A Life Full of Dogs - Jen's Story

Jen shares how a childhood with a police K9 shaped her sense of responsibility, and why living with five dogs now feels like the most meaningful work of her life. We talk pack dynamics, Border Collie needs, the “soul dog” idea, and how grief can deepen gratitude for ordinary days. 

• Growing up with Shep the police canine and learning what real training and partnership look like 
• Feeling judged for having five dogs and why curiosity lands better than commentary 
• Border Collies and the overlooked need for mental stimulation alongside exercise 
• What a normal day looks like with a five-dog routine and a well-adjusted pack 
• The big shift from two dogs to three and how pack roles and communication emerge 
• The gift of being present at the end and why pet grief can feel compounded over time 
• Why we avoid playing favorites and what “soul dog” means to different people 
• Choosing gratitude for fur, chores, and toy destruction as signs of a healthy household 

If you enjoyed this conversation, I'd love it if you'd follow the show, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who loves dogs. You can find links to everything we talked about today in the show notes. And I'd love to connect with you on Instagram at Baroo. If you have a story you'd like to share, you can email me at Charlotte at the baroo.com.

Transcript

Welcome And Meet Jen

Speaker 1 0:04

Hi, and welcome to the Baroo. I'm Charlotte Bayne. My guest today is not a scientist or a trainer or a veterinarian. She's someone who loves dogs the way most of us love dogs, completely, specifically, and without reservation. She's also my hairstylist, and I hope I can call her a friend. Jen has shared her life with dogs for as long as she can remember, from growing up the daughter of a police officer and canine handler to having a whole pack of dogs of her own. I have never known Jen to have less than four dogs at a time, and I think she currently has five. Each one of those dogs has taught Jen something different. So let's just jump into this chat.

Speaker 0:43

Gilbert laying here on his dog bed next to me.

Speaker 1 0:45

Oh, you do, cute.

Speaker 0:47

And I think Norman's in here somewhere. Jacob took the other ones upstairs with strict instructions to try to keep them quiet because they're all they'll heal they will hear my voice and come running down coming for treats.

Speaker 1 1:00

Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, I'm so glad you decided to do this with me because one of the um other than your skills with my hair, one one of the fun things about coming to see you is that you're always surrounded by so many dogs. And as long as I've known you, you've already always had like multiple dogs. You're like the ultimate dog mom. I think of you in that way. Oh boy. I think right now you have five dogs. Five, five dogs. Yeah. Yeah. And I've not known you to have less than four at one time. I think that's right.

Speaker 1:33

The whole time I've known you, I've had four.

Speaker 1 1:35

You've had four.

Speaker 1:37

So do you have dogs growing up? I have had dogs my whole my whole life, yeah. Your whole life.

Speaker 1 1:43

So even as a uh kid.

Speaker 1:45

Yeah.

unknown 1:46

Yeah.

Speaker 1:46

Dogs and cats growing up. Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:48

You did. In the same house, in the same house. And they got along great. Yeah. I think so. What um, so take me back to your very first dog. What do you remember? Um when do you remember about that dog? And what do you think that relationship with your first dog gave you? If if you can think that far back. Yeah, that's a long way back. So we'll go back.

Speaker 2:16

So far back. So so this this question, I'm assuming you're you're going back to my first dog, like my childhood dog.

Speaker 1 2:24

Yeah, I mean, that was the intention, but whatever you're yeah, but I know the what your childhood dog, at least from in my experience, played such a signific a different role than your first dog as an adult. So I'm just curious, we can just touch on like, did you know you had an affinity in a love for dogs when you had your childhood dog?

Speaker 2:41

Yeah, I did. Uh animals are always really important in our

A Childhood With A Police K9

Speaker 2:45

family, but I think I had a really unique experience with my first childhood dog. I do remember the day our dog came home to us, it was a really big deal. It was, I was about five years old. His his name was Shep, and Shep was a purebred German shepherd. He was my dad's canine. My dad was police officer. And Shep, Shep was the first canine in the police department in my hometown. And that dog was impressive to say the least. Really? And yeah, I I think that dog taught me a lot about dogs one uh training, mostly responsibility. I was very proud of that dog. I don't think I realized as a child how proud of that dog I was until later in life. Um what did you mean? What do you mean by that? That dog was such a like I mean he was a cool dog one, but he was just such a remarkable piece of equipment in a way. Yeah. But also he was just so important to my dad. He was not just a he was not just a dog, but he was an extension of my father. He he followed my dad around like he was another appendage. I never saw them apart from the day that dog came home. He was tiny, he was eight weeks old, of course.

Speaker 1 4:40

Yeah, and big huge ears, I'm assuming.

Speaker 4:43

Totally. Um, but he was my dad's partner in every sense of the word.

Speaker 2 4:48

Yeah.

Speaker 4:49

And my dad's life depended on that dog, and that dog's life depended on my father, and so they were always together. And I was a little girl, I was tiny, you know, I was five, five years old. And I remember every year until that dog and my dad retired, my dad would bring the dog in in his uniform into my grade school classrooms and show him off, talk about him. That dog spoke German.

Speaker 2 5:14

Yeah.

Speaker 5:14

And, you know, it was like such a big deal, and all the kids would get really excited and they'd come and they'd pet him and they'd ask questions. And it to me, it was just, oh, that's my pet, that's my dog. But I'd sit in the back of the room and I'd be like, that's pretty cool, you know. Um, but now when I think back on how unique that was, like I'd spend three or four days a week on the training yard with my dad. I'd watch them fire a gun and watch that dog beeline it across that training yard and bite the the sleeve, and they'd fling the dog around and he'd run the obstacle course. And I had an experience that nobody else will ever have. Yeah, you know, and a responsibility and a a love and an understanding that most people will never see. Um, and yet that dog was our family pet. I walked him, I played with him, I played through the ball for him. He went camping with us. Um I spoke I spoke German to him. He understood my commands just as well. Um he was just our dog. And so I think that that was the blueprint for every dog after. Yeah. And that that in and of itself was like where I started. That was really cool.

Speaker 1 6:41

That is so special because it's like we all wanted like a cool, like dad, our dads have like a cool job, and then like when your dad showed up.

Speaker 6:52

Yeah, when my dad showed off, he showed off.

Speaker 1 6:54

Yeah, totally. You're like the talk of the school. It made you super cool.

Speaker 6:57

Yeah, that's so sweet. The dog was the dog was not at the same time a very typical, loving, sweet dog, though. He had a air about him that was very reserved, and he was not very warm and cuddly. Um, but he was special in his own sense. Having that experience of Shep and my and growing up with the police canine with my dad was that it showed me that what the responsibility of having a dog was going to be like and how important it was. It wasn't just a pet. And growing up in my family, animals were animals, they weren't part of the family necessarily. We didn't treat them like children, they were separate. And I grew up believing that animals didn't necessarily have feelings like people. It was the 80s. There wasn't emotional intelligence like there is now. So it was a very different thing. But at the same time, it was a little confusing because we did have that relationship shown to us through the police canine and the relationship between my dad and check. So I think that there was a very good example

Why People React To Five Dogs

Speaker 8:15

of that relationship shown to me. And I was able to understand how important it was to form a really good bond with your pet, and it led me to a life that I have now of like how important my animals are to me. And I do, I do treat them as my family. They are the most important thing in the world to me.

Speaker 1 8:41

Yeah. You have five dogs right now, right? Yeah. When people say, wow, that's a lot, you can't believe you have five dogs. Yeah. How do you manage that? Or, you know, or they're like, what? Um, what what what's the first thing that goes for your mind? How do you respond to that?

Speaker 9:00

I don't I don't really I'm just like, yeah, it is a lot. But I mean, there's a lot of things that are a lot. They're it I don't know. My first response is usually not very nice in my head, so I just don't respond at all.

Speaker 1 9:19

Does it like does it punch your buttons, or does it you just like you just don't want to justify whatever?

Speaker 9:26

Yeah, because it feels like a judgment. It feels like people are like, well, geez, you have so many. And it's I don't think it's meant to be a judgment. I think it's meant out of curiosity when people really mean to ask questions of like clarifying questions of how do you do that? How what does your life look like? What are you doing to keep up with that? When it comes across as like kind of judgmental, yeah, but it it does come across to me as like a um like what are you doing? Why why would you do that? Um, but they they really just fulfill me. I mean, it does get chaotic. I do have five, and three of them are border collies, and they are very chaotic. They're very rambunctious and they are full of energy, but that's what we focus on. We live our whole life around them. My from the morning them in the morning when I get up till we go to bed at night. I mean, we work full-time jobs, obviously.

Speaker 1 10:32

So we do you're lucky to work from home now, right? Yes.

Speaker 10:35

So yes, yes. And I made the decision when I was very young not to have children, obviously. Um, so I'm able to focus on the dogs.

Speaker 1 10:46

Yeah.

Speaker 10:46

And that's what we do.

Speaker 1 10:49

What do you do

Border Collies Need Mental Work

Speaker 1 10:50

for for the border collies? You're so good at, you know, trying to fulfill their instinctual needs. What what are what does that look like?

Speaker 10:59

Well, I think that there is a misconception around border collies in terms of how much exercise they need. And they do, in fact, need a lot of exercise, right? But they also need a lot of mental stimulation. And I think that is first and foremost the most important thing for them. And because I work from home and there's a lot of people coming in and out of our house that entertain them, they see, they interact with, they get a lot of mental stimulation there. So that's number one for them. And because I work from home, I'm with them all day. So I get to play with them, I get to interact with them, I get to take them in and out. My husband is in and out all day long. So they are left at home alone, maybe twice a week at most. They all I mean, that's it. I mean, it's super lucky.

Speaker 1 11:49

No, but it's super lucky.

Speaker 11:50

Yeah, we are very fortunate. So we get to take them out and do things with them all the time and keep them very active. Yeah. And that is a privilege that most people don't get to have. Right. Yeah. Right. So that I think is probably the number one thing.

Speaker 1 12:06

Yeah. What does a normal day look like with you guys?

Speaker 12:11

Well, do getting woken up by five dogs is kind of hilarious.

Speaker 1 12:16

So um They actually all sleep in your room with you.

Speaker 12:19

They do. Um two of them, two of them sleep in a crate because they don't sleep well and they're on and off the bed the whole time. So um, usually my husband leaves really early, and then they all are out of the crates by that point, and I'll sleep in a little later. And the minute I even they think I'm about to wake up, they literally pounce all of them.

Speaker 1 12:41

Yeah, and it's noses and tails and paws, and it's like they've been waiting all night for you to wake up. Like, mom, it's either she's gonna wake up now.

Speaker 12:53

Literally, what about now?

Speaker 1 12:54

What about now?

Speaker 12:55

I know, I know. Yeah, so it's actually kind of amazing, it's really funny, and they all have their ways about them. Each of them has a different thing. Newton will come and put his nose in my neck, and Norman will come and lick me, and then Hawking will just start squeaking, and then the newest one, Hilbert, he's the biggest one. He'll just come and get right on top of me. So it's it's a whole thing. And there's definitely a routine about every single day that they know. And it's it's funny how quickly everybody adapts to the routine. Hilbert's been with us a month and he already knows exactly what to do every single day.

Speaker 1 13:31

Has it only been a month so far?

Speaker 13:33

Uh actually, I guess it's been a month, uh, two months in a in about a week. But yeah.

Speaker 1 13:37

Yeah, two months.

Speaker 13:38

So is Hilbert right there?

Speaker 1 13:40

Can we see him, or is he um only if it's easier, easy.

Speaker 13:44

Hilbert. He's asleep.

Speaker 1 13:46

Yeah, he's Hilbert. Oh, he's so asleep.

Speaker 13:49

Yeah.

Speaker 1 13:49

He's such a big boy. My gosh. Yeah. How big do you think he's gonna be?

Speaker 13:53

I'm guessing he's gonna be about a hundred pounds. He just weighed in at 66, so and they said he's pretty underweight.

Speaker 1 14:00

And he's probably like what what do you think he's a year, maybe?

Speaker 14:03

Uh yeah, just about. Yeah. So yeah, and then you know, we get up, we have breakfast, and then get ready for the day and do our morning walk and our playtime and clean the yard, and it's kind of the same every single day. And everybody knows it. Yeah. And it's funny. It's it's our routine. Yeah. But the the pack is really, really,

A Day In A Five Dog Home

Speaker 14:30

really well adjusted. Yeah, they they work really well together, they know how each other's behaviors are, and if anybody deviates, the other one will step right in and tell which one what to do. Yeah, they have their roles and they play them very, very well.

Speaker 1 14:46

They're very good at communicating with each other.

Speaker 14:48

They are yeah, and they've integrated Hilbert in very well.

Speaker 1 14:54

Oh, Hilbert. Yeah, yeah, that was I would love at first sight when I saw Hilbert. He's such a candy.

Speaker 15:00

And that's the other thing about having a large group. I think that having um one dog, you know, is pretty easy. Having two dogs is pretty easy, but once you go from two to three, that's a big, a big jump. You now have a pack. Anything after three, you could probably have three, you could probably have eight. I don't think that there's a big difference.

Speaker 1 15:24

No, and that's something that I've found that I've found just from my job. Yeah, because it's when when there's, you know, two and then three is when it becomes kind of a you have to they kind of have to figure out the dynamic. Yeah. But then once you get more than that, then everybody just kind of is, right? Yeah, they figure it out, they keep their space if they need to, they work it all out, you know. So yeah.

Speaker 15:46

And you just I've gotten very comfortable understanding the dynamic between them and who's doing what and why one is biting the other one, and what that means, and who's growling and what that growl means, and if it's a correction or if someone's upset. And learning that behavior has been really eye-opening and understanding what that that dynamic is, has been really fun too. And so I guess when someone says to me, going back to your previous question, what is that like having five dogs, or why do you have five dogs? And I feel that judgment, it it does, I know it's coming from a place of curiosity, but I also don't have time to sit there and be like, well, let me go into all of the the all of the nuances of five dogs and what this really is, you know, it's it's quite overwhelming, right? But I wish people would ask it with more sensitivity or more curiosity instead of the oh, well, that's a lot of dogs, you know, because it nobody would say that to somebody with a family of five kids.

Speaker 1 16:51

Yeah. It it feels at least to their face.

Speaker 16:55

Maybe. Yeah, maybe, huh? But they are they are so much fun. And it does feel like the most important thing that I've done with my life, I think. And I've owned a business and I've moved all kinds of places and I've done a lot of things and I've traveled the world, but saving my dogs from rescues and from shelters and being a part of the dog world has definitely been the most fulfilling thing I've ever done.

Speaker 1 17:27

That's so great. Hey, I agree. I bet that each dog has taught you. This might be this might be a hard question because when I was thinking about the things that chance taught me, there's just been so many things. But I bet I have a hunch that each dog has taught you something different. Um, without going through each dog, is there something that stood out? Is there a lesson that you learned or something that you were taught from

When A Group Becomes A Pack

Speaker 1 17:55

your dogs that kind of superseded anything else? And you're smiling. So I bet there is. And which dog was it?

Speaker 18:06

Wow, there's a there's a lot of things that all of my dogs have taught me.

Speaker 1 18:11

Yeah.

Speaker 18:11

And Hilbert is my tenth dog as an adult. Um he is for so many reasons. Yeah. I think this is a really hard question.

Speaker 1 18:28

I know. Sorry.

Speaker 18:29

I'm sorry. No, you're not. You're absolutely not sorry. This is why you do this, Charlotte. I know. Um my favorite lyric and my favorite song that has ever been written is Love is Watching Someone Die. And the hardest part about having a dog is letting them go. And my very first dog, Evie, when I had to say goodbye to her, and I had to have her put down to be put to sleep when the veterinarian came to the house and took her away. Yeah, I realized that day that that was the greatest gift that I was given with my dog, which was having the privilege of holding her in my arms and being able to say goodbye to her. And how wonderful it was, and how peaceful death was, and how fortunate I was to be able to experience that.

unknown 19:46

Right.

Speaker 19:49

And I have been there for every single one of my dogs, and I am just so thankful for that.

Speaker 1 19:58

Yeah, it truly is a gift to be able to be there with them and just kind of lead them to the

The Gift And Weight Of Goodbye

Speaker 1 20:10

next life or the next step, or just hold their paw. And in the case of chance, I was able to hold his paw as he made his transition and support them through this moment as much as they supported us through every moment of their life. Do you think the grief gets easier with with the next dog, or it's just different?

Speaker 20:49

I think it's different and sometimes I think it's compounded. I think it depends on the dog. I think it depends on the relationship with a dog, and I think it depends on how long you've had the dog and the bond you've had with the dog. I don't think that there's any way to prepare for that grief. And I don't think that there's any way to know what day of the week or time or how many years later it's gonna hit you.

Speaker 3 21:23

Right.

Speaker 21:24

I think that it's just there forever and always, and that also is such a wonderful thing that you had something that will stick with you that long, that you cared for something so deeply, and you were so lucky to love something so much. And I also think that all of those dogs have taught me so many lessons, but each Dog has taught me something really important for the next dog. Something really hopeful that the next dog I treat better. And the next dog after I treat that dog better, and so on and so forth.

Speaker 2 22:17

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 22:18

That by the time I get to my very last dog, that dog is going to be living a very golden life. And I'm on 10 now. And my life goal is 50. So by the time I get to my 50th dog, I can't even imagine because Hilbert's already living a pretty golden life.

Speaker 1 22:38

Hilbert's living the dream.

Speaker 22:40

I know. But you know, I looked at Hilbert the day I brought him home, and I already knew I said, and I think I said this to you. I said, this one's gonna break me really bad.

Speaker 1 22:53

Yeah, you did say.

Speaker 22:54

I knew that. And I'm okay with it. I think I'm okay with it.

Speaker 1 23:01

It's a privilege to have loved, right? Isn't that the saying?

Speaker 23:06

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So here's to all the broken hearts. I feel very fortunate because I had a lot of people coming in after this last loss who sat with me as I cut their hair and cried. You were one of them.

Speaker 1 23:26

Yep.

Speaker 23:28

Lots of crying haircuts. Yep. And we shall go on.

Speaker 1 23:37

I know you mentioned you are uncomfortable with the term soul dog. And I'm so curious about that. And because to me, a soul dog is, you know, one that you I have not had multiple dogs, so I don't have that experience. Um, but to me, you know, chance was my soul dog. He came into my life when I needed something the most. He had a profound impact. He, you know, all the things. Is there a dog that stands out to you? I know that's like comparing children, and we're not supposed to do that, but is there a dog? Of course there are dog. But I think people secretly do. Um is there a dog that stands out above the rest?

Speaker 24:25

Yeah, I think that's hard. I people ask me that question a lot, and I don't it's not that I I understand the term. Yeah, I do, and I choose not to use it because I of my intention to have so many dogs, and how would I know that because I haven't met them all yet? There's a whole long list coming my way. Yeah, you know, um, and I don't want to play favorites. Yeah, I don't know what who is coming into my future, I don't know what my future holds, and I don't want to put that limitation on it.

Speaker 1 25:06

Right.

Speaker 25:07

But I there are two dogs that have had profound impacts on me, and they were both big parts of my life. Einstein and Vinny. My dot my last two dogs, not my last two dogs that were with me, but Einstein, who you knew was a German Shepherd mix, and he spent the most amount of time with me going to work. Yeah, and we were very, very he was my shop dog. We were very, very bonded, he was very connected to me. Um, we had a very deep understanding of each other, and it was a really hard loss.

Speaker 3 25:51

Yeah.

Speaker 25:52

Um, and he was with us for 12 years. And then Finney, who we lost last year, was almost 17 years old, and that was one of the greatest losses of our lives.

Speaker 3 26:06

And you know, 17 years.

Speaker 26:21

Sorry.

Speaker 1 26:22

It's okay, honey. It's okay. It's a huge long formative part of your life. 17 years is I always say, you know, chance of 17 and a half when he passed, and I always say he he just graduated

Why She Avoids The Soul Dog Label

Speaker 1 26:40

early and went to college.

Speaker 26:44

Yeah. It's there is n probably nobody or anything, even my husband, that was as knew me as well as that dog who always was with me, right? I know I'm just crying. I know. Because my husband didn't follow me into the bathroom and stay with me every time I took a shower and stood there and heard every phone call and went with me to work, and knew when I was feeling a certain way, and laid with me when I was sick, and all of those private moments, you know. That is such a deep connection that you have with an animal. And that dog meant so much to me that when he left, I felt such despair that I was afraid. And I don't I have never felt grief the way I felt grief that after losing him. Yeah. And my life has changed in ways that I cannot explain. Um it is so different today than it was last year, yeah. Both spiritually, physically, emotionally, all things.

Speaker 1 28:20

Yeah. And you think he's he's he has something to do with that.

Speaker 28:27

Yeah.

Speaker 1 28:29

Because I feel the same with channels.

Speaker 28:31

Yeah, yeah. It definitely marked a moment in time.

Speaker 2 28:35

Yeah.

Speaker 28:35

Yeah. It was a drastic change. Yeah. So I I I choose not to use the term soul dog, but Vinny was definitely one of the most important dogs that I have ever met.

Speaker 2 29:01

Yeah.

Speaker 29:02

And will have ever had, have had, I think. I mean, our walls are littered with pictures of him.

Speaker 1 29:10

I was just gonna say, Annie was a model.

Speaker 29:13

He was a model.

Speaker 1 29:15

Didn't he actually do some print work?

Speaker 29:17

Didn't he do some print? He did. He was on um puppy chow in I won't say the brand name, but he was on uh he was on dog food in Mexico, and every time we would go down to the down to Mexico, we'd go to the supermarket so we could see him, and we have it framed in the house.

Speaker 1 29:37

And that's so cute. That's like what a way to memorialize him. I know.

Speaker 29:44

He was an actual child star.

Speaker 1 29:46

He really was a child star.

Speaker 29:47

I know.

Speaker 1 29:48

He was so cute. He was never met a camera he didn't like. Uh-uh. He was so photogenic that one.

Speaker 29:54

I know. I know. Yeah, some hard loss, that dog. Yeah. Up until the day he went, he he would see a camera and he'd get into position.

Speaker 1 30:04

So he loved what he did. Yeah. Yeah. Well, so sweet. He brought joy that way. Yeah.

unknown 30:14

Yeah.

Speaker 1 30:17

Do you think you know there's the who the who rescued who saying Do you think the dogs do you think your dogs choose you or as much as you choose them? And if so, what does that say

Do Dogs Choose Us Too

Speaker 1 30:45

about what they saw in you? I mean, that doesn't mean like they initially chose you, although I do think on a spiritual level, yes. But you know they choose to love you and they choose to think that you're the bee's knees. Yeah.

Speaker 2 31:02

Connect with you. Yeah.

Speaker 31:03

Yeah. That has so many different layers to that question. There's the spiritual layer, like what agreements did we all have before we came to this realm, to this earth as a physical being. I think that there is some kind of connection there that we do have agreements with them to some degree. Um, I think that there's the whole element of when you live in a space with them too. And if there is multiple dogs and multiple humans in one space, definitely there's dogs that choose one human over the other, or one dog, or one, you know, yeah, other creature that they bond more with, you know, like our little girl Hawking, she is obsessed with our other border collie Norman. She thinks he's her sheep, you know. So there's different, different, like I think attachments that they make.

Speaker 3 31:56

Yeah.

Speaker 31:56

Um, I I don't know. I think that it's whatever we need to believe in the moment to connect with our animals.

unknown 32:06

Yeah.

Speaker 32:07

I don't really have a I'm more with you on the whole spiritual element because I think honestly, every one of my dogs that I've had, there has been a re it has felt like there's been a reason that they have been with me for that time.

Speaker 1 32:23

Yes, I agree.

Speaker 32:24

Like there's just that, there's just that gut hit. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And some they're stronger than others. Like we have we've had a couple dogs where they're just they're meant to be with us just to be with us to be safe and taken care of and have a good home.

Speaker 1 32:38

Yeah.

Speaker 32:38

You know, they're just they're good animals.

Speaker 1 32:41

I I kind of asked this, but of everything that your dogs taught you, what is the most enduring thing that you've learned?

Speaker 32:54

I actually am not very good at this, but I would probably say there's

Gratitude For The Hard Little Chores

Speaker 33:00

two things. One is to try to stay in the moment and to be more grateful for the things that I'm usually not grateful for.

Speaker 2 33:10

Yeah.

Speaker 33:11

Like the fact that I have to do the small chores, like feeding them and washing their dog bowls and sweeping up the dog hair every single day. Um, because last year after we lost Vinny, he got really sick for six months.

Speaker 2 33:30

Yeah.

Speaker 33:31

And it was very, very difficult. And now when my dogs are eating, because they're healthy and I get to clean their dog bowls, I'm really grateful that they're eating and they're healthy.

Speaker 3 33:42

Yeah.

Speaker 33:42

And every day when I have to sweep up Hilbert's ungodly amounts of German Shepherd fluff.

Speaker 1 33:49

He's got so much hair.

Speaker 33:50

He has so much fur. So much fur. I have never seen this much dog fur come off a dog. I think you know what this means? I have a healthy dog running around, leaving dog fur on my floor. I don't have any sick dogs. I have a very healthy pack of dogs. There is nobody that is causing any issues. There's nobody that is, you know, unhealthy or having any problems. I am just lucky that I just get to have a normal day.

Speaker 2 34:18

Yeah.

Speaker 34:18

And that is something that every time I'm frustrated that I have to pull out the vacuum cleaner and vacuum up some fluff or pick up the eaten dog toys that I'm so excited to buy them that they destroy within five minutes. I think, you know what? They are happy that they got to eat the dog toys.

Speaker 2 34:36

Yeah.

Speaker 34:37

And that is something that I think I remind myself of now probably three or four times a day. And I didn't do that before we lost Finny. And now I do that a lot more. Yeah. There's no medications, there's no, there's no like difficulties. It's a healthy household.

Speaker 1 34:58

Yeah. Yeah. So we helped you find the gratitude and the joy and kind of like the mundane everyday things.

Speaker 35:06

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that was a really big lesson too. It's easy to get caught up in that, like, oh my gosh, I have to go out and do this right now. And I really don't want to, but oh my gosh, you know what? I'm gonna, I'm gonna do it because everybody's everybody's good.

Speaker 2 35:23

Yeah.

Speaker 35:24

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's just something that we could all be better at, but I know. It's

Closing And Staying Connected

Speaker 35:30

easy to forget it just in the the normal, like day-to-day life stuff.

Speaker 1 35:35

Absolutely.

Speaker 35:37

Yeah.

Speaker 1 35:38

Well, thank you, Jen. I'm so I'm so grateful that you took the time to share your stories with us. I know how important those dogs are. And I am lucky enough to know your pups and to get to see them once a month and get to love them a little bit. And they're so lucky to have you. Thanks. See you next time. If you enjoyed this conversation, I'd love it if you'd follow the show, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who loves dogs. You can find links to everything we talked about today in the show notes. And I'd love to connect with you on Instagram at Baroo. If you have a story you'd like to share, you can email me at Charlotte at the baroo.com. Thanks for listening to Peru and Let's Chat S.