A Dash of Salt - Furry Friends

 In this episode of "A Dash of Salt," hosts Stacy McCracken and Sharon Mawet discuss the benefits of having pets, particularly dogs, emphasizing their role in social interaction, stress reduction, and mental health. Stacy shares her personal experiences with dogs, including her current husky, Jaxon, and the positive impact they have on her life. Sharon talks about alternative donation options for items that traditional shelters can't use, such as professional clothing for homeless shelters and old sheets for animal shelters. They also touch on the importance of enjoying the moment and how people can connect with animals, whether through pets or observing wildlife. The episode concludes with a recipe segment featuring a trendy cinnamon roll upgrade. 

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Chapters

• 2:11 Weekly Spark
• 4:32 Main Topic - Furry Friends
• 19:27 Salt's Kitchen

Transcript

0:12 

This is Episode Five. 

0:13 

I know it's crazy. 

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Speaker 1 

0:15 

Can you believe? Yes, can you believe this is our fifth episode? I think we're getting a little bit better at this. Our listeners will have to let us know, right? Hopefully, hopefully we're getting a little bit better, and if this is the fifth episode that you're listening to, we're really glad you're here. Thank you for joining us. Thanks for sticking with us, and we're having fun. So welcome to a dash of salt. Welcome and so we are two salty women, and if you haven't listened to our background and intro, just know that we are not salty. We are not angry, we are not upset. So it's not salty in that way. It is about spicing things up a little bit and adding a little flavor to your journey through work and life and all the things, right? Because, you know, as we get older, life gets more complicated, and shake it up, and we got and we gotta keep it interesting. So, so it's about adding a little bit of spice to that. It's Stacy McCracken, one of your co hosts. And I am a small town girl. I grew up in a very small town in the Midwest, and it's actually called Peru Indiana. You can look it up, not Peru South America, but Peru Indiana. I grew up there, but I live in Austin, Texas now, which is where I call home, and I have lived there a very long time, but I am not a native Texan like my cousin. That's right. I am 

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Speaker 2 

1:41 

Sharon Mawet the salty companion to Stacy, but I am a native Texan, and I am just over here trying to bake up some big 

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Speaker 1 

1:50 

dreams. Yep, absolutely. And so together, we're here to infuse just a little bit of saltiness in to your world and your week. That's 

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Speaker 2 

1:59 

right. So whether it's adding spice to your career or seasoning your personal growth, we've got you covered. So sit back, relax and get ready for 

2:09 

a flavorful ride with us. 

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Speaker 1 

2:11 

If it's the first time tuning in, thank you for joining us. Thank you for being here. You are in the right place. If you are looking for a little bit of inspiration and a little bit of fun. That's right? If you have been listening, thank you so much for coming back again. Today, we're going to talk about something that I love, but, but before we get to that, Sharon, what do you have for us for our weekly snack? Right? 

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Speaker 2 

2:39 

Well, I, you know, as I said, I've moved recently, but you know, as the kids get out of the house, it's all about decluttering and home organization. Of course, there's lots of home organization shows that have popped up in the last few years, so it's definitely trendy these days. But I you know, historically, as we declutter our home. We all want to just bag everything up and go quickly drop it off by, you know, Salvation Army, or whatever donation center you have nearby us. But I recently found out there are alternative donation centers, because I found out that a lot of places like Goodwill actually can't use a lot of the things that we drop off and we think that they will use so they end up going to the trash or landfill or somewhere else, not in a useful place. I've discovered since many of those items don't make it to the floor to be resold, I went and did a little research to find out some alternatives to that. Of course, if you have professional clothing that you're not utilizing or don't want to wear anymore, really consider taking it to a local homeless shelter or domestic violence shelter. You know, there's a lot of women out there trying to find jobs, but can't afford the professional clothing needed to get those jobs in an interview or whatnot. Certainly, there's national organizations like dress for success. I found that in Austin that you can donate shoes to fleet feet Austin, and then, based related to our upcoming topic today, we encourage you to take your old sheets Raz or T shirts to the local animal shelter. They use those to bathe the animals or use them for bedding. So, yeah, absolutely, absolutely, I'm going to post some of these resources on our website to salty women.com 

4:31 

but yeah, check it out. 

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Speaker 1 

4:32 

Awesome. Thank you for that. I Love You know, I think that taking things to the homeless shelter the domestic violence shelter is such it's just such an important thing. Because, yes, it is much quicker to just go drop it off at Goodwill. But you're absolutely right. There's so many things that end up there that they can't use. And honestly, this whole idea of taking things to the animal shelter or to places that rescue animals is. Is just really important. We are talking about furry friends, awesome, and so I am a dog lover. I'm actually an animal lover. I I just love animals. But I grew up with a dog, Sharon, did you grow up with any animal? I 

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Speaker 2 

5:17 

did? We had dogs at my house. I had two dogs in my childhood lifetime, Misty and sucks. Yeah, I love them a lot. You know, I 

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Speaker 1 

5:27 

never got that pet hamster that I asked the Easter Bunny for. Every year, relentlessly I asked the Easter Bunny for a pet hamster that never worked out, but I did have Jacques growing up, so that's a very sophisticated name for a dog for a little bit. But Jacques was he was older than me. He actually came to my family before I was even born. Wow. And so he lived a very long time. He actually was part of my life up through high school, like up until high school and so. And now we had, you know, in my married life, in my adult life, we had a yellow lab named Sandy, yeah, and she was amazing, and she lived a nice, long, full life. And currently, we have a husky in our life. So, and we're going to talk a little bit about Huskies, because he is special. He is four. He is full of energy. His name is Jackson, and I have to tell you that all of the dogs hold a special place in my heart. But if you ask my husband, it's Jackson, like he's my favorite and so, so So, why are we talking about pets, right, right? And so, why are they worth our time? Why are we talking about them, you know? And that's really what I want to focus on today. It's not necessarily about everybody should have a dog, because I don't think everybody should have a dog, okay, but, but there's a value they bring into our lives. One is social interaction. Yeah, right. And we have spent a lot of time in several of our episodes, right, talking about the importance of connection, right? So our networking episode, we talked about connecting, right, and reframing that idea of networking to building connections. And then we talked about hobbies, and how hobbies are a great way to build relationships and actually to the stress relief and all of those kinds of things. And we talk, we've also talked about mental health and loneliness, right? And so furry friends has a place in there, because having a dog, there's actually research that they've done now that that dogs can actually detect, like, when you're sad or when you're blue, or they can detect your mood, and they can see and so they can really sort of help, help you right in those ways. But for me, and the thing I've noticed about social connections, yes, is that having a dog, especially a handsome dog like Jackson, we meet a lot of people. So when I'm walking the dog around the block, yeah, people I've never met before, drivers, you know, neighbors that live in a different part of the neighborhood will say, well, comment on my dog, or will introduce themselves. Little People will go, Can I pet your dog? Can I get your dog? And so then we typically meet their parents, right because of that interaction. And so the simple process of having this dog that, first of all, you have to take out, yes, right? You have to get them out of the house and exercise them, because it's good for them, yes. And it's actually good for you too, right? So it's totally win win, right? A win, win. And so, you know, I just wonder. You know, research suggests, right, that friendships lower rates of depression and anxiety, right? And we've talked about that, and so dog owners are really likely to meet new people. Absolutely, that's why I think furry friends are really important. And I, I shared this with you, Sharon, but you know, during the pandemic, we had a group of people who got together, and I may have mentioned it in our mental health episode as well, but this community of people still gets together with their dogs. We invite people in. And I think what's so important is it isn't just about, you know, we call it puppy play time, because most of the dogs were puppies when we started, but we call it puppy play time, and so it's social connections for us, yeah, but it's also social connections for our pets, yeah. And so socializing your animals is a requirement, right? And so if an animal is socialized, that means that they can be around other dogs and not. Not bark or growl or carry on, yeah. And so one of the things we've discovered right is we'll invite people with puppies to come in, and even some of the dog owners have got new puppies, and they bring them to puppy play time so that they can become socialized. Interesting, yeah. And so anyway, I just think it's super important. That's point one. So, you know, I noticed you walk in your neighborhood. Do you have you noticed any folks with dogs out walking? 

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Speaker 2 

10:32 

Or there's a lot of people that walk in my neighborhood, in my area, but I've only seen just one or two pet owners walking their dogs with them. So primarily, they either walk solo or as a couple without having animals. Interesting, yeah, well, 

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Speaker 1 

10:50 

but I have cows. I was just getting ready to say, I'm pretty sure I saw a llama or some weird alpaca thing we have your road 

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Speaker 2 

11:01 

chickens on our some of my neighbors have are raising chickens. Of course, I live in a very big horse community, so there's a lot of houses out here. They own horses. So they either do that to go to the local rodeo, being that we are in Texas and so their kids are or equestrian activities, equestrian training facility not too far from my house. So there's a lot of variety of different pets in the area, other kinds 

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Speaker 1 

11:31 

of furry friends, right? And so I think that's awesome. We talked a little bit about stress reduction. Yeah, my morning routine has shifted to be not just how it reduces stress for me, but also how to support my husky. And so I make time for a morning walk. So you know, the first thing I do when I get up, I drink some water, but then it's time for actually, Jackson snuggles on the couch, yeah, for about three minutes, but then he's ready to go for a walk, yeah. And the beautiful thing about to me, about that is it totally gets me out in sunshine, and so even if I get up, he's throwing things I am, you know? But if I am not in the mood, it doesn't matter, because he needs to go for a walk, yeah? And he actually expects a walk, right? And so it gets me sort of motivated to get out in the sunshine. And I actually use it for sort of walking meditation, you know, he's sniffing and enjoying his walk, which they actually say that sniff walks are good for dogs because it stimulates their brain. Just the whole idea of taking in new smells and new senses, it stimulates their brain and they process it, and it's actually healthy for dogs interesting so taking time so that they can sniff. So our morning walk I think of as a sniff walk. So I'm patient while he does his sniffing, and I'm just breaking in the sunshine and doing a little bit of prayer and meditation as I walk along. And it's just so like rejuvenating it is. And how do you since you don't have a pet right now, tell me about don't have 

13:21 

a traditional pet. 

13:22 

Okay? I want to hear so 

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Speaker 2 

13:23 

I will relate that to my spouse. So we do are fortunate to own a ranch over 100 acres, and on that ranch we do have cows, while only we have two cows right now and then several other cows being that use our land for their from another farmer in the area. But, yeah, so my husband finds out rejuvenation going out there to go, get on a four wheeler, go through the land. See our cows. Try to raise cows, because we do try to, you know, have, I don't know, a calf every year to kind of populate and then sell as a business. But I have seen my husband go out there, and when he gets out there and walks the land and, you know, feeds cubes to the cows or whatnot, he is in it boosts his spirit, his mentality, he's all excited, and he's like, thinks it was a wonderful day. So, yeah, we have cows. 

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Speaker 1 

14:22 

I love that. So I have to confess, my other furry friends are the birds and the squirrels. You know, we have a bird feeder out. We live on a green belt, so it's all green behind my house. And so we have a bird feeder. We have a water because it's really dry in Texas. So just, you know, I feel bad because I, I feel like, you know, if it's so dry that you know the plants aren't living, that it has to be hard on the animals as well. Yeah, so we have a water and and dancing, 

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Speaker 2 

14:55 

working on that in our new house, to get a bird feeder out there, because we've had car. Knolls. We've had a hummingbird come by. So we are getting plans in place to, you know, feed our visitors as well, our furry visitors as well, right? And 

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Speaker 1 

15:10 

just to be able to enjoy them, which kind of takes me to to my last you know. Thing that I want to share is that whole idea of enjoying the moment. And so Jackson really forces me to slow down and enjoy the moment. He most dogs don't like going out in the rain, right? And so a lot of dogs, you know, if it's raining or anything's going on, they're in the house, and you have to kind of force them or take the umbrella, or whatever. He loves the rain. There you go. Oh my gosh. So when it's raining, he still wants to go for a walk. He wants to go for a longer walk. I've had to sort of adjust my whole mentality around it, of putting on my raincoat, popping up the umbrella, and going for a walk in the rain and just him getting soaked, he is so happy, he will go lay in the grass and just let it rain on him. And so, you know, there's this whole ideas of, like, jumping in mud puddles, yeah, things that we did when we were kids, yeah, but, but, you know, I think that that that just taking a moment, right? Whether it's going out to the ranch to feed the cows or, you know, sitting on the deck and watching the birds fly in, right, too. Yeah, it's, 

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Speaker 2 

16:29 

it's, uh, everybody, you know, while I do love dogs and pets and whatnot, I just just chose not to have them in our daily life anyway. But everybody is motivated by different things, right? And, you know, sitting on your back porch watching, you know, the squirrels run by is a great way to spend the day, but getting out to a local trail and or go to a rodeo if you're in Texas and watch the animals and whatnot. So, yeah, there's a variety of ways we can go support animals in our neighborhood, 

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Speaker 1 

17:04 

absolutely, and get and benefit from it as well, right? And so if you can't have a dog, or you don't want a dog, or dogs aren't your thing because you're a cat person, you know that's fine, but I think that it's important to think about that motivation, right? Jackson's not motivated by treats, and so we had to find different ways to motivate them. And I think people are the same way they are, right in business, right? You can't always motivate all of your team members the same way, right? Right? Not everybody is looking for in fact, there's a there's a lot to suggest in Gallup, right? That it isn't money that motivates people, right? It is their manager. It is their relationships. Maybe it's, it's that we, you know, there's a book called The Five Love Languages, right? And, and it's the things that motivate people. Might just be a simple thank you, right? Or a hug or something else, right? Or a cuddle with your dog, or a cuddle with your dog, exactly. And so I think that that while we've talked a lot about dogs, right, I think that the lessons of I think we can learn a lot right from how we navigate that. For you know, people also need to be motivated. They need to be to be treated. Well, yeah, right. They, you know, they need social interaction, right to be happy and healthy and fruitful. You know, dogs need the same thing that people need. And so, you know, I want to encourage you to think about, if you have a dog, great, make sure that you know you are investing the time so that they are energetic and healthy and and all of those things, right, yeah. But also, if you don't have a pet, just be thinking about what motivates you, right? What can, what can de stress you? What, what things think about your team? Right? If you are a leader of people, I think it is so important right now, like now more than ever, right, to think about how to serve them well and support them. Yep, so that, I mean, that's, that's my that's my view. 

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Speaker 2 

19:22 

Thanks Stacy for sharing your you know, tips about your favorite companion these days? 

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Speaker 1 

19:27 

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, what? What's in salt's kitchen today? 

19:33 

Yeah? Well, 

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Speaker 2 

19:34 

I figured, I, you know, we keep talking about salt's kitchen, but we haven't talked about any recipes yet. And I figured it was time. So I don't know if you remember, a couple of years ago, there was a big trend on social media about the baked beta pasta trend that was on there. I did not know this trend. Put it in a casserole dish, a big block of feta cheese turns into a creamy pasta sauce when you throw into. Cherry tomatoes and your noodles of choice. Okay, I 

20:03 

have totally seen that now that you described it. So that was a big trend 

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Speaker 2 

20:06 

back, way back in 2021 so time flies. So I love the current trend that I see on social media is cinnamon rolls, which I'm all about the baked goods. So if you can take a can of cinnamon rolls from the grocery store or your favorite brand. Take them up a notch by pouring heavy cream on top of your I've totally done it. Yes. Is it good? It 

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Speaker 1 

20:31 

is so worth it. It is like you have created a Cinnabon cinnamon roll from a store bought cinnamon rolls. It is 

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Speaker 2 

20:40 

Yes, so, but if you want to be extra of course, and take it up another notch, of course, by mixing up melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla and a little bit of cinnamon, pour that on top so that gives it that Extra gooey. Cinnamony, Mm, hmm, caramelization, in addition to a 

21:02 

little bit that sounds really good, I may have to try that. 

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Speaker 2 

21:05 

So if you you know, have an extra couple of minutes, I recommend you not only do heavy cream, but just a quick mix of butter, sugar and cinnamon will give you those famous Cinnabon cinnamon roll flavors at home. I 

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Speaker 1 

21:21 

love that. I love that you'll have to, you'll have to link that so that maybe we can know the proportions right butter and 

21:30 

absolutely, we'll check out 

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Speaker 2 

21:31 

two salty women.com for a link on those trends. I 

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Speaker 1 

21:36 

love that. Thank you so much. Yeah, finally, a recipe right in salt's kitchen. That's right, gonna have it, yep, we'll be back with more recipes in the future. You know, as we wrap up today, I just want to say that human and pet relationships are vital to enhancing our mental health and wellbeing. I think that they provide emotional support, they reduce stress, they foster a sense of well being, of purpose, and all of those are really essential for a healthy life. They are right. And so, you know, this is just my shout out to I really love dogs, and I just have to say that if you think getting a dog is not for you, then don't get one, because the idea that you could just abandon them or take them back to the shelter or anything like that just breaks my heart. It just breaks my heart, because they are just they have souls, they have feelings, they know and so and so, don't do that. Yeah, right. I would rather somebody not have a pet than think that they could just get rid of it, and so just don't do that. Oh, I offer that, and I often also suggest that you turn in, you tune in in the future. So I'm about wild animals too. I love wild animals. I found on safari and seen wild animals. And if you heard before, one of my hobbies is scuba diving, so I love the ocean, right as well. And so I also asked for a pet dolphin growing up. And you know, that never worked out really. I mean, I really wanted one. I wrote a whole story about it and advocated for why I needed a pet dolphin. It didn't work anyway. Thanks for joining us on a dash of salt. And in case you haven't been able to read our picture, I just want to tell you what it says, because it says, Here we salt margaritas, not sidewalks. And I think Sharon and I may be off to enjoy one of those together. That's right. So until next 

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Speaker 2 

23:38 

time, life is always better with a dash of salt. So don't forget to subscribe and visit us at two salty women.com for more flavorful content, and we will see you next time you.