? Because I really think dogs want to know. Now Poppy's going to work, but anyway. And when it comes to walking, yes. And one thing I want to say to anybody that's listening, that doesn't have a dog of their own for whatever reason, but you feel that you may have had one before and you are agreeing with everything that we're saying. I mean, we have a member who actually lives in Vancouver, and she only ever sits dogs. She doesn't sit because we have all sorts of animals that we care for, as you know, Lisa. She only ever sits dogs. And the reason being is that when she goes to a new place, that's the way that she actually meets people. That's the way that she meets connections, because the dogs, and they just, they gravitate towards humans and humans gravitate towards them. And once you start to have that conversation, and then she builds all these relationships up. And so absolutely the walking. So for anybody who is listening and thinking, well, yes, and I remember and I've had dogs, but I don't have one now, you know, there are all these animals, all these dogs sitting in shelters that absolutely need to get out and walk. And when you do, you see the difference that it makes in their life and yours too, but then getting out of that kennel and going outside into them, every single walk is new. It doesn't matter if you go down the same track, they will find something new and that makes you stop and think, like Alison says, she notices nature more. And I know from pet sitting, you know, when I work remotely, and if I'm not sitting, if I'm working from my home in Scotland, and I don't have an animal, a pet of my own, that's why I do what I do. When I'm at home, I do not, my commute is down the stairs into my office. I don't walk. I don't get out, but when I pets it, and this is the connection that you make, I have to get out. I have to walk. First thing in the morning is, I have another being to actually be part of and for them to be part of me and to take care of, because without me, they can't do that, but they then give back more to me than I ever give to them, and they send to me. That part of my day is theirs, and that's ours, and we actually bond, and I think yes. And just being quiet and being with them, and looking into their eyes and just seeing what they are, you're right. I mean, Alison, they do, they do give us so much, and they teach us, but we have to listen, you know? It's like that saying, "dog speak, but only to those who listen," you have to listen to them. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I walk a dog in Burnsville, North Carolina, in the Pisco National Forest, Lucy. You better watch what Lucy's doing, and we're in the forest. There's bears, there are wood checks, and she will go after the wood check, and she'll let you know, and you better be aware. There was a wild turkey, you know? I remember that. I'm like Lucy. Look at this, and then the one time we both knew it was a bear, and her and I looked at each other, and we're like, "Bale, and we both right now!" And she's looking at me, you know, and I mean, the animal and cat, like this, you create these bonds. You know how you can create a bond with a human being out of nowhere, and suddenly you're in it together? That's how it is. And dogs, like, they smell things better than we can. They hear things better than we can. It's pretty impressive, you know, and for us, it reminds us about the little things. I love that I love the title of your book, Alison, because it's so important that people understand, number one, walk your dogs, "Hello, it's summertime, don't do it in the middle of the day, okay?" So just got to give a PSA out there. But walking a dog is everything in life. It is those small moments. It is. Look at those flowers. Oh, did you even know that? Did you see those daisies on the side there, or did you just walk by them looking at your phone? You know, we're in such a bone-centric society that we've lost connection with life, the life force. And dogs bring us back to that. I see people try to walk their dogs on a phone, and the dogs are literally just like, "What are you doing? I'm trying to poo. You're not seeing it. I'm going to kick it up in your face if you don't look." You know, it's kind of, we need to be present when you say Alison as we walk a dog versus, "I'm on my phone, I'm talking to someone else, I'm just walking them, it's just kind of part of my duty." It should be part of the adventure of life. I couldn't agree more. I mean, and again, just walking. While she walks me, I've met so many new connections, neighbors that I would see every day of my life prior to Daya, now our friends, because of Daya. And most of them now have gotten dogs themselves, but even prior to that, because of Daya, they would want to come over and pet her, and so it fostered a relationship with me, as well as strangers, as I said, and so many other dogs in the neighborhood. She lives in the moment, as we said, and that is just so therapeutic to try to stop worrying about what should have been or what will be, just live, look through their eyes just for that short time that you're out with them on the walk. It will open up your world. We should call a cartoli and tell them, like, you need to walk dogs and tell the people about dogs, because these are all about in the moment, right? It's got that amazing voice, "I wish I could do that," right, "I won't do that," that would be rude, but what you're saying too, let's just talk about dating. Isn't it better to have a dog in hand versus online dating? I mean, just saying, I mean, if your dog, if a handsome man comes up today and Daya likes him, would that not be a little bit better than looking at his face on a computer screen? If only that were true, yes, it doesn't really happen in Manhattan, let me tell you. She has a lot to say, she's a very opinionated dog about the men that I've attempted to date. Yeah, it's that dogs know, and if they don't like them, then it's over, right? Yeah, that's a big one. If your dog doesn't like, not just somebody you're dating, but somebody who walks through the door, then listen to them, I think that's so important. Yeah. Just had this conversation with our friends at the line on the Rose in Asheville, we're just talking about it because they have a new little shitsu lita. They lost their other Oreo and Aussie, the other shitsu is the younger one, and now his older brother is gone, and so they had to run out and make everybody change patterns because everyone was in deep grief over Oreo, and we were talking about this, and we're like, well, people don't like dogs. If you don't like dogs or music, something's wrong. It's like the truth, it is. It's weird, and so when you date, it should be part of the profile. I am a dog person, and you better like dogs. In fact, Angela, okay, am I allowed to share naughty secrets on the air here? I can. Yeah. So, you know we have some history way back when of Helen Woodward, right? Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, it is Rancho Santa Fe, right? Was it Dora or Rancho Santa Fe? Rancho is in San Diego region in California, yeah, Rancho Santa Fe, and Nancy did a painting of this wonderful spaniel that he just sent me, kept getting nailed by Ralph Snakes, and anyway, we did a fundraiser. This was years, and I mean, we're talking 27 years ago, right? And we were just starting our magazine and everything, and we raised funds for them with coloring books. We did all kinds of things, and at that point, we were also doing market research for our magazines of what we have today, and anyway, there was this guy that, I don't know if he owned it, or was managing a surf or whatever shop, can't even remember his name. And anyway, I was sewing advertising for our magazine there, and then he asked me out on a date. And I was like, okay, sure, I've just got here, I don't know anyone, you know, fine. And you know, we've just come from South Africa, and I'm like, okay, do you know he knew what we were doing for Helen Woodward, and he went and adopted a dog because of it? Oh, wow. And he, man, he's like, you need to come out to my van, I'm like, no, I don't, you know, after we had dinner. No, I don't. And he was, no, no, no, I want you to meet this dog. I adopted from the Helen Woodward animals shelter, and it was, it was not summer, it wasn't hot or anything, so it was fine. But he really went and adopted a dog, isn't that wild? That's amazing. But that date didn't last very long, but like he, the dog was cool, but I was like, why are you keeping your dog in your van? You need to like not do that. I'm just saying, so the dating thing in dogs is a big deal, it is, because even when you bring someone home, like the dogs, like who's this in my territory, like there has got, that's an issue, bringing dogs and people together in your home. That's a whole thing. That's all. You can't, you can't just bring someone home in the middle of the night and say, here's my no key for the night. I'm not allowed to say that apparently on shows, but I've now said it for like the 10th time. But Alison, right? You know, as you're dating someone, you start today and you bring someone home suddenly, it can be a thing, like well, they go like no, and then you go, whoa, I'm sorry, we're not having that nightcap. You need to lay wonder, they said, why do we need a third person? We're a team. It's the two of us. Why do we need three? You know, it's a balance. Right. It's a balance. You have to kind of wean everybody into, like it, yeah, that's amazing. Well, I love, I love that you have dair really narrate this. And the way you did it was beautifully done in your book. I, I, because that's a whole shift. And most of the time when someone does it from an animal's perspective, it's going to be young adult or kid, but to make it readable for adults, you did it. You cracked it. That's, I mean, you had to do a lot of observation to make that happen. For sure. But I also wanted to make one more point. I, it's very open and honest memoir, even though it's charming from her point of view, from day as point of view. But I was able to show my own foibles with so much humor because it's day as perspective. And that really helped me cope a lot more even with, you know, serious illness. It was all from day as point of view, her perspective on what was happening. And she, you know, looks at the silliness of, of humans all the time and doesn't understand why they do things the way they do. That's a hysterical part. That's why I like it. Yeah. That's what I like about your writing. Yeah. It's, it's just interesting. So it really helped me actually deal with a lot of the sadness by writing it from her point of view, because it is so honest, but showing my insecurities also, other people will relate to that. And it's easier to write your own foibles and insecurities from her point of view than to say, well, I was really crummy at this and I should have done that. It's a, makes a lot, it's more meaningful this way. And people I think can relate them to their own issues. It's interesting. Yeah. And, and I want to make a big point that people know it's out now. So you can get walking Alison, a poodles most, mostly true story of helping her human navigate life. Go to Alison Rand author.com. That's Alison with one L. And you've got the audio book out too, which you are a voice over actor. And so you were able to narrate this. So what was that like actually sitting there in a, you know, recording. I don't know if you were in a sound booth. I mean, everything's changed now with how technology is. So to be able to read your own book, and, and then you're doing the A is voice, right? Well, this is my, I did my first book as well, the audio book, but this was a whole, whole other adventure. Um, once, you know, I took a while to get her voice, I didn't want it to be strange. I wanted to be a likable voice because people have to listen to it, but then to quickly change into my own, because I'm the major character and they're men in it and friends and a lot of other people. It was difficult, but once I got into it, uh, it was tons of fun. It was tons of fun. And I think people will like it. They'll get a kick out of her voice that they like it. You can listen to it on your next dog walk, but actually you should just be present with your dog. I'm just saying, but I love, I love that. Listen on your next drive, Angela, thank you for calling in so late in England. Um, I know you're hanging out in Brighton. Are you going to be able to go to Brighton Beach while you're there? I remember right now. I'm just actually that where I am is just up all not far from the beach and, and during the summer, they're during the summer months, there's only a couple of dog beaches where you can actually take your dogs down. They're not allowed on the rest of, but there is some beach down there, but the beach in Brighton is more pebbles than it is sand, but it's still a lovely area and they have a lot of grass. And they've so many parks here as well that to walk Lenny and you're, this will make you smile, I hope. There is a huge soccer game in Europe this weekend. Yes. The European and England are in the final against Spain. And so I was coming here today and Matthew and his wife and the children, they're big soccer fans and of course everybody, it's the wrong shape ball for me, but never mind. That's, that's something else. And so what I wanted to do was I wanted to take a, I wanted to get an England supporters bandana for, for Lenny to put it on him, to take a photograph, to put it on our Slack channel at work and also to put it on our social pages as Lenny is the England supporter. I couldn't get one to be delivered in time, but I could get a scarf. So what I did yesterday is I went on Amazon and I ordered it and I addressed it to master Lenny and his last name and the address and it hadn't arrived when I arrived at the sit and I'm thinking it should be here, it should be here, didn't tell anybody, I didn't tell his pet parents it was coming, I didn't tell their children it was coming. And so I'm here and it's about 5.30 this evening and the wife, the mum comes in and she throws this package, it is dad and says, and what's this? Do you know? And he looked at it and it's got Lenny and his name and the address looking at it, opens it. It is an England supporter scarf and he's done this, come from and they're all going, where is this? Who sent this? Oh my gosh, this is for tomorrow and I couldn't hold it any longer, I said, actually it was me and I'm going to take a picture of him and I'm going to put it on a slack channel. Well, they thought it was hysterical. I love that, I love that because that's cute, that's cute, that is cute. So when the other is the size ball, is the rugby ball, is that your role? Yeah, a different shape ball, yeah, my game is rugby, not soccer, yeah, I'm a rugby fan. See, I grew up in South Africa, so rugby and soccer were hand in, well, they, rugby is brutal. I mean, that's brutal, especially the South Africa is like, oh my gosh, and yeah, that was brutal and soccer, I got into soccer from there in the World Cup and everything, yeah, when we lived in England, but yeah, I mean, but the thing is, in this country, there's football, which is not, anyway, soccer in England is football and soccer here is soccer, football here, they wear padding. So Nancy and I have this rule, there's any kind of sport on the TV, put classical music on, I don't care how much, especially men in padding, they must have classical music. It just looks much better, Allison, have you taken day out to any sports events, right? Other than walking in the parks, that'd be pretty cool, because that can be an old adventure on its own, just with people watching, yeah, she likes to watch baseball games in the park, she likes balls, anything to do with balls, that she watched TV. This is the thing, animals watch TV, they're actually my first dog, Alba, did watch TV, Daya does not, she listens, she's a good listener, but she's shutting her eyes, because I listen to a lot of news, so I think she's tired of it all, so I think we all are, I think we're all done on both sides of the pond, we're all like that, just shut it off, it's over, it's all over, let's just go hang out with dogs, and if we all, I'm going to say this before we go, trust in the house it is, aligns people that love animals and love travel, and plants by the way, you know, and so when you come from that existence, you create bonds that supersede politics, so I'm just saying, trust in the house it is this way of connecting and having a community where when that is so strong about the bond of an animal, it's like a child in your family, it supersedes everything, it goes, it just, it's called derailed, override, reboot, whatever you want to call it, the animal comes first, and that's that period, and so whatever is going on politically that you have all this hot air for, honestly, then you look at a puppy and go, the puppy doesn't care, just feed me, walk me, make sure I'm cleaned up after, and you know, and then we go back to basics, and care and love, that's what our world needs, and so I just think that's an important way to close, I want to thank you both, thank you, Angela's always especially so late in England, everyone trusted housesetters.com, check that out, and Allison Rand author.com, go get walking Allison, it is out now in every format, right, so you can get, you can listen or you can read, so thank you, Allison. Oh, thank you so much Lisa and Angela, this was just wonderful, really had a great time, thank you. Thank you, Allison, it was lovely to have met you, and I am going to read that book, definitely, and Lisa as always, it's an absolute pleasure, and you could have asked me at midnight and I've still been here for you. Oh, thank you, thank you, Angela, everyone, thank you for joining us, thanks for joining us here on Big Blend Radio's Pet Connection podcast, new episodes air every third Wednesday. Keep up with us at bigblendradio.com and learn more about the world of Pet Sitting at trustedhousesetters.com. (upbeat music)
