Animal Writes

Listen to Episode #212 Now:

    

BIO:

Transcript:

00:00:02.400 --> 00:00:03.680
Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.

00:00:03.880 --> 00:00:05.040
Announcer: Let's talk pets.

00:00:07.260 --> 00:00:10.820
Tim Link: Welcome to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.

00:00:10.840 --> 00:00:12.880
Tim Link: This is your host, Tim Link.

00:00:13.140 --> 00:00:15.880
Tim Link: I'm super duper excited about today's show.

00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:16.700
Tim Link: I'm always excited.

00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:20.120
Tim Link: You know, if you've listened to the show over the many years we've been on, I'm always excited.

00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:26.980
Tim Link: But I always like unique authors, I like unique stories and obviously unique books that are coming out.

00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:30.620
Tim Link: And so I'm really excited today to talk to Sergeant Mark Tappan.

00:00:30.980 --> 00:00:38.060
Tim Link: Sergeant Mark Tappan, he is the Sergeant for the Alpharetta Police Department, which is right near my neck of the woods.

00:00:38.080 --> 00:00:39.180
Tim Link: So I'm excited about that.

00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.660
Tim Link: It's good to have his name just in case I get in any trouble.

00:00:41.900 --> 00:00:45.860
Tim Link: But we're going to talk to him about his book, which is A Dog Named Mattis.

00:00:47.040 --> 00:00:54.180
Tim Link: Twelve Lessons for Living Courageously, Serving Selflessly, and Building Bridges from a Heroic Canine Officer.

00:00:54.540 --> 00:00:56.240
Tim Link: So super, I love that.

00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:57.880
Tim Link: So everybody hang tight.

00:00:57.900 --> 00:01:02.320
Tim Link: We'll come back right after this commercial break and we'll start our conversation with Sergeant Mark Tappan.

00:01:02.440 --> 00:01:04.640
Tim Link: You're listening to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.

00:01:07.960 --> 00:01:09.880
Announcer: Take a bite out of your competition.

00:01:10.460 --> 00:01:14.900
Announcer: Advertise your business with an ad in Pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows.

00:01:15.220 --> 00:01:22.040
Announcer: There is no other pet related media that is as large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than Pet Life Radio.

00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:29.140
Announcer: With over 7 million monthly listeners, Pet Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.

00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:38.620
Announcer: And our live radio stream goes out to over 250 million subscribers on iHeart Radio, Audacy, TuneIn and other streaming apps.

00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:47.840
Announcer: For more information on how you can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network, visit petliferadio.com/advertise today.

00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:53.380
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets on petliferadio.com.

00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.860
Tim Link: Welcome back to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.

00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:01.280
Tim Link: Join us now.

00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:04.980
Tim Link: He is the sergeant for the Alpharetta, Georgia Police Department.

00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:16.880
Tim Link: He's a youth pastor and of course, the author of the latest book, A Dog Named Mattis, 12 Lessons for Living Courageously, Serving Selflessly and Building Bridges from a Heroic Canine Officer.

00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:18.940
Tim Link: Sergeant Mark, welcome to the show.

00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:19.960
Mark Tappan: Thanks, Tim.

00:02:19.980 --> 00:02:20.580
Mark Tappan: Appreciate it.

00:02:20.600 --> 00:02:21.180
Mark Tappan: Glad to be here.

00:02:21.640 --> 00:02:23.340
Tim Link: We're super excited to have you on.

00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:27.860
Tim Link: And I was telling you off air, I'll give big kudos to my wife, Kim.

00:02:28.260 --> 00:02:32.100
Tim Link: She saw you on the local news and said, hey, this is right up your alley.

00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:35.140
Tim Link: He's right in our backyard and a stone's throw away.

00:02:35.440 --> 00:02:39.080
Tim Link: Perfect story about dogs, great guy, doing great stuff.

00:02:39.100 --> 00:02:39.780
Tim Link: Get him on there.

00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:42.460
Tim Link: And she harassed me until, I'll blame your publicist on this.

00:02:42.660 --> 00:02:46.520
Tim Link: She harassed me until I finally got through saying, I need him on my show.

00:02:46.540 --> 00:02:47.740
Tim Link: Oh, I need him on my show.

00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:48.620
Tim Link: So you're on the show.

00:02:48.640 --> 00:02:51.140
Tim Link: So congratulations and thank you for being on the show.

00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:53.440
Mark Tappan: Thanks to your wife for that.

00:02:53.480 --> 00:02:54.540
Mark Tappan: I really appreciate it.

00:02:55.380 --> 00:02:55.920
Tim Link: Super.

00:02:56.300 --> 00:03:06.860
Tim Link: So tell us first a little bit about the book, A Dog Named Mattis, and then tell us a little bit about how it sort of all came about and what made you put the story into a book.

00:03:07.780 --> 00:03:10.200
Mark Tappan: Oh man, well, it's been a long time coming.

00:03:10.580 --> 00:03:18.080
Mark Tappan: Basically I got partnered with this amazing dog and I have been blown away with him since the second I selected him.

00:03:18.100 --> 00:03:21.540
Mark Tappan: And I wanted to be able to tell his story.

00:03:22.100 --> 00:03:34.680
Mark Tappan: And I wrote some kids books as well that are out there, but it was really some people in my life believing in me and pushing me to write the adult book that we now have, where I really didn't think I could.

00:03:34.700 --> 00:03:41.660
Mark Tappan: I'm a former Marine, you know, and we're not necessarily known as intelligence as one of our strong suits.

00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:42.480
Tim Link: Oh now.

00:03:42.540 --> 00:03:45.500
Mark Tappan: I was, I'm a college dropout.

00:03:45.600 --> 00:03:50.380
Mark Tappan: Like, you know, I went back and finished it later, but there's so many things that I felt like stacked against me.

00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:58.280
Mark Tappan: So, but like I said, there's some people, my publicist, the publisher, and then I had some friends that just really encouraged me to put it forward.

00:03:58.660 --> 00:04:01.380
Mark Tappan: And I'm so proud of what came out.

00:04:01.440 --> 00:04:04.000
Mark Tappan: And then I get to tell a story about an amazing dog.

00:04:04.220 --> 00:04:04.580
Tim Link: Yeah.

00:04:04.600 --> 00:04:07.180
Tim Link: Well, tell us about Mattis, the amazing dog.

00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:11.860
Tim Link: And I want to know about a little bit more about the selection process also, how that went about.

00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:12.440
Mark Tappan: Yeah.

00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:14.360
Mark Tappan: Well, he's a humongous German shepherd.

00:04:14.440 --> 00:04:17.020
Mark Tappan: And if you know me, I'm a short guy.

00:04:17.320 --> 00:04:19.380
Mark Tappan: And I did not want a humongous German shepherd.

00:04:19.400 --> 00:04:21.080
Mark Tappan: He was my second police dog.

00:04:21.340 --> 00:04:32.220
Mark Tappan: And I actually, to tie in the selection process, when I went to pick him out, I wanted a 60-pound Belgian Malinois, because I went to the trainer school months prior to selecting Mattis.

00:04:32.640 --> 00:04:37.620
Mark Tappan: And when I went to the trainer school, that's what my lead trainer, he had a Belgian Malinois named Abby.

00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:42.880
Mark Tappan: And she was calm, fierce, intelligent, just an amazing dog.

00:04:42.900 --> 00:04:45.100
Mark Tappan: And so I was like, that's the kind of dog that I want.

00:04:45.700 --> 00:04:50.680
Mark Tappan: And so I had all these, we went to a kennel out in Alabama that trains police dogs.

00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:53.360
Mark Tappan: And they were showing me all these different dogs.

00:04:53.380 --> 00:04:56.260
Mark Tappan: And they had one dog that was just in the back.

00:04:56.280 --> 00:04:57.920
Mark Tappan: And they're like, hey, we want to get this dog out.

00:04:57.940 --> 00:04:59.040
Mark Tappan: He's not a police dog.

00:04:59.280 --> 00:05:01.160
Mark Tappan: He was supposed to be a personal protection dog.

00:05:01.400 --> 00:05:02.300
Mark Tappan: The buyer backed out.

00:05:02.320 --> 00:05:05.160
Mark Tappan: So let's, I just want to get him out and exercise him.

00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:06.520
Mark Tappan: And I'm like, okay, yeah, that's fine.

00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:09.440
Mark Tappan: And he gets out of the car and he's a 100-pound German Shepherd.

00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:13.220
Mark Tappan: And I'm like, oh, he's beautiful, but no, that's not the dog for me.

00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:20.820
Mark Tappan: And then I started doing all my tests that I do, just like testing gray drive, hunt drive, perseverance, all these different things.

00:05:20.940 --> 00:05:24.300
Mark Tappan: And he was just at the top of every single thing that I did.

00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:33.100
Mark Tappan: And the final test that we actually do is we put on the bite jacket and we test the dogs like on a passive bite where you're just kind of standing there.

00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:37.360
Mark Tappan: If the dog goes in and how confident they are on certain surfaces.

00:05:37.380 --> 00:05:53.580
Mark Tappan: And I went through 12 different dogs and then Mattis came in and you got to know like, especially if your audience is familiar with dogs and dog training, when you get them into an environment where they do their most favorite thing, anxiety builds and they start going nuts and they can barely control themselves.

00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:54.820
Mark Tappan: They're barking like crazy.

00:05:55.080 --> 00:06:00.560
Mark Tappan: And then Mattis walks in and he's calm and he's just looking around and he's focused.

00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:05.060
Mark Tappan: And then he bites me harder than I've ever been bitten.

00:06:05.080 --> 00:06:07.180
Mark Tappan: I was like, this is the dog for me.

00:06:07.200 --> 00:06:09.320
Mark Tappan: Like there was something behind those eyes.

00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:15.720
Mark Tappan: It was an incredible brain that I am so glad I got to peek into a little bit that day.

00:06:16.200 --> 00:06:17.780
Mark Tappan: And I'm like, that's the dog that I want.

00:06:17.960 --> 00:06:18.500
Tim Link: I love that.

00:06:18.520 --> 00:06:25.560
Tim Link: You know, I always tell stories about, not stories, but real life instances, cause I'm a firm believer that everything's meant to be.

00:06:25.780 --> 00:06:27.060
Tim Link: There's a reason for everything.

00:06:27.280 --> 00:06:34.760
Tim Link: And I also believe that when it comes to dogs and animals in particular, that we don't go out and find them, they find us.

00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:45.660
Tim Link: Whether we're talking about, you know, a rescue, or whether we're talking about shows up at our doorstep, a friend leaves one behind, or in this case, a trained dog trained to guard and protect these types of things.

00:06:46.080 --> 00:06:49.120
Tim Link: I always love the fact that we go in with sort of as humans.

00:06:50.440 --> 00:06:53.020
Tim Link: You know, we go in with the thought, okay, this is what I want.

00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:54.300
Tim Link: You know, this is what I'm looking for.

00:06:54.380 --> 00:06:57.360
Tim Link: And then inevitably it turns out the opposite.

00:06:57.380 --> 00:07:04.780
Tim Link: And it always ends up being a plus in the end, because I think the universe as well as the dogs know exactly what's meant to be.

00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:07.960
Mark Tappan: Yeah, and that's exactly how I feel about Mattis.

00:07:08.200 --> 00:07:10.220
Mark Tappan: He was always supposed to be my dog.

00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:13.800
Tim Link: So the process then with that, okay, so he fools you.

00:07:13.820 --> 00:07:18.180
Tim Link: He ends up being much more than you ever anticipated in a very positive way.

00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.700
Tim Link: Now you guys are starting to work together and to live together.

00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:24.140
Tim Link: So how does that transpire?

00:07:24.140 --> 00:07:24.800
Tim Link: How's that?

00:07:24.840 --> 00:07:26.540
Tim Link: Is it a quick, easy adaption?

00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:31.460
Tim Link: Because you guys were meant to be, or is it a little bit of more work behind it?

00:07:31.780 --> 00:07:36.000
Tim Link: And then the second question I'll throw out there automatically because my brain's going 1,000 miles an hour here.

00:07:36.660 --> 00:07:39.280
Tim Link: The second question is, how do you expand on that?

00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:48.080
Tim Link: Now, all of a sudden we've got a dog who's trained to do his work, but now doing much more than that and touching people's lives and changing people's lives.

00:07:48.760 --> 00:07:53.660
Mark Tappan: Well, that was kind of the thing that set him apart too, was like he was this happy social confident dog.

00:07:53.760 --> 00:08:01.700
Mark Tappan: Like people, a lot of times think that in police dogs, you want like a dog that's on the edge, like angry or whatever so that they could be the protection work.

00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:08.600
Mark Tappan: But the best thing about him is that he's just, he's happy and believes he's in control of any situation.

00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:10.820
Mark Tappan: Like he's actually apprehended suspects.

00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:14.520
Mark Tappan: Most of the suspects he apprehended in his tail's wagging the entire time.

00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:18.780
Mark Tappan: It was never like a scared thing or a defensive type thing.

00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.220
Mark Tappan: It was this is the best game in the world.

00:08:21.400 --> 00:08:23.140
Mark Tappan: And so he always had that going for him.

00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:25.940
Mark Tappan: So the transition into the house was extremely easy.

00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:32.400
Mark Tappan: I had a one-year-old daughter at the time and I trusted him implicitly around her.

00:08:32.680 --> 00:08:45.840
Mark Tappan: So I'm extremely big because when I looked at my trainer and I looked at the private sector of these people who train dogs, the exact same way that the police do, they have those dogs involved in their everyday life.

00:08:46.420 --> 00:08:54.440
Mark Tappan: And a lot of times police have the mentality where it's just a tool and it gets put away and only used as a tool.

00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:56.280
Mark Tappan: And the handler is the only one that interacts.

00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:04.100
Mark Tappan: And from a dog training perspective, you know that that's a recipe to make your dog anti-social.

00:09:04.540 --> 00:09:07.160
Mark Tappan: And that's actually going to cause problems.

00:09:07.180 --> 00:09:16.300
Mark Tappan: And so that's where I took the different approach of, no, let's socialize into everything that I possibly can so that he's just confident in any situation he goes into.

00:09:16.640 --> 00:09:22.360
Mark Tappan: So he already had a great foundation of being happy, confident, social from the start.

00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:26.200
Tim Link: Now, how does he take that and expand that to the masses?

00:09:26.380 --> 00:09:32.140
Tim Link: Because obviously for novices out here, we think, okay, you're teamed up with a partner.

00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:37.960
Tim Link: You know, you've teamed up with a dog partner and you do your work and you live your lives together.

00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:41.360
Tim Link: And then somewhere down the road, there's retirement or something going on.

00:09:41.640 --> 00:09:44.800
Tim Link: But I know with Mattis, it was even more than that from the get-go.

00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:47.640
Mark Tappan: Yeah, I always saw the canine position.

00:09:48.040 --> 00:09:52.860
Mark Tappan: Before Mattis, I saw it this way as well with my first dog, is that we had a three-fold job.

00:09:52.880 --> 00:09:55.360
Mark Tappan: And one was to be excellent in the training that we did.

00:09:55.540 --> 00:10:01.040
Mark Tappan: And I think like I had experienced prior, some of not the best training, right?

00:10:01.060 --> 00:10:02.640
Mark Tappan: That we didn't hold ourselves to the highest level.

00:10:02.660 --> 00:10:08.800
Mark Tappan: I want to be excellent in the deployments that we make good decisions and use the dogs when we're supposed to and don't use them when we're not supposed to.

00:10:08.920 --> 00:10:16.960
Mark Tappan: And then the third area, and this was the key, is I want to be excellent community relations because I saw the bridge that dogs immediately create.

00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:21.080
Mark Tappan: Like if you just go to the park, if you show up with a dog, people are interested.

00:10:21.100 --> 00:10:26.640
Mark Tappan: If you show up with a police dog, they are so inquisitive because of the amazing things that these dogs do.

00:10:27.280 --> 00:10:32.220
Mark Tappan: And I think a lot of times, we'll have the Do Not Pet stickers on them or patches.

00:10:32.680 --> 00:10:37.980
Mark Tappan: And where there could be a bridge, it immediately shuts that down when someone says, can I pet your dog?

00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:39.160
Mark Tappan: Nope, he's working.

00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:46.180
Mark Tappan: And so I was like, well, if I'm not actively tracking someone or I'm not actively biting, so like who would ask during those things anyway?

00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:47.680
Mark Tappan: But why not?

00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:49.560
Mark Tappan: Like, yeah, absolutely.

00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:51.560
Mark Tappan: And then starting answering questions about the dog.

00:10:51.580 --> 00:10:58.060
Mark Tappan: So I always saw it as threefold, like I said, and the third part of that was be excellent in community relations.

00:10:58.060 --> 00:11:02.660
Mark Tappan: And I tried to take that as far as I could with reaching as many people as I could with social media.

00:11:02.800 --> 00:11:08.300
Mark Tappan: And then, you know, we had some opportunities that came up through that, like the book and being on some TV shows and whatnot.

00:11:08.340 --> 00:11:10.460
Tim Link: And I think that's amazing because you're absolutely right.

00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:17.580
Tim Link: Animals we'll say in general, but dogs for sure since we're out and about with them quite often, they are the great common denominator.

00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:25.300
Tim Link: They break down the walls because everybody's either had a dog or has a dog or has had some sort of relationship with a dog.

00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:30.840
Tim Link: And I love the fact that this is a golden opportunity and you saw that perfectly.

00:11:31.240 --> 00:12:00.840
Tim Link: Golden opportunity, do some community outreach and people to learn and trust and trust you and the dog and the police in general, because oftentimes, you know, outside or looking in, it's either we have a distant relationship with the police unless we need them, or there's those opportunities where it's almost like you have to go, you know, almost feels like, okay, that here's a, here's a affair that's going on or some sort of community involvement thing that you have to do.

00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:02.560
Tim Link: And you took it the opposite way.

00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:04.560
Tim Link: You said, hey, this was a great opportunity.

00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:16.860
Tim Link: You got a great companion there that knows how to work with people and understand, and I'm sure that people learned not only about Mattis, but also about the great work that you guys do.

00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.560
Mark Tappan: Yeah, that's what we were hoping for.

00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:21.200
Tim Link: Yeah, I think it's fantastic.

00:12:21.420 --> 00:12:33.360
Tim Link: So then when we talk about how this comes about as far as the book, and I'm going to ask you after the break a little bit about writing the book and how it parlayed into from a children's book to an adult, we'll say adult book.

00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:45.380
Tim Link: But when you had all these great stories and all these great experiences, I know that you wanted to expand it or I believe that you wanted to expand it even further as far as the book is concerned.

00:12:45.400 --> 00:12:47.280
Tim Link: There was more than just a book.

00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:54.000
Tim Link: This is more than just a book about a canine officer and a sergeant going and doing these jobs.

00:12:54.020 --> 00:12:56.800
Tim Link: Yes, it has the great car chases and all the great stories and stuff.

00:12:56.820 --> 00:12:59.480
Tim Link: But you, I believe, wanted to take it a little bit step further.

00:12:59.940 --> 00:13:00.860
Mark Tappan: Oh, absolutely.

00:13:00.880 --> 00:13:04.940
Mark Tappan: The funniest thing is, is that it's from the most simple action of my dog.

00:13:05.300 --> 00:13:17.060
Mark Tappan: And he did it every day that we went to work, that was, it was so encouraging to me was, I would wake up in the morning and anyone who wakes up, especially we wake up super early in the morning to go to work.

00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:29.560
Mark Tappan: And my dog, he knew that we were going to work and he would, he would lightening bolt down the stairs and run to his harness and do circles, waiting to go to work and his tail would wag.

00:13:29.800 --> 00:13:35.680
Mark Tappan: And once I got that harness on him, he would bolt to the front door and just wait in anticipation while I got all my stuff.

00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:45.280
Mark Tappan: And he would do his little steppy steps, you know, where he just shift and wait from back and forth from one foot to another, just waiting for me to crack the door so he could head straight for the car.

00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:50.540
Mark Tappan: And I saw that in my dog and I'm like, man, that's, that's amazing.

00:13:50.560 --> 00:13:57.600
Mark Tappan: If I could approach life the same way that my dog does, right, he's so excited because he knows that we're going to go to work.

00:13:58.040 --> 00:14:01.540
Mark Tappan: He's going to do something that he loves and he's going to be with me.

00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:05.540
Mark Tappan: And that, like that is his world.

00:14:05.560 --> 00:14:14.980
Mark Tappan: And what it broke down in my mind was I have this amazing life with a family that I love, and I get to do a job that I love with my best friend, a dog.

00:14:15.380 --> 00:14:20.140
Mark Tappan: And why can't I approach everything I do with the same tenacity that my dog does?

00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:22.360
Mark Tappan: And so it was kind of cool.

00:14:22.380 --> 00:14:31.280
Mark Tappan: And that's where the book grew, was it's seeing these amazing qualities in the dog that make me want to be a better person.

00:14:31.540 --> 00:14:33.880
Mark Tappan: And so that's kind of how the book is.

00:14:34.280 --> 00:14:45.340
Mark Tappan: My hope is, is that people will be able to take their own circumstances and do the exact same right, is be encouraged by just the things around them and see the things that you can learn and grow from.

00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:46.740
Tim Link: Yeah, I think it's brilliant.

00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:55.600
Tim Link: How you put it all together in the subtitle, A Dog Named Mattis, 12 Lessons for Living Courageously.

00:14:55.820 --> 00:14:58.660
Tim Link: Now, how did you come up with 12 lessons?

00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:00.340
Tim Link: I'm sure there's full of lessons.

00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:02.500
Tim Link: And I will say, I'll give you a big kudos for this as well.

00:15:02.880 --> 00:15:09.280
Tim Link: Oftentimes, we live our life with these wonderful companions of ours, whether they're in our professional life, personal life, whatever it may be.

00:15:09.760 --> 00:15:15.400
Tim Link: And we don't often stop to see the lessons that they're teaching us on a daily basis.

00:15:15.420 --> 00:15:25.160
Tim Link: It's usually after they've made, oftentimes after they've made their transition, that we step back and reflect and think, oh, wow, this dog was teaching me some amazing things.

00:15:25.580 --> 00:15:29.820
Tim Link: You recognized it early, and then how'd you sort of boil it down to just the 12 lessons?

00:15:30.140 --> 00:15:32.700
Mark Tappan: Well, a lot of it was my publishing agent, right?

00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:36.300
Mark Tappan: And as we were talking about the arc, and every story needs an arc.

00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:38.360
Mark Tappan: And they're like, tell about the Arc of Mattis.

00:15:38.380 --> 00:15:41.060
Mark Tappan: And I'm like, it's really not, it's not the Arc of Mattis.

00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:47.940
Mark Tappan: Like as I sat down and I started thinking about all this, the things that we went on, and what I realized it's my arc.

00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:50.660
Mark Tappan: Like he was there from the beginning.

00:15:50.680 --> 00:15:51.980
Mark Tappan: He's been an excellent dog.

00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.380
Mark Tappan: And I poured into him and I think we grew as a team and did some great things together.

00:15:56.400 --> 00:15:58.380
Mark Tappan: But it was really from me learning.

00:15:58.400 --> 00:16:06.440
Mark Tappan: And I think that's a lot of what dog handling and training is, is like everything that a dog does in police work, they know how to do, they're experts in.

00:16:06.900 --> 00:16:12.800
Mark Tappan: The key is me learning to interpret what he's trying to tell me and try to get him to do what I want.

00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:15.580
Mark Tappan: And so that's where the art came from.

00:16:15.660 --> 00:16:21.420
Mark Tappan: And as I sat there and thought about all the things that we had done together, that's where the 12 lessons came from.

00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:30.260
Mark Tappan: It was one of those that it's like, okay, this is what I learned here, this is what I learned here, this is what I learned here, kind of framed it out and it's like, oh, yeah, the arc sent me, not the dog.

00:16:30.580 --> 00:16:31.240
Tim Link: I love that.

00:16:31.260 --> 00:16:32.140
Tim Link: That's fantastic.

00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:37.540
Tim Link: And once again, Mattis is teaching you to look within yourself and learn these lessons now.

00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:39.340
Tim Link: And so you can share them with others.

00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:41.620
Tim Link: So I think it's brilliant on that aspect.

00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:44.700
Tim Link: All right, so we're gonna get ready to take a commercial break.

00:16:44.800 --> 00:16:52.880
Tim Link: We'll come back after the break, talk to a little bit further about Sergeant Mark Tappan and the book, A Dog Named Mattis.

00:16:53.520 --> 00:16:54.460
Tim Link: Everybody hang tight.

00:16:54.560 --> 00:16:56.460
Tim Link: We'll be back after this commercial break.

00:16:56.660 --> 00:16:59.500
Tim Link: You're listening to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.

00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:10.580
Tim Link: Hi, this is Tim Link, animal communicator and pet expert, and host of Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.

00:17:10.740 --> 00:17:13.340
Tim Link: Have you ever wanted to know what your pet is really thinking?

00:17:13.360 --> 00:17:16.560
Tim Link: Do you want to find out if they truly understand what you're trying to tell them?

00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:20.240
Tim Link: Or wish you could build a better understanding and closer relationship with your pet?

00:17:20.320 --> 00:17:21.300
Tim Link: Well, now you can.

00:17:21.540 --> 00:17:25.140
Tim Link: Learning to communicate with animals is a four-part on-demand workshop.

00:17:25.260 --> 00:17:42.960
Tim Link: In the workshop, you'll learn the essential techniques that are necessary to communicate with animals, including what is animal communication, breathing correctly to achieve the perfect state to communicate with your animals at a deeper level, using guided meditation exercises and method to communicate with animals, and how to send and receive information from your animals.

00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:53.460
Tim Link: So, if you're wanting to learn how to communicate and connect with your animals at a deeper level, visit petliferadio.com forward slash workshop and purchase and download Learning to Communicate with Animals.

00:17:53.520 --> 00:17:54.440
Tim Link: You'll be glad you did.

00:17:54.460 --> 00:18:00.800
Mark Tappan: Let's Talk Pest.

00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:12.340
Tim Link: Welcome back to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.

00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:28.960
Tim Link: Continue our conversation with author and sergeant of the Alpharetta Police Department, Sergeant Mark Tappan, in his book, A Dog Named Mattis, Twelve Lessons for Living Courageously, Serving Selflessly, and Building Bridges from a Heroic Canine Officer.

00:18:29.600 --> 00:18:34.920
Tim Link: So I have to ask Sergeant Mark right now, I know everybody's listening, it's like, okay, Tim, you babbled on long enough.

00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:42.240
Tim Link: Tell us about Mattis, what's life with Mattis and how's Mattis is, we heard about all the fun stuff that's going on.

00:18:42.540 --> 00:18:44.440
Tim Link: What's a daily life like right now?

00:18:45.060 --> 00:18:46.980
Mark Tappan: Well, now he is retired.

00:18:47.020 --> 00:18:48.780
Mark Tappan: So he retired in 2021.

00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:53.420
Mark Tappan: Some signs of age are starting to show, he's not quite as fast as he used to be.

00:18:54.060 --> 00:18:55.500
Mark Tappan: He's still always by my side.

00:18:55.520 --> 00:19:13.220
Mark Tappan: The biggest transition really was when the first day after I left for work without him, and he didn't understand that, and it was for about six months, he'd do the same thing, was he would run down to where his harnesses were, and he'd run in circles, and then I wouldn't put his harness on.

00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:19.700
Mark Tappan: And then he walked me into the front door, and he would look at me confused, and it would break my heart every day for six.

00:19:20.040 --> 00:19:23.400
Mark Tappan: And then I'd go out and I'd do the job, and then he's by the door when I come home.

00:19:23.820 --> 00:19:30.060
Mark Tappan: Now it's gone to the point where, okay, he doesn't get to go to work anymore, but he's the only dog that wakes up with me in the morning.

00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:34.760
Mark Tappan: He walks to the top of the stairs with me and he says his goodbyes to me.

00:19:34.860 --> 00:19:38.460
Mark Tappan: And then I go down and get finished getting ready and then hit out the door.

00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:45.320
Mark Tappan: And once again, as soon as I get home, he's always by my side right now during the interview, he's laying in front of me, just making sure that I'm safe.

00:19:45.320 --> 00:19:47.140
Mark Tappan: So his life's a little bit different.

00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:59.080
Mark Tappan: We get the opportunity now that with the book and the kids books and social media and all this other stuff that we've done is to make appearances every once in a while, do charity functions, speaking every once in a while.

00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:00.720
Mark Tappan: So that's what we do.

00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:04.780
Mark Tappan: And then I try to, as much as I can, still engage his brain as much as possible.

00:20:04.800 --> 00:20:11.880
Mark Tappan: Because often when working dogs retire, they don't live much longer because they lose their purpose.

00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:14.980
Mark Tappan: And so I wanted to make sure that with him, he always had a purpose.

00:20:15.040 --> 00:20:20.040
Mark Tappan: And then every day we play some kind of game that involves his nose and his brain, and we do it together.

00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:21.020
Tim Link: I love that.

00:20:21.020 --> 00:20:26.340
Tim Link: I love that because I'm a big proponent of mental and physical stimulation, especially with our dog.

00:20:26.360 --> 00:20:28.020
Tim Link: So I think that's a big part of it.

00:20:28.320 --> 00:20:36.700
Tim Link: And I look at this as, yes, I can't imagine actually those six months, even though you're telling him, and I know he understands, oh, that had to be brutal.

00:20:36.840 --> 00:20:44.900
Tim Link: But now he's serving, continuing to serve, continuing to serve the community, continuing to serve in just a little bit different way.

00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:46.400
Tim Link: Yeah, he does.

00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:47.620
Mark Tappan: He does some good work.

00:20:47.900 --> 00:20:49.440
Tim Link: Absolutely, absolutely.

00:20:49.620 --> 00:20:52.640
Tim Link: So let's talk about the writing process in general.

00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:55.440
Tim Link: So you came out with a fabulous children's book.

00:20:55.760 --> 00:21:00.100
Tim Link: First of all, how did you say, okay, I need to get the story out there, but I'm going to write a children's book?

00:21:00.100 --> 00:21:06.780
Tim Link: Because I know the audience that's listening that are writers, they know that children's books aren't that easy.

00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:11.060
Tim Link: It's not like write 10 pages and slap some nice illustrations in there and you're done.

00:21:11.260 --> 00:21:15.200
Tim Link: They actually can be much harder than writing a little memoir.

00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:23.760
Mark Tappan: Yeah, well, so it started off with why I started just jotting down some notes of what I wanted to write a book about and tell Mammoth's story.

00:21:23.860 --> 00:21:28.340
Mark Tappan: And then I was trying to explain to my six-year-old daughter at the time what I was doing.

00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:31.160
Mark Tappan: And so she's like, what are you writing about?

00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:31.840
Mark Tappan: I said, Mattis.

00:21:32.100 --> 00:21:33.540
Mark Tappan: And she's like, tell me about it.

00:21:33.560 --> 00:21:37.960
Mark Tappan: And so I had to take his stories and put it into a language that she would understand.

00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:40.620
Mark Tappan: And I saw her get really emotional.

00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:46.100
Mark Tappan: And she knew all the stories and knew that he was still with us, but I saw how it moved her.

00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:47.620
Mark Tappan: And so that kind of inspired me.

00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:54.020
Mark Tappan: It's like, maybe I can start here with the children's book, especially I think that's a little more on my level as I started on that.

00:21:54.040 --> 00:21:58.360
Mark Tappan: Because quite honestly, the adult book was daunting to me.

00:21:58.940 --> 00:22:01.780
Mark Tappan: I didn't know if I would be capable of doing that.

00:22:02.060 --> 00:22:08.920
Mark Tappan: Not that the children's book, like you said, was any easier, but I had immediate feedback from my daughter that it could have an impact.

00:22:09.040 --> 00:22:09.640
Tim Link: Brilliant.

00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:11.020
Tim Link: I think that's brilliant.

00:22:11.040 --> 00:22:15.900
Tim Link: Because obviously, if you can't sell her on it, you might as well just hang up the children's book.

00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.000
Tim Link: Forget about the regular novel.

00:22:18.300 --> 00:22:19.340
Tim Link: You're not going to sell the kids.

00:22:19.360 --> 00:22:21.660
Tim Link: And you got to get it accurate because they'll call you on it.

00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:22.120
Tim Link: That's for sure.

00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:23.340
Mark Tappan: Definitely.

00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:24.140
Mark Tappan: That's the truth.

00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:31.820
Tim Link: So we go from the book Canine Mattis on the job, A Day in the Life of a Police Dog, wonderfully illustrated by Donald Wu.

00:22:31.840 --> 00:22:35.360
Tim Link: I just love the cover design on it as well.

00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:40.500
Tim Link: And so we go from that and we say, okay, we've had some success with that.

00:22:40.520 --> 00:22:50.700
Tim Link: That's reaching an audience, a young audience, which is fantastic, because they need to know about dogs and they need to know about our wonderful police officers and the jobs are done by both.

00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:52.860
Tim Link: Now, what's the epiphany?

00:22:52.940 --> 00:22:57.960
Tim Link: Did the publisher contact you, said we must have a memoir on this whole thing?

00:22:58.320 --> 00:23:02.220
Tim Link: Or was it, okay, I did that when I'm done with the children's book.

00:23:03.260 --> 00:23:05.760
Tim Link: Let's consider the other one, but we'll just give it some time.

00:23:06.100 --> 00:23:10.700
Mark Tappan: Yeah, so I actually self-published two kids books before Canine Mattis on the job.

00:23:10.780 --> 00:23:13.560
Mark Tappan: So the very first kids book was A Dog Named Mattis.

00:23:13.580 --> 00:23:18.940
Mark Tappan: And I put it on Amazon and it just, people bought it in droves, which was really cool.

00:23:19.620 --> 00:23:24.660
Mark Tappan: And so when I signed with Thomas Nelson, it was actually for a children's book.

00:23:24.760 --> 00:23:28.160
Mark Tappan: And that's what initially I was pursuing only a children's book.

00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:34.120
Mark Tappan: And that's where my publishing agent pushed me and she said, like, no, you need to, you need this story.

00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:44.660
Mark Tappan: And that's why I'm blown away by this entire thing is Thomas Nelson took on a first time author that had never written a book before and I didn't have a manuscript.

00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:47.420
Mark Tappan: I had an outline of what I get the 12 lessons.

00:23:47.820 --> 00:23:48.620
Mark Tappan: And that's it.

00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:50.780
Mark Tappan: And they took a huge chance on me.

00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:53.340
Mark Tappan: The process was incredible.

00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:55.180
Mark Tappan: And that was the other stupid thing that I did.

00:23:55.600 --> 00:24:00.340
Mark Tappan: They asked me if I wanted a ghostwriter and I'm like, no, I really want to tell this in my own voice.

00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:08.160
Mark Tappan: And they gave me the best editor, Brigida Nordker, who helped me through the entire process.

00:24:08.540 --> 00:24:13.100
Mark Tappan: And probably, you know, she beat me over the head with the Oxford comma until I embraced it.

00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:17.020
Mark Tappan: But once the book was done, I'm done with that Oxford comma.

00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:21.240
Mark Tappan: But she was so good in the process.

00:24:21.600 --> 00:24:24.120
Mark Tappan: It was better than I thought it could be.

00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:26.400
Mark Tappan: Like I enjoyed it so much.

00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:34.220
Mark Tappan: I would every day, usually a couple of days a week, I would go to a coffee shop, probably might've seen you walking through.

00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:34.860
Tim Link: Probably do.

00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:44.040
Mark Tappan: But with headphones on and I dove into memories in the world of what Mattis taught me and I loved every second of it.

00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:47.320
Mark Tappan: And something I'm pretty proud of came out of it.

00:24:48.060 --> 00:24:50.220
Tim Link: Absolutely, you should be proud of it for sure.

00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:54.580
Tim Link: You and Mattis both should be proud of it and the story and all you've accomplished.

00:24:54.600 --> 00:24:58.920
Tim Link: And I love the fact that it's like, no, if I'm gonna do this, I don't need a ghostwriter.

00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:02.360
Tim Link: Who knows Mattis, who knows the story better than you do?

00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:03.140
Tim Link: You know what I mean?

00:25:03.520 --> 00:25:03.840
Mark Tappan: Right.

00:25:04.220 --> 00:25:04.900
Tim Link: So I love that.

00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:06.720
Mark Tappan: Like I said, my voice was important to me.

00:25:07.140 --> 00:25:08.560
Tim Link: Absolutely, absolutely.

00:25:08.580 --> 00:25:09.900
Tim Link: And you did a great job with it.

00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:19.340
Tim Link: So give yourself a big pat on the back on the book and we'll say a great job by the publishing house and editors and agency for recognizing all that too.

00:25:19.340 --> 00:25:20.600
Tim Link: So I think it's fantastic.

00:25:20.840 --> 00:25:21.980
Mark Tappan: I am grateful for them.

00:25:22.140 --> 00:25:26.320
Tim Link: So now that you got the memoir and we've got an audio book too.

00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:27.640
Tim Link: So we had to mention that.

00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:35.500
Tim Link: So we've got the audio book and it's narrated by this wonderful voice, just very, very happy, go lucky, very charming voice.

00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:38.040
Tim Link: I'm not sure who you got to do the audio book.

00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:39.340
Mark Tappan: Well, thank you.

00:25:39.560 --> 00:25:42.520
Mark Tappan: You know, like, I don't know if you're a professional and do this all the time.

00:25:42.540 --> 00:25:44.720
Mark Tappan: Maybe you like the sound of your own voice, but.

00:25:46.100 --> 00:25:47.320
Tim Link: People would say so, yeah.

00:25:47.340 --> 00:25:49.600
Tim Link: People would say that quite often about me actually.

00:25:49.620 --> 00:25:51.740
Mark Tappan: That's awesome.

00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:54.040
Mark Tappan: Well, yeah, so you're like, like me.

00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:56.240
Mark Tappan: I'm not sure that I was the best for it, but I did it.

00:25:56.440 --> 00:26:01.980
Mark Tappan: And you get to hear my emotion in the audio book because they, there's definitely emotional parts of the book.

00:26:02.060 --> 00:26:02.580
Tim Link: That's it.

00:26:02.580 --> 00:26:18.820
Tim Link: And you know, audio books are, you know, each one of these, you know, is a challenge, you know, writing a children's book and illustrating it or having someone illustrate it that understands what you're trying to, the message you're trying to get out there and the history and the feelings behind it, challenging.

00:26:18.940 --> 00:26:24.340
Tim Link: Then you put it in a memoir that's, you know, geared towards the masses, another challenge.

00:26:24.360 --> 00:26:29.480
Tim Link: And then audio books, you know, people think, okay, well, all you're doing is, you know, sitting behind a microphone and reading.

00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:35.020
Tim Link: Well, if all you're doing is sitting behind a microphone and reading, it's not going to be an entertaining audio book.

00:26:35.040 --> 00:26:38.900
Tim Link: And people are going to, you know, turn it off as soon as they turn it back, you know, it started up.

00:26:39.300 --> 00:26:45.400
Tim Link: So, you know, having your voice, filling your emotions, and letting it all come through, they can feel that.

00:26:45.540 --> 00:26:49.560
Tim Link: And they know that, you know, hey, this is a pretty exciting story.

00:26:49.760 --> 00:26:51.140
Mark Tappan: Yeah, it was a fun process.

00:26:51.360 --> 00:26:57.260
Tim Link: So now, the book's out, the audio book's out, we're out there, we're doing the good work, the message is out there.

00:26:57.280 --> 00:27:00.500
Tim Link: Mattis understands the new role getting the message out there.

00:27:00.800 --> 00:27:01.900
Tim Link: What's the next thing?

00:27:01.960 --> 00:27:04.400
Tim Link: What's the next purpose, mission?

00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:06.080
Tim Link: Do we have another book in the wings?

00:27:06.100 --> 00:27:07.180
Tim Link: So what are we looking at?

00:27:07.260 --> 00:27:13.960
Mark Tappan: Yeah, I think the biggest realization that I learned from it all is, he's got a great story, but every handler has great stories.

00:27:14.320 --> 00:27:24.100
Mark Tappan: And so I would like to just give a platform to different handlers and the dogs that they have, and just highlight the amazing work that's going on out there and the things that the dogs teach us.

00:27:24.440 --> 00:27:32.240
Mark Tappan: There's more heroic dogs than my dog that have done incredible things, and I'd love to tell those stories.

00:27:32.260 --> 00:27:35.220
Mark Tappan: So that might be an area of focus in the future, we'll see.

00:27:36.100 --> 00:27:40.600
Tim Link: We like it, we like it, and put us first on the list when you get all that done so you can come back on the show.

00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:41.380
Mark Tappan: Definitely.

00:27:41.580 --> 00:27:47.080
Tim Link: So where can people find out more about you and Mattis and the events and all the activities going on?

00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:49.820
Mark Tappan: mydogmattis.com is probably the best place to go.

00:27:49.840 --> 00:27:51.800
Mark Tappan: That's our website.

00:27:51.820 --> 00:27:53.080
Mark Tappan: You can find it there.

00:27:53.100 --> 00:28:00.300
Mark Tappan: If you look up Mattis, M-A-T-T-I-S on Instagram or TikTok, we're on both of those and have a pretty significant following.

00:28:00.600 --> 00:28:04.320
Mark Tappan: And you can kind of see the shenanigans that we get involved with on a daily basis.

00:28:04.800 --> 00:28:05.640
Tim Link: Love it, love it.

00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:08.120
Tim Link: We'll get that out there and get that posted so everybody knows.

00:28:08.420 --> 00:28:12.640
Tim Link: Definitely go out and follow all of the wonderful things you guys are doing together.

00:28:13.220 --> 00:28:14.880
Tim Link: And everybody pick up a copy of the book.

00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:16.360
Tim Link: It's A Dog Named Mattis.

00:28:16.660 --> 00:28:24.620
Tim Link: Well, Lessons for Living Courageously, Serving Selfishly and Building Bridges from a Heroic Canine Officer by Sergeant Mark Tappan.

00:28:24.980 --> 00:28:28.360
Tim Link: Sergeant Mark, as I'll continue to call you, thanks so much.

00:28:28.380 --> 00:28:30.600
Tim Link: Congratulations on great work.

00:28:30.620 --> 00:28:32.960
Tim Link: Please do give Mattis a big hug from me.

00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:36.860
Tim Link: And we'll look forward to chatting with you again somewhere down the road.

00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:38.020
Mark Tappan: Love it Tim.

00:28:38.040 --> 00:28:39.480
Mark Tappan: Thank you so much for the opportunity.

00:28:39.860 --> 00:28:40.680
Tim Link: Absolutely.

00:28:40.840 --> 00:28:42.760
Tim Link: Well, we're coming to the end of the show today.

00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:46.560
Tim Link: Wanna thank everyone for listening to Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.

00:28:47.080 --> 00:28:50.440
Tim Link: Wanna thank the producers and sponsors for making this show possible.

00:28:50.860 --> 00:28:54.700
Tim Link: If you have any questions, comments, ideas for the show, drop us a line.

00:28:54.720 --> 00:29:02.400
Tim Link: You can go to petliferadio.com and we'll be glad to answer your questions, entertain your comments and bring on the people you wanna hear from most.

00:29:03.040 --> 00:29:06.340
Tim Link: While you're there, check out all the other wonderful shows and hosts.

00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:08.960
Tim Link: It's a cornucopia of animal fun.

00:29:09.320 --> 00:29:10.920
Tim Link: It's at petliferadio.com.

00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:18.340
Tim Link: So until next time, write a great story about the animals in your life and who knows, you may be the next guest on Animal Writes on Pet Life Radio.

00:29:18.360 --> 00:29:19.440
Tim Link: Have a great day.

00:29:20.100 --> 00:29:23.080
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets, every week on demand.

00:29:23.560 --> 00:29:26.100
Announcer: Only on petliferadio.com.

00:29:26.120 --> 00:29:26.440
Announcer: petliferadio.com

 

Search Pet Life Radio

•  

• This Week's Guest:

  
  

  

  Sgt. Mark Tappan

  BIO

• RELATED LINKS:

  
  

  mydogmattis.com

• Questions or Comments?

  Contact Tim HERE

Pet Life Radio
Official Merchandise

Get your paws on some really cool Pet Life Radio stuff --
T-shirts, pet bowls, mugs, water bottles, iPhone & iPod cases, calendars & more!

Shop Now >

Advertise on
Pet Life Radio!

There is no other pet related media that is as large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than Pet Life Radio! None. Not magazines, not newspapers, not other smaller radio stations or pet radio shows.

Learn More >

Social

• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Google +