How Two Rescue Dogs Shaped A Young Adult Life

A rescue dog found on the side of the road can change the whole direction of a life, and Nicole’s story makes that feel real in the most personal way. I sat down with Nicole to talk about Dega, her “NASCAR dog from Alabama,” and how a sassy, tennis-ball-obsessed rescue became her constant through high school, COVID isolation, college transitions, and the jump into adulthood. We get into the everyday details that make dog companionship so powerful: the routines, the walks, the social connections, and the quiet comfort of coming home to a best friend who never keeps score.

Nicole also challenges the idea that younger adults aren’t into pets. From her perspective, many Gen Z pet owners are leaning into therapy, mental health awareness, and intentional responsibility while delaying big milestones like having kids. That blend makes “furkids” more than a trend. It’s structure, purpose, and a kind of unconditional love that shows up whether your hair is clean, your apartment is messy, or your day fell apart.

Then comes Dale, her new rescue puppy from Wet Nose Rescue in Blue Ridge, Georgia, adopted at eight weeks old right before senior finals. We talk crate training, potty training, the exhaustion of those early mornings, and why the puppy stage can be both tender and intense. Nicole also shares what she learned growing up with many dogs, including early experiences with pet loss, and how she’s preparing to manage dog care as she starts her hybrid job at Equifax, from vetting dog walkers to building a realistic schedule.

If you love rescue dog stories, pet parenting honesty, and conversations about dogs and mental health, you’ll want to hear this one. Subscribe, share it with a fellow dog person, and leave a review telling us: what has your dog helped you survive or become?

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Transcript

Welcome And Why Pets Matter

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Every Paw Print, Every Story. I am your host, Dan Popovic. And for you new listeners, what this show is about is it's it's all about our fur kids. Uh, you know, I invite great folks in, family in to come in, talk about their fur kids. It's a great podcast to laugh. Uh, yes, you may cry, because right, we do talk a little bit about pet loss and that impact. So it's really designed to kind of also support us, um, but really to laugh, to get inspired, but just to hear from all the great families out there that have fur kids. And I'm super excited today to welcome a special guest. And I'm and Nicole, well, I'll I'll come back to that and tee it up. But Nicole, I just yeah, thank you. Welcome to the show. Thank you for being on.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Thank you for having me. I'm very excited.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Yeah, and I'm I'm excited to jump into this for a lot of different stuff. And for the listeners, Nicole and I were talking about a bunch of stuff before we started this, and but wanted to share for many of the listeners and new listeners. Nicole is the daughter of Tina. I had her on uh an episode probably a month ago. So hopefully, you listeners go back to watch the episode. The title is something around, I think what one or three dogs to eight dogs. You got you grew up, and I know Nicole, we're gonna talk about this. You grew up in a household full of lots of fur kids. Her story was unbelievable from all of the fur kids having eight to the obedience training competition, the movies, which I was like, pet wrangling, that's pretty cool. I had never heard of that when she told that story. And then, of course, naturally, it was like the the loss of the one fur kid on set. I was like, holy crap, that's pretty sudden. Um, but we'll get to all of that and kind of unravel all of that. But listeners, go back and listen to that show. Maybe go back and listen to it first, stop this now and then come back to this one. Um, well, let's talk, but let's talk about today. You've

Dega’s Roadside Rescue Origin

SPEAKER_01 2:06

got two with you today, so I'll let you start in in whatever order we've got to. What can what kind of breeds? What are their names?

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Okay, so um, my oldest dog, his name is Dega, and we named him after Taladega because my brother was on the way to the NASCAR races with his paternity, and he found this dog on the side of the road, and they picked him up and they fed him McDonald's hamburgers for the week. And at that point, we already had seven dogs. So my mom was like, absolutely not, you're not bringing another dog home. And six years later, Dega is still with us.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

So not last long.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

Um, as soon as Dega was brought home, he just absolutely bonded to me. And at that point, I was going into oh my gosh, I was in high school and it was just, you know, a teenage girl's experience in high school. It's never the most exciting thing. Um, and when I got Dega, it just completely transformed my life because he became a very consistent thing in my life during, I think, a transitional period of life where there's not a lot of consistence. Um, so he has seen me through high school and now through college. Um and yes, he's definitely, I mean, we're two peas in a pod. He's the funniest dog ever. Um, I have no idea what his breed is. Um, I've never done a DNA test. Um, I just know he is a NASCAR dog from Alabama. Um, and then my second dog, he is nine weeks old right now. Um, his name is Dale, and we named him that from the movie Talladega Nights. So that way his name went with Dagas. Um, and he is also rescue. They think that he's a border collie in a great Pyrenees mixed together. Um yeah, but we're not sure. So we're kind of just waiting to see how big he gets and what he turns into. Um, but that's been an exciting journey as well. Um, I got him the Sunday before my last finals week of college started. So I was doing all the puppy things while also in finals for school. Wow. And so that was a little crazy. And my mom said that I was also crazy for doing that. So shout out Tina. Um, but it ended up being great, and he gets along with Dega very well. So he's been a wonderful addition to the family.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

Wow, okay. Wow, I'm trying to unravel where to go next with my next question because that's a that's a great start. Well, I love the NASCAR. Well, I'm curious since we're on that one. Do you watch it?

SPEAKER_00 5:05

No, I've I don't watch it. Um, I grew up in Ballground, Georgia, so a lot of the people around me watch it.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Because it's a very southern thing. Yeah. Um, and my brother doesn't either. I'm a lot more southern than my brother is, but I guess like just because he was in the fraternity, he ended up going. And I guess it was meant to be because we got Dega out of it.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

So how old is Dega again?

SPEAKER_00 5:32

He is six years old currently, but he will turn seven in November.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

And then that Dega's the one that you really don't know the breed.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Right. He um he when he was a very little puppy, because we got him. I mean, when he's so fit in my hands, he was very small. Um, we thought he was gonna be a lab, but he is not a lab. Um, he is about 30 pounds, and I think he's a mix of probably four dogs because he's just every time he does something different, like he's very muscular, like a pit bull would be, but he's smaller and his tail curves up like a different breed, but he has a really fluffy butt like a corgi. And so we have no idea what he is, but he's very loved.

Sass, Side-Eye, And College Separation

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Now, sorry, so you said he's he's funny. Like, what what's some what are some stuff that he does that makes him so funny?

SPEAKER_00 6:29

I think he is the sassiest dog I have ever met, and I think that's because he's a product of my teenage years.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Um okay, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

His favorite thing to do if he he's very judgmental, I think. Um, so he will just sit on the couch and he does not sit like a normal dog. He sits with his butt kind of under him, and so he's just kind of like slouching back and he almost looks like a human the way that he sits.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

And he just sits there and side-eyes you and will just like give you the most attitude until you give him attention or you play with him. Um, and then his favorite thing to do is chase tennis balls. And he's just, I mean, he could run until he wouldn't run anymore after a ball. If you keep throwing it, he'll keep chasing it. And he just cracks us up because he'll go out with all the other dogs. Um, because he goes to visit my parents a lot. Um, and all the other dogs go out and they go potty and they do their thing. Dega will not potty until you throw the dog uh the ball for him. And he is very, very focused on the tennis ball. Um, but I just think he's so funny because of how sassy he is. And I swear he is judging all of us all the time, the way that he looks at us.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Love that. That's yeah, the the side eye look, that's funny. That's cool. Um and then now did did so you had him okay, high school and then college. Now, did you go off to college? Was he with you? Was there a separation there? Were you were you with him? How did how did that aspect work?

SPEAKER_00 8:07

So, my freshman year, I lived in the dorms. Um, my parents thought that that was something really important for me to experience. So I didn't get to have him that for that entire year. He stayed with my parents and all of their dogs. Um, and that was definitely very hard because him and I were very bonded. And every time I left my parents' house, my dad would hold him up and like wave goodbye with his pa. And I would just be sobbing on the way back to campus because I had to leave him. Um, and then my freshman year, me and some of my friends moved into a big college house together, and he came with me and just ended up being the dog of the house with all of these college girls. So he loved it and he has a pink bow tie now to commemorate in our life. Yes, it's so funny because during that time period, everyone would always ask if he was a boy or a girl because we put him in a lot of pink. Um, but since my sophomore year, he has been with me in living with me. Um, but we did have that separation that first year while I was in the dorms.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

You know, it's funny that you said that uh with the bow and and uh people asking boy or girl. I you'll have to let me know if this resonates or if it's relatable. Like Marley was our, she's the reason for that book behind me. Um, female Doberman. Every time we were always out in public, everybody were like, Oh, how old is he? And I'm like, it's not a boy, it's a girl. And then she would just give them the look like the same thing, too, right? Does he do that? Did you get that same?

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Oh my gosh, yes. We'll take him to like downtown Woodstock or anywhere we can take him. We love to bring him. And everyone always comes up, oh, how old is she? What kind of breed is she? And it's like, it's a boy. I swear, and he has the same reaction of just like, um, excuse me.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Love it. Okay, that's very cool. Um, so he's he's laying beside you now.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Yes, he just sat up. Come here, Dega. You want to say hi? So this is Dega.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Oh wow, what a cutie.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Yes, hi Dega.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Okay, now he's looking.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Yeah, he's like, um, put me down.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Yeah, right, right. He's like, I'm I'm done with this. I don't need this visibility.

unknown 10:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Um, so no, that's also good through high school, college. You felt like I forgot what you said earlier, that he kind of he helped you through those stages, grounded you, and like how did you feel like he like what did he what did you feel like he helped you with?

COVID Isolation And Daily Grounding

SPEAKER_00 10:51

So I had a very interesting high school experience um um when I was a freshman COVID hit. Um, and so I went from being or I went from playing on three basketball teams. So I was surrounded by people all the time. I went to a very small private school, so it was very close-knit. All of us were very close. We saw each other, you know, every day. We walked to lunch together, we'd all give each other rides home. Like we went from, you know, very, very social uh um atmosphere that we had created to complete isolation. Um, and at that point, my brother was not living with us, so it was just my mom, my dad, and me um at 15 years old. So I think my parents had a harder time than I did dealing with an isolated 15-year-old girl. Um, but Dega was there and he never left my side through any of it. And when I was on my online class, he would sit at my feet under the desk. And anytime I went anywhere, like he forced me to do things like get out of the house and go on walks and be active in that way that I feel like without him, I would not have done because I wouldn't have had the motivation to otherwise. Um, and even now, being an adult, I don't play basketball anymore. I'm about to start my corporate job. If I didn't have Dega, it would be very easy for me to just stay. I live alone, other than me and my two dogs. It would be very easy for me to isolate, to not get out, to not socialize. But because of Dega, I have friends in the neighborhood that also have dogs, and we all walk our dogs together. And I walk him four times a day, not because I need to, and they're not massive walks, but it's just because it's like I this is how I get out of the house, this is how I move, this is how I stay active. And I feel like, you know, from high school to now, that's been a very consistent positive element of what he's contributed to my life. Um, and you know, yeah, I mean, I just I think with high school, um, there's a lot of discovering who you are as a person, a lot of navigating friendships and how that looks and friendships changing because, you know, you're changing as a person. And through those times where, you know, like every kid says, I don't have any friends and no one at school likes me, and all that. I never truly felt, I think, the isolation that could have come with the that mindset because I had Dega at home waiting for me. And we had, I mean, we had so many dogs at that point, but Dega was the only one that was truly bonded to me. All the other dogs are bonded to my mom because you know, she took care of them, they all slept in her bed. But from the moment we brought Dega home, he slept in my bed. He was mine, you know. Um, and so it was just, he's just always provided, I think, multiple things to help with, you know, really low points in life. Um, and you know, again, going through those teenage years and these years of discovering myself and even in my early 20s, right? It's like, okay, I'm I'm starting my corporate job and I graduated college, but it's like, who am I as an adult? You know, and it's like, I know for sure I am a dog mom, I am Dega's mom, and that brings me a lot of peace because, you know, we just do life together and it's really exciting.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

That's amazing. Loved how you frame that. And um, and you mentioned it, Kirby's like, yeah, I know, but just again for the listeners, Nicole and I were talking earlier, and I was the other part about this interview I was excited about is everybody's a bit older, older farts like me, not that I'm an old fart or anything, but I'll I'll say it on it. Um, so it was it it was really fun to get you on here, but that's such an amazing perspective because yeah, that's I can't quite relate since that was quite a while ago. And then as you mentioned, I didn't even think about COVID in that experience. Um and and how you kind of put that into perspective. And then having having him there for you in college going through that, um that's really cool and special.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Yes, it's it's been very helpful. I feel like for everybody, college is a very special experience in its own unique way, depending on the person. Um, and you know, there's a lot of ups and downs with colleges, there's college relationships, there's, you know, all the things. Um, and so again, just going through these really transformative periods of my life, having the consistency of no matter what, I come home to Dega, I care for him, and we have each other, has just been a very grounding thing for me. And it always helps me like keep my feet on the ground and not spiral into all of these different places or feel super isolated or any of the things like I know Dave is there, we're bonded, we're best friends, and it's very grounding for me.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

I I see taglines here. I mean, that's awesome. That that perspective. And then okay, so that I'm gonna jump into that question you and I were talking about earlier.

Gen Z, Therapy, And Fur Kids

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Um because it's like how you just frame that up in that perspective is just is great for your your generation. And then I know I mentioned to you I had a friend who wrote a book and they they were out doing a signing and they made some mentions about your generation not having pets and wondering why. But then on the flip side, I know when you and I were talking, it's like that's not quite the case. Um so yeah, expand on that a little. It's like, I mean, your perspective and and how you frame that I was like, okay, that's if the younger generation doesn't have kids, listening to your perspectives, like uh or kids, fur kids. Um I know you're gonna go there, right? Why the fur, yeah. So Jay, let's let's jump, let's talk a little bit about that. All your friends have so you're you you disagree with yeah, that your the younger generation has fur kids. Yes, um, all of yours do, but yeah, let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

Yeah, so all of the people that I'm surrounded with either have fur kids or really, really want them and will be getting them once they graduate from college and have a full-time job because that is an element to it. There's a financial responsibility that comes with having fur kids. Um, and so I do think it makes sense not to have a dog in college if you can't handle it. But for me, I could not have imagined not having a dog in college. But, anyways, um, I just truly believe a lot of the people in my generation are waiting to have kids until a little later in life. So there's that element to it of like, okay, we're not gonna have kids in our early 20s, right? We're probably gonna wait until our late 20s, early 30s, but I'm gonna have four dogs, you know? Love it. Right. And so I think also my generation is a big generation that believes in a lot of therapy. Mental health is very important, they're very big advocators for it. And so I think that also goes hand in hand with why I believe my generation has fur babies and cats and dogs, or whatever pet you could possibly think of, because there is such a therapeutic element to owning a dog and loving something other than yourself. Because when you have an animal and you are its provider, I mean, you feed it, you walk it, you are everything to that animal. There is an element to it of like, okay, I'm super depressed and I don't want to get out of bed, but I have to for my dog. And so I think there's a lot in the mental health element that provides a lot of positivity in having a dog or a cat or whatever animal my generation might choose to have. And so I just think I do disagree with that because from what I've seen, my generation not only has dogs, but I mean, we go all out, we get them outfits and we treat them like actual children.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

So I love that. That's that's very cool, exciting to hear. And that's so fitting too with this being May, right? Mental health month. Um, so how uh how surreal is this? Just us connecting, talking, having this conversation this time in May. But I love what you said earlier, too, about uh the joke of the comment you made that you're talking back to the parents that hey, here's really your grandkids, right?

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Oh my gosh, it's my favorite thing. Um, my boyfriend's dad, one year for his birthday, I got him a shirt with a picture of Dega on it, and it says favorite granddog.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Love it.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

Always joke. My mom is called grandma, like out, you know, talking to Dega, because obviously I talk to him as a human. I'm like, oh, you want to go to grandma's house? And my mom is in on it now too, and she gets so excited, she's like, Oh, they're coming to grandma's. And I mean, my parents just love it, and yeah, they definitely this is their grandparent experience for the time being.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Love that. Yeah, she didn't forewarn me about how fun this interview would be with you. So I'm gonna have to um, yeah, you're this this is awesome. You're amazing. Um, so we've we've we've talked a lot about Daig.

Dale The Puppy And Finals Week

SPEAKER_01 20:42

I definitely don't want to not talk about Dale, you know. You gotta we gotta we gotta give him a little bit of ground cover, right? I know that they're they're both special. So Dale's nine weeks. Um, he's nine weeks now, or you got him when he was nine weeks.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

So I got him, no, he has to be 10 weeks now because I got him when he was eight weeks. Okay, so what ended up happening with Dale is his mom was surrendered to the shelter, and they told the shelter that she was spade, and two days later she had eight puppies. So she was definitely not spade.

unknown 21:20

Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

Um, and I know the rescue very well. They work out of Blue Ridge. Um, it's called Wet Nose Rescue from Blue Ridge. Um, anybody wanting to rescue, I definitely recommend them. Um, I have had seven friends rescue from them in the last month because they've had so many litters of puppies come in recently. Um, and so through getting to know the rescue from my friends, because I'm kind of the designated dog person with all of my friends, because everybody knows I had a bunch of dogs growing up. So they call me, they ask me all the questions what vaccines do they need to get, all of these things, right? So With talking and my friends and everything around that, I ended up forming a relationship with this rescue and meeting Dale. And once I met him, I just immediately fell in love. He's so fun. And he's a lot like my mom's dog, Breeze. I don't know if she talked to you about Breezy. Um I don't know. Okay. She has a lab. They have two labs right now and a golden retriever. And one of the labs is Breeze and one of them is Bolt. Um, and Breeze, my mom always jokes that she's me and Bolt is my older brother when we were um and just like in a nutshell to describe Dale's personality and how it relates to Breeze, all he wants to do is play. He just he plays for like an hour and then he sleeps for three. And then as soon as he gets up and he potties, he wants to play again. And he's just so curious about everything. Like his favorite thing right now is leaves because he just is so fascinated by them. Um, he picks them up and carries them with him on our walks because they're just better than any of the toys in his toy basket. Um and yeah, he's been great. He's very smart. I think that's the border collie in him. He's already sitting and laying down and he's done very well with his potty training and he's very sweet. And I mean, him and I just bonded immediately. Um like when we get up in the morning, they have breakfast around 5 a.m. right now because he's still so small. Um, and then we go back to sleep on the couch because I'm not working right now, so I'm taking advantage of that. Um, and the way that that looks now is that I have Dega on this side of my head and Dale on this side of my head. Or all three of us are just cuddled on the couch. Um, and he's yeah, he's just he's an amazing puppy. He's a lot of work, but as every puppy ever is. Um, and you know, the puppy stage is always fun, but tiring and emotional and all of the things. Um, but he's definitely been worth it. And he's just been such an amazing addition to our family for sure.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

No, that's that's awesome. And then you said, didn't you say you got him right during finals week?

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Yes. So I rescued him the Sunday before my senior year finals started. And that Monday I had my first final. So I went into that final on three hours of sleep because the first night you're crate training a puppy, you are not gonna sleep. Um, I did end up getting an A on that final. So shout out to Dale for that one. Um, because in the hours that I was awake, I was like, oh, you know what? This is a great opportunity to study because Dale's I might as well study. Um and I ended up doing really good on that test. Um, but yes, it was definitely a very stressful week and a lot of phone calls to my mom. Like, am I doing this right? I think I am, I don't know. Um, and so I'm pretty sure my mom and I have called each other probably three times a day since I've gotten Dale because I'm just like asking her all of the dog questions. Um, but yes, I got him right before finals week. And it was a very tiring week, but definitely worth it because I got to celebrate with two dogs instead of just Data. So it was very fun.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

That's awesome. And do you think um, yeah, that's that's crazy with during during finals week. And obviously, growing up, you grew up in a household family. Seemed like you had, I'm gonna guess you you've probably had fur kids through the bulk of your whole life, if not your whole life, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Yes.

Growing Up With Dogs And Grief

SPEAKER_00 25:52

So um my dog's or my mom's sole dog, as she calls him, his name is Whiskey. Um yes, she brought whiskey home when I was two weeks old. Um, and so I was, I've always had them. I mean, when my mom and dad brought me home from the hospital, the first thing they did was put me down on the floor with the dogs because they're like it's gonna grow her immune system, you know? Um, and so I've always been around them and I spent plenty of nights in a little bouncy chair watching my mom do agility with all of her friends and sitting there eating the string cheese that was meant to be for the dogs. Um, so it's always been a very significant element of my life um over the course of my life in total. Um we've had fifty, I've experienced love from the beginning to the end of their life, 15 dogs in total. Wow. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

Do you think so? Do you think that that just that time has kind of really equipped you well with the the things you can kind of handle now and any kind of adversities that kind of come at you?

SPEAKER_00 27:13

I think yes. Um, I think there's a very positive thing with having dogs, period. It's especially as a child. Um, it's just such a joy and it's the most pure love you will ever experience. So having that many dogs very young, and they're all, I mean, they love the kids and they're obsessed with you. Um, it's been a beautiful thing. And I think, you know, that there's a lot that has come from it. Um, because from an early age, I was exposed to grief and what it looks like to lose a dog. Um we put down our first dog when I was in kindergarten. Um, so I think at five years old, I had to start to learn what death even is, um, and try to conceptualize it from a child's perspective. And I think it has really equipped me with positive and some negative things for my life. Um, but I think it's also when it comes to raising the dogs and you knowing the best things to do for them and understanding their lifespan and what that looks like is very helpful and has allowed me to be able to do things like get a puppy. And by the second week of having him, he's basically potty trained. So I think a lot of positives have come from it for sure.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

Oh wow, final exams in college before graduate. That's yeah. Um shoot, I know we're coming close to the end of this interview, which man, um, it kind of flies by. Probably more to talk about. Um, I did want to ask.

Starting Work And Dog Logistics

SPEAKER_01 28:48

So you mentioned a couple times. So you're starting a new job here soon.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

Yes. Um, I'm starting at Equifax and following in my mom's footsteps. So I will be there starting in June.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Awesome, exciting. And then so uh so the remoteness is kind of gonna be gone, I'm assuming.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

Yes. So I will be remote Monday and Friday, but then Tuesday through Thursday, I will be in office.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Okay. And then obviously, then obviously there's planning around that with the bird kids.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

Oh my gosh, yes. It's you know, vetting dog walkers and trying multiple to make sure I actually really like them. And then since Dale is so young, they have to come twice a day and making sure when I leave in the morning it's after his breakfast time, so he has time to potty. And then, you know, when I get home, it's like no going out to dinner after work. We're going straight home to potty LC again and all of the things. So there's definitely a lot of planning around it, but I feel like having a dog through college has definitely prepared me for that because it was almost the same thing, right? I'm not, I can't go to party tonight. I've been in class all day. I need to go take care of my dog. Um, and saying no to many hangouts so that I could come home and take care of Dega, but it was also a pretty good excuse when I didn't want to go. It's like, oh, I have my dog, I have to go home. Um, but I'm hoping that that college experience and also the blessing of getting to watch my parents do it um will be very helpful in the transition of starting to work full time.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Oh, that's awesome. Um shoot.

The Unconditional Love Argument

SPEAKER_01 30:29

I get typically when I end, we come to the end of interviews, we do talk about um you know, loss and and advice. So I'll kind of leave this open to you, but I almost I almost feel like shifting gears a little bit with you, with with the inspiration and um you know everything you're doing, going, you know, you have experience and starting the new job. But I so my one thought was or question was, and I you've hit on this already, is I guess what advice or like or or inspiration would you I don't say to your, you know, maybe your generation or just just folks in general on the importance of having pets in your life?

SPEAKER_00 31:12

Yeah, um, that's a really good question. And I feel like it's something that I could talk about for hours. Um having a dog and experiencing the love of a pet is something that cannot be replaced in any way. And sometimes people compare it to their kids, but it's even different because the love of a dog is not contingent. They don't care if your hair is washed, they don't care if you haven't showered in two days, they don't care if the house is messy, they don't care if you don't have their favorite treat. They want nothing more than to be loved by you and to love you. Um, and I think something that everyone should know or experience is that when you have a dog, you are their entire world. They know nothing other than the life with you and the experience with you. And so when you think of it in that perspective, right, every time they dream, it's about you because you're all they know, or it's about an experience with you. And so I would say not necessarily advice because I don't want to tell everybody to go get a dog. Um, but I would say right, but definitely go get a dog. Um, but I would just say growing up with animals, having them around me, and having a dog through middle school and high school and every experience you could possibly imagine, I've always had a dog there. I couldn't imagine my life being different. And I think it made a lot of situations that could have been very, very hard to handle a lot easier. Because when you come home after a really hard day in middle school where all the girls are being mean to you and eight dogs lay on the bed with you, there is nothing in the world that can make you sad. Um, so I guess I would just say if you have the opportunity to experience the pure love that a dog can give you, I would take it and hold it as close as you possibly can. And no matter how long they live, it is something that will carry you in your life for a very long time. And it's something that you will never forget. And you will always reminisce and talk about, you know, oh, well, my dog, Dega, you know, he just he loved me so much and he was so funny. And, you know, when you have a dog and you experience that love, whether they're with you still or not, their name will always live on because they'll always be in your heart and it'll be a form of love that you've never experienced before.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

I love it. That's a beautiful way to end this episode.

Wrap-Up And How To Follow

SPEAKER_01 34:00

That was that was great. Um, Nicole, thank you. Thank you for being here today.

SPEAKER_00 34:05

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Yeah, and and for you listeners, um definitely be on the lookout for this. Uh, subscribe to the article to to see more about this interview with Nicole. And I know you're gonna be sending me some pictures that we will add to that so they can see these fur kids. Yeah. But um don't go anywhere just yet. But yeah, thank you again for being on this uh episode today.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

Of course. Thank you so much for having me.