3 Ways to Help Your Dog Live Longer + Coping With Pet Loss

3 simple ways to help your dog live longer—plus an honest conversation about coping with pet loss.

In Episode 1 of Long Live Dogs, Pitbulls & Pet Grief Craig Fields shares practical, effective tips to improve your dog’s health and longevity, including daily habits, and natural wellness strategies that can make a real difference.

Then we open up about the part of loving a dog no one is ever fully prepared for—losing them. This raw and heartfelt conversation explores dog grief, healing, and how to honor the bond we share with our dogs long after they’re gone.

Whether you want to help your dog live a longer, healthier life or need support navigating pet loss, this episode is for you.

🐾 Dog longevity | Dog health | Pet wellness | Coping with pet loss | Dog grief support

❤️ 100% of profits support rescue dogs through nybullycrew.org 

Sponsored by Cassone Trailers & Bully Crew CBD

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to our first episode, Long Live Dogs, Pit Bulls, and Pet Grief Podcast. Brought to you by Kosoni, Woman-owned business truck and equipment sales, the nation's number one hook lift truck dealership with over 400 commercial trucks to keep your business moving. Kosoni Trailer and Container Company, your source for modular buildings, job site trailers, and storage solutions, celebrating 50 years in business.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

And this episode was brought to you by Bully Crew CBD. Okay, everyone, welcome to the first episode of Long Live Dogs, Pitbulls, and Pet Grief Podcast. And this episode, uh, I'm gonna open up a little. So I'm gonna discuss a couple of things that I feel are increasing the uh amount of years that my dogs are on this planet. My first my first pit bull died when he was uh before 11, and now I have a 15-year-old. And there's a couple of things that I attribute to that. And first and foremost, right out the box is their diet. Uh when I was first, you know, had dogs back in the day, you know, I fed them the kibble that my vet recommended. And little did I know that uh my vet was recommending imes back in the day. And if you Google IMES and cancer, you'll see that that's one of the leading brands that causes dogs. So uh for kibble to be made, it's made at extreme heat. It's processed foods, and all the ingredients are pretty much uh all the nutrients are pretty much burnt away. So, and you're feeding your dog uh, you know, processed food. Now, humans get diabetes from processed foods. Why would we give this to our dogs on a daily basis multiple times a day? Uh so kibble is the first thing that I would eliminate if you want your dog to be on this planet longer. And I would exchange kibble for a home-cooked meal. That's what I do for my dogs. I do, I do incorporate a little bit of raw, uh, but over the past few years I have really switched to gently cooked food. And basically what I do is I make a meatloaf, and I'm I'm crazy. I get everything organic. I don't want any chemicals in any of my dog's foods. I get everything organic. I do organic turkey, and then I puree vegetables. I do uh puree pumpkin, I do yellow and green squash. Uh, you know, remind you, um reminder, everything is organic, so I don't have to say it. Uh broccoli, cauliflower, kale, uh, bell peppers. Uh you can use carrots, uh, beets, uh, and uh I puree. I don't use all of those vegetables all of the time, celery, cucumbers, but I get a few uh, you know, maybe five different vegetables, and I make it for the week. I puree it. I put the pumpkin puree in. I add uh uh an all-natural organic uh supplement, uh, which will show you apple cider vinegar, one egg. Uh, and then I am a firm believer in CBD on a regular basis. I've been giving it to my dogs for the last eight years. Uh the uh CBD is uh is uh a mixture of turkey tail mushrooms and glucosamine uh that I've been doing for about three years with the glucosamine. Uh everything is I'm being preemptive. Everyone, every dog is gonna get some form of arthritis in their life, just like humans to what degree uh you know, differentiates over, you know, different different dogs will get just like humans, different degrees of it, uh, but they will all get it. So I'm being preemptive and I'm giving it to my dog in advance. Uh I'm also a firm believer in the five-in-one mushroom mix that we sell. Uh there's Rishi mushrooms, cordial steps, lion's maim. Uh there's also uh uh turkey tail in that and uh shiitake mushrooms. So I've been giving that to my dogs, and I I I I uh, you know, for$39, I think that is the best product that we put out for the for the fairest price that I know there's a lot of cheap people out there and they don't want to spend the money. And this five and one mushroom is worth its weight in gold. Uh so and then uh, you know, and then I I I tray all of that together, and then I mix the meat in and I slow cook it at 300 degrees for approximately 40 minutes, and then I let it sit in the oven for another 15 or 20 minutes, and then I serve it gently cooked. And that's what my dogs eat on a regular basis.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

No I wanted to add, do you add the CBD and the mushroom before you cook it, or you add it or you put it in after?

SPEAKER_01 4:52

So, so a couple of my dogs don't like the CBD unless it's cooked. So I do put it in, but I also give it to my other dogs afterwards. So two of my dogs will not take the CBD in any other way besides in it. So I do add a little bit in, okay, but it's not the best way, I don't think. I don't think. I I I like to give them all to the side. So they all get it, and then the other ones, uh, you know, later on uh at night, I I'll put it in like a sweet potato and they'll eat it in a sweet potato. But I do mix a little bit, a little bit in into the the uh into the meatloaf. And it's like a home cooked meal. And I don't know why, you know, back in the day we we you know we decided that we're gonna feed our dogs, you know, bullshit kibble, and that was okay. I don't know why dogs just didn't eat like what humans eat.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

And uh, you know, so it's you know, years, I don't know if well, years ago, I guess it was the 80s when we had our first dog, my parents would feed the dog just like scraps off the table. And our dogs lived to like 16, 17 years old, you know, or um longer. Meanwhile, then they like we start with the kibble. I remember we had a cat that that died from diabetes because we were giving her tender.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

It's processed. So the first thing is is the diet, right? And the second thing is the supplements. Um I'm a big firm believer in the mushrooms, firm believer in the CBD, uh, the glucosamine, being preemptive and not waiting for a problem to happen, not waiting for your dog to get cancer before you give him turkey sale. Give it to him now. The five in one mushroom, uh, if you guys Google every mushroom that's in that bottle, there'll be over 20 benefits, antimicrobial, heart health, gut health, brain, everything, everything. And there's like 20 in each mushroom. I take it myself. I have my mom on it. I I promise you, people. Uh Nathan, uh, before he passed away, was able to come off his heart medicine just from taking five and one mushrooms, max cortisol levels. Uh, I was able to take him off of his uh so that's a heart disease that was went undetectable. And the only thing that changed was the mushrooms and Max Cushing's his cortisol levels, I was able to take him off his uh medicine. And and and uh and I know for 100% sure that it was the five and one mushrooms that made the difference. And now the last thing that I am telling that I want to let everyone know is overvaccinating your dogs because your vet says to do it. Overvaccinating is killing our dogs, period. Now, not anti-vaccination. Dogs have to be vaccinated, but there's a titus test. Uh, I think it's T-I-T-I-T-E-R-S, Josephine, right? Titus test, right? Okay, that will tell you exactly what your dog needs. And if your vet will not give you that test, find a vet that will, because that's the test that will tell you what your dog needs to be vaccinated for. There's also evidence out nowadays that dogs only need a vaccination once every three years. And uh vets are still pushing the vaccinations once a year. And why is that? Because they make more money. And I'm not trying to throw vets under the under the table, but if you belong under the table, that's where you're gonna end up on this show. And if you don't care about dogs enough that you're just gonna vaccinate a dog just because you want to make the money from that one year shot, then you shouldn't be in the business. Uh, I mean, I I I you know, I posted something uh about this and people came on like, oh, don't bash vets. I have said they said, oh, vets aren't in it for the money. Yeah, well, show me one vet. I want people to please email me info at bully crew cbd and show me one vet that does not charge a fee. No fees, a vet that works for free. Because if your vet doesn't work for free, then he's working for money. Period. Maybe your vet is not greedy, and I'm not saying they all are. I'm saying my experience over the 19 years that I've been doing rescue and 20, 30 years that I've owned I've owned dogs, I've had 99.99999% bad experiences with all vets and especially, especially animal uh emergency hospitals. Now, I'm not sure that people are aware, but the emergency room doctor gets paid a commission on what he writes for your dog.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Also, a lot of veterinarians that work for vets are also paid on on uh on a commission basis on what they write.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

And also the food that they recommend, they get kickbacks. Absolutely. Like the pharmacy, pharmaceutical companies, unfortunately, but um Yep.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

Hills, Hills, what is it, Hills Hills?

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Hills, yeah, science diet. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

They're in all the they're in all the vets. Why? Why do you think that is? You think that's the number one brand out there, or is that the number one payer? That's who's paying the most money.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

So what do you do? Like, I know you've been through it and you're you ha you say stuff and you advocate for your advocate for the rescue on your dog. Let's say you're somebody, you know, you go into the vet, you're intimidated, you know, you're listening to what they're saying, and they're saying, oh no, you have to get the vaccines, you know.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

The vaccines, you know, like no, you don't have to get the vaccines. So I live in New York, and I'm I don't know what state you live in, but you can find the laws in your state, and you can and you can find the laws. New York State requires one vaccination, that's rabies. Okay? And technically, you can get a rabies vaccination once every three years. Once every three years. And if you get a rabies vaccination and your dog has an allergic reaction, you can go to your vet and let them know that your dog had an allergic reaction and you can get a waiver from ever giving your dog a vaccination again.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Yeah, it's true.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Okay. I dogs die from rabies vaccinations. Once we once this podcast is public, I'll bet you there's a plethora of people that are gonna tell us that their dog died from a vaccination uh of some kind.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

We're getting side, you know, they get side effects. I know a bull an English bulldog that Yeah, sure, sure.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

But sometimes the side effect. Oh, so Asia, one of the little puppies that was adopted uh a year and a half ago, she w when I posted that, she made a comment. Asia almost died from it.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Yeah, there's I know an English bulldog that had gotten the rabies vaccine, went to the same vet on Long Island, Suffolk County. I'm not gonna name him, but he's the worst. Um anyway, he he didn't realize, well, he didn't document that he gave the rabies, and then the dad, I guess, didn't say, wait, I already had the rabies, gave him a second rabies.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

And he got seizures, neurological issues from it.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

That's terrible.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

So you have to just be there, make sure you have your list of things and don't let them do anything. I've gone, you know, I've gone into the vet with my bulldog, and um, they're like, oh, he looks great. What I've never seen a bulldog at this age with such great skin, right? So what are you feeding him? And I say, Oh, I cook for my dog. What? You really, you know, you really shouldn't do that, me mom.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

You just told me that he looks great. That's you know what's so funny? Uh who who just who just told me that? What I there was just an adopter who told me that. Oh, uh Gabriela's people. Uh huh. Gabriela's people said that they went to the vet with their last dog and she they were like, we're cooking for him. And the vet said, Oh no, don't cook for your dog. And then I said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Let me guess. They said, Don't cook for your dog, and then they made you buy a food from them. And she's like, Yeah, how did you know? I said, Because they're getting paid to push that. She was so mad. I spoke the anger in her face when she realized that, you know, that that's what was going on.

SPEAKER_00 13:17

So No, the biggest thing, you know, if we could teach pet parents, um, is you're the voice for your dog, right? So um, when you're in there, don't let them intimidate you. I mean, I'm not one, I'm sort of like shy and I don't speak up sometimes. But I've I remember being in an ER one time and they wouldn't um do certain testing that I wanted. I wanted a chest x-ray, but they wanted to do all this other stuff. Um, you just have to speak up, you know, and and make sure you get your point across and not let them do the things, oh, they want to do lepto vaccine and Lyme's disease and all this crazy stuff. Um, my dogs really don't go out of my yard. We walk around, you know, the neighborhood and things like that. And I don't have any reason for giving them this whole like slew of vaccines, especially like my seniors. And I've gotten the titers done, so I just carry that around with me. Um, if anyone says, oh, they're not up to date on their vaccine.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Yeah. I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's, uh, it's actually crazy. And if uh, so if you if you go to your vet and you feel that your vet is intimidating you into getting stuff that you don't want, then find a new vet. There's vets on every corner, on every block. There are dime a dozen. And uh, and you know, and I don't mean that in a disrespect, I'm not trying to be disrespectful. I'm just being honest. There's vets everywhere. And if you feel that your vet is intimidating you, uh then find a new vet. And and if you and if your vet tells you that they don't do titers tests, then find a new vet. Uh, because there's no reason to just give your dog a vaccination because it's the first of the year and they haven't gotten one in a year. There's there's no need for it. I mean, as far as rabies, I don't think there's been a case of rabies on Long Island, I mean, where we live for I don't even know how long. And uh, you know, heartworm medicine and and all that other flea and tick medicine, it's all poison. It's all poison. All right, people. So uh longevity, we want to keep our dogs on this planet longer. What are we gonna do? We're gonna give them a new diet. Or listen, I I I I'm not a I'm not anti-raw. I I actually I do I do switch back and forth. I have found that my dogs prefer the cooked, so I do that more. But a raw diet with with supplements and uh and vegetables is fine too. Uh, but either cook for your dog or give him a raw diet. Don't give him no bullshit kibble, and certainly don't give him anything that the vet is recommending that he's getting paid for. And you know what, people, if you want, call your vet out on it. The next time your vet tries to give you food, say, hey, do you get a commission if you sell this? See what he says. I mean, most of them will probably be honest because I mean, how can they lie? Why would they be pushing one product over another, right? It's not how the real world works. Uh, but definitely cooking. Uh, do not over-vaccinate your dogs. Please don't give your dogs the bullshit flea and tick medicine either. There's also uh all natural alternatives. Uh just look into that. Uh, all that shit's definitely, definitely killing our dogs. Another thing is, people, lawn fertilizer. My brother, the idiot, who I keep on telling him time and time again, if you're gonna do it, get organic, calls me. He's like, oh, Shady's uh Sadie is uh uh is sweating and and blah, blah, blah, blah. I said, Wow, did she eat something? Did anything change? Oh, I got the lawn sprayed again. I'm like, you you fucking idiot. That's what's wrong. It's like, oh, I'm not gonna do it again. I was like, well, you shouldn't, because that's chemicals. That they're putting chemicals that kills whatever it's trying to kill on the lawn to make your lawn healthy, is also killing your dog. It's chemicals that you don't need in your dog. So please, people, if you're gonna do something, do something organic. Don't spray chemicals on your lawn to make your lawn look good when your dog could possibly uh, you know, get something or or possibly die from it. It's chemicals. It's all bullshit.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

And if you're out walking, obviously I I know you probably know this, but the little yellow flags, you know, on people's lawns.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

I made a post about that. Yeah, avoid the yellow flags about that. If you see the sign, run the other way.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

And then what I do is when I get home, I act I will wash their paws like you know, as soon as we come in the house, because you just don't know what they're stepping on out there, and then they may lick it and then as soon as they lick it, then it's in their body.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Yeah. Okay. So now we're gonna switch over uh to uh the pat loss part of our uh podcast for this week. And I I guess uh I'll start off and uh some of you probably know that in the last uh in the last couple of months I lost Tip and Nathan actually, you know, five days apart. And Mac was uh was April 1st, so that was you know three in a year. And uh you know, nothing is more difficult than losing a family member because to me, you know, that's what they are. I don't have any children. I I uh I only you know have dogs, so they are my children. And even if I had children, they would still be my children and they're you know, that's just the way you know, that's just the way it is. And uh I haven't cried hard for a human than I have for my dog's passing, and that just shows the level of the relationship uh between me and my dogs and how strong, you know, the bond was. And uh so my generation we didn't discuss our problems, right? We uh, you know, even like growing up, my parents, like, you know, if there was something wrong with one of your kids, you didn't tell everyone. It wasn't like, you know, you just handled it, and uh, you know, it wasn't like everyone didn't go to, you know, you you uh back in the day, if you went to a psychiatrist, you were weak. And, you know, it was just a different generation back then. You know, now it's it's it's way different. But I'm from that generation. And over the course of time, uh, you know, I have suppressed all of my emotions really. I don't discuss my problems with people. Uh, my problems don't affect me uh because I know that no matter what my problems are, and no matter what has happened in my life, I know that I have to get up the next morning and I have to do my responsibilities as a man. Whether it's go to work, whether it's take care of the dogs, whether it's to take care of the rescue dogs, whether it's to work, whether it's to do whatever I have to do. That's those are my responsibilities. And I don't care what it is, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take care of my responsibilities. But that does not mean that I'm not in pain and that I don't suffer. Uh, you know, I I have this expression that I say to myself, I suffer in silence. S-I-S, suffering in silence. And that is what I have grown accustomed to doing. You know, uh, some of my closest friends uh don't know any of my problems. And it's just who I am as a person. So I wanted to start this podcast so I can let people know that as much loss as I have suffered, it is debilitating to me. And sometimes I really don't want to get out of there. I don't I don't want to get out of bed. And I I do, I cry every day. I I cry every single day. And, you know, as grateful as I am for all the memories, the pain never leaves you. And I and I say, you know, you don't get over the pain, you just you you learn to live with it. And you don't have a choice. Uh, you know, I have other dogs I have to take care of. I, you know, I have responsibility. So I have to, I have to, I have to cope with the pain. Uh, but like I said, it doesn't mean it's not there. So I wanted to, you know, express my feelings, and I wanted people to have a platform where they can come on and and uh and discuss their feelings and not have someone say, Oh, it's just a dog, because if anyone understands the pain of losing a dog, it's me. Uh you know. I mean, that's just three in a year, but over the course Time anyone who knows me knows uh you know that I had such a big pack. Aaliyah, you know, Bubba, Maddie, Blue, Dante, Aita, uh, you know, uh Tippy, Nathan, uh, you know, just so many dogs, you know, Luch, Jamie, uh and uh I wouldn't change it for the world, man. I wouldn't. I wouldn't exchange those memories. Uh I I'll I'll I'll tip let pile on the pain. I I'm good. Uh I I'm I'm I'm good. I'm serious too. Not to be redundant. I want people to know that I I I am I I you know there is pain, uh, but I would never let that pain not I would never let that pain interfere with me loving another dog. And that is and that's really what I want to talk about right now, is people who say, I don't want to get another dog because it's too much pain. And I think that that person that th those people are really selfish. And I feel that every dog that has passed away, there's not one dog. That not one dog that would say, I don't want my owner to have another dog. I I want my owner to be dogless for the rest of his life. There's not one dog out there, and especially people that rescue you. You know, just think about how selfish you are. If you say, I don't want to rescue another dog because I don't want my feelings hurt again, like I don't know. I don't know. To me, that that that's bullshit. Yeah, that's that's that's bullshit. So uh do I do I cry every day? Yeah. I do, I do. Do I rejoice and think about all the memories and smile like a motherfucker? Yeah, I do. You know, I do. And I wouldn't exchange it for anything. Uh but the pain is real. You know, no, the pain is real, and and don't ever, ever, ever let anyone fucking tell you it's just a dog. You have my permission to throat punch that person right in the throat. Karate chop, full knuckle sandwich, whatever it is that you feel you want on liver, swift kick to the nuts, uh, whatever it is, you can do it. Because and if anyone, if someone who is in your circle is saying that, then you need to get them out of your circle. Because if someone says it's just a dog, then they don't understand you.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

Yeah, it's so true. Um, so like what I want to ask you a question. I mean, I had I deal with my loss. I guess I try to do positive things, you know, to but help me get through it. Um, like I've I've done animal communication and I've had readings with my lost pets. And actually one of my teachers said to me, like, you're never gonna get past it, but you'll get through it. Um, which I feel I I do get through it. I still have days where I'm crying and stuff like that. But so what do you do to get through it? Like you had you lose two in five days, right? Um with Tippi and Nathan.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Um, just because because uh so I I have other dogs, right? And and you know, like when you come home from work and you're happy, your dog's happy, right? You come home from work and you're sad, your dog knows you're sad, right? If you don't feel good, your dog, you know, hops into bed with you and and it's gonna snuggle with you because you know he knows, she knows that you don't feel good. I don't want to let them down. So I I put on my game face, you know, and I keep positive thoughts only. I just keep those positive thoughts. And every time I think about Nathan, I think about not him dying, I think about all the times that I had with him and all the swimming, uh, and you know, Tippi, or, you know, all the times that Tippy was, you know, upside down, you know, in my car where, you know, the way he used to sleep. And just I I I I focus on all the good and I don't focus on the bad. And I try to keep a positive attitude because it's the only way for me to f it's it's the only way for me to function, right? Because if I start thinking about the death and I start thinking about that they're not here anymore, then that interferes with my ability to function. You know, and I need to function and I need to be a good leader because I have a lot of dogs and I have a lot more at the rescue, and I'm all their leaders. They all look at me as their leader. I can't be a weak leader. I can't be weak. I can't. I just, you know, it's not good for my own mental stability to be weak minded when it comes to that. I don't have a choice. And if I want to continue taking care of the dogs that I take care of, I need to have a clear mind. And to have a clear mind, I just think about all the good and not that they're not with me anymore. I just think about the good. That that that helps me more than anything.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

Yeah, it's true. I I mean I like to remember things they love doing, you know, maybe let's say they love going in the Jeep with the top off, and we'll do it in their honor, you know.

SPEAKER_01 27:20

So but so that there's certain things that I stopped doing. Like I stopped playing ball when Aliyah passed away. Yeah, I did. Uh it was just different, you know. It wasn't there was no joy to it anymore, you know? And uh that's one thing that, you know, and then I I I I did. I tried it a couple of times and I don't know. I don't know. But I get what you're saying, you know. Like, you know, I did that with Mac and the pool, you know, you know, because Mac freaking loved the pool, you know. He yeah. Uh but yeah, I I found that that's the opposite for me. And this is why this is good, you know, yeah. To have this podcast, because right, different people will well, so so, you know, maybe someone will look at it my way and say, oh, so he's he then oh, he's looking at it that way, and someone will look at it your way and say, Oh, well, looking at it that way. And everyone can find a, you know, it's can find their way, sort of.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

Everybody handles it different. And, you know, like I know someone that when their dog passed away, they took everything, all their toys, you know, collar, everything, clothes, whatever, put it in a box. Um, they didn't want to get rid of it, but they like put it up in the attic. They didn't want to look at it anymore. Um, me, on the other hand, I mean, I have way too many clothes for my dogs myself.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

I know exactly what I know exactly what you're gonna say.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

But I have all their stuff. And like what I do is sometimes let's say we're out and about, and I'll put Howard's collar or harness on Luna, or I'm using this, a bandana from um Beanie. And I don't know, it just makes me feel good to know that.

SPEAKER_01 29:11

I do that too.

SPEAKER_00 29:12

They're kind of with us.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

I do that too. I do it with their food bowls.

SPEAKER_00 29:17

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

Like all the food bowls have been like all their food bowls have like they're there were someone else's.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:24

And uh I I I do, I kept all their collars, you know, and that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

But yeah, it's funny though, because with Howard, he loved his pool. He was like, Yeah, you know, that was his thing. We have this bone-shaped swimming pool that we paid like$500 for, you know, a dog bone-shaped pool. Um, but my but our new pack doesn't really go in it. They're not into it, you know.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

Yeah, it's just different, you know, but but that's and I think and I think that has that might have something to do with people like who don't want to get another dog because if you're not replacing what you had, right? You're not trying, I'm not trying, like, I'm not getting another dog, right? I have plenty of dogs to help me get, you know, to get through this. Yeah. But if I didn't have a dog, right, uh, I wouldn't be going out to replace what I had, right? You don't replace what you had, right? So it's not like you gotta get another dog that was just like your dog, right? Maybe this dog liked to go in the pool, maybe this dog didn't like walks, and maybe this dog will like walks, and this one won't like the pool. Or, you know, uh some don't like the car, maybe this one will like the car. So it's different life experiences that you can uh get from different dogs. And there's, you know, I I just want to make the point that when you get another dog, you're not replacing the dog. You're not replacing your old dog. And your old dog would not get mad that you got another dog. That I promise you, especially in the rescue world. And I hope that that's most of the people who will be listening to this podcast are rescuing dogs and not buying them.

SPEAKER_00 31:05

Well, that's another thing. I was gonna say, one thing that helped me through the losses is I would, you know, go through this horrible loss and you're sad and you're upset and you don't you don't know what to do. You know, I still had other dogs, but there still seemed like it still seemed like my house was off, like there was something missing. Um, because I had I don't have as many as you have, right?

SPEAKER_02 31:31

Um no one does.

SPEAKER_00 31:33

But but I would end up fostering, like for the rescue. Um, just taking in a foster, just working with that dog, helping it heal, maybe not ending up adopting it, but the foster part just helped me get through the losses. Yeah. Um, and then sometimes I ended up keeping Luna, you know, after I lost my Bella. Um, she was with us, we were fostering, and then we ended up adopting her. So sometimes it works out that way, you know, sometimes it doesn't. I have a question for you.

SPEAKER_02 32:06

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

Um only because we're called Long Live Dogs, Pitbulls, and Pet Grief Podcast, right? Um, do you think bully breeds, pit bulls, you know, is there something different about them that makes people really feel like such a tremendous loss?

SPEAKER_01 32:25

I mean, I know everyone feels grief differently, but I think I think I think I think it's with the with the pit bulls and the bully breeds. I think that they're a lot more affectionate than other dogs.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

I and and and I don't want to like disrespect any other breed out there, but I don't like, you know, I know I grew up uh and my grandma had German shepherds, and I don't remember them ever being like as lovable as the pit bulls. I just I don't know. I think there's just, you know, the only thing bigger than their heads is their hearts. And I think that that has a lot to do with like why they're like they're almost like human in a way. I don't know. It's it I I I I it's like I get what you're saying, and and I think it's like a real thing. I think that yeah, I can't, you know, and hopefully maybe other people will come on and be able to explain it better than the two of us are, because we look like idiots right now trying to explain it. But I I get what you're saying because I I do feel that way. I feel like bullies love harder. I do.

SPEAKER_00 33:32

Yeah, I do. So I I mean I always have had So wait, hold on.

SPEAKER_01 33:37

There's another thing. There's one more thing that that that I I wanted to bring up about longevity in our dogs that I thought about. So I mentioned that I have a 15-year-old, right? She was from a uh a uh South Carolina, from a shelter in South Carolina, and she's not she's a mixed breed, total mixed breed. Now, all of my dogs that passed away were all were all pitties, and they were all bred pretty much on Long Island, and they were all full pit bulls, right? Now, my brother adopted a dog from a shelter who was also from Carolina, who was a mixed breed, and that mixed breed lived until she was 15 years old. And I think there's some kind of parallel here that that these bullying breeds, the way they're the breeding has something to do with them dying sooner.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 34:37

As opposed to dogs that are not full bred, that that live longer. So hopefully maybe there'll be some medical or some evidence to back that. But I I think that's a thing. I really do. I feel like Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:52

What what is the what's the normal, well, the lifespan for pit bulls? What do people say?

SPEAKER_01 34:57

It's supposed to be, it's supposed to be 10 to 12 years. I know that that was like, you know, it's probably a little bit, you know, I don't know if that's adjusted now, uh, but it's like 10 to 12 years they're supposed to live.

SPEAKER_00 35:08

Yeah, that's so with the English bulldogs too, and French he's a world. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:13

And it's just funny that all these dogs from down south live, and then uh actually, now that I'm thinking about it, another one uh who adopted Odin, they adopted a dog in 2011 and he lived until he was 15, and he was from guess where, South Carolina. So I There's gotta be some yeah, there's gotta be something about that.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

So I had one bulldog that came from Brooklyn, ACC. She was about seven when I rescued her. Um she, as soon as I got her, she was a very mellow bulldog. Like she never stressed out. I think stress has a lot to do with longevity too.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:54

So she was very mellow, never overheated, never got like worked up. I've never I never saw her get like that. Um, she was, I think came from a good breeder because she was like all brindle and yeah, but I don't think I don't think it's good breeding.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

I just think it's breeding in general when they breed. I don't know, maybe I don't know. I'm gonna we're gonna figure this out. But one mission of Long Live Dogs Podcast to figure this out.

SPEAKER_00 36:20

Yeah, I just want to say, but one thing I did with her, as soon as I got her at seven-ish, right? No vaccines. You know, I did the titers, I home cooked, I gave her CBD. I didn't know anything about mushrooms at the time. So I didn't do mushrooms, but um she lived till 15. We had her like an additional eight years.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

A bulldog?

SPEAKER_00 36:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:46

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 36:47

She literally was like, she thought she was the queen of England, but Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

Well, one of your dogs? I could never imagine.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

What's something that people say um that's like, you know, that actually makes your grief feel worse? I mean, number one is it's just a dog.

SPEAKER_01 37:06

So so to me, what what makes nothing makes me feel worse that they can say because uh I don't I won't let it affect me, right? Yeah. But what I don't like is uh when people try to engage me in what happened when it just happened. Uh and that's because not because uh I don't want to talk about it, because I probably can't at that time publicly without breaking down. And that to me is the hardest part of it.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:48

So like it can You know, having to talk about it after it just happens in a public setting is difficult for me because I don't want to cry, you know?

SPEAKER_00 37:58

Well, for anyone, I mean, think about if you lost your dad or your mom or whatever, um, you're not gonna say to the person, oh, let's talk, you know, tell me what happened. You know, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

Right. That's what I'm saying. Oh, what happened? Like, you know, shut the fuck up. That's what happened. Like, you know, if I wanted to if I wanted to tell you what happened, I probably would have started talking about it, right?

SPEAKER_00 38:21

Yeah, they're not respectful.

SPEAKER_01 38:23

I don't, I don't like my family knows, like, you know, like they don't even need to tell me that they're sorry when it just happens, right? If I see them, you know, a week down the road or whatever, they don't I know they're sorry. They they they love me. They know I'm in pain, right? I know they're sorry. To me, by just saying, oh, you know, oh I'm sorry, I I know you're sorry, you know. I'm not ready for you sorry, you know. I I'll be ready for you sorry maybe in a couple of weeks. But, you know, I'm I'm not I shouldn't say that. I'm not like I don't care when people but talking about it is not is is is is is troublesome for me. And like I said, it's it's because I don't want to break down.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

And you know, it's okay. Like if you want to be quiet, right, and not talk to anyone. I shut down on the weekends. I don't know if you've ever noticed, but after a week at work and everything else, I come home and I don't want to talk to anybody. I just want to be home with my dogs and my husband.

SPEAKER_01 39:27

And like I don't need to make me throw a robin there.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

Yeah, he's lucky.

SPEAKER_01 39:32

Yeah, he's a good dude.

SPEAKER_00 39:34

But I no, I need time to like de, you know, decompress and like just I probably don't notice because I'm doing the same thing. But it's true. I don't want to go out. Like people say, oh, you want to go out for a drink or this and that. No, we don't.

SPEAKER_02 39:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

Thanks everyone for tuning in. Um, this is our first episode. So make sure you leave a review, share it, so we can get some downloads. Um, also stay tuned for our next episode. We're gonna have Detoxify to purify um the Instagram account. And she's amazing. She's a holistic pet health educator, and she's gonna share a lot of great things.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

What's her real name?

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Um, Danielle.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

Danielle, right, right, right. So we're gonna have Danielle on.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 40:25

And uh that's a wrap for this week. And like Josephine said, share it. Get the podcast out there. Also, uh, we're looking for people who want to come on and uh talk about the loss of their pet. Uh, Josephine, where are we taking? Should we do info at Bully Cruise CBD? Yeah. All right, so if you're interested in coming on the podcast, whether it's to talk about uh pet grief or to talk about any health benefits or to talk about any of the things, including training and behavioral issues, if anyone wants to come on to discuss anything that this podcast is about, uh, we welcome you. Info at bullycrewcbd.com. Please send us an email with what you'd like to talk about, and uh we'll book you on to the show. And uh I want to I want to let everyone know that any profits and any money that we make from this podcast will all be donated to the New York Bully Crew. 100% of whatever we do make, if in fact we do make money, uh, that 100% will go to the bully crew. So the more you share and the more you get this podcast out there, and the more views we get, uh, and we could possibly make some money, that'll all go to the dog. So I thank you all in advance. And I look forward uh to maybe having some of you on, and I look forward to the next episode. Peace out.