Dog Days of Murder

The Calm in The Chaos

• Paula Quintana

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Bonus Episode

When we think of first responders, we often picture the police officers, firefighters, or paramedics who arrive on scene. But before any of them get there, someone answers the phone.

In this special episode of Dog Days of Murder, I'm joined by my friend, Joanne Wilson, a recently retired police dispatcher for a candid conversation about a profession most of us only encounter on the worst day of our lives. We talk about what it's really like to answer 911 calls, how technology has changed emergency response, the emotional weight dispatchers carry, and what they wish every caller knew.

The first heroes are often the ones who simply pick up the phone.

Whether you've ever needed to call 911 or simply want to better understand the people behind the headset, I hope you'll come away with a new appreciation for the calm voice on the other end of the line.

Resources

If you or someone you know is a first responder in need of support, or if you're looking for mental health resources, the following organizations may be helpful:

Follow along and stay connected:

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📧 Email: dogdaysofmurder@gmail.com

If you’d like to support the show—or treat Ein to a well-earned pup cup—you can do that here:
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SPEAKER_01

Hey Ayn. Let's go this way. Let's go down that way, down around the corner. Okay, good girl. I'm watching you. I see you sniffing. Don't eat anything. Don't be gross, okay? You're a good dog. Sometimes animals are the heroes of the story. And sometimes the first hero is the person who simply answers the phone. This is Dog Days of Murder, where your love of animals meets your fascination with true crime. Hi you guys. Welcome to this bonus episode of Dog Days of Murder. As I said on episode 10, before we took a little time off to research and write more cases, I was planning to do a couple of bonus episodes. I did get sick, I got a cold, so I'm a little bit behind schedule on that. I do apologize, but I'm feeling better. And I had a wonderful conversation today with my friend Joanne, who's a dispatcher, a retired dispatcher. Anyway, what you're going to hear next, aside from Ayn pulling toys out of her toy box right now, is a conversation I had with Joanne about life on the job. So I hope you enjoy this conversation with my dear friend. I think you're going to like it. All right, here we go. Hi, you guys. So I did promise you a couple of mid-break episodes, some bonus episodes. So I'm here with a friend of mine today, and we're going to talk a little bit about what her job was. So I'm going to let her introduce herself. Tell us uh your name and what your occupation was.

SPEAKER_00

Hi, my name is Joanne Wilson, and I was a dispatcher with the California Highway Patrol for 22 years. That's a very long time.

SPEAKER_01

A little bit. And what kinds of agencies did you work for?

SPEAKER_00

Um, just with the Highway Patrol, we uh answered uh all the 911 calls, and then we spoke with fire department, ambulance companies, sheriff's department, police departments, and worked closely with them. Outstanding.

SPEAKER_01

So what made you choose dispatching as a career? Because I know you, I know that you have a background in military. Yes, that you were in the military, and um tell us what branch you were in, what your job was there, and how did that turn into dispatching as a career?

SPEAKER_00

I was in the Marine Corps for four years, and I worked in test instrument repair, which basically electronics, the insides of computers, putting all the components back on the boards when they weren't working properly.

SPEAKER_01

So if we shut down in the middle of this interview, you can just whip them back together. So just on a personal level, you and I have known each other for a very long time. And um I've known your husband for a little while. So we go back a long way. But um, so I did know a little bit about your time in the Marine Corps, and uh, but again, how did that translate to dispatch? How did you get from there to there?

SPEAKER_00

I think with the Highway Patrol, um, a lot of people would say it's run like a paramilitary organization. It's very structured on chain of command. Um, I felt comfortable with that. Uh, as far as getting involved with the highway patrol, at the time I applied, I was a single mom of four. And my ex-husband at the time was a captain in the highway patrol. And I went in and did a sit-along with a friend that I was teaching uh catechism with. And I thought, wow, this looks kind of looks like it could be fun. It's uh something that is a lot of multitasking. Uh and so I thought, look, let me try this and got into it and absolutely enjoyed it. That's fantastic.

SPEAKER_01

You never know when you take that chance and try something that you've never done before.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

What can happen? So what does a dispatcher actually do? What what does a dispatcher do that most people don't realize?

SPEAKER_00

Um, probably the 17 different things at once. When I first started with the highway patrol, we didn't have a mapping program. So when the 911 calls came in, and a lot of people didn't know this, when 911 first started, every cellular 911 call went to the highway patrol in the city. Oh, I didn't know that. And so when we were first getting the 911 calls, no mapping system, you had a Thomas guide. Oh boy, I remember Thomas Guide. Asked people questions and tried to pin down where they were. Wow. And it wasn't until 2012 that we got a mapping program. That late. That late. That's crazy to me. Yeah. And a lot of the problems with the now the 911 cell calls, because of programs and and senators and stuff that worked towards this, the cell phone companies didn't used to share their data with each other. So the cell towers were limited to this one's Verizon, this one's T-Mobile. And so the 911 was really hard. Now, when you call 911 from your cell phone, if you're in the city, then your call is going to go to that city police department. Okay. If you're within 300 feet of the highway, most likely you're going to go to the highway patrol. That makes sense. And the highway patrol will take your initial call from that's wow.

SPEAKER_01

You don't think about those things. I know I didn't.

SPEAKER_00

So walk us through a typical shift. Uh, typical shift. Usually I always like to get there a few minutes ahead of time because you want to get briefed by what's happened before your shift started. If you're walking into an emergency already going on, sure. Um, if you've had a lot of traffic collisions that day, if they're working a road closure or there's a big fire going on and other roads are closed. So you go in, you get briefed by your partner, and then you literally just jump right in. My desk consisted of five computer screens in front of me. Um, the phone system is also a computer phone system. It's a Windows-based system. So now they all tie into each other. So when your 911 call comes in, it automatically populates in your map on your computer screen to help you help your caller tell them tell you where they're at.

SPEAKER_01

Sure. That would cut down on looking for the information, cut down on the time spent on that. Yeah, which is a lot clearer now. So, what skills make someone a good dispatcher?

SPEAKER_00

Uh oddly enough, not typing regular sentences. Okay. So when I became a supervisor, I was started doing hiring and hiring interviews. Yes, you called me a couple times. And believe it or not, a lot of people that do really well are people that play video games. Oh, is it the high hand-to-eye coordination? It's the hand-to-eye coordination and it's the abbreviations. Oh, because as a dispatcher, you don't type out a full sentence. Sure. Kind of like a shorthand. You use yeah, you're using abbreviations the whole time. And that ability to listen to somebody talk to you and type at the same time. And then with the highway patrol and a lot of the smaller centers, like the smaller centers I worked in prior to working in LA, you're not only taking a 911 call, but you're also dispatching on the radio and sending units on the radio. So the ability to talk to somebody on the phone, put that information into the computer, and then also dispatch an officer to it at the same time.

SPEAKER_01

I've actually thought about that. I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, um, watch a lot of documentaries and whatnot. And I always think about that when somebody's on the phone with the dispatcher, they're also a lot of times you hear them saying, I need help, I need to help, send somebody out now, but they're already in the process of doing that. Yes. While they're on the phone with you. They may not say that, right, but they're already doing it and sending that out. So there's definitely an overlap there for sure. And how much training do dispatchers usually receive?

SPEAKER_00

Uh, it takes an almost a complete year with the highway patrol because you do initial training for three weeks just to learn the call taking aspect. You go back to your center and you're in training for at least three months, just answering phones. Then you go back to training again for two weeks to learn the radio side of it. And you come back and then you're doing three more months of radio training. So, all told, it is pretty close to being a full year before you're fully trained. And then I'd say probably three to five years before you're actually comfortable doing the complete job. It's it's a lot.

SPEAKER_01

I would imagine that's that's a lot. It's so much responsibility. Yeah. In many directions. Yeah. So when I listen to a podcast or I watch a documentary or even a show, when somebody's in trouble, they call 911. And we're we're very often taught that first responder is the fire department showing up at your door or the police officer that comes to help you out. But really, the first responder is the person that you're speaking to. That is the the first contact that you make when you're in trouble. Whatever it is, fire illness, having somebody attacking you, or you feel like your life is in danger. That first line of defense is this dispatcher. So, what does first responder mean to you?

SPEAKER_00

Ah, first responder to me. Uh, it's funny, up until recently, dispatchers were more classified as like an administrative assistant secretary. Um, and it took a lot of work to get them classified as first responders. Really? But they're actually the ones that I guess if I had to think about the right words, they get the initial chaos. Yes. And then their job is to try and not only get the information, but de-escalate before the officers get on scene. Sure. So you don't want somebody that's gonna be arguing with that person on the phone because you get people that call and they're swearing at you, they're screaming at you, they're they're having a difficult time communicating, but you need to kind of walk them through and calm them down. And sometimes that's difficult if you get on a small child on the phone. Oh, wow, yeah. You have to change completely how you talk to them. So I think if I had to, yeah, it it's the the person that gets the chaos and then tries to put the call. Oh, that's a in there. Perfect description.

SPEAKER_01

That's very apt. So when that call comes in and somebody is calling in a very difficult moment, what information are you trying to gather?

SPEAKER_00

The biggest thing is where they're at. Um people don't realize a lot of times if your house is on fire and you pick up the phone and you call 911, in the state of California, you are never gonna get the fire department. Uh okay. You are gonna get a police agency that is closest to where you're calling. They're gonna need to know where you're at, an address or like across streets, something like that, so they can get you to the right fire department. If you need an ambulance, they can get you to the right medical dispatcher. How have cell phones changed that for you? Um initially, when the cell phones came out, there was no way to pinpoint locations on them. Um, they started a project here in California called the Red Project, which started narrowing down. So when we would get a cell phone, we would have maybe a thousand-yard radius around that cell phone tower. Then it got better to where it was like 300 feet. Okay. Now, because cell phone companies are required to share their information and share their towers and everything like that, and they get funding from the federal government for 911 calls. It's actually gotten to the point with NextGen 911 where you can pinpoint an address most of the time.

SPEAKER_01

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And everybody's on a cell phone these days. Everybody's on a cell phone. Yeah. Yeah. When I ask people, do you have a landline? A lot of people go, wait, especially the younger generation. What?

SPEAKER_00

Well, and the thing with cell phones too is because of the 911 legislation, even if your cell phone does not connect to a plan anymore. So say, say you, you know, you had to shut your phone, your cell phone down, your cell phone with a charge will still dial 911. Oh, okay. So when people give kids their old cell phones to play with, if it's got a battery charge on it, it could call 911. How many of those calls have you gotten? Thousands. Really? Thousands. Yeah. Is there a repercussion for that? Not really.

SPEAKER_01

Maybe I'll edit that part out then.

SPEAKER_00

There there is for people that um misuse 911. Yes. Um, there's a penal code violation for that. But just for your kids playing on your phones, no. And if it pinpoints an address, or if we call back and we can't get somebody to answer, then the police department is going out to that address to make sure everything is okay. Oops.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. How do you prioritize multiple emergencies happening at once? Because I would imagine that they don't stand in an orderly line waiting to make their calls.

SPEAKER_00

No. Um, that's where a lot of your training comes in, and you just have to realize which has the higher priority. I have been working a radio before in the middle of a pursuit, and a 911 line rings, and it's somebody with an emergency, but I have to do both. Oh my gosh. And if I have a partner at the time that I can transfer that phone call off to, great. But sometimes, depending on the night or the day, there might only be one or two dispatchers working at the same time. Wow, that was my next question. Especially in some of the smaller areas, like up in northern California.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Do you ever well, I would imagine with the training, maybe this isn't applicable, but if you if you find yourself having like three things thrown at you at once, do you ever have the option to grab somebody in the office walking by? It's somebody who works there and say, Okay, I need help with this. Can you take this phone call?

SPEAKER_00

No.

SPEAKER_01

No, that doesn't happen.

SPEAKER_00

Because 911 dispatchers have to be post-certified to answer phones. Okay. So you have to go through your peace officer standards training to be able to answer a 911 call.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. So when you're forced to juggle, you just juggle. Yep. Wow. Okay. So what happens? What is the next step after you send officers? If somebody calls, they have an emergency, somebody's broken into their house, they call you, you send an officer out. How far do you follow that call?

SPEAKER_00

Usually if I'm transferring the call off to the police department or the sheriff's department, that's it.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

I don't get any follow-up or anything like that unless they call back and they need more information from me. Say maybe they got the call and then the caller disconnected before they could get everything. They'll sometimes call back and say, hey, what all did you get from them? Right. Okay. You know. So for the most part, just unless it's unless it's something highway patrol related. Um never really got follow-up conclusions. Right.

SPEAKER_01

There's so many calls. There are so many emergencies. I would imagine it would be hard to follow everyone. Yeah. I mean, impossible.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So we talked about um needing location, the importance of understanding the location of the person who calls you. But so besides that, what are some other things that people should be aware of? If they call 911, what are some things to keep in mind that the dispatcher is going to need to know?

SPEAKER_00

If they're calling and they're reporting like a crime in progress, like an active shooter or somebody getting stabbed or something like that, it's really important to be able to provide at least if you're calling and you're reporting an active shooter. Did you see the gun? Can you describe the gun? Was it a handgun? Was it a rifle? Was it an automatic? Some sort of description so that the dispatcher can tell the officers what they're walking into. If there's been a disdomestic dispute and that's what you're calling in for, is the person that's being abusive, do they have access to weapons? Do they have a knife? Do they have a gun? What kind of situation are they walking into? Because the dispatcher wants to try and make that scene the safest for the officer that you're responding. Yeah. If you're in a traffic collision, don't get out in the middle of the traffic lane. It seems like it would be obvious, but so do they stay in their car or get out of their car and move off to the side? The dispatcher will always tell them the wait where you feel the safest and take all precautions for your safety.

SPEAKER_01

Got it. Got it. Okay. What are some of the common mistakes that people make when they call 911?

SPEAKER_00

Um probably assuming who it is they're talking to. Okay. Like if you're if you're calling in a fire and you dial 911, assuming you're speaking to the fire department, that's going to be a mistake for you in California. Oh, right. You're not going to talk to a fire department when you call on a cell phone. Um, probably the other big thing is technology is only so good. It's come a long way. But a lot of people think you watch TV and you see, you know, they know exactly where you're at when you call. That's not always the case. Right. Sometimes sometimes your cell phone might not have a good connection. Yeah. It might not come up on the mapping. If you're in some rural areas, they may not have a mapping program with their phones. So they're going to have to ask you questions. They're not, they're not going to automatically know where you're at.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. So keep your cool as much as you can under that extreme situation and that emergency and be prepared to answer questions clearly from the dispatcher. Dog Days of Murder is a true crime podcast. So we deal with crimes and uh murder attacks and that sort of thing. So, from that standpoint, if someone is hiding from an attacker, how should they communicate with dispatch if they're able to get their hands on a phone and call 911?

SPEAKER_00

So now it is actually technology has made several steps. You can text to 911. Oh, I can see. So you can actually send a text message. The text message comes in on the computer system, and the dispatcher can talk to you via text message. So you don't have to speak. Okay. If you can talk, that's always the preferred choice because then the dispatcher can go into more questions. Dispatchers also listen for sounds in the background. Oh, good point. So not just what people are saying to us, but what's going on in the background environment too. Like if there's any screaming, any gunshots, anything like that. But text to 911 will work in situations like that. That's brilliant.

SPEAKER_01

So you're first responder and psychology leisure. You have to do a little bit of everything, a little bit of detective. So we kind of covered this when we talked about the kids getting their hands on phones, but if someone accidentally calls 911, let Let's say I am out hiking and I'm fumbling with my phone and I accidentally call 911. Do I stay on the phone and just explain that it was I accidentally dialed? Do I hang up what would be stay on the phone? Stay on the phone.

SPEAKER_00

Stay on the phone. You're not going to get in trouble. Okay. It is so much more helpful if you just stay on the phone and tell the dispatcher I accidentally dialed you. Okay. The dispatcher may say to you, please secure your phone. Put a lock on, you know, lock your lock your home screen or whatever it is like that. But they're not, you're not going to get in trouble for it. Yeah. It it it makes it so much easier if you stay on the phone because then the dispatcher isn't trying to call you back to make sure you don't have an emergency. Got it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And wasting time.

SPEAKER_01

So can you usually tell when someone is truly terrified or whatever their situation is is, have you over the years acquired the ability to read somebody's emotions through their voice and what they're calling about?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. I think it's I think it is a habit that develops that also follows you from work. Oh, okay. Um, but I think in in your first years, no, um, that you get used to the things that aren't being said. Okay. Um the short little answers that people will give. Um or just sometimes it's just the shock. Um, I've spoken to people that have witnessed just brutal things. And some of them are absolutely hysterical and some of them are so calm that you know that they're just not processing what's happened.

SPEAKER_01

And everybody goes through it differently. Yeah. So it's a lot of having to uh read that on your end. Yeah. So at this stage of the game, if somebody for whatever reason decides that they're gonna call 911 and make a print call or they're gonna make a fake call, you have a handle on that. You can you can listen to that and go, oh no, no, this isn't real.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, unfortunately, you can't. It's risky, yes. Yeah, you you have to treat them all like they're real emergencies. Sometimes you can read a little and you're like, uh, yeah, this one sounds a little pinky. Something doesn't sound right in this one. Um, but unfortunately, there's also those people out there that uh just like to call 911 and play with dispatchers on the other phone. Well, sure, why not? Yeah. And then sometimes you get calls from olderly people that are just lonely. Yeah. Oh, and somebody to talk to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So what do you do with that?

SPEAKER_00

Do you ever reach out to social services or um you try and get them some help. Uh but uh sometimes you go the extra mile for them. I had a soft spot for elderly people and kids when they called in. Um probably went a little extra mileage with some of the older people than I needed to. But if you have the time, you talk to them. Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

When I worked up in Bakersfield, we used to have uh an elderly gentleman that called from California City. Oh, what's he late at night? All alone, lived by himself, and he just wanted somebody to talk to. Yeah. And in the middle of the night, two, three o'clock in the morning, it's usually not too busy. So there were a lot of us that would talk to him just for a little while, and then we wouldn't hear from him for a couple weeks again.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. Have you ever had any kind of realization about something important happening from background noise? You're on a call with somebody, you hear something going on in the background, you're thinking this is important.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Okay. Yeah. Can you tell us what that was? Um, there was a woman that called in um that was in the middle of an argument with her husband, and she was calling to have the police come out there. And while I was on the phone with her getting the information, she had initially told me that she'd locked herself in her room. And while I was on the phone with her, I heard a very loud crash. Oh, wow. And then the phone disconnected. No. And so I assumed that he got in through the door. Right. When I called back, nobody answered, but I had an idea of where she was at. So we were able to get the police department out there. Okay. Um things like prank calls where you hear people giggling in the background. Right. Right. It's like, okay, I know this is a this is a giggle.

SPEAKER_01

Which is unfortunate because even knowing that, you still have to go through the motions. Yeah. And you have to, it's frustrating, I would imagine. You wait, you're wasting time. You're taking away from other emergencies. Don't call 911 as a joke, people. Again, dog days of murder, uh, true crime, but it's also based on animals and how animals have somehow affected cases and evidence and whatnot. So have animals ever played an important role during a call?

SPEAKER_00

I have a funny story inviting in involving a what turned out to be non-existent mountain lion. Oh, I need to hear that story. A non-existent mountain lion. So the call boxes that are on the freeways, yes. When you pick up the call box, it goes into the highway patrol. Okay. Um except if you're in except if you're in LA, they go into a company that disseminates them. Um, so way back in the day, working in Bakersfield, there's a canyon that goes up through um up to Kernville, which is a very remote little mountain town. And one night, probably about one o'clock in the morning, I got a call on a call box, and this guy was just hysterical being chased by a mountain lion. Oh my gosh. And um, he had actually climbed up on top of the call box while he was talking to me, and I could hear in the background like these low growling noises. Wow. Because sometimes people pick up the call boxes and and goof off on them. Right. And it was like, oh my god. And at the in the nighttime up there, there's usually only one patrol unit, and then the deputies go on call after like midnight. So it took me a while to get somebody to him. Um turns out when they got there, uh, he was on the top of the call box. And those aren't big. No. Um, naked. Okay, uh, under the influence of PCP, sure. And no mountain lion. No mountain lion. No mountain lion at all. He was actually making the noises himself.

SPEAKER_01

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Now, did he do that? Was he trying to fool you or was he? He was full-on paranoid that he was being chased by a mountain lion. Wow. Um, so officers got him off the call box, got him into patrol car. On the way down to the jail, however, the one officer started making like little rhummy noises. And the guy actually kicked the window out of the patrol car.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00

So that probably wasn't.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. That's funny. Yeah, that's funny. I can see how that would stick with you. Yeah. Have dogs, cats, or other pets ever helped responders?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, you know, you read you read stories about how um well we had a car crash um up outside of Fatin Lula. And there was actually a dog that was we got to the we got to the crash. It was a rollover. Um, got to the crash. There was nobody inside the car, but there was a dog outside the car. The person had actually been ejected from the car in the rollover process, and the dog took the first responders right to right to the person that had been ejected from the car. Oh my gosh, were they alive? But was sitting at the car when they got there. Kind of like waiting for help? Yeah, waiting for help. Yeah. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01

And was the person alive when they were reached them?

SPEAKER_00

Alive, major injuries. Um, because no seat belts, so they were ejected. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Wow, that's a good dog. Yep. Wow, that's that's amazing. Um, have you heard of animals ever making a situation more dangerous?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Um, couple of stops for uh suspected DUIs, and they have a large dog in the car with them that does not want anybody near their person. And sometimes that's because of the way they were trained, you know. It's it's not always big dogs. Right, true. Sometimes it's the little dogs. The little dogs are sometimes even more aggressive than the bigger dogs.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm I'm a dog groomer for you guys who don't know. I deal with dogs every day, and this is totally 100% true.

SPEAKER_00

So when you have you've got dogs or or or other animals in your car with you, and there's people that drive around with their bearded dragons in the car and they're drunk and trying to get them out and do field sobriety tests on them, and they're now you have an animal you have to deal with as well. Yeah. And so unfortunately, a lot of times they end up going to doggy jail or because their person is going to jail. Sure. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, that's too bad. Uh, do officers ever ask dispatchers to note that pets are at a residence before they get there? Do you do you ask them when they call?

SPEAKER_00

The fire department will. Oh, okay. So, and I only know this from personal experience while speaking with the fire department to get an ambulance to come to the house. They will always ask if you have pets in the house. And could you secure the pet? Even if your pet is the friendliest pet in the world, they will ask you to secure the pet, be just because one, they don't want the pet to be in the way, and two, they don't want to have to be responsible for making sure the door's closed so the pet doesn't get out the door. Sure. So they'll ask you, you know, or if you're if you have a fall and you're on the floor um and your front door's open, they'll ask you, do you have an animal in the house so that they know that when they come through the door, right? There could potentially be a dog they got to worry about trying to get out the front.

SPEAKER_01

I actually have a funny story about that. I had an elderly client many years ago, and she had this terror of a shihtzu. No, not a shih tzu, I'm sorry, a lasa opso. And he was not a friendly dog. And she fell and was laying on the floor when her caretaker came in and saw her on the floor. The caretaker immediately called 911 and paramedics showed up. And this dog got so protective that he wouldn't let anybody near his mom. Yeah, she's laying on the floor and they're trying to help her. The caretaker actually called me and asked me if I could come and get the dog. So I said, sure. I was just finishing up a client, so I wrapped everything up, got in my grooming van and was heading down. By the time I got there, they had taken the chair and moved the dog back into the bathroom. The caretaker was still at the house uh waiting for me because I told them I would come and get the dog. And the ambulance had already left with my client. So when I walked in, I could hear this dog trying to tear the door down of the bathroom because they had put him in the bathroom. He was snarling. He sounded like he sounded like a rabid Rottweiler. He was enraged. And so I went to the door and she was saying, Be careful, be careful. And I opened up the door and he saw me. As soon as he saw me, everything relaxed. His little hackles went down, his tail just kind of started wagging a little bit, and he looked at me like, help me, help me. But I had to take him home because he was he was a terror and he was just not gonna let anybody help. Yeah. So I often think about that when they came in, but they didn't know what to do.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, because they they they just these are people coming in their house they've never met before. Right. And most of them are wearing boots. And I don't know about other dogs, but my dog does not like boots. Luigi doesn't like boots? Luigi does not like boots. I wonder if I wore boots here one time. Yeah. He just he is not come in with boots and he is he it makes him very uncomfortable and very anxious.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, well I wore datas today, so I think we're good. What is the hardest part of being a a dispatcher?

SPEAKER_00

The heartbreaking stories. Yeah. The heartbreak. Um having somebody die while you're on the phone with them. Um somebody calling. Uh probably some of the ones that stick with me is um I had a young girl call one time. She came home from school and found her brother hanging. Oh no. Um that one stuck with me for a long time. Yeah. Because you don't think he he was 11. You don't think of eleven year olds. Yeah, you don't think of eleven-year-olds having the thoughts of taking their own life. That's tragic. Yeah. Being on a call box with somebody and um somebody else that was driving down the freeway dropped their cell phone, reached over to pick up their cell phone, drifted off the side of the road and hit him when he lists in and they're on the call box talking to me. Oh my gosh, Joanne. Those are hard. Those those you hang on to for a long time. Um, the ones where you feel like you couldn't help. Um, but then you have the other ones that you hold on to too, where you know you did make a difference. Yeah. And I think the hardest thing probably for dispatchers is not always getting the closure on those. Mm-hmm. That makes sense. Sometimes the calls are just coming in so fast. Fire season is probably the worst. When it's fire season and there's fire multiple fires going, the calls are just coming back to back to back to back to back. And then you could get a stabbing thrown in there in the middle of it. And you're you're dealing with all these fire calls, and now, oh, now all of a sudden I got a stabbing that I'm dealing with, and I gotta deal with that, or I have a crash. And everybody that calls in always calls in because they feel like they're in an emergency. Sure. And it could just be a crash that banged up your car. Right. And so, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Were you on the job? Uh let me back up. I live in Thousand Oaks, and our little unfortunate claim to fame is the borderline shooting. And that happened uh late one night, and then the very next day, most of the town got evacuated from the Woolsey fire.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

That was back to back, which is similar to what you described. Were you working that day?

SPEAKER_00

I was not working the night at the borderline shooting. I was a supervisor on call and got called for that. Okay. Um, I was working the next day when the Woolsey fire broke out. I think you reached out to me during that because I got evacuated.

SPEAKER_01

Hey, this fire is coming our way. Where are you? I held up. It's always nice to have connections, let me tell you.

SPEAKER_00

So, how do you leave work at work? Um, sometimes you don't. Yeah. Um with working in Ventura, uh, the beach is like my decompress area. Um with working in Ventura, when I worked in Ventura, so it's kind of easy to just on the way home, stop at the beach, drop it all off, and come home after that. Yeah. Um, I always tell people that come into this job, you have to have somebody that you can talk to about it. You can't not talk about it. Somebody in your life, or do you mean somebody professionally? Both. Oh, okay. Both. I'm a huge advocate of therapy. Yeah, I agree. Uh at different stages of my career. Even even with retiring, retiring from this job is a really big step that you have to kind of close out some things. Um things still stay with you. Yeah. Yeah. I have them in a little box in my head. Uh-huh. And every once in a while they come out and I deal with them, and then I put them back in that box and fly.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's that's a lot, that's a lot of years of a lot of emergency. I would imagine that it's a lot of adrenaline. Yeah. And uh kind of a shock to your nervous system on a pretty regular basis. And um living in that kind of hypervigilance for hours at a time.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Every day is takes a toll. Takes a toll for sure.

SPEAKER_00

The nice thing is mental health isn't such a taboo subject anymore.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And people aren't so afraid to go get help.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Right. I listen to another podcast called Small Town Dicks. I don't know if you've heard of it. Uh Yarlee Smith. She's one of the voices on The Simpsons. I think she's Lisa Simpson. Okay. And she married a police police officer, and he and his twin have been in law enforcement for many years. They're both retired now, but they talk a lot about that. They talk a lot about the stigma that used to be in law enforcement about getting help and how that could affect your future choices. But the tide is turning.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And it's becoming not just accepted, but encouraged.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Because somebody who has that kind of feedback and support and um taking care of their mental health is ultimately going to be a better officer.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So that's really interesting.

SPEAKER_00

You should I much preferred my side of the job behind a phone, behind a computer screen, because I can't imagine the officers who actually have the visual that they have to take home with them afterwards. Yeah. Especially the the fatal traffic collisions with kids and the burn victims, kids and families and people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Well, it's all traumatic. Yes. It's all important. Yeah, your job was just as high level without a doubt. So you have retired. How long have you been retired now? Uh almost a year. Almost a year.

SPEAKER_00

Almost a year. Wow. What do you miss about it? Um the people. Okay. The people. You make a lot of good friends.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. What don't you miss? Is that losing? Does it ask how long do we have time? Stress, yeah. The long days. Um when we had the Thomas fire and then the Montecito mud slides a month later. Yeah. Those were long, exhausting days. Um those were I think the when the when the Thomas fire broke out, I don't think I slept again for probably two days. Wow. Because we were just inundated. Yeah. And then when the Montecito mudslides happened, the same thing. We just were, it was just, yeah, it was it was chaos. Sure. That was a nightmare. I remember when that happened. So I don't miss that part of it. I don't miss the long days. I don't miss the not being able to go to sleep at night. And I couldn't shut my brain off. Yeah. So I don't miss that part. I miss some of the people.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So looking back over your career, what are you the most proud of?

SPEAKER_00

The people I helped.

SPEAKER_01

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00

And and quite a few of the officers that I worked with.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Such hard working people. Yeah. Men and women. Um I don't know how they do their job with everything they have to deal with. Sure.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's a lot. We also have a an officer in common. Yeah. Retired. Dan. Dan. Hi Dan. Hi, Linda. Okay. So now we're gonna do the fun round. And we're gonna go kind of rapid fire. Are you ready? Okay. Coffee or energy drinks? Coffee. What a question, right? Day shift or night shift?

SPEAKER_00

Oh. When I was younger, night shift. Older day shift.

SPEAKER_01

Calm collar or talkative collar? Talkative. Okay, because they give you more information. Yes. Paper maps or GPS?

SPEAKER_00

Oh. GPS now. Oh, yeah, to think about that. I'm surprised. I wouldn't have thought that would have been automatically. Because I got really good with my Thomas guide. It was drilled into us so much through training that I could take an area that somebody was calling from and go right to that Thomas red. And it was like it was like a paper thing I could see. Yes.

SPEAKER_01

I understand that because when I started grooming dogs 34 years ago, I didn't have a cell phone. There was no GPS. And I learned on a Thomas Guide. And every year I would go and get the updated one. And I could do the same thing. I somebody would say, I live in this neighborhood in this town, and I could just flip right to it. Yeah. And narrow down the streets. I love my Thomas Guide. Somebody confess I still have my last word. And it's still in my grooming. I don't use it, but it's there if I need it. Okay. What one word describes dispatching? You know what? I'm going to give you three words. What three words describe dispatching? Chaos and calm. Okay. Chaos and calm. That's good. That's accurate. Uh what's one thing that TV gets completely wrong about dispatchers?

SPEAKER_00

We don't have all these tools at our disposal. We are not like Halle Berry and we don't crack go out and crack the case by ourselves.

SPEAKER_01

You know what's funny? I always think about the the dispatcher from um Die Hard, the ultimate Christmas movie. When he's calling and he's asking for help, and the dispatcher's going, Sir, this line is for emergencies. And she's so callous. I thought, they don't really do that.

SPEAKER_00

Most of us are sitting in small little 12, 5, 15 rooms with phones ringing. And you don't have a bank of lighter screens and and uh the the national no we can't do we can't do all the things that they show on, you know, CSI and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01

Which is probably good. Yeah. Quick question. Do you you drink a lot of coffee during your your shift? I probably drink too much coffee still. Okay. Oh, still. Yeah. Okay. So that's one thing that's hung on. Yeah. Yeah. Coffee. How do you take your coffee? Flack. Really? Yeah. Have you always had I don't know why I'm fascinated with this question, but have you always had black coffee? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. All right.

SPEAKER_01

Maybe that's why you couldn't sleep.

SPEAKER_00

But you'll also notice like even when it's well, you get in the routine of dispatch that even when there's like quiet times, you have to have something to do. So I would read three books. Oh, yeah. And I could put a book down and take a call and do my thing and then pick the book back up. And we always joked as dispatchers that we could have a conversation that lasted the entire shift because it would have to stop at certain points to do the job, and then you just pick the conversation back up again.

SPEAKER_01

What was one of your favorite books that you read while you were working? Oh, I read it a lot. Oh, everyone. Two to more than you can remember.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. What's one thing you wish everyone knew about dispatchers?

SPEAKER_00

They're very sensitive people. You'd have to be. Um, even if they sound brusque and no nonsense, that's just them going into that mode. They're real people outside of work.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Departmentalizing. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of operators do that. And they're going to take stuff home with them from your phone call afterwards. Yeah. They're still going to remember, yep, sure.

SPEAKER_01

If listeners only remember one thing about calling 911, what should it be? We've talked. Okay. I was going to say we've talked about location. So that is of the utmost importance. That is the one thing that you cannot do without is location. And it has to be clear.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It has to be clear.

SPEAKER_00

You can narrow it down. But even if you don't know your exact address, I mean, I've had calls from little kids that didn't know their address. And I've had them go pick up a piece of mail. Interesting. Um, and read me the address off the mail. Sure. Um, for you know, if they're if they're someplace that's new to them, they don't know the address or anything like that. Tell me the name of a business they see. Back in the day when I worked in Bakersfield, that's a long stretch on the 99 and the five. And if you aren't familiar with the exits and everything like that, I had a lady call in one time, like three, four o'clock in the morning, broken down. And all she could tell me was she saw something that looked like a Dr. Seuss hat. Oh, wow. So there are actually silos on the 99 off of David Road that looked like they're painted red and white stripes. They look like giant Dr. Seuss hats. I can see them. That's the only way I'm the only way I knew she was there.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. And that goes to you knowing the area as well. Yeah. Yeah, that's interesting. Is there anything that I didn't ask you for bring up that you want people to know?

SPEAKER_00

Not that I can think of. Just you know when you're calling in, um we know you're having an emergency. We know, you know, you might be upset, you might be mad, angry, whatever. Um, just help us do our jobs.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's important. Well, I think we covered everything. This was really interesting. I've known you for a long time and I've known that this was your job, but I've never really probed into it like this before. It gives me a whole new appreciation because honestly, I don't think I could do it. But I'm proud to know you. And I think you're pretty fantastic. So, what's on the agenda now that you're retired? Um, is your husband retired? Yes. So, what's on the agenda? What do you guys have coming up?

SPEAKER_00

Uh, traveling and time with our family and our grandkids. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

That's that's a really, really good plan. Yep. I love that. Well, I appreciate you letting me come and sit and ask you all these questions and probe for stories and information. And um maybe we can do this again down the line. Sounds good. All right, thank you. Thank you so much for this. Thanks, Paul. Okay. How great is she? Seriously, that was a fun interview. I I really enjoyed that. I also learned things about her job that I never knew before, which is amazing because I've known Joanne a very long time. So, one thing that came up after we were done recording that I think is important to share with you is uh Joanne mentioned peer support programs for first responders and what an important part of the picture they are for the first responders. So I'm going to share that information and some resources in the show notes. If you are interested or have any questions, please go there. If you know a first responder, if you are a first responder, if you love a first responder, these might be good sources for you to just have in your back pocket. So I hope you're all doing well and that you've enjoyed the first, very first Dog Days of Murder interview. I do have a few more lined up that I think you're going to enjoy. For now, Brian and I are going to continue working on season two episodes. And please drop us a line. Let us know who else you'd like us to interview. Let us know if you have any questions and what are you doing during this break we're taking. I will make sure that the email and all the socials are going to be in the show notes as well, so you can find us there. Please reach out. We would love to hear from you. Don't forget to rate and review. Very, very helpful. Dog Days of Murder is an Angry Hamster production, produced and hosted by me, Paula Quintana, and of course Ayn. Until next time. Ain, every